Fraser Valley Bead Show - in the Spring!!!

Woohoo!  I knew she had been working on a second show for a while, and Barrie Edwards just announced that there will be a Spring edition of the FVBS.  I am thrilled to hear it, because it is always a very good show for us, as well as being more fun than any other show I have done.  There is just something about being in a room with people who "get" you and your work, and addiction!

Info so far is that the dates will be March 12-14, 2010, with the venue info to come.  That is a popular weekend for me, as there is also a class that weekend in Vancouver, and Artfest starts the following Wednesday.  I am sure everything will fall into place, since it always does.  Yay, Barrie!

Christmas is coming!

Nooooooo!

Well, yes. I refuse to count the days but it is heading in that direction. When I was in the US all the Halloween stuff was on sale, the week before Halloween, and the Christmas stuff was coming out. Now I see that Christmas food is on the shelves and the newspapers are filling with fliers.

We are celebrating Christmas a bit early, since my brother is working Christmas Day and the next 3 days. I guess I better start thinking presents, since both my Mom and John have birthdays in December too.

Ghost Town Glass needs to get in gear, since our first show, the Christmas Fair at Comox Community Centre, is November 20-22. I think we are ready to go, and I have some copper bracelets to add and John has marbles among other things.

Two weeks after that, we have the Last Chance Faire in Courtenay on Dec 5-6. I am away in Victoria and then Vancouver as well in the next month, so the shows will sneak up fast. I am picking up a rolling mill in Vancouver, so I will definitely have some interesting pieces for the Last Chance! And I might get some resin pieces done too!

And she's back

Journalfest was a blast!  It really stirred the creative juices and got me going.  I once again have a pile of things wanting to be born!  I am blogging about the experience at my main blog  . 

I did want to mention here that I did not cut myself.  Hoewever, I did trip in the dark and since I was wearing my nightshirt (no comment), I have road rash on my calf and a bruised ankle.  Nothing broken!  Yay,  Barrie, I drove through Coupeville but did not stop, just in case!

There was a definite overlap of glass/metal though at Journalfest, since my teachers Ty and Marcia Schultz are both lampworkers (well, they do everything!  Including journals and props for locally shot shows - they live in Vancouver).  And Tracy Moore, one of the people who runs Artfest/Journalfest, makes books out of metal.  I am totally in love with his books!  A perfect marriage in my opinion, of metal and paper and many other things.

Diana Plus, filled with Tracy's pictures taken with a Lomo Diana Plus camera

Self Portrait Journal by Tracy Moore

So many talented people, it was just fabulous. 

And she's off!

As in, leaving home, again.

After being home for a week, I am heading back to Vancouver for a brief stop in at Casa de Evan, my gracious brother, and then heading to Port Townsend WA for a week. 

The initial plan was to go the way I normally do, via Victoria and the Coho, but John realized after we got home and the weather changed that he had left our coats in Evan's closet.  So I will go via I-5, across Whidbey Island and the ferry.  Not a hardship by any means!  It is one of my favourite drives, so any excuse, since  I have not been that way  since we moved.

I am going to Port Townsend for Journalfest.  It is definitely outside my comfort zone since I work in metal and glass and this is all paint and more paint and drawing and stuff I have little to no experience with.  But creativity comes in many forms, so I am going to just have fun and see what comes up.

It is weird to be taking no jewelry making stuff.  I am leaving it all behind and am going to get very messy, and probably not burn anything or cut off any body parts.  Hmm, sounds tame for Danger Girl!  Oh, well, I will be using scissors and there are definite paper cut risks so I will still be living on the edge!

I am in love

The class I took at the FVBS was Resin with Mikel Lefler of Bijoux de Monde.  I really liked her work at the show last year, so when I saw her class, I signed up immediately.  I think the classes had been up a matter of minutes.  I am serious about my stalking!  I would highly recommend taking a class with Mikel if resin is of interest.

I figured resin might be stinky, and being sensitive to smells, was not sure how it would go.  The epoxy resin we used was not smelly at all, although good ventilation is essential, as it is with lampwork and silversmithing.  We started with doming resin, and I made the next two pieces:

Foil, glitter, small golden glass balls and a dried flower.  I could have added more resin but was travelling home right after the class and the resin needs to be level for a good 12 hours so I did not want to push it.

More foil, tin foil and golden balls

Next we used Casting Resin.  I made several pieces but apparently didn't keep one level enough and added too much colour to the other so it never set.  This one has transparent colour, and glitter added.  It is drillable but I will likely bezel set it.

I can see I need to add resin to my stable of techniques.  I have a pile of ideas, and since I can make my own bezels and forms, the possibilities are endless!