A different direction

I was recently asked if I could paint a mural. It's not something I usually do - either painted commissions or large scale murals. But I took the job, and really rather enjoyed it.

The subject matter was also alien to me - cars and a gas station. Don't think I've ever drawn a car before, so I knew it was going to be a challenge.

The owner of the mural used to own and work for 'Signal' back in the day, and he wanted an old fashioned gas station, with a 1948 Chevy, and a 1932 Ford. He owns the Chevy, and his son owns the Ford.

Here are the results! I delivered it last weekend, and it will hang in a large barn, with all sorts of other motor memorabilia. It is 8ft x 4ft.

Zoe's window

This is the second window for this client, and is in her daughter, Zoe's, bathroom. It is similar to a window I made before, with fused and leaded glass, in subtle colors. It is obscuring enough, without blocking out important light from the room.

The first thing that struck me, as I walked towards the bathroom, to take the shot - was the great reflection t made in the shower door, so I'll show that picture too.

It is a contemporary window - for the clients taste - and reminds me of what I know as 'cow parsley' in the UK. Not sure what it would be called here?

Interestingly - there should be no purple glass in this window. All the glass chosen for the project was subtle shades of blue and turquoise, to match the tile in the room. However, when I fired the fused glass - one of the blue glasses turned purple. I showed this to the client, who liked it enough to keep it in the window instead of me making it again. So I just added a little more, in the leaded section of the window (for balance) After I'd kiln fired the extra glass of course. It happens - glass can do some odd things when put under pressure!

Oh! another note. The window was created, made and delivered to the contractor to install, who promptly broke it within ten minutes, trying to 'twist' it into the frame. The large central fused piece in the upper window, got cracked in two, so the window came straight back to me, to be taken apart and remade - again. Not amused. All sorted now though, and safely back in.

I usually always end up installing my work, or being part of the process at least, but since baby's arrival, have decided that it's something that I just can't be expected to do. So it was particularly frustrating, as this is the first time I said 'no'.

The redwood window

A few blogs back I showed you the plaster casts for some 3D glass I was making for a client's window. I finally have photos now that the glass has been installed.

This window depicts a redwood tree, with cast handmade glass, and has illustrations of the client's three children at the bottom of the tree. They are painted with kiln fired paint.

Next time I'll show the other window I made for the same house!

It's nice to finally have some work to show. Recently, I have been very busy 'creating' which often leaves little time to blog, and not much to show. Now, I have finished several projects, which means I can take the time to post at last.

At the bottom of the garden

The Magic Bag has been groaning and wriggling - which usually means it's up to something. So imagine my surprise when I went outside to discover a little cottage had landed in my yard!

Well, that's how I like to remember it, anyway. It could also be remembered as the culmination of an awful lot of hard work, and possibly the cause, or aggravation, to six months of permanent sciatica, but I prefer the Magic bag version.

Since my husband works from home a great deal (when not traveling) and since the arrival of Baby, we've needed somewhere quiet and private as a working space. So this is the result - popped in a bottom corner of the yard that had been yet to find a purpose.

We had a company erect it, but I pretty much did the rest - from insulation to drywall and painting. Lovely husband did the electrics and laid the laminate flooring, and we each have an end: mine with a drawing board, and his with a desk and computer (and the guitar!)

The photos explain themselves, and I thought it would be helpful to see the area before the cottage landed. I didn't find any ruby slippers, and the only evil witch is me - bent double and grimacing with back pain!

Brown rice and black pepper

This weekend, I took a brief few hours away from dogs, work and baby to spend some time with a friend. We travelled locally to Santa Cruz, and spent a quiet few hours talking and just 'being' for once.

We ate at a place that serves organic chinese/thai food, and were chatting about our crazy lives. I realized that these days - a 'wild night out' means eating white rice instead of brown, and going to bed at eleven instead of ten. I laughed to myself about it - and felt very tired the whole next day.

Well - you all guessed it would happen soon - we have got another dog. Really can't believe Dolly has been gone for nearly a year. The new dog is 'Heidi' and for once, we kept her shelter name as it suited her so. She is a something crossed with something else - part terrier at least, salt and pepper color, and weighs about 20 lbs, so a 'proper' dog by my husbands standards.

She is currently equal parts sweet and demon (she is only 8 months old) and like nothing better than to grab shoes/slippers/bra/trousers/towel/baby book or any available item, and to drag it through the dog door and outside onto the lawn to sleep on/destroy or bury.

I am very much hoping that all these things will be grown out of and leave a well behaved young dog - but time will tell on that!

The picture is her shelter picture - so she has grown a bit already, and her ears now flap down, instead of stand up. She was reluctant to stand still for a more recent portrait, and I don't have the patience or time right now to chase her for one!

Bob cats and bears

Blog silence - as ever - can only mean one thing: Busy busy busy!

I have, at last, managed to actually complete some projects recently, due to 'Gran R' visiting from the UK, and giving me some baby free time to work (thanks Gran!)

This project contains a bear and a bobcat, and is for a couple who own a house in both: Los Gatos (the cats) and Los Osos (the bears). The window will go to their house in Los Osos, on the central coast, now it is finished.

I showed sneak peeks before of the cast glass around the border, and here is the finished window. It contains hand blown glass, cast glass, painted, stained, etched, sandblasted and fused glass, enameled and copper foiled glass, phew! Not sure I could have thrown any more techniques at it?

Oh - and bevelled glass, nearly forgot about that. I like the bear, although I think the cat is too big - but that was a client request, so not my artistic choice.

More pictures of finished work coming soon. I've finished two other windows and am currently working on a painting mural for a change.

Moon cakes and magic!

Yesterday was the Autumn equinox, and a good friend emailed to suggest I get some moon cakes.

I don't need any excuse to have a tea party, so off I went to Sheng Kee's Bakery in Cupertino, in pursuit of the little brown pies. I returned with a selection of mini moon cakes: nuts, pineapple, and lotus seeds, and these are traditionally eaten in celebration of the Mid Autumn Equinox, also known as the Moon Festival.

As the sun set, I cooked Chinese food, in keeping with the theme, and as it started to get dark, we illuminated lanterns and brewed jasmine tea. We joined our neighbors around their fire pit, to watch the fat, bright harvest moon rise behind the mountains. Incense was burned - to honor the Gods, and its rich pungent smoke swirled around us and up into the fronds of the redwood trees.

The pictures are of my dinner - before I ate it! And the moon cakes (and panda cookies for the kids!)

And my neighbors, with one of their daughters and My Marli, on her lap!

Good fortune to all!

Spare a thought

I recently received an email from a pet sitting exchange I am part of, about the Los Banos animal shelter being overwhelmed with dogs. They asked if anyone could foster/adopt more pets, and to pass along the email to as many people as possible, as they were quite literally putting dogs to sleep by the dozen.

This, of course, struck a chord with me, as I love dogs, and I passed it along, and considered whether we too, could help by taking another dog. Especially as it has been nearly nine months (can't believe it!) since Dolly's passing.

It is my husbands turn to choose a dog - as I have had rather a monopoly in recent years, and sure enough, he saw a picture of a female terrier at the shelter, whom he thought would make a great companion. We set about mentally adjusting to the idea of another furry body in the house, considered in great detail the implications - a young dog, teething, training etc. Our own dogs, the baby, and all that.

When he called about the dog - simply know as 'dog 1444' it turned out she had been exposed to Parvovirus, and needed to go into quarantine for 10 days. But his name was taken and it all looked positive enough - the only worry was that the pup had not had vaccines as she was too young and had been stray. Ten days or so passed, and she reached the end of her quarantine period, but on the eleventh day, before we were even able to pick her up - she was stricken with the disease and died within three days. My husband got a call, hoping it was the one about collecting her, only to find out she was dead, and I feel compelled to share the sadness.

This dear dog never had the opportunity to know a loving family, and the small 'mug shot' photo from 'Petfinder' may be the only picture of her ever taken. But as least she was thought about - by us, and we had made a space in our hearts and lives for her.

Recently, on a blog I follow - Where's My Effing Pony? A post talked about 'Rainbow Bridge' and meadow. I urge you to pop over there and read about it, if you've never heard of it. It made me think though - that this puppy will be one of those who receive a special assignment in the meadow.

Amazing how sad you can feel about a little dog you never met! If you have a second, spare a thought of caring for this little passed soul.

On the bench

Here are a few pictures of work currently on the bench.

The cast green is for a redwood tree window - I showed the plaster mold in my last post.

The 'cartoon' (pencil and pen drawing) shows a sneak peak of where the cast clear glass border will go, once I've leaded it all together (also shown in last post)

The other picture is of cut blue glass on the bench, which is being cut for a fused leaded project for a bathroom window - I'll show more of that as it progresses!

Cast away

I know it's all seemed very quiet here, but as ever - it's the opposite. I've been a busy bee with work, so I just thought I'd show a couple pics of what I've been up to.

I currently have two casting projects and a fused window too - so hot glass in the hot summer!

The pictures are of a border strip of cast glass - cast in clear glass. It's kind of organic, with a loose starfish and some pebbles, and the other picture is of a plaster mold, which is how I make the cast glass. Both are from different projects.

If I was terrible organized, the pictures would follow the process - but alas, I'm not! So I shall describe it briefly anyway:

I sculpt a 'positive' out of wet clay (so it looks as I want it to) and then I cast the positive in plaster (this plaster is the 'negative') When the plaster has dried, I kiln wash it (thats the funny purple color on the plaster mold) Then I can fill it with glass and cast it in the kiln. These are 'one offs' as I loose the wet clay when I pull it out of the plaster mold, and I pretty much always loose the plaster mold after it's been cast once (when It comes out of the kiln and I pull the glass out!) So If something goes wrong - I have to start over, which can be frustrating, but there it is!

I will try and post pictures of each project - when they are complete, so you can get some context!!

Seeing double!

Just had to share this crazy picture!

On a recent day trip to Carmel beach, we came across this little dog called Bella. Both us, and her owners could not have been more surprised by the similarity of Bella, and our Cookie. Cookie had just had a trim, but they were the same size, color, eye color - just amazing!

Our Cookie was found as a stray in San Jose, with a broken leg, and terribly thin - we then found her at the Santa Cruz ASPCA, where she had been sent for rehoming. We got talking, and were amazed to learn that Bella had been found, not just in San Jose, but the same street as Cookie - so they HAVE to be related. Either Cookie is Bella's Mom, or a sibling from another litter.

Cookie is the most friendly and sweet dog, but strangely when her and Bella met - they completely ignored each other! like they couldn't even see each other - it was the oddest thing.

A Princess in her castle

We have a plum tree in our yard, and it's never really done much. But this year we have a bumper crop of fruit, I think, because of the wet spring we had.

The branches of the tree have been virtually brushing the ground with the sheer weight of fruit, and today I decided it was time to relieve them of some of their burden.

Marli and I went outside with a large bowl, and I busied her with her Princess castle (more hideous plastic - but once again - she adores it) whilst I reached for the ripest fruit, leaving the rest for another day (and squirrels and jays).

I made the mistake of placing my bowl on her castle, thinking she couldn't reach it, only to be proved wrong, of course. And she was most upset when I insisted upon removing the pits from her mouth, to prevent her from choking. I set Cookie to watch over the bowl after that, on grass that looks very green, but like the rest of the fairytale castle - is plastic!

I didn't mean to pick so many, as there are only so many things I can do with them today, but there were enough for me to have some fresh, stew some for fruit crisps in the winter, and leave some on a neighbors doorstep!

A long, long time ago

Once upon a time, a long, long time ago, it was Marli's Adoption shower. I say that, as I am so far behind in blogging, that it is now almost a legend! Life has been incredibly busy recently, as as you all know, when that happens, blogs go out the window somewhat.

I thought I'd just take a second, however, to post a photo or two of Marli's tea, as it was rather lovely. High tea has to be one of my favorite things. I think it's one of the only 'British-isms' I have left in me (oh, and maybe Marmite)

Good friends were invited and we supped on cardamon, earl gray and herb teas. My friend Sima kindly organized it for me, and the food was fantastic, from curried chicken sandwiches to lots of cakes. The table looked lovely, and all credit goes to Mr Colin (husband) for taking such great shots of the table before we attacked it. The tea set pictured here is from the UK, from the 20's or 30's I think.

I have been working on many things recently, including glass designing and casting, and creating a work studio in our yard (now we are currently not moving) so I will try and post more of all of those things at some point.

Mr Baxter continues to come and go, although I haven't seen him much as I fear he was scared by all the banging and crashing whilst the studio was being built.

Baby is into everything and more, dogs are well, and me, well, I'm just exhausted!!

Seven seconds

Oh what to do with seven seconds! Seven seconds is the amount of time I have determined I am able to focus on any one thing, at a time, whilst baby is up and about! This is the time between stopping stair climbing, or phone dialing, or eating kibble. But if I can join enough of those seven seconds together, I might just be able to write a blog post, but only once I persuade baby to stop playing the guitar!

Pictures of actual art work to come. (yes! real work!!)

Cat out of the bag!

I now can show pictures again, having sorted some software issues on the new computer, and I finally managed to take a sneaky shot of he that shall be known as Mr Baxter - the mysterious ginger cat that still lives under my house. It was hard to get him to pose for photos, as the poor fellow is so starved for attention that he tends to be rubbing on ones legs if he sees you. So I used Marli as bait, and he rubbed on her instead, much to her amusement!

English roses

Still no pictures, but words can conjure a thousand images!

At the weekend a friend brought me English roses from his garden. Large headed, with tender stems, cloaked in tiny prickles. No picture could do justice to the smell! From sweet lemony to dark blackberry, intoxicating body and mind. All with special names, all known by sight (to my friend) Even the air around them is heavy with perfume.

With each day, the blossoms drop: pink, peach, pale yellow and sherbet. And each day I scoop up handfuls of cool silky petals, and press my face into my hands, inhaling the potpourri of delicate smells, distinguishing new scents each time. Sometimes I put the handfuls down again, as they retain a fallen beauty, besides their smell, that requires salvation from the trash for another day (or two).

The scent evokes childhood memories of worm houses, tiled with broken found china, and perfume, made by mashing rose petals with rocks and water, under the shade of a weeping willow tree. It reminds me that nature often knows best, and that modification isn't always a good thing.

The blooms sag wearily now, heads too heavy for their delicate necks. But their mysterious beauty continues to draw me to them. Today I was trying to show Marli how to smell them, holding her close to enjoy their air. She held out a tiny finger and touched a petal, so delicately, I was amazed! But then she decided it was better eaten. Perhaps if I didn't know better, I would taste one too.

I have taken photos, and will share them when my computer issues are resolved!

More magic bag matters.

Thank you all for your kind words for Pixie. I am very happy to report that she is doing very well, and has now recovered, except for a lumpy face that I'm sure will soon be covered by a coating of soft blond hair!

The Magic bag continues it's streak of turning out it's nasty crumbs, when last week, the hard drive on my laptop took it's own life. Any of you that have experienced it will understand the horror and realization, as you remember quite how much was on it, and also as I realized the back up drive (set up to automatically back up) had not been doing so since last July.

The first thought, of course, was for the hundreds of photos of Marli, our daughter. Born in June last year, and soon to turn one. Photos that quite simply cannot be reproduced.
Anyway - I won't dwell on what was lost, as there is far too much to dwell on, but instead, urge anyone reading to back up your files right now! just in case.

So - no picture today, as I am typing on a borrowed machine, with none of my files, but I just wanted to check in and say hello. I will hopefully return soon, with more news and pictures of nice things. Hopefully, this is the last of the nasty surprises from the magic bag, and it will produce some joy soon.

Poor poor Pixie

What makes it's way out of the magic bag is for the most part good, but like all bags, it has it's dark and crumby corners that collect fluff and occasionally throw out the odd nasty surprise.

Yesterday's event was one of those, as I packed the car for a planned day in the city, looking forward to Golden Gate Park, and dinner with a friend. The Buttons happily trotted out towards the car, sensing a trip and excited, only to be ambushed by a neighborhood Labrador. Pixie barked at it, only to find her head suddenly in it's mouth (it fitted) and being shaken about. A moment later she was released and ran towards the house. I ran after her, following her trail of blood. Her screams of distress made it clear that things were very wrong, and one glance at her face made it obvious that our plans were about to change, and a trip to the emergency vet was now on the cards.

I suppose really she was very lucky. She weighs a whopping 4 lbs, compared to the Labrador's at least 70 + lbs. Her eyes were very lucky, being just bruised and not lost, but the other wounds will take some time and love to heal.

Today, she feels very sorry for herself, but I hope with each day that passes, she will rally more, and soon return to a happy button.

In the beginning

In the beginning you were small and fragile, and Cookie thought you were her puppy. She protected you, sitting and sleeping by you, watching bath time, and trying to help with feeding.

I had wondered how the dogs would be, suddenly having a new little person in the house, but I needn't have worried, as Pixie continued with her usually rituals and Cookie became Nanny.

In the beginning, you were actually smaller than Cookie, which almost seems impossible, and certainly didn't last for long.

In the beginning, you were Peanut, a little brown wrinkled cashew of a baby, with character unknown and future uncertain.

Forever flowers

The weekend (just gone) marked the seventieth birthday of Nancy - a friend of mine. I wanted to give her a token of sorts, but didn't want it to be fresh flowers, as seventy years almost needs something more special than that. So I decided to paint her some flowers instead!

The style is a bit of a departure for me - and why not! it feels good to try something different, and the style suited the current lack of concentrated time I have for doing things like painting, so all round it seemed like a good idea.

Peanut's finalization went well - actually I guess I can say 'Marli' now, since that is her name and she is now officially ours. I will post a picture next time.

Ups and downs

Ups and downs and round and round. Sometimes it's just like that.

That's been life for a few months now, and I'm old enough (and hopefully wise enough) to roll with it, and either watch as things unfold, or read the signs that guild you forward.

The house is now on the market, and we have had several viewings, so that's a good thing. Six weeks ago my husband was laid off from work, but I am happy to report he started a new job yesterday, so we feel very lucky that it was for such a short time.

In Peanut news - we finally have a date for finalization! so on April 22nd, we go to court and she will be ours forever. Then I can talk about her as much as I want and show pictures etc, so expect more Peanut news in the future. It's been strange, as she is obviously a huge part of our lives, but I really haven't been able to mention her here too much, whilst she 'belongs' to the state.

Things are starting to shift. Unknowns are becoming knowns, and piece by piece the puzzle is becoming clear. Meanwhile, dear sweet Pixie continues with her daily routine of sleeping, eating, sleeping, grooming,sleeping, sleeping, and refusing to come for a walk - preferring to stay at home and, er, sleep. Amazing how someone within the household can be so unaffected by it all. Especially amazing as, by contrast, Cookie sees it all, and has taken to following me everywhere (even the bathroom) to make sure she doesn't miss out on anything that might happen.

In cat news, I finally caved to poor Kitty's mewing and upset one night, when we came home from a trip, and carried him (pretty sure now it's a him) under the house and made a bed from a box and blanket, and have been feeding him ever since. He's so friendly and wanting of affection, that he has to have been some ones at some point. I'm looking out for 'lost' signs, in case I find one that matches. He would probably be in the house by now if it wasn't for Cookie and Pixie's constant vigilance on Kitty patrol. But I think they are unlikely to let that happen.

Goldsworthy inspired window

At last! creative pictures of actual work! I made this panel at least a year or so ago, but made the mistake of not taking my camera when I went to install it. I only just went back yesterday to finally get shots of it, so thought I'd post them here today.

The design was for a couple who particularly liked the work of Andy Goldsworthy. So I took elements from his work and wove it into the design. The light in the house was limited, because of the great redwood trees outside, so it was decided that the window would be mostly clear textured glass except for a few colored details.

The wife of the couple is a mid-wife, so her work is represented by the hand blown pink/purple roundel on the right, which looks almost like an egg in a nest, or an embryo. The husband is represented by cast glass chunks (shown in one of the detail pics) which also represent the ice that Goldsworthy frequently uses in his work.

The window is: hand blown glass roundels, painted, enamelled, cast, stained, leaded glass.

The pictures do not really do it justice, but the light is really tricky, both inside and outside the house.

The hand of God

It may seem here like I haven't been very creative recently, as there is a distinct lack or art posted here. But in fact, it is the opposite. I have been so busy with work (and life and baby etc) that I haven't had the time to post at all!

When I have completed a bit more, I will post some hopefully suitable arty bits, but for now I need to keep my head down and get on with it.

Today's picture is of a couple of Icons from my wall. My husband would like a new tattoo at some point, and would like an interpretation of 'The hand of God'. Course, I was supposed to be designing that too, but passed it up as I am too busy. So we took this picture to take to the artist that will do the design, so she has something to work from.

The 'Milagros' or 'Miracles' are the little brass symbols on the hand, and represent prayers or 'wishes' for things, like love, health, wealth etc. I'll keep you posted, when his tattoo comes to fruition.

Nesting

Spring in the US feels very much like a time to be nesting - or moving! In the UK, moving time happens at any time of year, but here in the US I've noticed that most moving seems to happen in the spring. As we all know, the housing market is terrible, so I'm not even going to begin to think about that here, but instead dream of the possibilities.

This week, between rain showers, I took a wander round the yard to see what jobs need to be done, prior to listing the house for sale. I have a lot of bird houses - this I know, but it struck me that they are all 'little houses', and with the cottage at 'Potterton Marsh' it made me realize how many buildings I have around the place. Like a whole village or community for little animals or beings.

Today's picture is of one of my favorites. If I were tiny, and looking for a home, this is the one I would choose. But I am big, so I will instead dream that I will one day live in such a house.

Oh! in cat news, it seems that a ginger kitty is renting the space under our house! This explains the unusual activity, the poop, and the dogs going crazy every time they go outside. My husband went under there to have a sort out, and there he/she was, snuggling on a folded patio umbrella. We have seen Kitty several times since, and in fact, when we returned last night from an outing, Kitty was waiting for us, mewing in the rain. I ran in the house and got a chicken treat, which seemed gratefully enjoyed.

I must ask around the neighborhood to see who Kitty is!

Apologies and mysteries.

I feel bad. On my last post about the winner of the glass hearts, having promised to not reveal the address of the winner, I realised that accidentally posted it - Argh! So in my eagerness to remedy the situation, I have now accidentally deleted the whole post. Hmm, and I was beginning to think that me and technology were on first name terms,.

So, firstly, to ZT, I apologise. It is now gone. And I am hoping that perhaps it was not even viewed. Oh - and your heart will be posted soon!!

Secondly, in the interest of the space/blog continuum, I will post the pictures from said post, as I am still waiting for a response from Clemence, the second winner. Clemence! You won! Email me your address so I can post it!!

Finally, to distract you all from everything, here is a picture of a tiny snake on my deck, basking in the sun that briefly interrupted the rain. Not sure if he is the new tenant in the cottage of Potterton Marsh, in my garden. I will have to go knock on the door at some point when the rain stops, see if he does live there. What does one give snakes for welcome gifts?

In the meantime

Whilst I wait for Monday to come around (the end of the giveaway waiting period) the rabbits have been back in the yard. All the rain has brought with it new green life, bursting from the usually rock hard and dusty ground.

Most mornings when I open my blinds, one, or both, can be seen having a light breakfast or reclining in the morning sun.

I sneak the pictures that I can, of course, but they do not usually appreciate the intrusion of the paparazzi, so in true 'expose' style, some of my pictures are blurred, or taken from a great distance. This was the case with these shots, as I was unable to get closer as they shared a grooming session.

The shot I didn't get (no camera in hand this time) was yesterday morning. I opened the front door to see a cat shoot by, as if it was being chased. At a safe distance, the cat turned to see if it was still under attack, so I followed it's line of sight to see the fearsome fiend, and saw......

the rabbit. (double-take from me) yes, the rabbit, which stared at the cat and then hop hop hopped towards it (menacingly) All this was just too much for the wide eyed cat who then ran off through the yard.

Cats have been pooping in my yard recently, which is not a problem, but Pixie has been eating the poop that the cats have been strategically placing around said yard, and that IS a problem, so I fed the rabbit a carrot, and hoped that that meant we now have 'an understanding'.

WHOLE new meaning to the word 'Bouncer'

(Note to self: buy carrots)