Anticipation of Summer

The oak trees are taking their sweet time emerging this spring.  

   It seems as if spring has taken forever to get into gear this year.  Luckily for me watching things unfold is one of my most favorite pastimes.  The greens are fresh and almost neon until the chlorophyll does it's job sucking the light's energy.  The robins have been busy building a nest outside my bathroom window in the eaves and am waiting to hear the peeps of 4 baby robins born one day after the other.

Japanese Maple sapling.  Year two.

Our 20 foot Japanese Maple tree succumbed to a nasty disease a few years back but managed to sow a few seeds before it left.  This little guy is growing in the middle of a rock garden.  I have no idea how the roots have found any soil but nature does amazing things.

I just finished the 7th semester of my MFA program at Heartwood College and had the semester presentation and critique this weekend.  All I can say is, phew, nice to have that behind me and summer ahead. 

Small Mandala Bowl, "Identification with the Masculine".  Fused glass layers and silk-screened print.

"Strong Women Can Say No" mandala vessel, multiple layers of fused glass

Dichroic glass earrings with freshwater pearls.

Having three months away from school work will be a welcome change.  Three more semesters to go including a thesis and then the real work starts.  That doesn't mean glass work will stop over the summer.  At the moment I am designing and building some glass jewelry boxes for a show at Figureworks Gallery www.figureworks.com in NYC at the end of this month.  At White Cap Grille in Portland's Old Port I am showing and selling my fused jewelry and fused glass mandalas. 
www.whitecapgrille.com (shameless plug!  My husband and I own this restaurant and the food is delicious!)

White Cap Grille is always open for First Friday Art Walk which happens to be this Friday evening.  It's a big weekend in Portland, the Art Walk and the Old Port Festival!  I've been talked into woman-ing the sandwich booth outside the restaurant (and will be making and selling those mini whoopie pies at that booth).

My first attempt at making a glass book

A while back I made this fused glass accordion book with individual mandalas on each glass page.  One of the things I'd like to work on this summer is another glass book.  One that needs drilling and multiple fusings.  I'm hoping to use the theme of "summer" to coincide with our book group's summer project.  I belong to the Kate Cheney Chappell Center for Book Arts at USM and we have a critique group that meets every month to share ideas and critique work. 

I've got a few workshops lined up for the summer as well, both taking and teaching.  I'm taking Paul Johnson's "Spirit Houses" workshop at The Strong Arm Bindery in Portland as well as a couple of David Wolfe's letterpress workshops.  I am teaching Calligraphy at the Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village on June 22nd and a Floral Print Book with Gel Prints and Haiku Workshop on September 14th.  If you're interested please check out this link http://www.shaker.lib.me.us/calendar.html
Space is limited for each Shaker Workshop.

Next week I am headed down to Boston to Glass Boston for 3 days.  GlassBoston is a four-day event that includes lectures, demonstrations, tours, a film series, gallery exhibitions, bbq dinner, non-juried show & sale, closing party, and pre/post conference workshops. GlassBoston has been organized by: MIT Glass Lab, NOCA Glass School @ APG, The Society of Arts and Crafts, & Strattman Design.  I'm looking forward to seeing what other artists are up to in the glass world.

So, always looking, always learning, always doing.  Wouldn't have it any other way!