Life After The Masters!

Fused Glass Star, B.Faulkner 2014

I'm giving myself a glass star for successfully completing my Masters Degree in Fine Arts.  It was five years in the making, and wow, does it feel ever so good to have completion.

So, what's next?  More glass of course!  It never ends, this learning process, and really I wouldn't have it any other way.  The glass work I did for my masters focused on the mandala and the heroine's journey.  I see myself continuing on with those two elements and expanding the technique and process.  There is so much I want to create and so many ideas spinning around in my head.  The ideas come faster than my hands can work though, so, much sketching in the journal and sketchbooks to keep them near.  I am working on some painting with glass and experimenting with that technique and firing processes.  It's unending the directions I could go.

I have reopened my Portland, Maine gallery, Heron Point Gallery, where I am exhibiting my fused glass work.  Fused glass Mandalas are on display and for sale, as well as my jewelry and glass bowls.  Heron Point Gallery is open Thursday through Saturday to give me time in the studio for design and creation the rest of the week.  There is a special element to the gallery this year where I'll be featuring the work an artist friend of mine who recently passed away.  More information on this to follow.

I'll share some of the photos that speak to what I've been doing since graduation in December.  To celebrate, my husband took me on a trip through the Panama Canal on a cruise ship.  Yes, I'm a lucky girl :)

This is a collection of some of the calligraphed mandalas I created during our winter vacation to the Panama Canal.  Pencil, colored pencil and watercolours.  These incorporate words or letters that are first drawn and then enhanced with color and design.  I still draw a mandala every day.

Going through the locks of the Panama Canal.  Wow.  I can't say enough about how fascinating this was for me.  Our ship took about 2 hours to get through the locks.  There was no room to spare on the port or starboard side!

Back home after the warmth of Panama to find more snow, and more snow.  I took this shot one day as I was driving around the coast enjoying the scenery.  This is in Freeport, Maine at Winslow Park.  The color of the water reminded me of the islands we visited en route to Panama, but that's about all the connection.

A glorious day spent at the Boston Design Center on a tour with my niece, Amy, to the various inspirational design shops.  This is a display board in a rug shop that I was drawn to.  My friends Berri and Susan came with me and our brains were on inspiration overload so we had to go to the North End and eat some delicious Italian food to get our strength back.

One of my latest dichroic glass pendants.  In this piece I have created some of my own dichroic design right in the glass and then layered more on top.  This piece has been fired 3 times in the kiln.  I don't know if I can bear to part with it.  I've been in production mode with jewelry pieces getting ready for the summer tourists.  Let's hope they all need some dichroic bling!

As I type this, James Taylor's "The secret of life" is playing on Pandora...it's all about enjoying the passing of time, and that's what this photo speaks to.  A delightful afternoon coffee in our sunny window with my husband.  I think there were some Italian anise cookies on the plate at one point.

That's enough for now.  Time to catch up on some gallery dusting!