Angelas Diner

I recently joined a blogging community of flameworkers called “Flaming HOT!” The moderator, Susan, posts inspiration for all of us members to blog about each week (which will keep me blogging since I’ve been slacking in my normal winter doldrums for a while now.)

This first post needs to be about the little things I like about glass work and my “glass business.”  Well, I’m too crazed to have a full fledged BUSINESS, so I’d rather refer to my glass working as my passion, my obsession.  It’s really what I look forward to creatively - and when I haven’t been torching (like NOW since it is just too cold in the garage for me!) I get into a place where I have to create other things instead.  So, that explains my recent knitting focus.

One of the best “little things” about glass I enjoy is receiving a new box of glass rods!  I have been buying from Gail in Tyngsboro Massachusetts.  I love how she wraps the rods in colorful tissue and ribbon.  I love opening the package and seeing the colors - how close are they to the pictures on the website? She usually tucks samples of frit in there to try as well - for those of you who aren’t lampworkers, frit is the tiny crumbs of crushed glass that are mixed in all sorts of colorful combinations.  So, for me, the littlest things, even frit, can put a grin on my face, and a itch in my fingers to go out (maybe even in the COLD!) and make more beads!

I haven’t been out torching as it’s been just too darn cold for me. So, I’ve been reading a TON, and knitting stuff too. Just finished a book about “the Loomis Gang” that may be about my husband’s ancestors in upstate New York. Here’s a pic of the cover:

And a page on the Loomis Gang from Wikipedia.

After I finished the book this morning, I got online to see how far back I could trace my husband’s lineage. He went downstairs and got out all kinds of old photos and fun stuff. I sat at the computer for about six hours on & off doing research on ancestry.com (they have a free 14 day trial, and we decided to give it a shot. GREAT site - if you know certain things about relatives, you search on their name, birthdate, etc, and you see if they were written into early census documents, and can print the original pages) We traced him back to relatives born around the late 1860’s. But there the trail is cold. That was right around the time of the most notorious gang activity…. we plan on more searching, and maybe even a trip out to NY at some point. If you’ve never looked into your genealogy, let me tell you it can be addicting! I hardly noticed the time fly by.

On a different note, I finished the anti-stress scarf I have been knitting since Christmas. Here’s the scarf - the really cool yarn is “Tundra” by Traveling Rhinos. It was a blend of fibers that mixed all kinds of colors of the north - and it inspired the color choices for the rest of the scarf. It’s a wide scarf done in garter stitch (no stress cuz there’s no pattern to remember!) I wore it yesterday doubled over and tucked into my fleece jacket. It’s nice, wide, and warm too.

I decided to go with your suggestion Suzanne - l’Acadie was submitted yesterday to the Out of the Box exhibit process!

Here’s one of the shots I sent along (can’t seem to get enough of this, can I?)

This is a side view showing the piece’s dimension.

Made it through to the new year, made it through those holidays…. and I’ve just assembled the piece I’m going to enter in the ISGB exhibit “Out of the Box” - now I’ve just got to name it. I’ve been asking everyone in the family over the past couple of days, and the only name I’ve liked so far has been “osmosis.” That sent the 14 year old into fits of laughter - “osmosis? we’re learning about that in BIOLOGY.” Here are a couple of pictures.

I’ve used the enamel technique and transitioned from grey and brown earth tones at the base of the piece and moved upwards using blues and teals, including some new transparent enamels I got over the holidays. The beads are assembled using wire, and are mounted to the base, which has been painted to echo and reflect the beads themselves.

a closer view of the beads: