Necklace with turqoise and glass beads and copper wiring, by Tammy Vitale

I finished the necklace.  And for my first piece of wire-wrapped jewelry, it makes me very happy!  So yesterday I went to EBay and bid on some copper findings:  9 of these clasps for .38 plus $4.95 shipping (don’t you love that shipping cost?!) that I won, and one pendant that I won, but the rest I didn’t win and that’s okay because I got this month’s credit card bill in and was feeling like it wasn’t bad until I realized all that’s not on it and called and got what’s already on next month’s card….time to stop.  In the meantime, I’ve ordered new glazes, some new Rub ‘n’ Buff because I’m running low on most of that and out of a few tubes that I use occasionally, and signed up for a warm glass class in December in Alexandria.  I understand that I can use the same plaster casts I use for my clay tiles for slumped glass and figure one class with the basics will set me up for that and for playing with glass on clay.  That would open up a whole new creative world of experiment, and I’m ready for it.  What I’d really like to make is a glass torso – I have a clay torso made – plain inside and out, to use as the slump.  I just need to find out how to do it.  I plan to take it with me and see what the teachers advise.  Start the new year with exciting new adventures in glass and clay!

If I can stay away from jewelry.  The purpose of learning this wire bending was to incorporate it into my clay work.  Ah, but beads and wire and necklaces take on their own life.  and earrings.  and bracelets.  Have I ever mentioned that I love jewelry?  Well, now I can make it – and, with Tricia’s shop just down the road, that could be very dangerous!  I have promised myself cash only!

Then I spent a good part of the day trying to clean out my email box which never happened.  Part-time job emails, clay emails, friends’ emails, stuff.  I had to run across the bridge and buy shipping boxes, finish packing Jade Ice and then run her up to mail off to her new home.  For a long time  I had recycled packing peanuts but I have run out of that and the free bubble wrap and the right size boxes and find myself paying for all of it now.  Needless to say, I no longer pop the bubbles in bubble wrap for fun.  And since I’m buying peanuts, I’m buying the ones that degrade.  I didn’t feel bad about using the originals as long as they were recycled and I was just passing them along, but now I feel obliged to be green about it.  Next year that will definitely mean a hike in prices, but for now I’m holding steady.  And Husband is on the errand of trying to find reasonably priced packaging (with attendant reasonably priced shipping…what is it lately – low product prices equate to ridiculous shipping prices!)

I have managed to get into the studio and focus, late in the day, for two days now, which is good since there are commissions to complete and Fall is coming fast, with all its shows.  I need a breadth of work for those so there’s something for everyone from $18 on up.  I have plenty of torsos, and am working on masks.  Lots of masks.  I didn’t make masks for a long time and am unleashing that right now.  Make a mask for rakuing last night and plan to make several more today to try out the new process of firing with the face up in the air instead of down in the organic materials and see if I get my longed for crackle.

I also have several shows I want to enter – I hardly ever do that, not trusting the jurying process, but I guess it’s time to get my toes wet again.  And my set-up for photographing my work just came in yesterday (still in box as I type) and I want to get that up and see how it works for me.  That’s today’s job, along with a few more masks.  And some Ugly Fish that I have a commission for.  And maybe some regular Fish! because they are popular at shows.  No shortage of things to do.  Maybe even start packing some pieces for storage since I bought 6 containers, marking them for ease of retrieval – I have this fantasy of being organized.  And then maybe doing some data entry since I found my customer file and can go about entering them.  And I just got new postcards!  Large format from Vista Printing – great sale price.  I designed them myself and while graphically they aren’t as good as some of my friends have made for me, I did manage to make it look acceptable and I’m very pleased.  I can use that to try out my new data base!  Up to 100.  Well, maybe not since I need some to hand out at shows.

See how it goes?  You start thinking about what needs to be done and it just goes on and on.  But this isn’t daunting.  It’s exciting.  It’s the sign of a prospering business!

Did I mention I never finished my email?  Here’s why…check out these other spaces:

http://www.heatherbartlettart.com

http://cestandrea.blogspot.com

http://randomlyaltereddivas.blogspot.com

thought for the day:   I believe that a work of art isn’t completed until it is received at the other end, until it has found it’s new home.  Based on an Adrienne Rich quote.

another thought for the day: Your soul is stronger than your story.  There is a part of you that is stronger than anything you think about yourself. Your true Self, your real identity, is eternal, enduring, regenerative and whole. No matter what happens, this self is never injured or limited in any way…Tama Kieves, Trusting the Journey Times, August 24, 2007 (ezine)