News and Events

1/3/12 - The holidays have passed and another new year has come and we welcome it with optimism. Really, what other choice do we have. We can't go back and undo or do over so it's best to look forward and see what can be done. We did not see much commission work this past year so the past few months have seen me getting some of my new work cast and making a few different kinds of things, like these small sculptures which measure about 4" x 5" x 2". You'll find them at Goldesberry Gallery.

I also put together a few kiln-carved windchimes.

I finished two more boxes, the Moonflower Box (below left) and the (working title) Reliquary Of Memories (the set of three photos below) and reworked another, the Bee Box (below right). Instead of having the flowers scattered around it I finally went ahead and finished it the way I planned from the beginning. The boxes here and the two below in the previous entry (the Book Of Wren and Reliquary For A Night Sky) are currently available but haven't been placed in a gallery yet.

And I cast 6 of the 4" square Botanica Erotica blocks. I'm not sure how I am going to display these, they are still a work in progress and not offered for sale yet but here's a peek at a couple of them.

We have two workshops coming up, one in Austin TX at the end of this month on pate de verre which is full and another in Batavia NY on model and mold making in early March. I'm also working on getting some more workshops scheduled for the coming year and will be scheduling a workshop on wax working techniques and another on reproduction molds at Hot Glass Houston soon. Scroll down to the workshop listings for details.

Check out my blog as I often post about work in progress but mostly it's about life and the things that inspire my work.

7/29/11 - A most brutal summer. We've had temperatures in the high 90s, flipping in and out of triple digits, for the past two months. And no rain. We are more than 20" behind in our annual rainfall. Even though I water every day, most things are still struggling to survive and nothing is thriving, except maybe the yellow bells.

I haven't made much progress on the new pate de verre work these past two months although two more pieces are very nearly finished. We had some commission work, the west wall of a garden room (you can see a picture at the bottom of the page), we taught a three day beginning pate de verre class and the rest of the time has been spent with the grandkids as they have been coming for their summer visits and helping my sister pack up and move to a new house.

I'm looking forward to the end of summer and getting some of my new pieces cast. I have three molds sitting waiting for me. We also have a three day Intermediate Pate de Verre/lost wax workshop coming up the end of October. See the class list further down the page for details.

6/6/11 - Summer is here with a vengence. After a brief spring that started with two weeks of lows in the 20s, we seem to have skipped the more moderate beginning of summer and jumped straight to August temperatures. We are breaking records for high temps nearly every day and are already getting some triple digit days, something that is usually restricted to August. Add to that only one day of moderate rain since January and you begin to get the idea just how hot and dry it is here. (As I was writing this, it started raining so now, two days of rain since Jaunary.)

We have two birdbaths, several tubs of water for water plants and a pond for the turtle. The bird baths are doing a steady business as it's probably the only water around for a good distance. I recently set out a big dish for water on the ground at the back edge of the property close to the wild space for the rabbits. I knew we had rabbits but I had never seen them, beyond seeing their fresh poop in the yard, before this year. They are ranging farther and being braver in their search for food and water and especially food and water together. I'm even seeing them mid-day now instead of just mornings and evenings. We have never had trouble with the rabbits in our garden before but this year they are very bold about it. Just lost another tomato today.

Now that it is already too hot to do much out in the yard I have been trying to finish up some of the straggling details to get this set of pieces I have been working on done. There are five boxes in this group and though I still have two pieces to cast and all the coldwork that goes along with that), I'm getting pretty close to getting them done. In fact, two of them are finished.

The first one, which I call The Book Of Wren, I started last fall when I constructed the model for the box and sculpted the little wren piece in wax. These were separate pieces as the wren is an inlay. So the wren was cast separate and then after both pieces were cast, the black wren was set into the the face of the box. Next I had to cast the feet and the top, both from wax models and get all the cold work done. I also had the stick on the top cast in bronze. In the meantime, spring had arrived and wrens started building a nest in the shop. So I made a little scroll out of sticks and vellum telling the story of the wrens raising their chick and put that inside. You can see more pictures and read the story on the scroll on my blog, here.

The second piece, Reliquary For A Night Sky, I actually started about two years ago. It's the first piece I did using precast pieces as inlays. I made the box part and made a top for it but did not care for the two of them together. It actually took me a while to decide what kind of top it needed and once I decided that it still took forever to get it cast. This piece is about light pollution and that there are generations of kids that have grown up in the cities and have never seen a real starry night. Inside the box are stars.

Both these two new pieces are still in the studio. My plan is to hold on to them until all 5 are completed.

We are also currently working on an etched glass commission, a pair of door lites and two 5' x 5' windows in the garden room of a residence. I'll get pictures up when we've completed the job.

The last bit of news is that we are teaching a weekend beginning pate de verre workshop this weekend and the Saturday of the next weekend. There might still be an open space or two if you are local and free this weekend. Check with Bob at Hot Glass Houston for information.

4/11/11 - The year seems to be marching along already. I have worked out in the yard some, slowly adding to the transformation of this place from theirs to ours. The wrens have been providing lots of entertainment since deciding to build a nest in our garage/workshop.

I sent my piece off to Kittrell/Riffkind Art Glass today for their show 'On The Wild Side' that opens April 30 and runs through May 28, a little sculpture piece of mock dogwood with a bee.

Work progresses on the boxes. I'm starting to assemble the wren box. Still at a snail's pace as I keep getting distracted with other projects, but still progress. As it happens, the wrens are providing plenty of amusement as I work on it since they built a nest in our garage/workshop and are busy raising their one baby. You can read more about the wrens on my blog.   3/13/11 - Spring is here and we are enjoying the days. Trees are popping out, flowers are starting to bloom and the garden is getting planted. I keep hearing on the news that the economy is improving but I'm not sure the general population is believing it yet, though I have seen lots of paper tags on new cars lately. We have several proposals out for the commission work but no one is in a hurry to get started. In the meantime we are working on new pate de verre pieces. I'm working on several threads at a time. Probably should just focus on one thread at a time. I have four new boxes I'm trying to finish up, three reliquaries and one flower box as well as re-working the previous Bee Box. I'm also working on a series that I think I will call Botanica Erotica. I have six waxes so far. I'm not sure yet how I want to display them. The three large ones (6" x 6" x 1.5") will be mounted for hanging on a wall. The smaller series (4" x 4" x 1.5") perhaps also grouped on a wall or maybe stacked like blocks. Here's a sneak peek at some of the small (the 4" square) waxes.

The third thread is a series of tree bark waxes that I'm not sure where I'm going with. I just love the different textures of the different trees. Probably I will pair them with leaves or critters or fungi. And finally, a set of pieces I loosly think of in my mind as Collections. Sort of a reflection of my various little 'altars' I have around. Or maybe a sort of cabinet of curiosity. We have been invited to participate in an exhibition titled 'On The Wild Side' by Kittrell/Riffkind Art Glass in Dallas, Texas. If you are in the area, stop by and see the show. It opens April 30, 2011 and runs through May 28. For the past several months we have been working on a kiln-formed architectural job, collaborating with our friend who does fused glass. We had quite a learning curve. One panel had to be fabricated four times. Another twice. The third panel, just the once. But we persevered and the job was installed last week. You can scroll down to the bottom of this page to see the result. If you aren't a regular reader of my blog, I invite you to come visit. It's not just about art and work, but about my life in general. C'mon, I know you want to know what goes on in my head.   Class Schedule Pate de Verre - Jan 28 - Feb 1, 2012; Austin TX. Contact Helios for information. Model and Mold Making - March 8 - 12, 2012; Batavia, NY. Contact Oatka School of Glass for information.   Recent, Current and Upcoming Shows and Exhibitions On The Wild Side; Kittrell/Riffkind Gallery; Dallas TX; April 30 - May 28, 2011 The Texas Chair Project; Ohio Craft Museum; Columbus OH; February 6 - March 27, 2011 11th Annual Glass Now Auction; National Liberty Museum; Philadelphia PA; October 30, 2010 Palmbeach 3; Thomas Riley Galleries; Palm Beach, FL; January 15 - 18, 2009 Hot Glass, Cool Collections; Houston Center for Contemporary Craft; Houston TX; December 13 - March 15, 2009   Recent Installations 2011 - 59" x 52" - Kiln formed panels in the dining room. For more information visit the Client List page. 2011 - Windows and door panels in a garden room. For more information and pictures visit the Client List page.