A Torching Good Story!

Susan Sheehan at Flaming Hot! asked people to think about what they could be if they had any talent, ability, or lifestyle they wished. Hmm, you mean, like a lack of procrastination? I've been told that having too many ideas is always better than having too few, but when combined with procrastination, too many ideas can be a problem, too ... I don't want to commit to doing any one thing, so I wind up avoiding all of it.

If I could have any ability I wished, I think it would be the ability to really focus and see what's around me, and to translate that into an artistic vision -- painting, glass, writing. I'd like to have the freedom to travel for half the year and see places, and have people to travel with. But I don't want to travel all the time; I've moved so often that I find I want roots in the small daily accumulation of life, the knowing of a single place over time and season. I want the macro vision that comes from leaving and looking at the world, and the micro vision that comes with knowing something well.

Thinking of knowing makes me think about having gone back to my glass roots with a couple of organics this week. This one is "Abalone Shell,"
made with Vetrofond oddlot seashell swirl, raku, and cobalt, plus some silvered ivory stringer. I really like the way the glasses react with one another!



This is "Tree of Life." I wasn't trying to make a tree, let alone one that seems to stand through a silver river or silver stars. It's made with the same materials as the beads above, with the addition of raku frit, and is a good example of "time to use up every scrap on my work table." I have some more, but ... was I talking about procrastination? I have to finish my grading and get to class to teach!