Looking for a job?

As summer approaches, my daughter and I discussed the possibilities of her getting a summer job before going off to college.  As I was thinking about all the possibilities, and all of them being entry level with minimum wage and set  hours, I thought I would send her an e-mail with a job opportunity that most creative people would love to apply for (and she is very creative):

Entry level position for creative assembly, with unlimited income potential, make your own hours, work from home:
Requirements:
Creativity, finger dexterity, basic photography, computer skills, math skills, must love social networking, self motivated with good time management.

All supplies will be provided for initial set of assembly. Income based on production, sales, minus costs of supplies to re-stock; On the job training will be provided, including safety rules and working a drill press:)

Once she read the & loved the way this position sounded, she asked where she could apply? I said no applications necessary as I turned around and handed her a bag of sea glass. We will begin training over the next weekend on how to drill holes in glass and creatively combine sea glass with findings and other objects to make necklaces.  Let's see what she comes up with over the summer!

"We must open the doors of opportunity. But we must also equip our people to walk through those doors."
Lyndon B. Johnson

Starfish & Seahorse

I had a beautiful time in Port Aransas with family over spring break and enjoyed my birthday on St. Patrick's Day!

                                                               Pelicans by the jetty

Meanwhile back in San Antonio, I came home to a message that my starfish and seahorse pendants were ready for pick up!  This was the first time I used a water jet cutting service to cut any of my pendants and I was nervous that my new designs weren't going to come out the way I imagined.   This was also the first time this company cut small scale glass pieces and they did a beautiful job!  My pieces came out exactly as I designed them:) Their prices were reasonable and the location is 10 minutes away from my house.   I will be using their services in the future!

23 pieces total from an 8"x8" sheet

                                                          Now it's time to fire polish!

My package arrived!

I came home from work today to find my package waiting for me!
I opened the box and there were my glass pieces from the class on Saturday (including my sweater that I forgot :).  Thank you Morgan!

My new paperweight reminds me of the rain forest.  I used lime green powder frit and purple powder frit.
The color reaction is beautiful!

  
Purple powder frit was used to create the ornament, and with the help of Sinnae and her artistic talent, she put a "hook" on the ornament so I can proudly hang in it the window!

The last item that we created was a cup, I used course turquoise frit. The cup stands about 3" high and 2" in diameter.  This one was the most challenging and reminded me of the "torchwork for fusers" class on a much larger scale.

Working with glass is a passion of mine that is also addictive therefore, I want to go back to Glass Blowing Austin to create more!  But for now I need to concentrate on my fused flower series and get my pendants going.  If all goes well I will have a couple of new designs of pendants on my blog in the next couple weeks:).

I had an amazing time at Glass Blowing Austin! Morgan Graff allowed me to take the entire class over!  I was out there back in July 2011 taking a class with Morgan when I became ill and had to leave after the first project. This time Sinnae was teaching the class while Morgan worked on her art. Sinnae is a  young, easy going, talented glass blowing artist. There were a total of three students in class  which went very smoothly and each of our projects turned out great!   I am seriously thinking about taking more classes from them in the future.  

This was my 1st paper weight project from July 2011. It's a little lopsided but it reflects pretty much how I felt that day 0_o.    I'll post pictures of the new projects when I pick them up next week.

"The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks and then starting on the first one"- Mark Twain