TEXAS...

I had such a blast on my trip to Texas last month.... stopped in Kansas City for dinner w/ a bunch of my favorite Missouri friends & stayed @ my friend Stacy & Jerry's place overnight. THANK YOU! It was a long drive to Dallas/Ft.Worth on my own, but no problem. Just one quick stop in Wichita to check out a warning light on the truck, didn't want to end up in the middle of nowhere, did I?

I picked up Mom @ DFW... I think I know that place like the back of my hand now... spent enough time driving around in circles looking for her!!! Not fun. Enjoyed spending time w/ her & meeting up w/ a few of her friends. THANK YOU, Bobby Jo (& Mom!) for all of your help!!

BeadFest Texas was FANTASTIC for its first year... I had so much fun, especially w/ my Mom being there w/ me... the first time she's ever been to a show w/ me. I think she was impressed. :o) I definitely plan on doing it again next year. So much fun to meet such wonderful customers, meet new vendors & see many friends, too... I really enjoy shows, although they kick my butt.

Here are some pictures that my Mom took of my display, etc...

(click images to enlarge)

I met up w/ a sweet group of ladies who took me out to breakfast & talked to me about coming to Waco to teach a class in the spring! They were awesome, Lisa, Jenna & Jill... I had such a great time getting to know them... & I can't wait till next April!! It was also great to be able to meet a few Facebook friends in person... Gwen & Debbie. I just love meeting online friends in person... being able to hear their voices & see their mannerisms, etc.... makes the online experience that much more personal.

Spent a few more days w/ my Mom... drove down to Temple, TX for a quick visit w/ my cousin, Eric, & his sweet wife, Kim... so wonderful to see them. Took Mom by Blue Moon Glassworks in Austin on our way to San Antonio & spent the evening w/ my Uncle (Mom's brother), Aunt & cousin. It was good to see everyone!

Dropped Mom off @ the San Antonio airport (SO MUCH EASIER than picking her up @ the DFW airport!!) & picked up my friend Sue! (more below about Sue)

We had such a blast in Austin for a class w/ JC Herrell @ Blue Moon Glassworks! JC is a phenomenal teacher... not just because her beads are fantastic & fun to do, but she's so knowledgeable about glass & enamels & what she does... the hows & whys enamels work specific ways, etc. AND, she couldn't stress enough about enamel safety... putting just enough fear in us so that we, as adults, can make an informed decision as to how much protection to use & what kinds of conditions we should work in. (proper ventilation, cleanliness, etc...) It was just plain wonderful to get to spend some time w/ her, too. She's one sweet lady.

& of course Jim & Rose Berry were, once again, the ultimate hosts! Love them. Blue Moon Glassworks is such a wonderful place to take classes... sure wish they were closer!!! :o) It was wonderful to have some time getting to know them a little bit better after class @ dinner a few nights. Good times. Can't wait to get down there again!

We had a great time running around Austin w/ Donna Mehnert looking for the fantastic mosaic murals by Aly Winningham of Terra Firma Studios. Here, we found the mosaic bench surrounding the fire pit @ The Domain (phase 2), called "Texas Hill Country Birds". It's fantastic.

& spending some time w/ Lisa Reid (who I met last November when I was in Austin for Andrea Guarino's class).... & was so happy to have a little time w/ Anne Ricketts our last night in town. It was also wonderful meeting Martha Brogdon in class... we're friends on Facebook... always nice to meet people in person.  Funny, too, a woman that I met @ BeadFest was in my JC class, too!! How fun is that?

It was awesome to have my new great friend Sue Peoples fly down there to take the class & then drive all the way back to Minnesota w/ me!! We have met just a few times & are friends on Facebook, but had never spent any time together. It was wonderful. She's such a sweetie... fun & a talker, just like ME... we were never short on words, LOL, it made the ride home a breeze. Can't wait to spend some more time w/ her.

Anyway... what an adventure!! Can't wait for the next one!!

Till then...

~ Julie

TEACHING & GUINEA PIGS...

(I broke this post up into 3 parts... it's a freakin' book, sorry... if you'd like to follow along, I've posted them in reverse order so you read them from the top down, like a book, because I'm posting them all @ once)

As me & my work continue to evolve & get more exposure, I have people asking me if I teach. Teach?? I'd LOVE to teach! I've been told that I have "this way" about me... nurturing, encouraging. I like to share & I love to see others "get it"!

BUT...I don't really know if I CAN teach. You know what I mean?
Some people are amazing @ what they do..... okay, let's just say that I'M amazing @ what I do, LOL, it doesn't mean that I have what it takes to teach people how to do it, does it? I'm a little ADD (yeah, just a little!!!) & words, descriptions or directions don't necessarily flow freely & easily from my mouth at times.... so I just don't know. You know?

So..the more people who ask, the more I want to know if I can & realize that the only way to know is just to do it, right??

I wrote a post a while ago about Robin Koza & Carol Watson, who I met @ The Bead & Button Show... we made a great trade & started a fun friendship. Well, Robin posted a beautiful etched copper cuff on Facebook as well as some etched copper sheets... they were FABULOUS & I couldn't stop myself from contacting her about wanting to buy some of the sheets or make some sort of trade again. I totally could see me incorporating these etched copper pieces into my work. Somewhere along the way I said something about some "Julie torch time", (Robin had told me after B&B that she wanted to take my first class, no matter where or when it happened!) ...turns out that's what we were going to trade!! :o) Carol contacted me a short time later to say "I want to come, too!"

Panic!!! I'm not set up to teach one person, let alone two, in my studio...plus it's a disaster... what to do? I'm thinking..."is there anywhere in between me (Minnesota) & them (Indiana) where we can meet & torch?" Seems while I was worrying about this, Robin & Carol were talking & came up w/ a fabulous plan!! Robin asked me if I was interested in having them flying me out to them? They had a local teaching studio where they could rent torch time & we could all torch together. FABULOUS! FABULOUS! FABULOUS!!! Definitely cheaper for them to fly me out, I could stay in Robin's guest suite (made for a Queen!) & we could spend the weekend learning from eachother. Needless to say, I didn't hesitate saying YES!!

So we made a list of what they want to learn from me. I'm checking out their websites & see that they've taken classes from MULTIPLE fabulous glass artists, way beyond anything I've ever done AND they both teach a variety of classes!! I'm thinking "what in the world could I possibly teach them that they don't already know? Am I really going to bring anything to the table?" They reassured me that I would be. :o)

On their list:

• Big Disc Beads
• Shaping tips & techniques
• Hints on working w/ silver glass
• My thoughts on Color Theory
• Making glass acorns & electroforming them
• Showing them how to put together an expanded electroforming setup
• Kaleidoscopes
• Copper display tree

My message back to them:
"I'm so glad that you're both excited about this... I am, too!! I'm just hoping that you aren't expecting more than I can bring to the table! :o) I'm not this brilliant lampworker, you know I've never taught before... I don't even know if I can or SHOULD teach, LOL... I probably have really bad habits that I shouldn't be passing on to others, :o) ...I don't know if I do or not, but you never know! I probably could teach you alot about covering up mistakes, LOL... I'm really good at that! :o)

I also use an electric mandrel spinner...it's my crutch... I don't know if I can turn a mandrel by hand anymore. :o) Actually, I know that I can, LOL...you just work much hotter w/ a spinner, so I'd have to adjust [when working manually]. Do either of you have an electric mandrel spinner... or are either of you interested in learning how to use one? I know Carol likes to make utensil handles... this is why I bought my spinner in the first place... it cuts down my base bead making time, probably by more than half... and it makes pretty much perfectly balanced (centered) beads w/out much effort. I've turned more than a few long distance friends onto them... but then I'm not there to help them figure it out, so I know it's been frustrating for at least one or two of them. That is one of the ideas I have for a class I'd like to teach...the ins & outs of a mandrel spinner... & then making large beads for functional pieces (using the spinner). I talked to Scott Bouwens (Bearfoot Art Glass) at B&B about setting me up w/ a classroom set of spinners & rolling marvers... we still need to work it out, I certainly won't be ready to buy them by December, though. So... if either of you have ever wanted one of these, now's the time so I can give you all of my tips & tricks. (Scott has a 6-8 week lead time on these right now. No, they're not cheap... but boy, mine paid for itself almost instantly. Make sure you pick up the small sized brass rolling marver, too... really essential to have w/ the spinner.

Gosh... your list of what you want to learn... I'm laughing, because I've been able to get really good at these things BECAUSE of the mandrel spinner. LOL. Shaping: mandrel spinner... large discs: mandrel spinner. :o) I only started making those large discs recently & they're pretty much a breeze w/ the spinner.... I'm sure I can do them w/out... but why? LOL.

Color theory, eh? That would mean I actually have to have deep thoughts on the subject, doesn't it? You forget, I'm ADD. :o) I know somewhat what I like... I play, if it works it works & I use it... over & over & over again, LOL, if it doesn't I move on. We can talk it through, though... discussion & feedback is a good thing.

Silver glass.... I have a bunch of silver glass that I can't get to do squat... I find ones that like me & I work w/ them. :o) This is a work in progress for me, hit & miss at times... I might be able to teach you guys some things, but I can't guarantee that you don't already know everything I do!

Did I change your mind? :o) I think as long as we all go into this as a great learning experience for all, we'll be good.

This is good for me, too... I like the idea of just a few "students" at first...how do you guys feel about being my guinea pigs? :o)"

So....that's what we did!! I'll tell you all about THAT in my next post... this is already a book. :o)

ANDREA GUARINO-SLEMMONS...

I just got back from a long weekend in Austin, Texas taking a glass beadmaking class w/ Andrea Guarino-Slemmons at Blue Moon Glassworks. It was AWESOME!!!

Andrea has been the one artist that I've had on my "want to take a class with" list pretty much from day one. I love her style(s) & having met her a few times before, I really like HER, too. I had also heard that she was a fantastic teacher, they were right!

What a fantastic class! First off, I want to say that Blue Moon is such a wonderful place...those that live there & get to take classes from nationally (& internationally) known artists are spoiled, spoiled, spoiled!! (I'm just a tiny bit envious!) Jim & Rose Berry, the owners, are the sweetest people. We were lucky enough to hang out w/ them after class each night. I got a chance to sit at the quiet end of the table w/ them & were able to chat w/ them & get to know them a bit. Lucky me. :o)

(click images to enlarge)

Andrea is not only talented....but a really great teacher! Just because you have something to offer others doesn't automatically make you a good teacher.... she's a good teacher! :o) I learned so much from her. Not only how to use her techniques to make her fabulous beads... (& definitely some techniques that I can incorporate into my own style), but I also learned how to encase & keep my clear from getting scummy!

(I DON'T clear encase... I didn't "get it" back when I was first learning how to make beads & just moved on w/out it. I'm known more now for my opaque beads, so I never needed to figure it out. But who knows? Maybe I'll figure out how to incorporate encasing into my style!?

I'm so excited to not only

be able to do it confidently, but to keep it clear!! LOL!)I'm so pleased w/ my class beads...

I was so excited that a friend that I met in 2008 @ Glass Stock came along w/ Andrea to be her TA... Nicole Valentine (Nicker on LE). It was so nice to get to spend some time w/ her! Such a neat lady... AND she is a fantastic TA! She knows exactly what Andrea is doing when, had everything ready for her & just basically kicked butt the entire class. I can't imagine doing that class on my own as a teacher, there are so many pieces & parts to the class, Nicole was so good about really keeping it together & being there when we needed something from her (some glass, a tool, scratch my back, tie my hair up, etc... LOL) I'm so glad she came.

I didn't mention that I took this class w/ 4 friends, did I?? Kimberly Polka, Serena Thomas, Becky Caspersen & Jeannette Remmington. Oh my gosh, we had so much fun!! We stayed in an awesome little cottage that is part of the Austin Hyde Park Inn & is just a couple of blocks away from Blue Moon. So much fun. Lots of late nights hanging out on the back deck chatting & laughing. The 5 of us made up half of the class... I think that our familiarity w/ eachother helped pull in others in the class. (or so I'd like to think!) It was fun to meet the other ladies in class, a few of them came out w/ us after class, so we got to get to know them a bit better. Nice to make new friends. :o)

We enjoyed hanging out w/ Holly Cooper each evening after class, it was fun to get to know her a bit better (she was a teacher @ Third Degree Glass Factory's Midwest Glass Experience back in February)

& on our final night there, Donna Mehnert, Anne Ricketts & Jill Symons joined all of us for dinner. Nice to meet Jill for the first time, I so admire her work. I first met Anne @ the ISGB Gathering in 2007 when I was just a new kid on the block. She's such a nice lady (& talented!) ...it was nice to have a chance to visit w/ her on a smaller scale. :o) .....& Ms. Donna... I love me a Ms. Donna. I met her for the first time just this past summer @ The Bead & Button Show.....she's so talented & just a cutiepie. I'm so glad I got a chance to see her again. All 4 of these ladies live in the Austin area... I'm so jealous! All of that talent in one place. Dang. I'm glad that we can continue these friendships online... & I'll definitely be back down there to see them again.

Anyway.... it was such a great experience all the way around. A fantastic class over way too quickly... a great time w/ friends & a wonderful chance to meet new people & make new connections.

I'll be back.

Till next time....

~ Julie

MICHAEL BARLEY...

I took a 2 day class this weekend w/ Michael Barley @ Malcolm Potek's Glass Studio in Minneapolis.

IT WAS FANTASTIC!!!

Not a surprise... I have been told by MANY that if you were going to take just one class, it should be Michael's. They were right. He's a wealth of knowledge... years & years of trial & error & experimentation... & is so generous to share it all. I learned so much... I took LOTS of notes & sat down w/ them tonight to figure out what glass & tools I have on hand & what I need to pick up. I've already place a few orders. :o)

Michael's a sweet, sweet man. Some of us went out to dinner w/ him Saturday night... I was lucky enough to sit by him & got to visit a bit... we were both Air Force brats, so we talked about moving around as kids, etc...

I need to take pictures of my class beads.... but here's a picture of Malcolm, Michael & myself...


Other than a few of Michael's beads, one of my souvenirs from the weekend was a nice speeding ticket! LOL... wondering if I can write it off as a business expense? Darned Minneapolis speed traps. I was only going 15 over the limit... ugh. My only other ticket before was when I was 9 months pregnant w/ Sam... 14 years ago. Oh well... this one won't effect my record or insurance... "excessive acceleration"... nice fine, though...thank you.

Oh yeah... I forgot, I had just finished listening/singing along/crying to Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the USA" when I got stopped, LOL... I'm sure I appeared a little teary-eyed for the officer.

Did you know you can pay your speeding tickets online now? Cool, huh? ;o)

FIRST STEPS...

I took my first basic lampworking class in late January 2007... yes, I said 2007. I was INSTANTLY hooked! I practice, A LOT!! :o) I took to lampworking so quickly that my instructor (now friend) says that she’s going to have to take classes from ME!! Someday. :o) I remember her walking by me as I’m making my first little black bead, saying “you did your homework, didn’t you?” Why, YES I DID! :o) When I finally decided to take a class, I spent a good 2 obsessed months researching everything I could find online about lampworking, mainly reading tutorials on Lampwork Etc. & watching lampworking videos on YouTube! I came into that class w/ TOO MUCH knowledge, LOL, my poor instructor wasn't ready for me!! :o) I already had so many ideas of what I wanted to learn, I was asking her about this & asking her about that.... some things she had tried, others she hadn't heard of, etc...

After that first class, I literally itched so badly to get back to the torch, I had to bring it home w/ me the next week! I set up that basic little (& LOUD!) hothead torch with its 1 pound canister of MAPP gas each day on a card table in my kitchen & took it down each evening before dinner (& usually up again afterwards!). That didn’t last long, LOL....I upgraded to a 7 lb tank of propylene within a few weeks, dragging that thing, torch hoses & all, back & forth to my classes each week. (smuggling that tank in is more like it... hoping I wouldn't get stopped by someone who thought I was up to no good, seeing as the art center is in the civic center building on the opposite end of the building from the police & city offices!! LOL!) Even my instructor admits that I passed her up somewhere along the way. I DID learn a lot from her... everything I needed to know to make a basic bead & simple shapes.......but mostly everything beyond that is all me. I’m proud of that.

Needless to say, I upgraded to a 27 lb tank as soon as I didn’t have to drag it around anymore. The kitchen “studio” didn’t last long. By mid-March, I was desperate for my own torching space, so I dug out my old pottery & stained glass studio that I hadn’t seen the floor of in over 12 years... giving myself just enough room to get to my old stained glass table (that we then covered in stainless steel flashing) so I could torch. I was in heaven. I ordered a digital kiln at that point, too, as my beads were getting too large to be able to hold up to hanging out in a fiber blanket anymore...I was losing more to thermal cracking than not, pretty frustrating. My desire for larger beads was also getting too big for my hothead, so I upgraded to a Carlisle Mini CC torch w/ 2 oxygen concentrators & a professional ventilation system by June. My studio is now cleaned out, we’re working on organizing storage & more work surfaces. It’ll be fantastic when it’s finished!

The picture is of my first few weeks of beads. The plain black ones, of course, are my first ones. Doesn't everybody start out making black beads?? :o)