IT WAS A SUCCESSFUL SHOW...

The show I did at the winery w/ Jennifer Ionta was quite successful! It was my first outdoor show... just a tiny bit of rain, but perfect temps, etc. It was so much fun to do... awesome to see people's reactions to my pieces...

MY AWESOME WEST COAST TOUR...part ONE

I'm home, I'm happy & tired... I'm fantastic!! My west coast tour was incredible!!!

I spent my first day w/ my Aunt Cookie & cousin Dawn... it was so nice to see them. We spent the day in Edmonds...such a neat area. Cookie & her new hubby Bill live about an hour north of Seattle in Monroe on some beautiful property... the weather was nice enough to rain for me those first few days. Rain in Seattle, who knew?

Deb arrived the next day & we wandered a bit... she introduced me to steamer clams at McCormick & Schmicks... they were really yummy. Much better than the chewy fried clams that I'd had years ago. The next day we met up w/ Maria (Whimzicalities) & Leslie (tiggybubba) at Olympic Color Rod (OCR)... Mitchel & the guys there were awesome! I was able to keep myself in check there, kinda... it was awesome to see all of their glass in person.

We took a ferry from Seattle to Bremerton, which was a treat... we had some time to get to know eachother a bit...I had never met Leslie & only spent a little time w/ Maria @ the Gathering in 2007. We also had a little "show & tell" of our beads during the ride...talented ladies... then we headed down to Frantz, Meeting up w/ Arlene (A_Glass_Bash) as she lives in the area. The 4 of us stayed in a little motel in Shelton for a few nights. It was funny trying to figure out who snored the most. I swear I don't snore... well, if I sleep on my back I do, but I don't sleep on my back.... so I don't snore. ;o)

It was so much fun to go to Mike Frantz's Glass Bash... met a bunch of great people, had some good food & watched some great demos, by: Pat Frantz, Andrea Guarino, Kimberly Affleck, Michael Barley, Corina Tettinger & Sabina Boehm!

This is my travel buddy, Deb (HopefulJourneys) during Kimberly's demo. LOL. She was a little tired. :o)

We met Alysa (Brimmy), she's adorable & she had some really yummy Lay's Spicy Curry Potato Chips... dang-it... they're only available in Canada!!! :o( She travels throughout the year to sell her wares @ shows, mostly sleeping in her car... so we kidnapped her our last night there & took her out to dinner & made her sleep in our room. It was a slumber party! (or as my boys say... "they don't call them slumber parties... they're sleepovers!)

Who else did we meet?? Um...... LOCO!! Crazy lady!... she's a nut, LOL. She made me throw a reject mask bead of hers into the street... I was horrified, but she made me do it. :o) Pam Potts, cool chick, beautiful dog! Nicole (Nicker) & Kristi Brokaw came up from their pre-Glass Stock duties to hang out @ the Bash. It was fun to meet them before the craziness of Glass Stock. I saw Michelle-Marie (Caliente Art Glass/boobiebeads) again...(I met her @ Bead & Button in June)... fun lady, very cool. I finally got one of her skull beads...traded one of my beads for it.

I got to talk to Corrina a bit... first time I had ever met her. She was really nice. She saw the bead I was wearing & asked if it was mine. I told her that it was & she asked if we had ever met. I told her know, that I was just a new kid. She seemed impressed (I think. LOL).

Ruth Nichols was there... I was so happy to see her again. I met her last year at the Gathering, I think she was my favorite... I even blogged about her back then!

Geez... I just can't go on... the list is huge!! :o)

It was a great time.

I have a few more pictures...I'll add them @ some point. :o)

See part two for the next phase of our trip...

I'M BACK...

I'm home, I'm happy & tired... I'm fantastic!! My west coast tour was incredible!!!

I have stories to ramble on about & pictures to show...

Someday. LOL.

Busy busy girl...

I'll be back...

NEW STYLE...

I'm exhausted... I've been cramming for the last couple of weeks or so getting ready for an art show that is happening the Saturday after I get home. It was a last minute decision... It's going to be fantastic! (click on images for detail view)

I'll be doing the show w/ Jennifer Ionta at Woodland Hill Winery in Delano, Minnesota. It'll be my first outdoor show... I'm so excited about that, too!! LOL! (how can I stand it all???) I need FINISHED pieces for this show. I've been working on some new jewelry styles...finding my JEWELRY VOICE. Trying to figure out what I want to do that'll represent & be uniquely ME!

I've mostly been working with Vintaj Natural Brass findings... they look FANTASTIC w/ my beads & they're a fraction of the price of sterling silver!

I've found Double Helix's Terranova 2...

& what's even better, I found that I can actually get some color out of it! :o)

It's changed my world. Sam (my 13 year old) says that he doesn't even recognize my beads anymore! I'm just growning.
I CANNOT imagine what I'm going to be able to do after I get home from this crazy trip!!

I've also been having fun electroforming. I've had the kit since after the Gathering last summer, but had yet to set it up to use.

I decided, when I started making stuff for this show, that I needed to pull it out & start making some acorns. They'd be perfect for this show. I made my first electroformed glass acorn in May last year (2007) when our local group got together @ Julia Lund's. That's mainly why I wanted my own electroforming kit. It took me a while... but they're so worth it. So cute. PERFECT for this show.

...I need to take some pictures of my acorns... but here's a bead that I electroformed
Anyway... I've also been making some serving pieces... bottle stoppers & openers, cheese knives that I'm pairing w/ beautiful bamboo cutting boards, etc... they'll be perfect for this show @ the winery, too.

I'll take some pictures of those when I get home from Glass Stock, before I sell them all ;o) & will show them off here.

Till then...

GREAT NORTHWEST... HERE I COME!

OMG...OMG...OMG... I'm so excited. I'm leaving for Seattle on Wednesday morning. I'll spend the day w/ my aunt & cousin... then my friend Deb will be flying in on Thursday & we're going to wander around for a few days. We'll be going to the Frantz Glass Bash on Saturday... camping in an RV w/ several other crazy glass people for the weekend. Can't wait to meet all of the people that I see online on Lampwork Etc.

From there, on Sunday, we'll be heading to Chinook, Washington for a 2 day (pre Glass Stock) class w/ Jennifer Geldard on Monday & Tuesday... staying in a 2 bedroom apartment above the studio where the classes will be. Jennifer will even be staying there w/ us... it'll be great to get to know her!!

Then on Wednesday morning, we'll be heading for Newport, Oregon for GLASS STOCK!! I'm going to pee my pants, I'm so excited. Maybe I'll hurl first, I'm a nervous wreck as well.

Did I already mention that I'll be taking a Michael Barley class at the end of October??... holy crap... I'm going to be FABULOUS!! LOL!

Makes me emotional, actually. It almost feels like it's going to be life changing. Seriously. Everything that I am today, as a lampworker, is all me. After my initial basic lampworking class got me started, everything that I do... all of my style & creativity comes from ME... all of my bad lampworking habits, too... all me. :o) I can't imagine what I'll be able to do after this experience. It's a whole new journey for me.

Anyway... it's been a crazy, busy time for me. Need to find more time to blog... I'll have all sorts of things to say when I get back.

Till then...

Julie