I have No Words

I have no words.
I'm so sorry.
Peace and Blessings to our
Kiwi Sisters and Brothers
and
our Japanese
Sisters and Brother.

Artisitic Growth - Christmas in New Zealand and Christmas in Minnesota

Deb Batten

and
I
have challenged ourselves to grow artistically using different mediums for growth.
Our first challenge was to use copper in a non jewelry item. Click here to see that blog.
Then, if you want to see the Reveal, click here.

Knowing that December is a busy month,
Deb and I decided that we would use our cameras to record our Christmas events.
Not only that, we would have a wonderful bit of history to keep for years to come!
CONTRASTS.

Deb lives in New Zealand.
I live in Minnesota.
At this time, we are in opposite seasons.
Deb is in summer.
I am in winter.
Our landscapes, our foods, our activities reflect these differences.

Here in Minnesota, we are COVERED in snow.
This year, there is SNOW EVERYWHERE!

Icicles are forming.

Critters leave footprints in the snow.

The mailbox is almost buried in snow.
The colors of the landscape are like these almost everyday in the winter.

Jenny came home with her kitties.

These are the kitties.

Pixie endures the kitties, and she stays on her couch.

Nick came home, too.
It was a great joy to have both of the kids home!

We added a few more decorations.
The red looks great on the wooden trees.

We lit a fire.

"Santa" brought presents and put them under the tree.

We set the table with the Christmas dishes.
The food was cooked, and we sat down to eat.

Jenny made some green beans and peppers.

Jenny also made black bean enchiladas.
Nummy!
There was baked ham.

We also had baked beans.

This was one delicious meal!
Gifts were fun and practical.
I'm not sure Nick was impressed with his toothpaste!

Family, food, blessings.
What could make Christmas better?
Not much. Not much at all!
Be sure to visit Deb's blog to see her photo essay about her Christmas celebration!

Christmas in New Zealand and Christmas in Minnesota

Have you ever wondered what differences there are in the celebrations for Christmas in different cultures, particularly, between Minnesota and New Zealand?

Well, this month, Deb Batten (Firebird Flamework) and I have decided that our challenge for artistic growth will be to document the differences in our cultures as we celebrate the holidays.

We are going to use our photographic skills to present to you a photo journal
of our lives as we celebrate Christmas.

Our reveal will be on December 27, 2010. We think that this might be enough time to recover from the festivities. I'm already tired!

In case you've never wondered about our cultural differences, I'm sure that now, you will be waiting to see what we show. So, stay tuned and see you on December 27th!

Oh, you can check out Deb's blog for her side of the story. (Notice I put the link to her blog at the end of my blog?) ;)

Fiona Prentis a Kiwi Glass Artist

I first "met" Fiona Prentice on Facebook. She's got bright red hair and a fabulous smile! Then I started to see her beads on a thread on Lampworketc. forums called the Gaffer Chalcedony 109 thread. (I'm not sure, but you might have to join lampworketc to view the thread, but if you do, you won't be disappointed.)







This is one of those beads that you look at an gasp! It is beautiful!


















Fiona has been lampworking for 6 years with one year off. In the beginning she used the traditional Hot Head, which is what most of use used when we first started out. It's a torch that uses propane as it's fuel. Fiona has since upgraded to a Nortel Minor which is a dual fuel torch (oxygen and propane). Look at the results she's getting using Gaffer Chalcedony glass.
(The first bead is chalcedony glass, too.)






















If you visit Fiona's website, you can see more of her amazing beads. Those beads in the gallery were made on her Hot Head torch.





















Fiona works as a psychiatric nurse in the forensic unit of her hospital in her non glass life. She felt that she had lost her muse at one point in time, and that's why she took a year off. Now, thanks to Gaffer Chalcedony glass and Deb Batten, another Kiwi glass artist, she feels that she is able to develop her style and skills in glass.





















See what I mean, she only gets better!

Freaky Friday Challenge on a New Zeland Sunday

The time has arrived. Deb Batten, of FirebirdFlamework on Etsy, has already posted her challenge, and, truly, it is awesome! I love Deb's totem! It truly reflects her and her attitude towards life! She did a great job combining colors and techniques. I have to admit, I was very impressed! So, now, it's my turn.

My totem was nothing I expected it to be. I worked with a very limited color palette. I was shocked at that! This totem took a life of its own. I feel that the glass, as it melted, dictated the shape and size of each bead. I didn't have any drift wood on which to mount my totem, but Deb suggested that glass is a natural element. Perhaps, she suggested, that would be a good base for my totem. It was. My only error was that I didn't make my base big enough. I had to balance my totem against a background.

Now after all the ado. Here is my totem.


















I took this photo in front of my microwave, and since I was part of the reflection, and the totem is a part of me, I decided to use this photo.

Here's another shot of my totem using a different background. There are many parts to my totem.

At the top of my totem is my desire for peace in the image of a dove. Underneath the dove is my representation of air. Next comes water. Then comes fire. After thta we see the footprints on the sands of time. Underneath the sands of time is the symbol of the bear who is strong and sturdy.


Last but not least is the eye of God, always watching us and taking care of us.
That's it, my totem.











Next week's challenge

All right, Deb, are you ready? Here it is.








































Here are two shots of the same painting. In case you are wondering if I have the artist's permission, yes, I do. I painted this picture. I took two photos of it in different lights to show the different undulation of the colors and shapes.

So what do you think, Deb? Make a bead using this painting as inspriation. The size and shape of the bead don't matter. Just use this for inspiration. Next week it's your call. Oh, and Ang, I was going to use your idea of "What's in your refrigerator", but the problem is that I didn't clean out my refrigerator and I need to do that. With any luck, the next time it's my turn, I'll have cleaned out my fridge.

Also, for those who would like to join Deb and I in our challenges, we'd love to see your work. Anyway, here we go. We hope you look forward to next Freaky Friday!

Freaky Friday Challenge - on a New Zealand Saturday!

The time has come, and the gauntlet was thrown down last week. Deb Batten of Sew Much to Do, Sew Little Time and I made the decision to try to improve our lampworking skills by challenging each other in one way or another. It will take discipline. (Us?) We are both ready for the challenge. After last week's attempts at window beads, I chose the word: BUGGER! I love that word! It's a New Zealand phrase that has captured my imagination and has been integrated into my vocabulary. Bugger! Our task was to make Bugger Beads. This is all a matter of interpretation. I have no idea what Deb will produce with her challenge. She has not idea what I have produced for this challenge. It is now time to show the results of BUGGER! Deb explains the meaning of the term BUGGER best in her blog. Take a peek.

Now, I decided that it was important to visualize a Bugger. I thought, buggers must have eyes and mouths. Hmmmmm. Bugger!


















Then I thought, hmmmmm, buggers are more than just a lot of eyes and mouths. I think a bugger is watching me.


















Then I thought, when would I say bugger? I think if my heart hurt. I would clearly say, "Bugger."


















Ouch! That would hurt! Then I thought, when would there be another chance to say Bugger! ? I think when a bully is beating up someone. Bugger! I think the kitty got the worst of the fight, and the bird found a new home. Buggger says kitty. I think I've been beat up by that bully on my head! Bugger!
Well, I'm getting awfully sleepy now. I might have to go to bed early today. I hear the honkers starting to fly south. Bugger! That means winter is coming. Bugger! Bugger! Bugger!