Meet The New Guy In My Life- Zeus

I have to admit I'm sweet on a new guy in my life.  Meet Zeus- adopted on Sunday from Good Mews (a local no kill shelter).  He lived with about 80 cats, so choosing the best cat for our house was going to be a challenge.  Until I saw him plop down in the middle of a very busy and hectic room and just waited for someone to pet him.  I could tell that he had enough "mellowness" and "quirkiness" that should fit with my family.

I was right.  We all quickly adapted and now I have a buddy for all my time working at home.  Except I have a feeling there will be fewer hours on the clock.  We seem to take swatting for feather breaks and hang out together for serious purring breaks too.  Look for Zeus beads in the future too.

U.S. Domestic Mailing Deadlines

DOMESTIC MAIL DEADLINES

Domestic Mail Class	Deadline
FIRST CLASS MAIL®	DEC. 20
PRIORITY MAIL®	DEC. 21
EXPRESS MAIL®	DEC. 22 (Check your local Post Office)
PARCEL POST®	DEC. 15

He Sees You When You're Sleeping...

I love this look on Santa's face.

Sporting a funky handlebar mustache, Santa is looking a bit perplexed.  But I don't blame him.  Heading into the final month before Christmas would make anyone slightly crazy.  This little Santa handmade glass bead can be wired into a holiday tree ornament, by just asking at checkout.  You can find him HERE.

My Handmade Glass Snow Globes Back in Stock!

I'm starting to add my snow globes into my http://www.StudioMarcy.etsy.com shop.  Here is my cute little handmade glass puppy with antlers.  Just the right amount of holiday with plenty of snow.  Shake 'em, baby!

Let The Games Begin

Shopping is in full swing...The Christmas Season is open.  Wishing you all peace & love and don't forget to shop "handmade".. xo  Marcy

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing you a day full of thankfulness, family, friends...and pie!  See you tomorrow.

Corning Has Some Class Openings to Fill- Interested?

Corning has winter glass classes that still have some openings...
Call Corning's "The Studio" at 607-438-5100 or email vaughnkl@cmog.org

Session 1  Jan 2-7
A Great Balancing Act...Jordana Korsen & John Miller
An Exploration of Kiln Formed Glass..Mark Salsbury
Venetian Techniques in Glass Painting...Lucia Santini

Session 2  Jan 9-14
Large Scale Kiln Casting...Milon Townsend
If You Can't Take the Heat...Rosenfeld/Julius

Session 4  Jan 23-28
About Craft....  Matthew Urban
Flameworked Goblets...Eric Goldschmidt
Special Projects In Fused Glass...Mark Ditzler
Glassworking Through The Ages

Session 5  Jan 30 - Feb 4
Glassblowing, Design, Production...Dan Mirer
Color, Form, & Decorative Motifs...Suellen Fowler
Refining & Solidifying Techniques...Wm. Gudenrath

Session 6 Feb 6-11
Intro to Glass Sculpting...  Brenna Baker
Painting The Void...Denise Stillwaggon
Beginning Glassblowing..Amanda Gundy

Metal Me This Copper Cuffs

So I have to say, that I'm pretty sweet on this cuff from Lisa Liddy's "Metal Me This" Etsy shop.  Its antique verdigris finish and lovely flourishes make it relevant and yet classic.  And for the price, (wow, only $25 + shipping!)  you can't lose.

Check out her shop for more goodies. (Her bead caps rock too!)

She has a

Spruill Gallery's Holiday Artists Market Open House Tonight!

Join me for the Holiday Market Open House tonight.  And come see my 2011 Series of handmade snow globes and glass ornaments. 

Ch Ch Ch Chia....

Seems like this is the time that all the Chia growing pottery comes out.  As a kid, I loved receiving the Chia Pets.  So this year,  I thought I'd  get a head start on it.


...kidding.  Found this photo on the internet and wanted to share.  Pretty funny, isn't it?

Antarctica's Recycling Program Upgraded

It's time for another small Antarctica post.  As many of you know, my daughter works down there and leads me to some great photos, blogs and other sources of information.

The other night, we were chatting about the recycling down there.  We're always very careful of what is sent to her, because there is no landfill where she is and all trash has to be reused somehow, burned or brought back out of the continent.

It appears that the inhabitants of the station have quite a sense of humor.  I heard that prior to the head of the waste program's arrival, a few new containers were added for grins.

and

And in her usual fashion, my daughter actually checked in the glitter bin recently and found that someone had recycled their glitter make up.  Unfortunately, that wasn't what Sparky was hoping for.  She was looking for the usual craft store variety.  (And by the way, the back of this bin has little unicorn heads painted on it.)

Hope you have a good weekend.  See you Sunday.  I'm in Austin teaching and will pop up a quick post to say hi.

Indelible Moments Show... Call for Artists

Have you seen this call for artists from the International Society of Glass Beadmakers?  It looks like a fun show. And the theme, really makes me excited about it.  Creating wearable glass art that means something important to the artist.   It makes me think about those "indelible moments" in my life.  Of course marriage, births, deaths, and so many other moments. So how would you express one of your Indelible Moments?  I'd love to hear. See you tomorrow....wwwl/studiomarcy.blogspot.com A Collection of Personal Narratives Expressed in Art Glass Beads   In everyone's lives are moments that stand out, moments that we remember more clearly than others. We can call these certain memories to mind as if they happened just yesterday, no matter how much time passes. What makes these moments unforgettable may vary greatly. Maybe it was doing something for the first time or for the last time. Perhaps it was an entirely commonplace occurrence but one day, that one day in particular, something different happened. These are the moments that become etched in our memory permanently. Sometimes, all it can take to transport us back to that moment is a smell, a word, or a sound, and we can play that memory over and over again in our mind's eye.   Reach back into your memory. Pluck out the details from one of your most memorable or special experiences. Take those sights and sounds and translate them into glass! Paint a picture of that memory using glass beads as your brushstrokes and jewelry as your canvas. Turn that special memory into a wearable work of art.   This is an opportunity for ISGB members to participate in a special exhibition that will open in conjunction with our twentieth anniversary Gathering in Bellevue/Seattle, Washington. Jewelry can include but is not limited to components such as seed beads, fine metal, PMC, fibers, etc. Multiple mediums are encouraged; however the main focus of your piece should be hand-crafted glass bead(s). Members may choose to work solo or with partners of their choice.

Parasol Protects and Makes My Heart Flutter Too

I was strolling through Etsy the other day and saw this apple green parasol.  Now living in the South, I see them on occasion, but I've never seen one like this.

John DiCesare is the designer and his parasol and umbrella designs truly delight me.  Based in Tokyo, Japan, this shop has style and panache.  He describes his shop as a place where "art and engineering" come together and creating "unique, elegant and boldly eccentric designs"

Hey, that could be me!. 

Glass Stock East

I have to say, I had a great time at Glass Stock East in NJ last month.  Deb Crowley and her team organized a really delightful event at Carlisle (home of the Mini CC, Hellcat and other fine bench burners.)

I taught three classes and was able to take 2 classes- one from Lisa St. Martin and the other from Cindy Lemmo.  If you know their work, you might have guessed that they were floral classes.

The folks at Carlisle bent over backwards to be wonderful hosts.  I got to try a variety of torches while there, and even got a shot at the Lucio Burner.  Sweeeet!

I met a lot of new friends too.  Here I am with Martha.  What a delight!  She was one of my many star students and new buddy.

Deb just announced that Glass Stock East will be back again next year in Millville, NJ.  The designated weekend is Sept 28-30.  If I weren't already scheduled for that weekend, I know I'd be back and ready to have another great time.  Already, I'm planning to be back in 2013!

Calling All Artists...

As a glass artist and having friends who work in various mediums, I wanted to share this Call For Artists.  I hope some of us enter and wouldn't it be fun, if one of us won it?  This one touches lives.

Best of luck to you all.  -- Marcy

+++++++++++

Evergreen Fine Art Gallery, located in beautiful Evergreen, Colorado, is proud to present our first annual competition to design our beloved Evergreen Angel™. Evergreen Fine Art is in its 20th year of designing the Hospice Angel. This year we are doing something exciting and opening it up as a contest for artists.

The Evergreen Angel™ is a cherished collectable known throughout the country. It is purchased for everything from births, celebrations, graduations; for mothers, fathers, daughters, sons, those who need hope and comfort; cancer survivors; as a memory keep- sake for a loved one. This little angel has come to symbolize strength, hope and celebration. It has touched so many universally and has benefited Hospice for over 20 years. This year we would like to give artists the opportunity to design the angel. After being selected, the design will be transferred into a mould and cast as a piece of fine sterling silver (or by special order, gold) to become a cherished collectable. All work is done in the United States.

Click Here for Online Info and Entry Form
Submission Guidelines: 
There is a non-refundable entry fee of $25.00 for each submission. 
All submissions must be legible drawings, showing as many views of the image as possible. 
All submissions must be provided as: 
1) jpegs on CD (72ppl, 10 x 12 image size) 
OR
2) artists may submit images via email (limit image to 620 pixels on the longest side) to Evergreen Fine Art at efa@evergreenfineart.com, attention Evergreen Angel Competition OR 
3) mail your submission to Evergreen Fine Art, Attention: Evergreen Angel Competition, 3042 Evergreen Parkway, Evergreen, CO 80439. 

The gallery cannot accept submissions in person,
nor inquiries about the status of entries. 

The design should allow for a sterling silver angel as well as a sterling silver limited 
edition angel with a gemstone. Go to our website at Evergreenfineart.com and look 
under the Evergreen Angel tab to view previous angels. The finished angel will be 
1 inch tall and no more than ¾ inch wide at the base. Four millimeter gems are used 
in the limited edition angels. 

Eligibility: Participants must be legal residents of the United States and cannot be employees or immediate family members of an employee of Southwest Art Magazine, 
FW Media, or Evergreen Fine Art Gallery. Participants must be 18 year of age or older 
at the time of submission. 

Winner Awards: The winner will garner national attention. 
Southwest Art Magazine is a Sponsor of this competition. 
The winner of this competition will receive the following: 

The winning design will be unveiled at an Angel Tea 
September at the gallery on September 21, 2012 The 
winning Angel will be unveiled nationally on the Back Cover 
of the October 2012 Issue of Southwest Art Magazine
The artist will receive a Full Page award ad from 
Southwest Art Magazine (valued at 3,150.00) 

The winner will receive a $500.00 cash award price 

The winner will also receive six 2012 Evergreen Angels 
(three sterling silver and three sterling silver limited editions with gemstones). 

PLEASE NOTE: your entry will not be returned to you and is for jurying purposes only. After the selection is completed all entries other than the winning entry will be destroyed. The rights to the winning image will belong to Evergreen Fine Art Gallery. In the event of similarity or duplication, earliest receipt shall prevail. 

Jurors: Editors, Southwest Art Magazine/ Owners, Evergreen Fine Art Gallery 

ENTRY DEADLINE: January 31, 2012 
NOTIFICATION DATE FOR WINNER: April 1st 2012. 
The winning Angel will be announced on the Evergreen Fine Art Website:www.evergreenfineart.com on April 1, 2012.

Contest Rules: All work must be original . Materials cannot violate trademarks, copyrights, and/or rights of privacy or publicity; applicable federal, state, and local laws, rules, and regulations must be complied with; and rights of the materials must not have not been previously given to other people, organizations, or businesses. By submitting a design, entrant warrants and represents that the entry does not contain copyrighted, branded, and/or trademarked materials without written permission. If entries contain copyrighted, branded, and/or trademarked materials without proper written permission, they will be disqualified.
This contest is void where prohibited and is subject to all applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations. Awards are nontransferable, not substitutable, nor redeemable, except at the sole discretion of Evergreen Fine Art Gallery.
Entrant indemnifies and holds Evergreen Fine Art Gallery, its officers, directors and agents harmless from any and all liability arising from, or relating to, the judging or handling of the design submitted and conducting , sponsoring and advertising the event. By entering the contest, entrant grants Evergreen Fine Art a royalty-free worldwide, perpetual, non-exclusive license to display, distribute, reproduce and create derivative works of the entries, in whole or in part, and the designer's name and photograph in any media now existing or subsequently developed for any educational, promotional, publicity, exhibition, and all other standard purposes. Evergreen Fine Art Gallery will not be required to pay any additional consideration or seek any additional approval in connection with such uses.

Popping Rose Petals

On a recent trip with my friends, (called the Muddy Buddies - long story) I learned the art of popping rose petals.  It was new to me, but did you know you can make a loud pop sound with them?

So of course, I had to teach my son how to do this too.  It's a good little trick that can get old, if you practice around others too often (as I learned), but great fun.

So the first picture shows you the petal placement in your hand.  And your other hand is cupped and comes down hard and forces air to make the popping sound.

( I don't think my son will ever be hired to be a hand model, but he has great other attributes)

Anyhow, I think you might want to try this trick.  It really is a good one.  Keep your rose petal holding hand slightly relaxed so there is a hole going down through the middle.  And the top, cupped hand will create the force for the sound.

Hope I gave you something new to try when you see fallen petals from a bouquet. (Note:  I don't suggest this during a wedding  ;)  )  but, aging floral arrangements are fair game. 

Let me know how you do.  It took me a bit to get it, but my son aced it on his first try.  

11/11/11....Santa Is Watching You!

I know, it's not even Thanksgiving and the holiday beads are up.  I thought because today is 1111111, or  however many ones there are in it, it would be a good one for him to be watching out for us. 

Santa is currently living on my bead rack and is hoping to be adopted to a home where someone will give him sweets and finish getting him ready for his special day.  He knows his belly is supposed to shake like a bowl full of jelly and unfortunately for him, I've given up the sweets for awhile.

Santa can be found in my StudioMarcy etsy shop HERE.

Tiny Magical Elves

I never knew that elves were so tiny, until one of my customers asked, "can you make tiny elf charms?"  Of course I could.  So here is the gang.   Left to right...Conor, Faervel, Thalon & Fred.  There's always one in the bunch!

That is a penny that Conor is leaning on.  He's not really lazy, just "resting".  They are quite small.

And they are available in my StudioMarcy Etsy shop.  You can click HERE to find them.

Dogs!

My son and I trade amusing dog photos and when I saw this one, all I could think of was, "no wonder that Lab has such a soulful look on his face. He's smelling a pizza that is sitting on his back and he can't eat it.".  Poor fella, but pretty funny.

And this one is just too darn adorable.  I'd take a sub woofer any day!  See you tomorrow. And by then I'll have my photos ready for some glass chat.  Promise.

Darwin Does It Again

Okay, I admit it.  I have some serious geek genes in me and when I saw this iPad or Kindle cover, I was totally amused.  I've always been a book-o- phile, (okay that isn't the correct word, but I make 'em up when I feel like it).  And this seems to hit a couple of my "likes".  books, iPads (please Santa, I've been good and really, really want one), and sense of humor too.  Nice!

It's on one of my favorite websites and catalogs, Uncommon Goods.  If you haven't visited there before and you have a quirky sense of humor, you might consider stopping by for a peek.  And then feel free to comment and tell me what you saw there that you like.  I always love hearing from you.

See you tomorrow with some glass news.

www.studiomarcy.blogspot.com

Scented Shoe Laces?

I wasn't surprised that scented shoe laces are available these days...in aromas like pancake batter, ketchup and bubble gum.  Aimed at the pre-teen market, this new product is hoping that they will become a fashion fad and worn on the wrist.  You can find them HERE and prices run about $5/ pair.

Lake View

This little lake is about a mile from my house.  I was driving by and had to flip around and snap a quick picture. My phone's camera seemed to do a pretty good job capturing the autumn colors and lovely reflections.

Pottery Class

I had always wanted to try pottery.  I wondered how working with clay would equate to working in glass.  So I took an intro pottery class nearby to give it a whirl...(- just a little pottery wheel joke).

I had a great time learning a bit about it.  The clay we used was from my state of Georgia and I had always wanted to see how the tools worked.  (Tool geek here)  Of course as I told my friends, they all talked about the famous scene in the movie ghost.  Cute scene, but unfortunately, not my reality.

So here are my two bowls that I made.  I had to keep going back for the next steps...after it dries enough, then you need to clean them up and carve a bit off so they are thinner.  Then you paint the glaze onto them.  The last time is to pick them up and smile.

I love my little bowls.  A touch wonky, but their color is nice.  I gave them the squarish top and round bottom.  One of my favorite shapes.

Will I go back for more pottery classes?  Probably not.  Clay is not my medium.  I love how I can stretch molten glass.  Clay felt  rather stiff and too solid for me.  I missed the colors, transparencies and light feel of glass.   (besides, I have this weird thing about getting my hands dirty)

So, you probably won't see too many more of my clay creations on this blog.  But I had to show you my first attempt.  I think it's always good to try new things and now I can cross "Pottery" off my list.

See you Sunday here at www.studiomarcy.blogspot.com

Prickly Pods?

I'm always looking at photos of pods for a series of beads I've been working on.  This one is called locally, Nickernuts and is usually found by the beach.  I think its real name is Caesalpina.

But then I saw this cute photo and thought this is what I'd rather discover than the pods.  Aren't these baby Hedgehogs just adorable?  They look like prickly pods to me too.  (but such cute little faces)  I have a feeling they too, will be added into my prickly pod series.

Not Google +

Not Google Plus- a really funny anti-social networking video recently cracked me up.  It is very tongue-in-cheek, but yet, has that air of sounding like it could be the real thing. If you are into social networking, or are tired of it, it might just give you a chuckle.  Enjoy.

Have a Glass Bobble Head Holiday Class with Me

Marcy Lamberson - Holiday Bobbleheads

Nov 5,  Saturday     10 am - 5 pm  (one hour lunch break)

Ho, Ho, Ho!

Join Santa (me!)  and you will become his chief elf toymaker during this  fun full-day class.

You'll learn these two part bobblehead (and bobble belly) beads and how to put them together after they are annealed. Yes, we'll make their inner workings in class and have a demonstration on how to put them together. You'll know the techniques for designing your own bobble heads -- or other body part bead when you're done too!

Holiday cheer, smiles, fun and possibly another holiday bead will be the order of the day-- depending on our spare time. Hope you can join the fun at FlameTree Glass in Roswell, Georgia.  Here's the link!