Wombats, Who Knew?

I imagine today you were expecting me to talk about "Black Friday" and shopping for hand crafted goods for the holiday this year.

No, I decided that Wombats would make a much better topic.

You see, I had never really seen one before my friend Jan started posting them on her facebook page.

Kind of cute little critters, aren't they? Actually they're Australian marsupials who dig burrows, (Check out their nails! No french manicures for them) And their marsupial pocket for their baby is backwards, so the dirt doesn't get in when they're digging. Growing to about 40" long, they are short, stout and herbivores.

So of course I've made my first Wombat lampwork glass bead, which I'll show you at another time. But first, wanted you to see these cute little creatures.

Oh, depending on what kind of wombat, they come in varying makes and models too. I like the name "hairy nosed wombat" personally.

The Big Hair Mane Event

I was amused by these photos which are making their way around the internet. A photographer from Australia and a friend got together and styled the manes on a few horses, and then shot Glamor Photos of each one.

And what does this have to do with glass, you ask? Well, not much, I honestly reply. But it has a lot to do with creativity and thinking outside of the box.

You see, this 36 year old, Julian Wolkenstein took a well known quantity and brought it to a new light. He has been interviewed by the big tv shows, and media around the world and has quite a buzz going. Not bad- especially in this economy.

Seeing these photos of horses with extensions, curls and other stylings caught my attention not as a horse lover, but as someone who loves to see someone take something and make it their own.

And that does relate to glass. How often do we see a specific style of bead- dots, flowers, frit, etc., and not know who made it, because it resembles a lot of others.? Finding your voice or finding your niche is hard.

But if you think about it, this photographer just changed one thing in horse portraiture to make it his own. What one thing can you change in your beadmaking to make that style "your own"?