Long Time - no see!

It's been a long time since this has been updated. We got busy last fall with shows and travel.

And then came Covid-19, that knocked out all of the shows we normally would do. Normally, we would do a home show between Thanksgiving and Christmas - that is up in the air at this point...

At any rate, here are a few of my birds and "Eeps"

Meet Diego and CiCi Meranda, two flirtacious tucans.

On the right, are a couple of my Eeps. I think they're a bird hybred though they do wear sneakers - but so do most of my birds. Eeps main job is to make us smile.

Hope to post some more pieces - including none glass work.

Meet the Silverferns

Had the pleasure of visiting New Zeland this past spring. And became enchanted by Kiwis - the bird. 

A little info on them - kiwis are flightless birds that are native to New Zealand. They are nocturnal and about the size of a chicken. They are hard to spot in the wild and are on the endangered list. 

We saw a pair at at zoo in Napier - or we barely saw a pair. They had low level lighting and you could see a round fuzzy with thin legs and a long beak.

I was inspired by the little guys - there were stuffed animal versions, ceramic, metal versions of them everywhere you looked. 

I was inspired... Meet Kiwi and Wellington Silverfern. The Silver Fern is the national symbol of New Zealand - not going into the details of why - It is also the name of the New Zealand Women's Netball team. 

This is Kiwi Silverfern - an avid fan of the ladies Netball team. Kiwi loves kiwis - the fruit that is.



And this is "Wellington Silverfern" - named after the capital of New Newland.

Though he is a "Silverfern", he supports team Black Ferns - the NZ's senior women's rugby team who are the most dominant team in Women's Rugby World Cup title. If you get a chance - check out the Black Ferns Haka.

There's a lot of New Zealand wrapped up in these little guys! Hope you enjoyed meeting them.

The Flock Keeps Growing!

Meet Camille -

She is a Florida Fashionista. She's wearing her green "Ughs" and decked out in her matching feathers and flowers as she strolls down the beach. She almost had a purse but that's what pockets are for!

She's headed to the Philly area next month for BeadFest. 

Maybe she'll pick up a purse along the way.

"Our Town" Art Show & Sale

This is probably one of the shortest shows around but there is such a wide range of work available in one place by Michigan artists. 

I have taken part in this show for several years and enjoy it very much. 

"Diego" will be there - this is the first time I've sent one of my feathered buddies to this show.

There will be several pieces of my jewelry as well.

The necklace is a piece that was inspired my our trip to Morocco last year.

x

Meet Diego!

Here he is! He's sleek, has on his red hightop and ready to go! He's a mixture of my lampwork glass, feather and seed beads.

He's currently residing at the Lawrence Street Gallery in Ferndale, MI. He'll be there thru December 21st. Then, he'll return to his flock here in Troy.

Winter Wonders Glass Show & Sale

Short notice but Fire Dance will be taking part in the Winter Wonders Show on Saturday, November 3rd, 10AM - 4 PM. Details and map are below.

I have been (and still am} recovering from some surgeries so no pictures of new work - will get them up later -

Hope to see you at the show! Be sure to say "hi" and let me know you saw my post.

Thanks,

"Glass Act"/Southeastern Michigan Glassbead Makers Guild at Bead & Button

It's Bead & Button Show time again. It's the world's largest bead show. I will have my beads, components and some finished work in the Glass Act booth - #1016.

There will be new pieces will be available for the first time at this show.

I have been exploring other materials that can be used to with my lanpwork glass to make jewelry and jewelry making components. And ways to make the pieces lighter weight and a little less expensive.

This is a new piece, it can be use as a pendant or a pin-back could be added

When I was little, my mom would plant portulaca. I thought they were so pretty and colorful - 

They remind me of the crepe paper flowers you find in Mexico. 

Below is my version of Portulaca. They have a wire loop in the back and can be threaded onto ribbon, beading wire or used with jump rings. 


Will have to post finished pieces later. As I always say, I'd rather be in my studio making stuff than playing on the computer.

More to come!

Traditions Unlimited

Am behind as usual with my blog. But have many things to cover.

While in Puerto Vallarta I met a gentleman, Ray, from Erie, PA and to make this short - wanted to put my work in a gallery setup in Traditions Unlimited. 

Ray works for the State of Pennsylvania's Area Agency on Aging.

And for March, I am their featured artist.

And no, I have no problem with "The Art of Aging". 
As long as I am aging - I'm still on the planet.

So Valiant, Bonnie Blue and Ms Suess had the opportunity to travel to Pennsylvania.

I am happy to have a new place to show my work.

A New Friend

While on our trip last fall to the Galapagos, I found myself sketching idea for making a turtle.  


We had seen literally tons of Galapagos tortoises (they weight 400-600 pounds). 

The land tortoises are certainly "interesting" looking, but not very cute and cuddly inspiration. We were told by our guide at the Darwin Institute that Stephen Spielberg had visited the Galapagos a couple of years before the movie ET came out and he was inspired by the tortoises faces for the character of ET.


We were given a very good guide book to keep and it did have some pictures of the sea turtle but I then remembered I had pictures from a previous trip to Cancun and the turtle farm where they collect the sea turtle eggs, protect them after hatching until they are big enough to return to the ocean.

A  long and drawn out way to introduce my newest glass animal friend...
He doesn't have an official name yet. We are torn between Y.A. Turtle but you'd have to be a football fan going back to the 1960's to get it. And there's Yurtle the Turtle but he doesn't remind me of Seuss's Turtle.

We shall see what his name is soon...

Inspiration in the Wildest Places

Last September, we were fortunate enough to go to the Galapagos Islands and experience the wonderful creature that inhabit the islands. 

We were told not to go within 5 feet of the animals (the animals and everything on the islands is protected - including the stones) We we amused because on several occasions the animals were as close as in "you humans are going to have to step over me cause we're not moving."

At any rate, I fell in love with the Boobys. 

There are 3 kinds, the Blue-footed Booby, the Red-Footed Booby and the Nazca Booby.

Have tons of pictures - we watched a mating dance and they paid no attention to us.

I purchased a couple of figurines of the Blue=Footed Booby for inspiration. One was very realistic and the other was more "whimsical". 
Guess which one was my biggest inspiration - the funny one.






So here is my take - on the Blue-Footed Booby. HIs title is "Scooby Dooby Blue" - think Frank Sinatra.

Happy Belated New Year

November and December were busy months - November included two major shows and of course Thanksgiving. Then off to Cancun for a week and home to Christmas preparations.

January I got to head to Boston to meet up with a friend. The weather was OK but got better as the week went on. I got to visit the Harvard Art Museums among other places. I was able to see some paintings Had only seen in books. 

But I was blown away by a box of post cards in the gift shop - which I bought of course.

I will looking for more information on his early art work - and will be posting more photos shortly along with the artist name.

And will be adding some of my new work for the New Year,

Busy October

Bead Bonanza is this Sunday, October 15th, at the Southfield Civic Center. The show begins at 10 and runs until 5. I will be with Candy Orow and with some of Joy Cichewicz's computer printed earring findings - which are pretty cool - at the Fire Foxes booth.

"Our Town Show & Sale"

Also, I will have 5 pieces of jewelry at the "Our Town Art Show and Sale" at The Community House in Birmingham, MI.  

It's a short show, October 20 - 22 but it is a big show and showcases the work of a lot of Michigan artists.

"Our Town Art Show & Sale"

October

This promises to be a busy month for me. My finished work will be in two shows month - Our Town Art Show & Sale at the Community Livonia Fire Arts Exhibition in Livonia.

Our Town is probably the shortest gallery exhibition around - from Thursday night, October 20 thru Saturday, October 22. It fills most of the Community House! 

It is the biggest fund raiser and contains a lot of local art. I will have several pieces of new jewelry in the show. I have done this show for probably 7 years.

The Livonia Fine Arts Exhibition is a new show for me. I decided to work on showing my finished work. This show runs from October 2 thru the 28. It is located in the Bennett Civic Center Library, Fine Arts Gallery. Unfortunately, I don't have a graphic for them.

Two of my feathered friends will be on display there - "Valentine" and "Valiant".

Home From BeadFest

The Fire Foxes Made it Home-

Our drive to Oaks, PA was uneventful and we arrived earlier than usual - no rush hour traffic!

Sadly, I took only one picture of the table and it doesn't do it justice. Joy's lights are eye-catching as well as our corner glass case.

It was so good to see our old friends and to make new ones. There were some long time friends who we didn't see and missed very much.

The show went well, though on Friday, a major storm went thru - fortunately, it was over by the time we were done for the day and were able to enjoy dinner, shopping and a relaxing drink in Phoenixville. (great shopping there!)

On our return to Michigan on Monday, we pulled over on the side of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, put on our eclipse glasses and enjoyed the view.  Got back in our car, drove a few miles and saw some folks on the side sharing glasses - we stopped and gave them ours!

Thanks to our friends who came by and shopped with us and those who just came by and said "hi". Hope to see everyone next year!

Newest members of the Flock

Today I managed to finish up work on the 3 newest members of the flock - Suess the Duce, Maverick and Bonnie Blue - just in time to make the trip to Bead Fest Philly.

First up is Suess the Duce, he is the younger brother of Suess who was the first of my mini-birds.

Second is Maverick"  who is on the left. It's hard to see it in the photo but he is wearing goggles which are copper electo-formed around his eyes. The "copper" disks in his neck are also electro-formed as well as his little boots.  

  He began when the "Junior Bird Man" song started playing in my mind. I figured something kind of goofy, then the idea of the goggles, the combat boots and finally the copper plating.

But he ended up looking too serious and one night when I was working on him the was a piece about "Top Gun" and Tom Cruise and "he" decided he was "Maverick" - who am I to argue.

And lastly, ˆBonnie Blue. She makes me think of a sweet Southern belle.
Enough for now -

Bead Fest Philly

Bead Fest Philly

The Fire Foxes, Joy and I will be at the Bead Expo again this year.
The show runs August 18 -19, 10 AM - 6 PM and Sunday, August 20 from 10 AM - 5 PM.

We will be in Artists Row again this year - Booth 550.

Will be posting some pictures of our new work but for now I want to give you a $5 weekend pass for the Bead Expo.

We hope to see you there!

Lawrence Street Gallery 30th Anniversary Celebration

This show celebrates the gallery's 30th and they have invited former members to submit their work. 






Here's Lula Belle - "Did I do that?"

My friend who raises hens for eggs told me this is exactly how the hens look sometimes after they lay an egg.




                                    

 The on the right is "TIme     
 Flies".

It's made of brass and assorted watch parts. The glass beads are a silver glass.




The piece to the left is, "The Egg & I".

I imagine that's how the hen would feel if she knew what was happening to her eggs!

And I am preparing for BeadFest Philly, Friday, August 18 - Sunday, August 20. Will be posting more info next week.

Glass Craft Expo

Fire Foxes Glass at Glass Craft Expo

As part of Fire Foxes Glass, I am excited to be headed to the Glass Craft Expo. We will be at table G-10.

Thought I would post a few of my newest birds - 

"Meet Lisette" - with her Easter Bunny ears on and her "friend", "Mary Lou... 'and who are you?'" and "Lula Belle...'Did I do that?'"

They are part of my "The Egg and I" series.

They will be there with a few other new friends.

"ZaZu", by the way, now has a new home. But the flock continues to grown and move on.

Bead Bonanza - Sunday, March 19th, 2017
Nothing like waiting until the last minute to post info. Some how my list of shows got deleted ... maybe can I blame the gremlins!

At any rate, Candy and I will be at Bead Bonanza tomorrow, 10 AM to 5 PM. Admission is $5.00 and there will be almost 50 vendors from around the country. But enough about the show.

Meet the newest members of my flock, Franklin and Valentine. They will be making their debut at Bead Bonanza along with other family members.

Ok!

Two post in less than a month! 

Show season is getting ready to start. I use the months of January and February to play and explore. Lately, it's been for the birds  and I've been having fun.


You already met "Lula Belle" and her little friend and now you can meet Ms. Suess, not sure if she's the sister or wife of my original "Suess".

So here she is.

The fun continues in the studio and I look forward to adding some new things soon!

But for now, Mexico is starting to call...