Other Time/Money Sucks

 

My graphic fails to register the insane # of hours it takes, let alone money to prep for an art show!

Prepping for a show takes a lot of work. If you are one of the organizers, it requires weeks if not months of meetings, phone calls, emails...and even more !

If you are just a participant you not only need to create the art you hope to sell, you also need to price it, create professional looking tags, wrap, and price each piece. Depending on your work you may also need to invest in special bags, paper, and/or bubble wrap.

Set up is often the day of the show and you must adjust for the space you are assigned. You'll need a booth in some instances, table cloths, display units, and potentially, a sign.

Advertising may be done buy the sponsoring group but you also need to reach out to your mailing list!

When pricing, you need to take into consideration the cost for being in the show as well as a 2.6% credit card fee + 10 cents per transaction. Some credit card fees are higher!...and then there's the time it takes to close out a show, packing up what's left as well as your displays, etc. In my case, each piece of glass has to be wrapped carefully so they don't break on their return home.

These are the hidden elements most customers don't realize. If you add up the time artists spend on work just to market and sell their items we probably make about 3 cents an hour, if we're lucky!

But we do it..because making art gives us joy...and eventually we figure out a few short cuts that might bring us up to a nickel an hour!

More Judaica!

The Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education will be hosting ORA Northwest Jewish Artists on April 7th from 11a-4p. It's a free admission day at the museum and will also feature an amazing exhibit called The Burned Piano.

I'll be selling a good bit of Judaica as well as my masked featured in earlier posts. This is one of my simple Hanukkiot...

Most folks call these menorahs, but menorahs hold seven candles. A Hanuikkiah holds 8 candles plus the Shamash (a lead candle.) 

Come see me...I'll be there all day!

Oh Lucy, I'm Home!

 

I Love Lucy! Yes, that was the name of her television show....but I love Lucy! 

Lucille Ball was not a compliant woman, at a time when women were expected to be agreeable and do what their husbands told them to do. 

My tribute to Lucy includes a chocolate heart necklace and earring (resin shaped to look like chocolate. That's a nod to a fabulously comedic episode where Lucy and Ethel work on an assembly line in a chocolate;late factory. Her other earring is a bottle of Vitameatavegamin which she was sampling repeatedly as she was being filmed for a tv commercial. Apparently this miracle supplement had a high alcohol content, so with each spoonful, she became increasingly drunk. Hysterical!!!!

Lucille was an elegant woman who wasn't afraid to  "act out'. Her over shirt is made from my mother's old lace table cloth. My mom and I used to watch reruns of this show in the 60's.... Mom would approve!

The pink heart was needle felted and bears her initials LB in rhinestones.

What can I say? I love Lucy!!!!! Come see her for yourself at the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education on April 7th from 11a-4p! FREE ADMISSION to the museum and our show!

A Tribute to Harpo!

 

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, I only make masks of individuals I wouldn't mind inhabiting space on my walls. Harpo is one of those characters who remind me how important it is to be silly and laugh!

As a child, I delighted in watching Marx Brothers movies on tv. I still do!

Harpo was the most musically talented of all the brothers...and could make people laugh without uttering a word!

His hat is made of felt with green sparkles that match his eyes. His time is made of needle felted wool and the harp is a sticker I found.  His hair? Dolls hair from a local craft store....and yes, it's a real bike horn!

He'll be available for purchase at the ORA Artist A-Z sale at the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education on April 7th.... Thanks 11a-7p ! Come see me...more importantly, come see him. I think he's kinda cute!

 

MASK TIME!!!! Caricatures in Fused Glass

 

I have such fun making fused glass caricature  "masks". I'm prepping for a 1-day art show @ the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education on April 7th (11a-4p). The museum is generously sponsoring ORA Northwest Jewish Artists in our ORA Artists A-Z show. 

I'm in the process of finishing my third mask that I'll be selling that day. Albert is the first mask I want to share with you all.

I am always optimistic that they will sell, but my rule of thumb is to only create masks of folks I am happy to live with on my own walls.

Albert was made awhile back ...but I wasn't ready to part with him. Although I am still quite attached, I am ready to say goodbye if someone wants him...and I am also happy to keep him.

More frames

 

I forgot to take photos of the frames before the addition of the photos....OOOOPS! I don't have permission to show faces so....the faces have been "masked" to protect privacy.  This one says Mishp'cha or mishpocheh (in Yiddish) which means Family.

And this reads: "I am my beloved's...and my beloved is mine" from the Song of  Songs

It's a frame up!

 

Framing up!

A lovely young couple received one of my gift certificates from friends  Their friends imagined a menorah or a seder plate, but the couple wanted special frames built for three of their wedding photos.

The photo above shows Hebrew lettering pasted onto copper foil. The lettering spells a beautiful saying from Song of Songs: "I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine." Frame #2 will say Mishp'cha which means "family", and the third reads "Ahavah" which means "love" posted below. Once I cut these letters out, I soak them in soapy water and dry them with Q-tips. When the glass is cut they are sandwiched between a layer of opaque and clear glass. Under intense heat the copper color turns a deep burgundy and sometimes has hints of blue.

Below you can see the frame about to be fired for round one. The top temperature will be about 1425 degrees fahrenheit. It's clear glass capping white. The glass is in the kiln for its 14 hour heat bath as I write this.  Tomorrow I will add a branch to the two sides with small leaves (the green stuff next to the frame) . It'll go back into the kiln for about 16-18 hours tomorrow with those embellishments.  I'll post again when all three have been finished...but without the wedding pictures. The couple deserves their privacy.

Yikes! It's 2024!

 

I haven't written anything in a couple of months...OOOPS!

I've been busy filling commission orders and haven't really had the time to write about my work.

Above are pictures of 2 new gnome commissions that I'm pretty happy with. What do you think?

Here in Portland we have been blanketed in sub-freezing temperatures, snow and ice for almost a week. Today the temperature is above freezing but freezing rain and a temperature drop are predicted to hit in just about an hour. 

While it is the perfect time to focus on cleaning up my studio, inertia has grabbed a hold of me. Maybe later today?

Meanwhile, I am sketching ideas for a future project and helping our artist guild ORA plan some new events. That just seems like more fun than cleaning! 

Hanukkiah or Menorah?

 

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There is often confusion about what to call this ritual item that eventually holds 8 candles and a 9th lead candle. Most folks call it a menorah...but technically the menorah holds only 7 candles.

Hanukkah is a festival lasting 8 days. Each day succeeding candles are lit: 1 for day #1, 2 for day #2, etc..... The candles are lit from a lead candle also known as a shamash. This candle holder is not a menorah but a hanukkiah.

I've made two additional ones which will be available for purchase at the MJCC here in Portland Oregon, tomorrow! Our Marketplace event will only be open through Friday Dec.1

Come check out my table...and all the other amazing artists!

Each of these has silicone feet. Candles are not included!

New Works/ Hanukkah MarketPlace

 

I don't know why I keep forgetting to post on this blog! Oh Well...I'm here now!

This is my table area at the MJCC (Portland Oregon). ORA has a Hanukkah MarketPlace event all week. In addition to my tallit clips, garden stakes, seder plates and quilted glass, I will be adding menorahs to the display starting this afternoon !

I'll post photos later this evening.

It's About Time!

 

Twenty +...yes...20 + years ago we renovated our kitchen area. We had a curio cabinet installed and I asked the contractor to leave space for my own windows. 

Inertia, perfectionism, laziness, forgetfulness...more inertia, more perfectionism, more laziness and finally "What the Heck!!!!...just do it ! (to coin a much over-used phrase.)

I'm not getting any younger! I decided to opt for an easy solution. I used Bullseye Tekta and tack-fused blue and clear confetti . That's it! 

How silly that it took that long to do something so simple, so basic!

The Long and Narrow

 This is a commissioned piece for a long and narrow bathroom window. The hoe owners wanted to add a little more privacy to the space. It's approximately 20"x9".

The base is Bullseye Tekta clear and is topped with a cloudy white streaky glass. The tree is adorned with green fruit and dichroic dots. Powdered fruit was sprinkled on the background to create a "mood. The moon is a small disc of new lavender capped with iridescent clear. The grass is aventurine green with home-made aventurine green fruit.

Fingers crossed that it will make the journey safely...A family member is carrying it on a flight to the mid-west. Hopefully the bubble wrap is a sufficient to protect it!

Gnome on a Stick

 Just having a bit of fun in the studio. He was pretty popular at my last show....going to make a few more of him... I might have to start naming them....better yet, the new owners can do that!

Tree of Life: Aitz Chayim

 

This is the other commission I created, a gift of gratitude for someone who chaired a fund raising effort to benefit our community. Below is the explanation I provided.

Aitz Chayim, The Tree of Life is symbolic of so many things. Traditionally, it is a metaphor for Torah and also for knowledge and wisdom. In mystical Judaism the Tree of Life  demonstrates the essence of God ( as best we can understand ) and the manner in which the world was created.   

This glass plate  was inspired by a quote from the book of Proverbs (referring to the Torah) where  it says:

דְּרָכֶ֥יהָ דַרְכֵי־נֹ֑עַם וְֽכׇל־נְתִ֖יבוֹתֶ֣יהָ שָׁלֽוֹם׃ עֵץ־חַיִּ֣ים הִ֭יא לַמַּחֲזִיקִ֣ים בָּ֑הּוְֽתֹמְכֶ֥יהָ מְאֻשָּֽׁר׃

“Her ways are of a pleasant path, and all these ways are of peace. She is a tree of life for those who hold fast to her and all those who hold her are happy.”

Cycling

 

This was a commissioned gift for the editor of a local community newspaper. After 31 years of dedicated and loving service to the community , she is retiring and plans to spend a lot of time bike riding with her husband.

This was sooo much fun to make. It is a mask I call cycling because in addition to biking, cycling takes on all kinds of meanings that apply to her. The face, lips, eyebrows and eye balls are all made of fused glass. The hair is bike chain and the eyes are accented with bike gears. Her nose is a #2 pencil and her left earring is a stack of mini newspapers . The right earring is made of computer keys...page up and page down. It is equipped with mounting brackets so it can hang on her wall.

 I think the recipient likes it! Yay!

I've Got My Eye On You!

 The Commission is complete ...and will be presented to the recipients tonight.

Once it is in their possession I will publish photos of both pieces.... 

Keep an eye out!

Turning Scraps into Art

This new piece is 100% recycled material ....The wood backing was a piece of thin scrap walnut I fished out of scraps bin, the copper backing is a piece of sheet metal gleaned from the steel yard parts pile, and the glass is all left over pieces of iridized cathedral glass leftover from other projects. The sheet metal looked pretty dull, even after thorough cleaning and polishing, so I hit it with a light coat of copper spray paint from a can I had sitting in the tool shed (aka garage!)

The wood had some spalling (holes caused by a natural occurring fungus) so I added to it with a little bit of wood burning. There is a solid piece of glass backing up the small rectangles. It is clear with clear iridized confetti glass fused into it.

When the sun hits it, it is absolutely gorgeous...a true rainbow of colors!

This one is a keeper...it's going on a wall in my dining room.

This one is

New Commissions

Before and after pix ....I spent part of my day degreasing some really good looking gears for my latest commission, in progress.

Each gear was absolutely caked in thick sludge. I feel like I should become a spokesperson for  Dawn liquid soap! I use it all the time to wash my glass...and I have to say it is fantastic at removing this gunk!

I looked up sludge in the thesaurus and among the synonyms I found these wonderful words: goo, grease, gunk, and muck! Dawn made a gross task simple and efficient!

Anyway, I can't reveal the details of the project until it is presented. but I am really excited about it !

I just started cutting the glass today....Due to other obligations, no glass work for the next few days...but I will resume the work late next week. I'll post more pix and info then!

I just finished another commission, but again, I can't share anything about it until later...in June.

Stay tuned. I know my posts are sporadic...but I appreciate you taking the time to read them!

      

WHY AM I NOT IN MY STUDIO?????

                     

Sometimes the distractions are too pretty.... too beautiful.....too distracting! What can I say?

Writing About The Tedious....Is....Well....Tedious!

During the spring, summer, and fall, I do all my wet work on my lower back deck. ARGGGH!  

Okay, I think I am done with sharing the tedious aspects of art making. I haven't yet shared my reflections on the storing of display equipment, the storing of the artwork, the record keeping, the labeling, the pricing, the advertising....and sigh....the list goes on. I love making glass and I hve learned to get past my introversion tendancies enough to actually enjoy meeting with my customers. It's been awhile since I have heard a comment like, "oh, I made a glass tray once...this is easy!", and I fortunatley haven't heard someone complain about the prices of my art and others being too high. But my last several posts and this one are reminders to all the wonderful art lovers and consumers of art...that when you purchase a piece of art, large or small, it's more than just a bit of glass with some doo-dahs on it. It's more than just some paint slapped on a canvas. It is the result of study, hard work, the aquisition and maintenance of tools, the cost of belonging to a guild, renting a studio or maintaining one, advertising,etc. Most artists I know are happy to just break even.