Back to Work

Ah the poor neglected blog.

So here's what I've been up to the last several months in 50 words or less:

Got a real job.  Had fun.  Met great people. Stressed out.  Cried.  Stressed out some more.  Quit real job.  Regained personal life. Realized if I put the same energy into my own business it would be successful.  Fell in love with lampworking again. 

Whew!  Hope I never have to run through that cycle again! 

So what's next? 
Back to the torch full time, but with a new appreciation for what I will now consider my "Real Job"!

P.S.  I'm walking in the Anacortes Relay for Life this weekend.  Check out my Etsy shop to read my personal story and see how you can support this great cause.

Life Lessons from Farmville

For the last month I've been playing Farmville in real life, and in all honesty it's the best job I've ever had.  I worked apple harvest for my Grandfather who is 85 years old and has been farming for at least 60.  I had worked in the orchard several times as a teenager, but I didn't really appreciate it then.  It was incredible to go to work every day with a man who truly loves what he does and I learned so much from his passion for life. 

The very best part were the stories.  Several times a day, we would be walking through the trees and he would share a story from his past.  I heard stories about his grandparents homesteading in the area and weeks spent hiking all over creation with his brother.  There were stories about installing the first telephone lines in the valley, and  building the first irrigation lines in the area.  There was a story about the town sheriff that didn't have a car, a uniform, a ticket book or a gun; but would just let your dad know if you had done something wrong.  He told me how he milked cows every day before school and about the plane he learned to fly.  My favorite story was that when he was a teenager he was paid 75 cents for every 100 apple boxes he built, and at the end of the summer he and his brother pooled their money and bought a Model A for $75.00. 

Sometimes, life offers us amazing opportunities and when we take them and cherish every moment, our lives are enriched beyond measure.  So today: eat an apple, hug a tree, thank a farmer, bask in the sun and really appreciate the incredible people in your life.

Sunset Pastel

Yesterday I played with Sunset Pastel glass from Effetre (591206).  It's a pretty pink in rod form, with concentric lines of orange and darker pink in the core.

By itself, it ranges from coral pink to orange either with or without swirling.  The spacers in this photo were wound straight on the mandrel, the larger beads were swirled on. You can see the range of colors that come up both ways.

 As you can see in this spacer, there is some devitrification when exposed to too much heat. This one was the first of four on the mandrel.

When encased in clear, this color seems to run more toward the orange end of the spectrum. Which is really intensified when used over black.

When encased in CIM Blush, the color really leans more toward a purple tinted pink.

And when mixed with ivory, blown into shards and layered over effetre black the color also appears as a swirly coral with some crazing where it meets the ivory.

All in all, a color I will continue to play with, and probably even re-order.