Last Class of the Season – Kiln-formed Glass

Come play with glass every Wednesday night in October from 6 to 9 pm at The Dalles Art Center, while learning fundamentals of Kiln-formed (also called fused) glass.  I’ll bring a ton of glass and tools, introducing you to different techniques to achieve different effects in glass.  Many former students have gone on to set up their own glass studio after this class!  Each week we explore a new technique using a different process temperature giving you a set of samples to keep or give as gifts.

No experience is necessary. Beginners will make a series of sample tiles, holiday ornaments and jewelry learning the differences between full (flat) and tack (textured) fused tiles. Students will work with dichroic glass, inclusions, textured glass and more.

A small, functional bowl, vase or plate will be developed for a final project.

Learn the basics of glass cutting, placement and firing while receiving extensive information on the technical aspects of kilnwork, safety and studio set-up.

The returning student can participate in weekly assignments or develop their own course of study based on level of experience and pre-planning with the instructor.

Students should bring safety glasses, wear closed-toed shoes for safety, and bring any glass working tools they may have along with a sketch pad or note pad and pencil and pen.

Call The Dalles Art Center at 541-296-4507 to register. Space is limited to 12 students.

Miracles DO Happen

Two months ago I wrote about my friend who was in a horrific motorcycle accident and life-flighted to a trauma hospital in Portland.  A cancer survivor, she has once again proven to be an inspiration for friends and family.  Today, after a month in ICU, a stint in a rehab facility and then a stay at an assisted living facility, she is HOME.  Not just home, but home with all her casts removed, using a cane and walker to amble about and the wheelchair ditched.

Her wonderful husband rarely left her side during this long ordeal, even to sleep.  Having never been in a trauma unit, to say I was shocked at Kathy’s condition that first week is an understatement. Not wanting to bring any negative energy into her room, I held back my panic and tears while stroking her hand and simply repeated a mantra, “everyone loves you”.   That was all I could do on that day while her broken body filled with tubes and surrounded with monitors lay comatose.

Last week I drove her to a couple doctor appointments, went out to lunch and we even had a couple of side ‘stops’ for a fun ‘girls day out’!  Her bubbly effervescence is so contagious it is no wonder I love this friend!

A few of you asked me how to purchase her work.  Now that she’s home she has re-opened her Artfire studio, Kathryn Watne Enamels.   She’s getting back to work and plans to be in her studio in plenty of time for the Gorge Artists Studio Tour and at least one Christmas show that we’ll do together at MCMC in The Dalles.

Check out her shop, visit her Facebook Page and give her a ‘like’.  Follow her Blog and show some blog love with a comment.  Wherever you choose to visit or get to know her better, give her a BIG Welcome Home!!

Columbia Gorge Artists Studio Tour

Gorge Artists has a call to artists for the 2014 open studios tour in the Columbia River Gorge.  Our deadline is Oct 1, 2013.  Starting earlier this year, the organization hopes to avoid the frantic trying to get everything done that always seem to happen when no one has time to take care of business.  Applications are on our website, gorgeartists.org.

Although I don’t get as much traffic as artists who are in town during the studio tour, I can show you a gorge-ous scenic view when you arrive.  I’ll have plenty of hand-made art glass available as well as a larger selection of my photography than I have in the past.   OK.  Time to get my application in!  All artists who live in the Columbia River Gorge are welcome to apply.  Join me!!!

You can see many of my photographs published as all occasion greeting cards in my Zibbet shop.

Note Cards from my Photographs

I’ve played with photography the last few years and have turned many photos into note cards to sell.   You can click the corresponding links to read more about each card.  This osprey was building a nest along the Columbia River near Multnomah Falls.

I love the challenge of capturing birds in flight.  This raven was flying near a path I often hike.

I also like capturing birds in my garden.  The Rufous sided towhee is difficult to catch standing still like this.

I love the texture of this little chickadee’s feathers as he perched on a branch covered with hoarfrost.

One of my favorite bird challenges is capturing hummingbirds in flight.  In flight or resting, this little Rufous was too colorful to pass up!

I love capturing all of nature, not just birds!  This lizard with attitude suns himself on my stone wall.

Butterflies are just as amazing to me as birds and I’ve learned so much about them through photography.  This Northern Checkerspot is a rare find in my garden.

Tiger Swallowtail butterflies are the largest I’ve seen in my Northwest garden.

Fritillary butterflies are among the smallest with an approximate one inch wing span.

I grow many plants to attract flying critters, so while I’m waiting for them to arrive I also love photographing my flowers.   A trio of Parrot tulips is among my favorite botanical photographs.

Wildflowers also grow in my garden from reputable seed and breeding folks.  I used to have  a large collection of Trilliums but mostly my white-flowered patches continue blooming each year.

Grass widows grow naturally on my property.  As they slowly increase, I divide and spread them throughout my garden.

What an extraordinary flower, the Bitterroot.  I took this wildflower shot near the Columbia River while chasing raptors.

I love hiking in the Columbia River Gorge, you can go from a rain forest to a desert in an hour.  This is a section of the Klickitat River.

One of my favorite places to hike is just outside my back door.   I’ve taken some stunning shots of the Columbia River Gorge from this spot.

I photographed many sunsets with a filtered red sky from wildfire smoke the last few years.  A few of my photos were published in local news media.

Another love of mine is trying to catch the moon!   One night my husband called me a ‘Luna’tic as I set up my tripod and I had to laugh because he was right!!

Hope you’ll take a look at my cards and if you’re moved to purchase, I’d be delighted.  I’m placing them in my Artfire Studio first, then will migrate them to my Zibbet Studio.  I also have printed many images on canvas and metal – if you’re interested in taking a look at those, check my home decor sections while at either place.  Not all my images are listed yet, so if you see a photograph that you’d like hanging on your wall just send me a note with the size you want and I’ll make it happen.

To make it easy for you:  Zibbet Home Decor happens to have a few more than my Artfire Home Decor, but eventually they’ll both be full!