Coming Up ~ Fall Art Shows!

Flying by the seat of my pants to catch up, I stayed outside too long with my camera.  Now I’m buried in my studio working as fast as I can producing new art glass home decor, jewelry and garden art for upcoming fall shows.  The first is our first – the inaugural White Salmon Fall Art Tour takes place on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, October 24, 25, 26 from 11am until 5pm.  Downtown White Salmon. One week from today!  We have an event page on Facebook with our map and more information.

A White Salmon Art Council sponsored event.

Join 14 White Salmon artists as they open their studios and a Pop-Up Gallery all within walking distance of downtown White Salmon for a Fall Art Tour.  The self-guided tour takes place on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Oct 24, 25 & 26 from 11:00 am until 5:00 pm all three days.

A preview and month-long viewing of the artists work is at the White Salmon Pop-Up Window.

Participating artists are:

In the Hatchery Studio Arts Building at 363 E. Jewett:

Sally Gilchrist, a painter/printmaker inspired by simple natural forms.  www.sallygilchrist.com

Sarah Morton Erasmus of M.E.Jewelry Co. & Atelier, will be demonstrating the fabrication of her handwrought sterling and gold jewelry at studio #6. www.mejewelryco.com

Cyndi Strid, mixed media artist, is excited to share large-scale drawings and her admiration for our native Northwest bees in studio #4.

In the Elba Building, 290 E Jewett Blvd at the corner of Estes and Jewett:

Peggy Ohlson grew up surrounded by the beautiful landscapes she loves to paint.  www.peggyohlson.com

Linda Steider offers nature photography prints and greeting cards in addition to her kiln-formed art glass jewelry and home decor.  https://steiderstudios.wordpress.com/

Jo Dean Sarins will be using turquoise in a new collection of jewelry featured at the White Salmon Fall Art Tour.  arrayofelegance.com

Barbara Murphy creates colorful, impressionistic gorge landscapes in acrylic on canvas.  barbaramurphy.net

Chris Fischer, traditionally trained jeweler, wholesaler, retailer and artist, has created works in sterling silver and gold filled for the upcoming Fall Tour from Celtic- inspired themes, accented with gemstones.  www.chrisfischerdesigns.com

Miki Caldwell is a functional potter who enjoys making tableware and outdoor decorative ceramics in her studio in Husum, WA.

Ellen Nippollt creates shelter, furniture, clothing, and increasingly, jewelry, designed to a new materialism that’s torn from place, re-paired, re-strung.

Showing in their own studios:

Klickitat Pottery at 264 E. Jewett, Ed and Diane Swick making handmade artistic and functional stoneware pottery for over 30 years.  www.klickitatpottery.com

Ann Fleming at 200 SW Edgecliff Drive, will be showing limited edition bronze and one-of-a-kind clay narrative sculptures, jewelry and handmade brightly painted pottery.  http://www.annfleming.com

Katey Ellen Price at 217 NE Wisconsin Street will show oil paintings that are the result of her love for the outdoors and her continual exploration of both the intriguing effects in nature and a variety of techniques to produce pleasing works on canvas.  kateyellenprice.blogspot.com

In other news……

Opening the First Friday in November, I’m producing work in my other kiln for…..

… a gallery show titled ‘Snow’ at Columbia Center for the Arts.  It opens the First Friday in November with a reception from 6 until 8pm and runs through the end of the month.  I’ve created a series of ‘Snow’ Bowls in my ‘Celestial Series’ tradition and will offer my iridescent art glass snowflakes.

Between those two events I’m delivering work to the NEW Holiday Pop-Up Shop in Hood River at 301 Oak, formerly Gallery 301!  “Locally handmade gifts for everyone on your shopping list.”  It is open Fridays and weekends November – December and open every day the week before Christmas from 10am until 6pm.

There’s more in November, but for now I am dashing madly toward my studio!  Hope you’re all having a wonderful fall.  You can see many photographs I’ve taken between my last post and this one on my Facebook Page, Steider Studios.

 

 

A Sizzling Summer

I can’t believe it’s been almost 2 months since my last post!  This summer is flying by faster than ever and I am barely keeping up.  My garden is overrun… with weeds and deer.

My studio is working overtime catching up with orders. I’m having a run on recycled glass wall pocket vases at the moment ~ you can see the finished versions here.

Since the first day of summer I’ve traveled to Conboy National Wildlife Refuge often to find Sand Hill Cranes, Elk, Otters, Waterfowl and any wildlife that presents itself to me…

I’ve learned to use LightRoom for my photo processing and management; celebrated my sweet girl Treasure‘s 7th BirthDay and my BFF’s 60th!  I’ve had lunch, dinner, coffee and wine with friends over the last 7 weeks…

…I’ve had brush removed from my property for fire protection by a 6 man crew that knocked it out in three days!  We seem to have wildfires near us every summer now.  This wildfire is almost out At Rowena Oregon, across the Columbia River From Lyle WA where I watch eagles and osprey.

I went on a very fun multi-generational family vacation across Western Washington exploring only a fraction of what my state has to offer, including a ride up the Space Needle for the first time and a drive on the beach at Long Beach!

I continue to check on several families of Osprey along the Columbia River.  The babies have grown up so fast.  I was shocked at the rate of growth in the 10 days that I missed while in Alaska.

Yes, I was in Alaska teaching for Half Moon Creek for the 4th time.  My 4th visit to Alaska was magical and deserves a post…no, several posts just to show you how beautiful Alaska is and how much fun we had.

I have volunteered for Columbia Arts, managed my way through the relaunch of my sales site, Zibbet…

…and formed new friendships with a new hiking group while traversing Bird Creek Meadows!

In short, I have not been able to make myself sit at the computer while the sun shines and I can play outside!  I’ll try to get my Alaska Adventure up soon for you to dream up your own Alaskan Adventure.  It’s one of those places that I wish everyone could experience.  I am already working on getting back there!

Thanks to YOU for a Successful Studio Sale!

Thanks so much to everyone who drove to the top of Burdoin Mtn to see my studio & purchase my work!  You make it all worthwhile!!  I’m open by appointment and you can see my work in my ArtFire & Zibbet shops.  Now for some R & R in the garden!

Annual Studio Sale

It’s almost here!  My annual studio sale.  April 11, 12 & 13 in the hills above White Salmon Washington.  I’ll open my studio for three fun-filled days in conjunction with Gorge Artists Open Studios.  It’s the only time ALL my work is unpacked and displayed in one setting.  Enjoy a stroll through my garden on your way down to see my photography and art glass.

I just ordered new metal prints and all occasion greeting cards from my photographs.  My kiln has been reloaded with MORE garden art.  Last night I finished cold-working new earrings and bracelets.  I have a feeling I’ll be finishing them between guests as there’s still so much preparation left to do!

You can find maps at Mt Adams Chamber of Commerce or download a pdf from our website, http://gorgeartists.org  onto your iPad or similar device.

If you’re in ~ or will be in ~ the Pacific Northwest, I’m happy to send you directions, just send me a message.

Until then, I’ll be scouring out my studio & unpacking all my work to show you!

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.

Latest Project with Metal Artist Tom Herrera

I love working with metal artist Tom Herrera of  Prairie Star Designs because his projects are always interesting and creative.  You can read about Tom’s process in creating this trellis and gate on his blog at Prairie Star Designs.  You’ll want to scroll down to May 6th, “Sanoe’s Trellis and Gate” to read about Tom’s process in this project, but you’ll enjoy his other posts too.

My process began with meeting Linda, Tom’s client and sorting out her ideas and color schemes.  She came to my studio sale and chose colors for sunsets and bodies of water as well as several reds for hearts.  She brought a photo of a sunset and we chose watery colors from my color bars and samples in my studio.

I always start with samples, for a client to choose from, so tried several combinations of yellow for my sunset background…and several shades of watery blues for the panels depicting water.

Three layers of sheet glass, topped with heavy doses of Bullseye’s powder colors in striations matching the sunset photo and my water sample that Linda had seen in my studio.   I drew lines through the watery panels to show movement.

The glass is dammed in my Paragon kiln with fiber paper between the samples to keep them separated.

In addition to sunset and water, Linda wanted to incorporate hearts into her fence.  After she chose which red she liked best from my samples, I stacked and fired my three layer combination.  It was simpler for us to frame squares of glass with heart shaped cut outs in metal, rather than me cutting perfect hearts and tediously damming them in my kiln; then Tom having to bend metal around them to frame.

After seeing my samples, Linda chose to eliminate sunsets from her trellis gate so the red hearts would have serene watery blues on each side of each heart.

Linda liked the deepest aquamarine and turquoise combinations especially those with lines showing watery motion.  With Linda’s decisions made, I blew up my samples to Tom’s size specifications keeping my designs as accurate as possible.

Because I STILL have not repaired my larger Skutt kiln, I had to fire each set of panels separately which added time on my end of the project.  I was already behind schedule due to custom work prior to this project and too many spring shows.

We were all happy with the watery aqua panels, especially how they glow under sunlight.

The red absolutely shimmers!  I was annoyed that I had a couple specks of kiln brick dust but it landed where metal would cover it and was so small that when held up to the sun we couldn’t see it, so decided to not shoot for perfection.

The darker turquoise panels also turned out gorgeous, especially when held up to the sun.

The final arrangement of panels and hearts.

And once again, the finished project.  I love it!!  I want one!  Thanks Tom Herrera for your faith in my work.  It is a pleasure to work with you!

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Special Gift for a Special Dad

Happy Father’s Day Weekend to all the men making a positive difference in the life of a child!  I’ve been working on a bird bath that was commissioned as a gift for a special Dad this week.  Below are my process photos:

Powdered glass is sifted in a pattern on top of a sheet glass substrate, then lines are drawn through the powder.  Disc is fired in a glass kiln for about 16 hours.

Second layer of glass powder is added to client’s bird bath, mimicking the first layer, but overlapping colors will be richer.  Lines are drawn alternating with the under-layer design.  Additional red accent dots are added to balance how bright the central red ring turned out.  Firing schedule includes a slow ramp up, long bubble squeeze and careful annealing.

Out of the kiln, a bit of cold-working (grinding the edge to eliminate any rough spots and to form a perfect circle) then it will be almost ready to shape into a bird bath form.

I auditioned it in my sunlit garden to make sure the iridescent sparkle in the glass showed through these colors.  Next I add some lines of gold duplicating those drawn through the powder, then it’s ready for it’s final firing.

To shape the disc into a functional bird bath, I ramp the heat up slowly overnight so I can watch it and control the process the following morning at my leisure.  Center of glass slowly ‘drops’ or sags through the open center of a ceramic ring.  At 1200º it took about 35 minutes – may have taken less time if I weren’t introducing cool air every 3 minutes as I peeked to watch progress.

When I like the shape, I quickly ramp down to the anneal segment, then wait until the glass is at room temperature before removing it from my kiln.  A potter friend made this ceramic ring for me in a larger size than commercially available.

Next up some pendant lighting and a cool outdoor fence/gate project!!

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More Good News – Please Vote!

More good news!  My bowl was selected to be featured in the ‘On Fire for Handmade’ Great Finds (Yummy Yellows) Page! I hope you’ll click the link & vote for my sunny…or should I say YUMMY yellow bowl.  http://onfireforhandmade.com/yummy-yellow-great-finds/

The Poll is at the bottom of the page. 1 vote per computer per IP only is allowed. Voting will close on Friday Morning June 7th.  Please vote for my bowl and ask your friends to vote too!

1st place receives a free Listing in the ‘On Fire Gift Guide’ and a free ad spot in the ‘On Fire’ site.

From my ‘Celestial Series’, iridescent sunny yellow with tangerine rings and 22k gold embellishment.  Oh, and it’s available from my Zibbet shop!

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Update!  Thanks to your votes, I won the feature!  My Zibbet shop will be featured here, at On Fire for Handmade through the end of June.  Thank you!!

Next on my Agenda, ‘Art of the Gorge’ at Columbia Gorge Hotel & Spa April 20, 21

This weekend, April 20 and 21, Columbia Gorge Hotel and Spa presents Art of the Gorge!  One of the Blossom Festival Weekend events in Hood River, we have a Facebook event page for our show.  Please click the link and say you’ll join us!  I’ll be there with kiln-formed glass and photography.

Saturday 4/20, 1pm until 7pm; with a reception to meet the artists from 5 until 7pm.

Sunday 4/21 9am until 2pm.

A glorious setting, you can stroll the magnificent grounds, enjoy delectable food, and even spend the night at this historic hotel.

See you there!!

 

 

Success, Thanks to YOU!

The Gorge Artists Open Studios Tour  was a huge success for all.  It was one of my best in the 15 or more years that I’ve been hosting a studio sale.

Before I begin packing and storing all my work I want to thank everyone who stopped by my studio this weekend.  We had so much fun seeing old friends and meeting new friends.

I loved hearing all the compliments!  If you know who it was at the Lyle Winery (could it have been Syncline?) telling everyone not to miss my studio, I’d love to thank that person with a token of my gratitude!!  A favorite moment was the little girl examining all my jewelry, who exclaimed she’d “never seen anything so pretty and sparkly before”.

My studio helpers, Angela, Jean & Cathy were awesome, as always!!  By the way if I didn’t get a chance to tell you, the wine I served was from Cathy’s 30 year old vineyard, DemiAnni Family Winery.  Alex planted and tended his grapes all those years ago and now makes a fabulous wine.  We have the beginning of a Facebook page set up, so please go ‘like’ their page, DemiAnni Family Winery!

Treasure, my door greeter was so tired by Sunday afternoon that she simply gave up the ghost and napped in the midst of us all.  She deserves a long hike tomorrow!  Thank you everyone for your continued support.  Whether you came to my studio, purchase my work from a local gallery or buy on-line,  I could not survive without you!!