Yup, I'm a glassMAKER. Noisemaker? That might be another story. In the old days they called us "craftsmen" or "hobbyists," or, to be a wee bit nasty, "crafters," and made unflattering references to tea cozies* and paint-by-number sets. I was told today that the correct term is "maker," and it includes everything from robotics to knitting to calligraphy to programming [...]
You're sick again?" she asked in disbelief. "Yes, but this time for real," I said. Oops. I knew I shouldn't have answered the door... It's the Girl Scouts, back with those dad-dratted cookies. And now, in about five weeks, I get to figure out what to do with NINE BLOODY BOXES of oversugared snackfood. OK, confession time: Sometimes, on the [...]
"I REALLY like your swatch!" said the chick in the gorgeous teal leather boots, grabbing my arm as she passed, "It's so wintry and I LOVE the contrast!" "Yeah, I was going to say that, too!" said the woman behind me in line at the bakery. Uhm...took me a sec to connect "wintry swatch" with the aqua stripe Markie had painted onto my head [...]
People who salvage old glass for kilnforming frequently tell you to avoid tempered glass like the plague because: It's impossible to cut or break (unless you don't want it to break and then it explodes all over you like a bad Clive Barker movie) It's dangerous; tap it in the wrong spot and--blammo!--here comes good ol' Clive [...]
And yep, for those of you who know anything about glassmaking (or have been to the Bullseye factory for just about any event), nope this isn't Tekta rolling down the lehr. If I'd had a picture of the Tekta line I'd have posted it, but the Bullseye site is down, and I'm just to illustration-happy NOT to put something [...]
Ever wonder if our whole modern urban lifestyle is really just quarterlife? Like we're maybe so focused on getting to the next goal, the next day, the next paycheck, whatever, that we merely skim the surface of now? Kinda like paying full price for the best seats in the theater...then watching the show through a foggy windsheld and earmuffs. OK, [...]
Maybe you could find someone who'd leave a holiday dog show in a bad mood, but it'd be tough. Wet-dog smell has taken up permanent residence in my nostrils (gazillions of dogs gathering in the rainy Northwest? c'maaaan!) and my brain has pretty much OD'd on cute, silly, cuddly, fluffy, adorable, funny... It was raining dogs and dogs outside; the wet-dog [...]
"Grammy and I went to the holiday show at the fairgrounds last weekend," says the mostly naked woman slithering her pert undercarriage into bikini briefs not six inches from my nose. "She was telling me all about the Christmasses they used to have when she was a little girl. It was really different back then because their parents didn't have [...]
"After you, dear!" she grinned, opening the door with a flourish. Her companions still struggled to emerge from a massive blue Caddie handicap-parked in front of the diner, so she was holding the door for everyone else while she awaited them. The lady was plump, with stick-straight silver hair in a pixie cut. She rattled the Caddie's keys in one [...]
Remember that Color Line enamel glass paint that I beta-tested for Bullseye awhile back? This, apparently, is what Color Line can do in the hands of someone who knows how to use it. (IOW, someone other than yours truly) Here's the story on that: Last weekend my friend Carla and I hit up the Oregon Glass Guild's Open Studios tour, [...]
