Let's face it...

Do you ever get the feeling that you're being watched? There are roughtly 50 glazed faces sitting on the table next to my computer waiting to be fired. I've been trying to get out to the garage to load a kiln for almost 3 hours. The batteries on Sprout's swing died yesterday, so right now I can't even lull her to sleep long enough to take a shower or go to the bathroom. She's teething so she's kinda fussy and high needs at the moment.

The Dayton Show is this weekend. I'll probably go ahead and set up the table tomorrow night on my own and then meet JJ there Saturday for the show.

I should have plenty of stock for the show. I didn't really sell that much in Louisville and haven't done any shows or sales trips since then. I want to place a little more emphasis on the faces for the art dolls this time around. (Which is why there are 50 of them waiting to be fired.) I'm taking my dolls with me to the show to showcase the faces. I'm looking forward to seeing the response.

ETA: I finally loaded Sprout into her car seat and took her, the diaper bag, and my faces out to the garage. I loaded the kiln while she watched from her car seat and then loaded her, and me, into Mom's car (which I'm borrowing for the weekend) to run some errands. We have new batteries for the swing, and now if I can just figure out the dynatrol issue... (What in the bloody h*ll does ErrD mean?) I'm hoping that JJ can come over sometime next week (I wasn't able to pick up the hydrocal from the pottery supply store for him since they were out of stock... this means that he'll need to come this way next week anyway) and we can poke at the kiln. Speaking of which, I should go check on it.

And the bead rolls on

I negotiated with my sweetie for two studio sessions today. I worked in the studio for a couple of hours this afternoon, and then again for a couple hours after dinner. Sprout played in the playpen we bought her for the studio while daddy took care of a couple things inside and then he took over baby watch and I had quality time to play in the mud.

I made over 100 beads today. I started out working on the same style of beads that I was making the last time I was in the studio. I've been thinking of them as "Squash Blossom Melon Beads." They're segmented like any other melon bead but they alternate a zig-zag division with a straight division so that the end result is rather interesting. When I took the break to come into the house for dinner, I had 117 of those made and drying. (Including the ones that I made last time.)

My plan is to break them up into 3 or 4 groups and glaze all the beads in each group the same color. I will probably fill the kiln with beads in a specific color and then sort them into strands of 10 and pairs after they're fired.

After dinner, I started working on polkadot beads. I got about 43 of them made before it was time to come in. This batch of polkadots have 4 large circles impressed around the bead and then 8 smaller ones. I have another 20 or so balls formed to make more beads when I get back into the studio on Monday night.

For now, it's time to take the baby up to bed. We're meeting Helena and her husband tomorrow at Cox Arboretum to enjoy their butterfly house. We probably won't get out to the butterfly prairie because the weather is supposed to be inhospitable.

This will be a full week. Lisa is coming into town for a personal appearance and we'll be seeing her briefly on Tuesday afternoon. Monday I'm getting together with JJ to talk web stuff and work out firing for some of his doll faces.

Speaking of dolls, I should get the one that I'm working on finished. I'm loving the way that her needle felted hair is turning out. She still won't tell me how she wants to wear her beads.

Still more baby pictures

I didn't say much, in my earlier post, about what I got done today while I was working at my "Clay Date." I added handles to 5 of the 6 mini-amphorae that I'd started. I ended up destroying the 6th by putting the handles on crooked and being unable to correct the problem.

Once I'd finished the amphorae, I turned my attention to some beads. After the Cincinnati bead show, JJ suggested that I might want to have some of my beads strung in sets. I spent some time today working on the "Yarn Ball" spacers that I sometimes make. The idea was that I could string 10 or 20 of them together to make a strand which can be sold as a unit.

I'm going to limit the strands to certain types of beads. I'll probably do them with my shell spirals. Maybe with some of the carved or polka dot beads. The strands will probably be $25 or $45 depending on how many beads are on them.

I need to finish my current doll project so that I can get it in the mail before we leave on vacation. Other than that, the next week will probably be largely focused on getting ready for my trip.

These are probably the last two of the pictures of Sprout from the most recent photo session that I'll be posting. I may try to post some snap shots, if time permits. Otherwise, I'll post a couple pictures from vacation after I get back.

I don't know if I'll have much time for updates between now and then, or if I will have access or opportunity for an update from the road.

Needle felting

I picked up a set of felting needles at the bead show. I had so much fun with the small amount of felted embellishment that I had done on Innna that I wanted to have the right tools for the job. It is amazing to me what a difference it makes to use the correct tool.

I've started another doll. This one is for an exchange on the beaded art doll list that I'm on. The rules of the exchange are that each participant is assigned a swap partner and sends their partner a face. When you receive the face in the mail, you are supposed to design a doll around it. The doll is supposed to be about 4 inches tall.

The face that I received is large and I was briefly puzzled as to how I was going to design a doll which was even moderately proportional. What I've decided on is a seated doll. I used some of the same wool felt that I used for Innna and needle felted a wonderful spiral onto it with hand painted yarn that Heather had given me. I then cut the felt into a rough triangle shape and cut another piece the same shape. Next I added more felt to the front to suggest crossed legs. The needle felted spiral forms the belly of the doll and the center of the spiral is the navel.

I need to stuff the doll but first I need to glue on the face cab. Once it's stuffed, I'll start adding some beads. I want to add more wool to suggest a blanket draped over the doll, and some yarn for hair, maybe. The blanket will probably be made with wool from a bag of unspun wool that I got several years ago when I thought that I wanted to learn to spin.

I went to the thrift shop today, in part to look for more sweaters to felt for more doll stuff. Instead I ended up buying clothes for my family. I bought 12 "onesies" and similar garments, some for as little as $0.10 each. I got a handmade choli and skirt with embroidery and mirrors and beadwork on them for Sprout. I cannot believe how much baby clothes cost new, especially when you consider how little use they get... The thrift shops are filled with baby clothes that have never even been worn, and for a tiny fraction of what was paid for them in retail stores.

I should go show Sprout's daddy her new clothes. I'm anxious to hear what he thinks of the choli/skirt set. Heather loved it and said that if I hadn't gotten it and she'd found out about it, she'd have kicked my butt.

How NOT to get started...

My beads and vessels are on their way to the Bead and Button show by way of Michigan... Hopefully, Melanie won't have a stroke when she sees the size of the box. (I really wanted to make sure that everything was well packaged...)

My mom and I took Sprout to see Madagascar this afternoon. I'm not sure how much of a recommendation it is, but my almost-10-month-old baby **LOVED** it. She laughed through significant portions of the movie and was riveted to the screen for longer than I've seen her pay attention to anything in her short life. I can only wish that I had been in a position to watch her. Mom and I loved the movie, but mostly for Sprout's reactions to it.

When I left the theater, I checked my voicemail to find a message from the organizers of the bead shows that Kim and I have been trying to get into this fall... After a brief moment of panic when the caller identified herself (they don't think our work is suitable for the show? one - or more - of the shows has sold out?) I was relieved and perhaps a bit more panicked to discover that they were calling to offer me/us table space at their sold-out show in just over a week... I guess that they must have had a cancellation.

After a call to my husband, who reasonably questioned whether I'd be able to come up with enough stock for the show and wanted to know how much money we would need to give them and when, I set about trying to gauge whether or not this show was even possible. Next, I called Kim, who won't be able to do the show with me but will send work. Finally, I called my friend (and former studio-mate) JJ whose work has been moving in a bead and doll direction and has been talking for a while about joining Kim and I on some of our bead sales trips.

The long and the short of it is, pending a phone call tomorrow to secure the table and address the financial matters, look for my beads at the Bead Mercantile show in Cincinnati, OH as well as the Bead and Button Show in Milwaukee, WI.

Between now and the end of next week, I need to make shell vessels, half-moon vessels, goddesses, and doll faces... I also need to figure out how I'm going to display the work of 3 distinctly different artists, and all of the other fun stuff that goes with doing a bead show... my first bead show...