Applesauce

It's been a good week in the studio, things are humming along.
Lots of painting and a bit of glass making.

Blinding winter sunshine streams in everyday and the old steam radiators bang and clank the indoor temp up to around 90 degrees. My old bones love it.

Almost all the shapes are blocked in and the composition seems like it's working.

The paint feels good.
You can see that I've been working on the 'darks' the last few days.
Tomorrow leaves and sunlight.

A Recipe for Winter Skies

Even the dreariest February skies can inspire.

These seven beads have a base of 'pastel pearl gray' glass on one end and 'light fossil' on the other.
Next step was a quick roll in a little bit of 'dark ivory' frit.
Step three was encasing them around the middle with 'blue lavender transparent.'
Then hair thin trails of' intense black' stringer and a bit more 'dark ivory' frit.
Melt down and shape.

I use an edge in my graphite marble mold to shape round beads into ovals.

Maybe I'll mix these with lots of little snowy white pearls for a bracelet.

Who Is That Sleeping In My Bed?

Since my return from Florida this little one has been my shadow.
Everywhere I go, there she is, just sitting there staring at me.

Speckled Seeds

Soon to be a necklace.

A big set of small beads.

Very simple.
'Opalino Yellow' glass - not the expensive 'Opal Yellow' just the original Effetre classic.

The Opalino glass colors are some of my favorites - make sure you work them with lots of oxygen or you can get soot trails.

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The spots are Double Helix iridescent 'Triton' frit.
Some have only one or two spots and some have many, some I put thru a reducing flame at the end, some I did not. I wanted lots of similar beads, but nothing identical.

Yes, all those butter yellow to dark honey color variations are from the same color glass.
I love how some of them get all toasty and some stay pale.

Apples to Apples

Right where I left it.

I can't wait to mess with you tomorrow.

Furry Florida

I spent the last two and a half weeks in Florida hanging out with my dad.
He spends a lot of time asleep in his motorized recliner chair, his cat Snowy naps right there beside him.

I'm more of a 'dog person' than a 'cat person.'
Yet, we forged a furry bond of sorts. I took antihistamines and she howled at me for catnip treats.
Miss Snowy has the same hairstyle as Hitler.

My Dad has TV trays set up for her in strategic sunny window spots around the house.

The Florida weather was gorgeous and I took her for lots of cat walkies.
Walking a cat is not for someone with a logical mind or anything better to do.
A single walk to the mailbox and back can take up to 30 minutes.
There's a lot of spontaneous catatonic flopping, grass eating, gecko chasing, dramatic pouncing, twitching and sudden mysterious freezing in place.

Her only trick is doing an impression of a dead bug. Nailed it.

She has a mesmerizing electric water fountain - very zen.

Man, I missed my dogs.

Oriental & Apples

Working away on the apple painting.
Here it is at the end of the second day.

Look down there!

I finally found an old, tatty oriental rug for the painting half of my studio. It's just the right size, just the right colors and just the right price - $40. A worn out old thing that I don't have to feel guilty when I blob paint down onto it. The medallion is still in pretty nice shape. There must have been a table sitting in the center of the room.

It's cliche, but every painter needs an oriental rug in their atelier.

It's still ridiculously cold and windy here, but the sun was bright and the radiators were cranking.
One of the best things about my studio that it is usually about 82 degrees in the winter.
It's a big old factory, some people freeze and some people roast. I am one of the lucky roasters.

I didn't get a lot done on the painting since I spent so much time admiring my new rug...

Some sky, some leafy greens, some juicy red.

The sunset just as I was leaving.

"I Love You Pumpkin" said the Squirrel

Back by special request - it's the "I Love You Pumpkin" charm bead.

One in copper and one in brass. They're up in my Belvedere Etsy shop.

Here's what the glass beads look like before they're capped and cored.
Yes, I have a request for a white pumpkin - love it.

Every year I leave my Halloween pumpkins in the little garden by the side door for the squirrels to eat.
For some stupid, squirrely reason this year they didn't find and devour them.
As you can see one of them, that was sitting on top of a cement planter, has collapsed onto itself in a frozen goo-sicle. That ought to be fun to clean up in the spring.

Check out this pumpkin that is buried in the snow!
Last week, when it was so stinking cold, a squirrel found it and ate into the seedy center.
Completely hollowed out by the clever squirrel - both tasty and snug.

Red Delicious

I finally started a new painting this afternoon.
Red apples.

I love them at this stage. Raw and energetic.

Inside, the studio was a luxurious and cozy 82 degrees - with the radiators off. 
Outside, the studio it was so stinking cold and windy..
Where were the trains today? Weird to see all the tracks empty.

Sky Lights

Sleepless in Rochester

It was just me, and the polar vortex, hanging out in the wee hours last night.
The dogs had no trouble sleeping. Yes, I let them come under the covers.

Skully Gets Baked

I baked - from scratch - a most delicious cake.
The recipe is here .
Iron Smoke Whiskey, and Skully, are the brainchild of my friend Tommy.
Yeah, it's great to have a friend who makes booze.

Snow Day!

There will be no grilling today.

No fancy drinks on the patio.

No long walks in the park.

No joyriding.
Only a profoundly lazy pajama day.