Another lapse in my blog reporting……it has been a busy, yet stunningly beautiful spring in Nothern Arizona since my last entry over a month ago. As they say, time does fly when you are having fun.

New directions in the studio have included my “Smiles” series of beaded necklaces
and new glass work in sterling incorporating new semi-precious stones, including the mysterious calcodiderite. Matched earrings and pendants in sterling combining calcodiderite and fused dichroic glass is quite stunning.

Next week we are off to the Florida Keys for the second straight April. We fell in love with Islamorada (down below Key Largo) and the Ragged Edge Resort last year. It is right on the Atlantic….but the Gulf of Mexico is only a five minute walk on the other side of the highway. Living in the desert, yet having grown up in Southern California, it is essential for me to have an occasional saltwater fix, and the laid-back atmosphere of the Keys is a perfect place to do so.

Happy spring wherever you are…..until we meet again.

Since spring has definitely sprung here in Northern Arizona, it is very easy to bask in the beauty of a single day. Last week I went to visit my elderly Mom in the Napa Valley of California, and there I got to enjoy the exquisite green hills and yellow mustard fields of the wine country.

All of this beauty definitely helps when I am in the studio! On the flip side, gorgeous days make it hard sometimes to stay inside for any length of time! I am working out the balance as this season unfolds!

A new series of dichroic earrings went on the website yesterday. This is the “dew drop” series; I am just experimenting once again, this time with both the hardware part, and with the concept of presenting a portion of the dichroic glass as viewed through the dew drop prism, which just happens to also be created out of dichroic glass! Hope you enjoy the concept.

More work in silver will be available in a couple more weeks, and it is always exciting when these pieces go online.

May we all continue to dwell in and on the beauty that surrounds us.

After a relatively brief lull in the creative juices that need to flow in the studio in order for anything beautiful to happen…..things are moving nicely again!! It is just a joy to be constantly experimenting with new combinations of glass and color…..it is, fortunately, endless!

Meanwhile, although we are not reaching the 70s consistenly, the weather here is generally milder and milder, with a spectacular day thrown in here and there. That keeps us hikers out there tramping around Wonderland on a faily regular basis!

The newest and latest creations have started to appear on the fused glass pendants page and will continue to do so over the next few days. Check it out! Cheers til next time!

Spring seemed to arrive right on schedule a few days ago, with temperatures into the 70’s the past three days. It has been so beautiful out that studio time has been a bit of a struggle. Major hikes, outdoor luncheons, first return to the grand water aerobics pool (no classes yet), and gardening preliminaries have been but a few of my distractions. I’m not complaining!! February is generally the slowest month of the year anyway, at least business-wise. But it seems like the day the weather turned, the tourists returned to Sedona en masse, and so at least gallery business is trending upwards once again.

I know that climate conditions are not so luscious in many parts of the country, and I do sympathize. But it is like my husband Jim likes to say (having spent ten winters in Wyoming), “eventually, you realize that winter is optional”!!! And hey, I know that many, many people actually enjoy it. I enjoy the slow down, the seclusion, and the beauty of the snow and ice……..but not the fight with the elements.

Thanks to all for your support of the Hearts line…..We shall see soon what emerges next.

I’ve just returned from 3 days in Tucson, visiting many of the venues for the annual Gem and Mineral Show. What an experience! This was around the tenth time for me, and the spectacle never fails to be absolutely amazing. I usually shop for jewelry findings, and for semi-precious cabochons of turquoise and other minerals. There are also lots of tools and other innovative gadgets for anyone’s home shop or studio.

Then there are the eight foot tall amethyst crystals, fossilized sea anenome bathroom sinks, and countless other mind-blowing treasures from our Mother Earth’s bounty. It is always an inspiring journey, and I will be curious to see which bits of inspiration find their way into my creative efforts in the studio tomorrow, and in the days and weeks ahead!

According to “my” solstice/equinox system interpretation, the real first day of Spring is tomorrow, although for many of you that will be impossible to accept! Nevertheless, I feel that whatever directions may unfold in the studio in the near future, spring colors will definitely be part of the dominant palette!

It’s a cold day in Northern Arizona, and windy and wet as well. I’ll take the moisture, but don’t need the other aspects. This kind of day, relatively rare here, makes me appreciate even more the coziness of my studio and the heat radiating from my kiln!

Check out the serious re-stocking of the dichroic earrings set in silver page that occurred today……we heard your nudges about this!

Meanwhile, it seems like now that all of my local galleries are stocked, the non-locals….from Washington state to Colorado to Southern Arizona….are all wanting more fused glass jewelry all at once. I’m happy to oblige, but don’t they know I am still obsessed with the heart pendants?!!!

It’s all in a day’s work…..work that I am most grateful to have.

Stay warm. The Super Bowl is in here Arizona next Sunday, and my husband assures me that a Northeastern team will win. He knows a lot more about football than I do. I’m heading to Tucson that very same day for my annual pilgrimmage to the “Grandaddy of them all”….the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show. Can’t wait!

As so many of you sit in frigid conditions and it seems like winter is here to stay, it seems folly to start speculating about spring. However, as I have described in my blog entry of July, 28, 2007……..(claiming that the equinoxes and solstices are the mid-points rather than the beginnings of the various seasons)…..the very first day of spring is actually around Feb 6th…..heck, that is barely after the Super Bowl, and before Valentines Day! It may sound crazy, but it also gives us hope that warmth, color, short sleeves and shorts are right around the corner.

So naturally, the colors of spring are already percolating here in the studio, and it’s more than just wishful thinking. Many, if not most, of you will be wanting spring colors sooner than you might think, and I have to be ready!

Stay warm, and remember…..with each passing hour and each lengthening day, warmer weather is looming on the horizon!

Little did I know on January 3rd, that when I was playing around in the studio with new heart shapes what a fun and joyous journey was about to begin. I was not really thinking ahead to Valentine’s day during those first couple of days……just “my interpretation” of a universally recognized shape. Well, it is two weeks later, the heart pendants are in all of my Sedona galleries, and the response to their presence on the website has been extremely gratifying. And now, intended or not, the Valentine theme is starting to surface, so I think I will just ride this wave. It is a great diversion from the “standard” shapes! My husband Jim has already suggested a possible new shape/theme for the post Feb. 14 era, so I will have to start experimenting to see what can be created.

Last entry (Saturday) I mentioned a hike that several of us were planning for Sunday…..”The Fin”, one of the most dramatic lunch spots in the Sedona area. Here is the spot: It’s the hight point on the right

Amazingly, wisdom prevailed over valor, and due to uncomfortably cold winds, we postponed our picnic in the sky until a calmer and warmer day, and were content to ramble in the surrounding mesas, arches and dry washes. It was still “over the top”…..as are all outdoor immersions in this wonderland called Sedona. Cheers until next time!

After several days completing around 30 pairs of tiny earrings for a client in Colorado (tiny can be tedious at times)…I am glad to be getting back to my Big Hearts But I am very grateful for every quiet day in my studio, immersed in the joy of creativity.

Today I spent a part of the day up in the Winter Wonderland of Flagstaff, running a few errands, grabbing lunch at my favorite little Japanse restaurant, and enjoying the magnificent drive back down Oak Creek Canyon and the gallery of frozen waterfalls starting to flow.

Tomorrow a group of our intrepid Sunday hikers will climb “the Fin”…..for one of the most dramatic lunch spots in the Sedona area. Wish us well, and I’ll tell you how it went early next week. Thanks to those of you who have expressed your pleasure that these blogs are back!

This is the theme of my new line of pendants, which you will have noticed if you have checked out my dichroic glass pendants page in the last few days!

I have been having a blast creating this series of free-form hearts, discovering what the combinations of my glass cutting and assembly, and the whims of the kiln gods, produce! And my sincere thanks go out to those of you who have already embraced the concept. I can’t wait for the studio window (later this afternoon or tomorrow) to keep this flow going.

Sedona and our beautiful red rock landscape have settled into the pattern of cooler (actually, colder) weather, and yesterday we received our first dusting of snow on the higher elevations of the surrounding rocks and mountains. Just one more of the mystical settings that this beautiful area exhibits! Feeling truly content with one’s surroundings, and grateful, is a wonderful blessing.

Enjoy the Show, wherever you are!