The awards presentation was really enjoyable, and as I listened to the musical compositions and readings being performed, I watched the most beautiful sunset through the window.

Above images are a view through my studio door, and a pair of earrings and a beach stone spiral pendant I created.

Life has been busy. Renovations have started again and we have a long list to make our way through. John and I hope to finally get everything done once and for all.

I have been the recipient of an art award and tomorrow evening is the awards presentation and reception. As a result, my winning piece has been on exhibit here since May 10 until June 15. Very exciting. I'm a little nervous about going up on stage but I know everything will be fine.

I've been spending some time in the studio and over the next few days I will be posting some images of stuff I've been working on.

Above images are of a crow and a duck I took on my birthday while having a picnic. I love, love, love crows. I think they are the coolest creatures ever.

Playing around with solder. It took some getting used to but I really do enjoy it. In the top image you can see how I got better at soldering as I went along. I used glass slides that I found in the microscope box and I sandwiched photos of my grandparents, a window and a tree between two pieces. I then used copper foil all around the edges and soldered the whole works together. Adding the jump ring on the top was a pain, but doable.
The bottom image is of a beach rock that I used for a butterfly body and wire for wings. Lots of fun.

I can't believe so much time has passed since I last wrote. I've been very busy lately with work and life and getting into the studio sometimes, even for a few moments, is difficult. But today I'm devoting to just that. A whole, wonderful, glorious day in my studio. The image below is of an assemblage that I had so much fun making. I made the wooden box from scrap wood that I found and I painted and distressed it to make it look old and weathered. I added vintage newspaper from 1939 that a friend of mine found when she tore her floor up during renovations. Transparent images, rusty nails, rusty bottle caps, wire, a tiny bottle with messages inside, stamping with my favorite stamp, fabric, beach rocks and sticks are all used to create this piece of artwork.

Although I work outside the home now I am still doing creative work that doesn't feel like working at all. I'm a stained glass overlay fabricator and I love it. I work in a studio setting with other artists and my days zoom by. Above are some images of stuff that I have created in my own studio.

I haven't had any time lately to make jewelry or create artwork. Here's a charcoal and chalk drawing on brown paper of my daughter sleeping that I did a few years ago. I hope to get into a routine so I can divide my time between family, work and art.

I started a new job last week and so I haven't been posting as much as I would have liked. I had a day off today so I finally finished this beach stone pendant with spiral. The pendant is hanging from gorgeous wire wrapped pearls.

Earrings I made, two crows in a tree and a detail of a mixed media/collage piece I created.

When I awoke this morning and looked out the window, I saw that everything was covered in a heavy layer of ice. Some of the poor trees are bent over with their heavy burden.

We had 38 cms of snow yesterday and last night and today there is a freezing rain warning. Yuck! Half the city is shut down including schools and banks. I waded through a ton of snow to get into my studio last evening and I listened to the snow beat against my window while I started work on a pendant for myself -- pictured above. I felt very snug and safe inside.

Snowy pictures above are of a tree in my front yard, looking out my back door and John snow blowing the driveway, and Cleveland being his sweet self.

A huge blizzard is forecast for today with snowfall amounts as high as 50 cms. Yikes! Just when you thought Spring was on its way. Above are some images from my studio: my cool rotary dial phone I got at a road side flea market for five bucks; tools I use to make jewelry; a small selection of art books from my library.
Now I'm off to gather firewood for the fire we will have later when the snow is falling and the wind is howling so bad it will feel like the roof is about to blow off.

I've been wanting to make something interesting with beach rocks for awhile and here it is. I have experimented with polymer clay and wrapping the beach rock in it and inserting a jump ring to hang, but that requires many steps and takes quite awhile. Drilling the holes in the stone takes only minutes as does wrapping the stone in wire. Lots of fun.

These earrings with creamy pearls were created using steel wire that I sanded, filed and hammered. The wire looks a little like sterling silver that has been aged. The spirals are pushed out to give a three dimensional effect. Earrings measure 2 1/4 inches from top of earwire to bottom of earring and are made with sterling silver. Available for sale on Etsy.

Images above are Roman Emperor, my cat; a pendant I made; a crow on my fence; snow on a branch; earrings I made.

Above is an image of nest earrings made with steel wire and lovely, creamy pearls. I made the earwires with sterling silver. I'm waiting in anticipation on an order of rice and potato pearls in beautiful, rich colors as well as pastel colors for Spring. You will see them soon in some of my jewelry creations.

A piece of my art work has been chosen for this months issue of AntiDull, an online art magazine. There are many wonderful artists featured in there as well as a link to their websites. Last months issue featured photographers from all over the globe. Why not grab a cup of coffee or tea or maybe a glass of wine and take a peek.

The first three images above are glimpses inside my china cabinet, fourth is a pair of earrings I made and the last is of me wearing some of the jewelry I made. :)

Today is snowy and quiet. And it's Friday! Friday is my favorite day of the week. John and I will watch a movie or two tonight and stay up really late. I'll sleep in of course, but John will be up at the crack of dawn. Above are some random photos that I thought I would post.

- John and I on Signal Hill on a snowy, quiet morning
- A corner of our bedroom
- A mixed media piece titled Family
- A pair of earrings I made
- Roman and Cleveland, my cats, playing

Today almost felt like Spring, so I did some Spring cleaning. I'm not fooled though. I know Winter isn't finished with us yet, but it sure is nice to enjoy warmer temperatures while we can.

I've been experimenting in the studio with the blow torch again and it's amazing what beautiful colors appear on steel wire when it is heated. Fun, fun, fun! I need to buy a proper charcoal block to use while using the torch because the piece of charred wood I was using kept catching fire. :(

If you look closely at the top image you can see the colors on the wire. It's easier to see in real life. Earrings are available for sale in my Etsy shop.