gosh... it sure has been a while since i have posted anything, hasn't it? not sure why that is... guess i have not had much to say.

the SAMA conference in early april was great! i really enjoyed meeting a lot of new people. i also had 2 very good workshops: one with bill buckingham and sophie drouin on working with stones; and the other one with sonia king on the business of mosaics. volunteering was a wonderful experience which gave me an opportunity to meet even more people.

the MAI 2008 exhibit was very exciting... so, so many good pieces representing a lot of different techniques and materials. i think that my favorite mosaic in the exhibit... the one that wowed me the most when i first laid eyes on it... was by scott henderson... i believe.. and was titled swan lake. absolutely stunning! kind of surprising, as i am really more into abstract these days... but it was beautifully done and so, so striking... it just kind of took my breath away. click on the thumbnail to see it.

still working on my monthly rhythms explorations, and i am enjoying both the process and the challenge. i also finished up my latest floating planes piece from my above and below series. i am calling it subtleties. i am not sure how i feel about it... it just did not turn out as i had envisioned it. it was very experimental... but really nothing like i anticipated. i will expand on all that some more when i post some pics in a few days.

not much more to talk about right now... i will post my april rhythms piece now.

more later...

scientist jill bolte taylor's powerful stroke of insight

there will be a new event at the sama conference this year: an all-member mini salon dinner and silent auction. members are invited to register to bring a small mosaic, no larger than 12" x 12", to be silent auctioned or just displayed.

initially, i was not interested in participating, but australian artist marian shapiro kind of persuaded me to join in. so, i created this piece for the event.

the work is titled given, not lost, and is 6" x 9" (15cm x 23cm). the materials are marble, smalti, glass, mirror, pearls, seed beads, beads of glass, shell, and swarovski crystal.

i just finished my second piece in the rhythms series. i am happier with this one than i am with the first one for january. i am getting more into the spirit of the series, and learning more about the technique and how to improve it. so, i guess i am grateful for having to do two do-overs to come up with this third attempt.

what do you think... does it feel like february to you?

A few weeks ago, in response to an inquiry over my website, I sent an email trying to explain how I transfer a design to a 3D object, specifically a vase. The following is copied from that email, with a few quick clarifications added, and is a general explanation only. Maybe there is a tip or two that could be helpful to someone. I reference my vase titled Skin Deep, which you can see by clicking the thumbnail.