Need to be careful

I reread some of my post and realized I was writing the wrong words about what I mean about my work. I have produced work in the studio. It just was not new, different, challenging or creative. I discovered a few years ago while attending an intensive workshop at Sierra Nevada College that as an artist I had two separate venues.

The first was to design and prepare a variety of fused art glass for a commercial market. These fairs, boutiques, and shows would bring in some needed revenue to help pay for itself and for the art projects that may not be that easy to sell. Commercially I need to produce enough volume to satisfy a variety of shoppers wants and likes as well as their needs, while creating work that represents what I do in my styles and design. An example of this is the line of Holiday Ornaments I made last year.

Then the really creative side of me is represented when I take risk, try new techniques and develop the skills needed to produce a finished one of a kind art piece. These ends up costing more, because of the of supplies needed, the time involved, and the presentation. There is a time and place for both styles of my work.

When I am in preparing for an event there are many choices to make and lots of attention to the details and there is a personal satisfaction to a job well done. The main ingredient missing is the freedom to push the envelope.

So, between sales, I let go and see where the glass takes me. I am back on this road again after my vacation. I have included a photo of the Bow River in Banff. I have not touched the color of the water in this photo. The river is fed from the melting of the glaciers that carries silt with it. This silt causes the variety of colors ranging from aquamarine to many shades of greens and blue. Every time I saw another shade, or the shine of the water I thought of the many sheets of Bullseye glass that looks like the water. I wanted to get home and reproduce what I saw. Be inspired!