Monday, July 28, 2014

Silversmithing For Beadmakers class



This year I taught a Silversmithing for Beadmakers class at the Gathering in Houston. I had wonderful students who were a lot of fun! They made some amazing riveted rings in the morning and did a bezel set pendant in the afternoon. I really enjoyed the entire day!

Sunday, July 27, 2014

The Gathering Houston

First off I have to admit I took 1 photo the entire trip, very very bad.

Last week I attended the Gathering hosted by the ISGB in Houston Texas. I attended as the 2014 Canadian Regional Director which gave me a slightly different perspective on the whole event from previous years.

I'll be honest, I went grumbling a bit about the amount of time I had to spend in meetings and working. But, it was such an eye opener!

The staff and executive of the ISGB work so incredibly hard, I realized fairly quick upon arrival that my time was minimal compared to others. I also realized how wonderful and important the event and the organization is to the bead making and glass community. It re newed my need to help and made me want to try and do more to help this wonderful organization be all it can be. I urge bead makers and glassworkers to join and to volunteer if they have time and skills they feel they'd like to offer.

I enjoyed the meetings, bead bazaar, trade show, people and yes the drinks and chat in the bar was THE best way to end every day. My roommate was wonderful and we shared a lot of laughs! I always come away feeling a little inspired and a little challenged. There is so much talent at these types of events it can make you feel as though you don't belong, I'm working on some new, different and possibly exciting ideas to up my game and improve my work. I thank the staff, executive and volunteer that make an event like this run, there is nothing quite like spending time with like minded people.

As a bonus the hotel had a roof top pool! Having never swam in something quite so fun I enjoy my morning swims in it!


Saturday, July 26, 2014

Saturday, July 19, 2014

Saturday, July 12, 2014

Wednesday, July 9, 2014

The Gathering is next week!



The Gathering in Houston is next week! Boy did that creep up fast! Seems like not that long ago I was putting together a class proposal and in a week I'll be teaching it. Looking forward to connecting with friends I haven't seen in a while, the Gathering is always great for getting visits in.

I've got some new pieces I'll have for sale at the Bead Bazaar Saturday and can't wait to ogle the vendor booths. Hoping to get a bit of shopping in I've been wanting a pair of embroidered cowboy boots for ages but am pretty picky about my boots, hoping Texas might have something I like.

Thursday, July 3, 2014

Race season begins





It's drag racing season! We've had a lot of rain outs this year and last weekend I finally got some good runs in. We had a friday eve race and another sunday, it was nice to have the dates close together. I'm still adjusting to the car it's very different from the Super Bee BUT I think this may be the one!

I ran my fastest times ever (sub 6.00) and seem to be more consistent in this car. The bonus is it's fun to drive so I've been using it as a daily driver too!