Thursday:
The kiln is at 830˚ on it's way down. Since I can't make any more
progress til it's out I've been going through folder after folder of
pictures looking for the oldest/biggest version I can find of waxes
and molds in which I have a nicely documented sequence of stages of
making a wax model and filling a mold and finished piece. They have
to be large format because it's for a possible article about us for a
glass art magazine. It would be perfect if I could find both those
sequences of one piece. What I have discovered is that my images are
not nearly as organized as I thought. Yesterday I spent rummaging for
pictures of some of the large scale etched/carved glass installations
we've done. I'd love to do the glass in the back bedroom, the old
entrance to our shop in Houston, but the only camera I have right now
is the one in my phone and etched glass is very hard to photograph
because of the light which expands and totally washes out the detail
of the design.
As
mentioned previously, green pecans have been and continue to fall.
The squirrels are doing their part as many have been gnawed on. My
neighbor thinks a lot of the ones that are falling are really being
knocked off by squirrels when they grab one to test.
We
got a little bit of rain yesterday, about half an inch. Not nearly
enough but much better than the scant 1/4” last Sunday.
Friday:
After I wrote that I decided to try and consolidate and organize my
photos of the pate de verre work a little better. So far I'm still
sorting images in the iPhoto app, haven't even started on all the
folders in the finder.
This
morning the kiln is at 121˚ so it may come out this evening,
tomorrow for sure. Then the last two pieces go in and I start the
grinding off of the excess glass on the box and fine tuning the heron
head inlay to fit in the recessed area.
Also
this morning it felt like maybe, possibly, the weather is going to
break some. I won't go so far as to say it was feeling like fall
might be around the corner because, historically, that doesn't
usually happen until late September and sometimes not even til
October.
But
it is that time of year when the grackles swarm through, hundreds of
them on the ground, in the trees, lining the edges of the turtle pond
and on the top rail of the fence, in the birdbaths, on the roof. They
are so loud thumping around on the roof of the house it sounds like
something is running around up there. And noisy. Omg, they are so
noisy! It's hard to get a good picture that shows just how many there
are because as soon as they detect any motion they scatter.
Labor
Day weekend, two more months til the holiday season starts. The year
is winding down even if the heat isn't. We got word that the open
house is on again for this year so I guess I need to get my butt in
gear and start making those snowflake christmas ornaments I've got
planned as well as a few new high end pieces. Plus I want to come up
with a new cheaper way to display some of the work from last year and
save those pricey stands for future more expensive work.
Well,
the grackles seem to have moved on to the next yard and two
hummingbirds are busy trying to chase each other off the feeder to
the end that neither is getting to eat. And speaking of eating, it's
time for my breakfast.