All Work and No Play...

...makes Jeanie a cranky and dull girl!

So lately I've joined a couple of things -- a new book club and an art group formed by Jane Rosemont. This past Sunday we gathered at Margabeth's art studio to play with glass.

Our "bring along" assignment was a name tag. I made mine two-sided (they never stay the way you want, do they?). I picked the house motif because house and home is so very important to me. This is one side.

The door reminds me of the blue doors to my friend Jerry's courtyard in France -- heavy, wooden, wide, with wonderous things on the other side.

I just liked the rusty fence (which I bought at Artiscape two years ago), and the cat is a titanium pin from an art fair eons ago, the back long broken off. (Yes, there must be a cat!)The letters are cork stickers.

This is the other side.

Over the base papers, some wallpaper, me (about age 3)and some buttons. I used copper foil around the edges. I loved this particular photo because at that age everything is new, exciting, opening up. With this wonderful collection of creative women, I get that same feeling of excitement, discovery and learning new things.

After munching on finger foods, we started to play in the glass. I did this once eons ago at a workshop. But it's very new to me. It all began with a big pile of colored glass and some base pieces that were clear that we could use if we wanted.

Then came the fun! Stacking glass bits on top of one another, not really having a clue how they would turn out.

I came up with three. Two had holiday colors -- but our guide, Margabeth, warned us that red could come up yellow, orange or pink! We'll see.

The other was more neutral tones. I built it around the brown piece which reminded me of a guitar.

And here are some of my friends' pieces.

Margabeth will fire them and I'll show you a before and after when I get back the finished pieces!

I'm so very grateful I have creative friends here as well as online, so I can make art with people!