VOTE (again)

Well, it's about time. The "VOTE" link is finally available on Stringing magazine's website for the "Elemental, My Dear" challenge. Hmmm. Is it possible that it was just my computer that didn't want to see the link? Anyway, it's there and you have to vote. I'd really, really, really love it if you would vote for me. :) Go to http://www.stringingmagazine.com/gallery/elemental-challenge/ and vote for number 99. Got that? 99. Did I mention that I love you? You have until April 6 to get your vote in and to get all your friends' votes in too. Tell your friends that I love them.

The pictures for #99 (aka "Smoke on the Water") were published in an earlier post if you want to see them. February's entry "Elemental Design."

The next challenge has been issued. It's theme is Magical Forest. I am really, super-excited about this one! I'm thinking greens and browns with a splash of purple and owls and...and...and, wait a minute. A splash of owls sounds pretty gross, actually. 99

In chicken news, I think I need to start keeping notes for a book titled "Chicks Behaving Badly." Two of the chicks are probably about a week old and the other two chicks are a bit older. One of the older ones has quite a bit of wing and tail feathers already. Anyway, I'm thinking they're duking out the pecking order now. It's amusing, really. Nobody's getting hurt, but there's a lot of rude behavior. For instance, there are about 7 slots in the feeder. Two to three chicks are fighting over one slot while the other slots remain unused. Kids. 99

I've also pondered making some chicken-themed jewelry. Who knows? Could be a big hit in England. They come up with the coolest chicken stuff! 99

Oh, and I may love my chickens, but I will NOT be decorating my house with chicken kitsch. I bought two metal, garden ornaments featuring dancing chickens, but that's the extent of my poultry appointments. The metal chickens stand on either side of the gate to the chicken yard-to-be. Of course, this could be a whole lot like my stand against ever owning a mini-van. Determined, yet somehow short-lived. 99

Glass In Gear

Yay! I successfully fused my first piece of glass art last night. It even came out pretty. I only shed a teeny drop of blood over the whole project when a glass splinter caught my finger. But, it's not on the piece because I promised that it would be blood-free. I think I may have fired it on the wrong side of the kiln paper because the back is fairly rough. The corners are super sharp too (towards the underside). I have to figure out how to fix that before I can turn it into a pendant. And guess what? I actually have a picture of it!

So, do you think people would be interested in buying jewelry with my handmade pendants like this? This is not an inexpensive venture. Artsy glass is pricey. I used four different kinds on the piece above: opal (yellow background), confetti (green and blue), stringer (blue bar), and millefiori (flower dots). I got a small sampling of dichroic with my kiln kit, but I didn't want to use that for my first experiment. Let me know what you think...PLEEEEZE!

On a completely unrelated topic, do any of you have urban chickens?