Blog

Elegance

1” x 2.5”, found objects The kids spent an hour last night cleaning off old rock samples used for a geology class.  Each one is labeled, and I recognized a lot of the names. Pyrite, mica, garnet, and many more. It started me thinking about what gives our stones value,...

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Tolerances

1" diameter, found objects A generous friend who knows I like little things stopped by this week with two boxes of black gears. Beautifully milled and with good weight they look nice, but apparently their tolerances were a bit off and they failed some QA tests.  The...

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Compatibility

1"x1.5", glass I've been doing some glass fusing with two classes at the High School.  One of the key concepts in fusing is compatibility.  All of the glass that's fused into one piece has to have the same coefficient of expansion (COE) so that it doesn't crack apart...

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Slick

1" x 2", glass and found objects I spent hours as child looking at the oil slicks floating on top of puddles by the side of the road.  I loved the swirls and rainbows of colors, and the way they changed as I moved my head. Some things that I've learned about over the...

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Gifts

1" x 2.25", gifted objects This weekend at Open Studios I put my jewelry on display at the Armory building. Selling handmade work is strangely vulnerable, waiting for strangers to decide whether they like your style and your technique enough to own your work and pay...

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In Spades

1" x 3/4", found objects It's springtime and we've pulled out the tools for the garden.  For the most part they get used and then stuck in the dirt until the next time we need them, which means that every day as I walk to the door I pass a spade sticking out of the...

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Ordered

1"x 2", found objects I've always loved library shelves.  Books with different heights and colors, textures and fonts, all lined up, spines pointed out, lined up and put in order. Ruffles and pleats, stacks of plates and folded sweaters all have the same comforting...

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Points for creativity

1" diameter, wood It's not just the tiny size, cool shapes and neat textures that I love about scraps, but also the fact that they've been tossed aside.  If I can find a use for them it feels like I should get extra points, not just points for good environmental...

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Shield

1"x 2", glass, stone and found objects In the ongoing days of COVID I'm thinking all the time about how to shield myself and my family from the virus, whether it's with masks, isolation or elderberry syrup.  But it's not just the virus that I shield myself from. I...

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Substantial

1.5" diameter, found objects Many years ago I learned to make hollow glass beads.  When they're made with opaque glass they trick the eye, looking heavy but feeling light.  I learned this week about aerogels, which are a most extreme version of being mostly hollow and...

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