EART Team Blog Ring- How Did You Get Started?

This Thursday, the Eart Team blog ring asks- How did you get started doing your art/craft?

My mother has been doing stained glass for the better part of 10 years. She had actually invited me to take her first beginning stained glass class with her. I declined thinking that it was an 'old lady hobby'. She persevered and I was able to watch as she learned and created new pieces. Her work area at home kept growing from just the kitchen table to the unused dining room to the full working studio with room to teach classes that my husband and brother-in-law built out for her in her basement. To make a long story short, she bought the glass store in our area and I went to work for her after having my 2nd child. I still had yet to even touch art glass, but immediately fell in love with it and jumped right in (not literally, of course). I caught on very quickly being a fast learner and having the opportunity to work with it full time (and get paid as well!). We started stocking fusing supplies and introduced our community to that glass art technique. Unfortunately, we have since had to close the store (darn economy), but we both now have a full studio at home. I work out of my basement and have the means to work cold, warm, and hot glass (stained glass, fusing, and lampworking).


Head on over to Diva Dea to see what deals she will have coming up:

Diva Dea ( http://divadea.blogspot.com )

A Kid Free Night!

How often does that happen? Close to never. My brother-in-law was gracious enough to take both my kids and host a sleepover with his daughter (their cousin). We often have them all together for sleepovers and it is a blast! So, tonight is MY night. Mark is playing a show with the band and I actually get to see them for the first time in a long time! So, goodnight to you all! I hope your night is as fun as mine better be! I get to sleep in a bit tomorrow (no kids to wake me at 6am), but I do have to be up at a decent hour since I work at 10am. Here's to tonight!

Cheers!

Before I head out, though, I want to introduce my new pieces. I have been experimenting in the kiln. As I said in a previous blog, I am inspired by nature. I have beautiful plants all around my house and have been eyeing the ferns. So, I took some leaves off them to begin experimenting. I started with my simple white glass paint, applied it to the leaves, then sandwiched it between 2 layers of glass and let the kiln do its work. This is what came out and I couldn't be happier!

Needless to say, I will be playing with many more organic inclusions. Stay tuned to see what else comes out of my kiln! Feel free to offer any suggestions of organic things you think I should try!

What is Beautiful Schlopp?

Beautiful Schlopp is anything I make out of glass. I feel that I create 'beautiful-yet-sloppy', intentionally messy glass art. It's meant to look a little 'off' or casual. Being the mother of 2 young children, I rarely have the occasion to wear fancy jewelry. So, I create things I can wear. Glass is durable, so the kids can't break it (usually *grin*). And my designs are great for every day wear. They can be dressed up for those rare nights out, but can easily be paired with jeans and a T-shirt (practically my uniform).

As for where the name Beautiful Schlopp came from... that has to do with my kids also. Mainly my first, my son, Liam. After having him, I changed all my online IDs (e-mail address, MySpace, etc.) to Mommy2Liam. Once I had my daughter, Lyla, I was no longer ONLY Mommy2Liam, so I decided to change all the IDs again. I didn't want to continue with the whole Mommy thing, so I started looking around and thinking of another title. The inspiration came from both my son and Dr. Seuss. Enter this book:

At the time, this was one of my son's FAVORITE books. I can't even remember what the record number of days in a row we read that. But right there on page 7 is where I took Beautiful Schlopp from.

"Schlopp. Schlopp. Beautiful Schlopp.
Beautiful Schlopp with a cherry on top."

And after reading those lines, my son would always mimic in a silly, purposefully high-pitched voice, "a cherry on top!"

And THAT is where I found Beautiful Schlopp. I actually had claimed it before I even started working with glass (we'll save that for another blog), but I have come to embrace it and feel that it represents me and what I create perfectly.