Holiday Art Sale & Show (visual art) in Grand Forks,

The Holiday Glow Art Sale & Show is storming ahead, full blast! It has been a lot of work so far, but I'm learning new things every day about logos, yard signs, advertising, etc. And I'm learning that a contribution of $25 per artist doesn't buy much! Next year, we'll each have to chip in more. I have enough to buy post cards, yard signs and about thirty 8 x 11 colored flyers. I was hoping to have a bit of money left for an ad in the newspaper but we'll all have to do our best to get the word out and about through our big mouths instead!

Artists will have their homes open and show their work, with holiday treats to share with those who stop by to browse and buy art for holiday gifts. I chose a weekend when the UND hockey team is out of town - otherwise too many people would be at "the Ralph"! Now if only the weather cooperates, we'll be in great shape. We don't usually have big blizzards that early in December, but we do live in North Dakota and blizzards are a definite possibility any time after mid-October.

Put Friday, Dec. 4 & Saturday, Dec. 5 from 5-9pm, on your calendar and plan to attend the Holiday Glow Art Sale & Show...no admission charged!

Holiday Art Show (visual art) in Grand Forks

Holiday Glow Art Sale & Show. It's a new event I've organized for Grand Forks. Friday and Saturday evenings, Dec. 4 & 5, 5pm-9pm. Artists will open their homes (or an alternative site) and display their creative art...in time for holiday shopping! Nothing says "I care" like a gift that is hand crafted and one of a kind, not run of the mill. I'm super excited about it, as are the artists that I invited to participate. We will all serve treats, like wine & cheese, or hot chocolate or hot cider and Christmas goodies. I'm looking for an inexpensive yard sign (like political signs) that I can put the Holiday Glow logo on for the artists to put in their yards a few weeks before the event.

I've ordered a bunch of fusable glass. I'm letting my 33 art kids make their own Christmas gift this year. I'll cut blanks for them and small shapes out of various colors. They will design their own glass work, and I'll fire their pieces and have them out right before Christmas. They are super excited about it. And so am I!

Fused glass, Jackie's Art

YAY! My fused glass projects came out of the kiln and I really like how they turned out! I'm hanging them this afternoon at the Dakota Harvest Bakery downtown Grand Forks. I hope to get photos taken and list them on my website shop and etsy shop.

My art kids are doing an Eric Carle unit - their stories turned out well and the cut paper collage is also going better than I expected!

Hooray!

Fused Glass, Eric Carle

Time just races by! We are planning a June wedding for our middle daughter - fun and exciting! In between calls to DJ's and reception places, etc., I'm lesson planning and making art.

I made some fused glass plates last weekend. It has been too long since I did any fused glass work so it took me about an hour or two to sort of get into the right mind set. However, I finished 5 plates and got them in the kiln. Two need to be fired to a higher temp but the others I like. I'll try to get photos up here, and get them listed on etsy and my website.

I started a unit on Eric Carle with most of my art students this week. They painted beautiful, textured papers and came up with characters and a plot for an original story. I'll flesh their story ideas out onto paper, write the text and get the stories ready for cut paper illustrations, in the Eric Carle style. Next week the kids can each do a page or two. I hope the books turn out well! I'll try to post some photos of their work here, too.

Hope you and yours are well blessed in this beautiful autumn season!

Pottery Pets and Flower Beds

Pottery pets and flower beds...my newest ceramic creations are for sale in two local gift shops. I've been so busy that I haven't had time to take photos and get them posted here. I'm starting my weekly art kids next week and have lots of ideas that I want to explore with them this year, including fused glass.

Today we are getting company for the weekend. Our daughter, Jennifer and her little girls, Taylor and Haley, are coming for a slumber party, according to Taylor. My birthday is Monday so they will celebrate early with us. A couple of my sisters will visit this weekend, too. One of them on her way to a wedding and the other is coming for the Brittany Spears concert. That is a big event our city is geared up for this weekend.

Our middle daughter, Sara, is engaged! They have set June12 next summer as the day they say their vows. It is fun to be planning a wedding again!

Soon I hope my life slows down a bit and I can get some pictures taken, my website updated and write about more interesting things in my blog!

Abortion, Visual Art, Weaving Coasters

Some babies die by accident, none should die by choice. Wake up, abortion supporters in this country...let's not kill our youngest! Life is a miraculous gift and there are so many couples who cannot concieve. Let's encourage and support pregnant women so they follow through, carry their babies to term and give them up for adoption...bless the lives of couples who are suffering heartbreak and heartache and emptiness for want of a child. Give the gift of live to them!

Another topic: school starts soon and that means new art will be created by lots of kids. I'm excited to get my students started! We will start on Sept. 14 - I just can't decide if I want to start with some basic color theory or the principles of design. Actually, we'll probably review the art elements first and then go from there. I have lots of returning students and a few new ones, too. It is always fun to have new students as the group dynamics change and that is fun for all.

I've got a set of coasters on my table top loom...plan to get those off the loom this week and knot up or sew the edges, depending on how my time goes the rest of the week...my 'list' is long! I really want to get a denim rug woven on my floor loom, too but it needs warping first and that is SUCH a big job! I almost feel too old to get down on my hands and knees to get it done. I wonder if I can pay someone to warp it?

Last night when I was walking the ice cream truck came down the street. It had the music blaring to alert the kids that it was in their neighborhood. The not-so-seasonally appropriate song it was playing? Silent Night!

Our rabbit trap has not been successful all summer...but our window well was. Eric found the fur and skeleton of a dead rabbit in the window well last week. One down, 10,000+ to go!

How to travel 3,600+ miles in 9 days, Falling Water by Frank Lloyd Wright, Pennsylvania's attractions

How can you travel over 3,600 miles in 9 days? Sit in your vehicle and drive like madmen for over 12 hours every day for 3 days! Stop to pee, grab a DQ blizzard and burger and get right back in your car. Drop lots of money at the toll booths. Arrive at your destination. Take 3 days off (go shopping, head to the beach). Drop off your Uhaul trailer - if you've had the non-joy of pulling one for the first 1,800 miles. Then get up and head back towards home, repeating the process. This whole business is easier if you have made hotel reservations each day before arriving at your rest stop. It is definitely not fun to drive around looking for a hotel after you've already been in the car for 12 hours. Have GPS or a AAA TripTik so you know where you are going. Have a bottle of Ibuprofen handy because your head and back and butt will ache like never before. Carry a TENS (muscle stimulator) unit with you so you can use it at night in your hotel room. Carry lots of Butterfingers to satisfy your sweet tooth and lots of sunflower seeds to help you stay awake!

We just returned home from a grueling drive out to the East coast to move our youngest daughter to New Bedford, MA for graduate school in ceramics. The U of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, has a good program that she will begin this fall. It was fun to get her settled and acquainted in this former whaling town...now in a large metro area, including Fall River and Taunton.

On our way home we took a detour south and stopped for an afternoon in Gettysburg to do a Battlefield Tour and to see Eisenhower's farm, situated right next to the Gettysburg battlefield. Both were well worth the extra driving time... The next day we stopped at the Kaufman vacation home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. The Kaufmans founded a department store chain, headquartered in Pittsburgh. This home was almost unbelievable. I'm still marveling at the beauty of the home in its natural setting over the water falls, as well as the cool design features that Wright included. All the furniture was built in as the home was built. There are multiple decks, in the sun or the shade, so everyone could be happy!

We loved Pennsylvania - there is so much to see and do, that we'd love to go back for a 2 week vacation some time. We had no time to see Amish land, Hershey, Pittsburgh or any of the historical attractions in Philadelphia. Driving through the tree covered mountains, in misty fog, and crossing multiple bridges was relaxing and so picturesque! We want to go back!

We had a painter working inside our home while we were gone so it was fun to get home and see the changes...now new flooring and some new furniture and this old home will be spiffed up and ready for a new school year.