A Day at Mecca

Today's activities began at 7:15 when I left the house bound for Louisville, KY for the annual ISGB Gathering.  This is the national convention of glass beadmakers, with a smattering of bead weavers, silversmiths, clay bead artists and vendors. This convention is held at different corners of the country every year and it's been 5 years since it was this close to Indy.

Getting there was fairly simple - just a 2 hour drive.  I hadn't been to Louisville in a long time and was amazed at how easy it was to get around.  The downtown area has a festive atmosphere with lots of green areas and Fourth Street Live, which is a pedestrian only area for dining, shopping and entertainment.  The bead show was held in the Kentucky Intl. Convention Center.

 In all the years I've been making beads, I've read books about the 'superstars of glass'.  Today, I got to see them for real.  And what a nice group of people they were! They were so cordial and approachable - something you don't always see when there's a mass of talent gathered in one place.  They were more than happy to share little secrets on how to get a certain result with a certain type of glass, or interject amusing anecdotes about their experiences along the way.  The beads I saw were beyond amazing and I came away from the convention center with a mind brimming with ideas.  It made the drive home a little easier as I was planning my next projects while I drove!
Most of my friends from ISLAGA were there today and it was fun chatting with them.  It was neat seeing the inspiration for some of their beads from the original artists. This is a photo of Leah Fairbanks, who has been a great inspiration to me.  I took one of her classes in raised florals last spring and thoroughly enjoyed it.

When I got home, I put all the business cards and post cards collected at the show in a photo album.  These will serve as inspiration for future beads, and as reminder of a special day. 

Thursday's thoughts

It was a gorgeous day today - too nice to be cooped up indoors.  My coworkers and I did go to an annual fish fry at Castleton United Methodist Church where once again, we had the best fish sandwiches on earth!  It's going to be all fish-all weekend!
I was taking minutes in a meeting this afternoon when the creative bug hit me.  Have you ever had to sketch an idea in a hurry and not look conspicuous?  My ideas come to me from many sources - in dreams, in church, anywhere where I should be focusing on the business at hand!  That's why I always carry a notebook in my purse for just that reason.  You just have to get the ideas down on paper before they vanish.  Jim finds scraps of paper on the kitchen table and he can tell I've been creating again.  I gather them up when I get home from work and try to bring them to life.
In honor of "Fish Fry Weekend", here's one of those sketchbook ideas.
Enjoy your weekend!

Today, I present my inaugural blog!

I'm entering blogdom today thanks to my daughter, Sable.  Without her help, I would never have achieved this!  Stay tuned for pictures, projects, artistry and general gab from the mind of 'The Happy Artist'.

This blog will be my showcase for sharing my artistic endeavours with the world!  Here is a teaser, test image to make sure this thing is on and working for everyone to see. 

I'm not truly comfortable sharing my talents with the world yet, so that is why Sable is forcing me to create this clever and easy platform to tout my skills. (Sable typed this by the way)!

Stay tuned!