Vegemite supplies gettin low...

My desk is overflowing!! I looked at it today and thought to myself, maybe I shouldn't make anything else?? Just look at all those root vegetables! I find it hard to believe that we have been here for so long ( a month?) it feels like I just got here yesterday. But, I'm almost out of vegemite, down to my last berocca and almost out of melbourne breakfast; must almost be time to go home.

Last weekend we taught a sand casting workshop which was fun and chaos all at the same time. On the Saturday we took a trip to the Caithness museum which was quite beautiful and full of lots of interesting stuff. The idea was for the students to make a sand casting relating to something that caught their interest in the museum. I really liked the stuff about the botanist who was also a mad keen baker, the stuffed birds were also excellent ( my favourite was the penguin wearing the kilt in the lobby). So then on Sunday they all came to the studio and we ladled out some glass (all the glass actually). It was pretty hectic but I think everyone had a good time. 

This week I started experimenting with some beets that have a solid worked body. Am pretty pumped how they turned out. Its always a pleasant surprise when they actually look like something from my sketch book ("it's just like the picture!!" i scream everytime).

Working it solid I can get better lines in although it bumps up the weight, not so good for shipping... Even though this week got off to a slow start, I feel like it really kicked it up a notch and came through with the goods. I can honestly say every morning I have been filled with excitement to see the work come out of the box. It's agony having to wait to see if it is any good. Sometimes you think you have just made this awesome, amazing piece of work only to find the next day in the cold hard light it's actually a total dud and perhaps the ugliest thing you have ever seen. Or it can be the opposite, think it is the most hideous piece of trash that perhaps some chimp constructed, sans opposable thumbs, but then you get it out the next day and whaddya know, it's not that bad. Go figure.

There have been a few hiccups with the annealer and you come in all excited to unload only to find that it is still sitting at 500. Ugh. Its an annealer I'm not used to and if you don't kick it up it will just restart the program and go all the way up to temp again. At the best of times I am not very good with programming kilns (again think dull chimp sans opposable thumbs who just keeps mashing buttons hoping for the best) so I'm quite confident a few of these fuck ups can be attributed to me. Needless to say I think I have been relieved of my kiln checking duties....last night I didn't even have to argue who was going over to check at night, as Jeff subtly pointed out there is no use sending me as he would have to go over and fix it even if there was something wrong so he may as well go and do it. Win?

What I am really excited about is some little bottles with cute stoppers that I have been making.

Can't wait to make some more stoppers tomorrow.

So now begins the mad dash to the end. 

Anna is in there firing every kiln possible.

Trish is madly beavering away welding components for her installation.

Then theres this guy.

Perfecting the double headed beer. No thats not true. Jeff is putting together an installation piece too that is going to be super awesome. (i just didnt have a picture of it and to be fair he actually was trying to make a double headed beer glass...)

We also have a small commission to work on as a group which is going to be sweet. Remember how we went to visit that amazing garden with a castle and all that? Well the owner would like a piece for the green house. We are going to make a beautiful leaf inspired piece that will be suspended. F.U.N!!

These are the things I am looking forward to upon my return home:

Squeezin my husband real tight and gettin all up in his grill (the term 'over loving' has been bandied about before)

Puffing my cats cheeks like theres no tomorrow.

JAPANESE FOOD!!! Sushi dinner asap please!!

COFFEE

Breakfast with my weiner sister.

Riding my bike around the streets of Thornbury.

Meeting the new babies that have arrived.

Beers and pub dinner with my mates.

A SWIM

Different clothes...

For now the promise of more glass blowing and a flirtini after work will have to tide me over.

Dinners up, gotta go!

The Golden Beet

I did it.

I fucking did it.

I made "THE GOLDEN BEET"!!

I did what I came here to do!! Victory is mine. I am particuarly chuffed with myself. Cue triumphant music, me dousing the other artists in champagne, the smoking of cigars and me wearing a pink sash. Too much?

And thats all I have to say about that.

Pretzel did good

I am constantly surprised by glass blowing. It pushes me to my brink and then pulls me right back in again. So last post I talked about feelin a little tired and making pretzels. Well what a difference an early night (i fell asleep in my clothes whilst sending emails) and a new day can make!

Today while still being squirell-ey Friday, could have the potential to be a game changer of a day!!! And I owe it all to making pretzels!!! If I had not spent a day miffing about making, or trying to make pretzels i never would have got that one step closer to.....THE GOLDEN BEET.

Thats right friends, today I think I made the golden beet. Experimenting with colour on the pretzels led me possibly to the gold colouring I have been dreaming about. I thought I would get there with gold leaf or a kind of rub on gold but as it turns out, like most of my answers to problems it was in the hot shop all along. Tomorrow will tell as i get to pull her from the annealer. For the love of god, fingers crossed! All hail the pretzel in all its worldly glory.

Yesterday we were also extremely lucky to be taken to the most spectacular garden. I think it was called Dunbeath castle. The gardens are huge and I can just imagine that they would be stunning in Summer. The green house was what blew my mind. I just wanted to live in there. Maybe they won't notice?

The Pretzel king of Thornbury

I am over half way in now and I think I'm feeling it. I just feel a bit tired but I'm trying so hard to work hard, fast and smart to really pull the most out of it. Today I just felt like I could not face making another beet. The daikon I pulled out from yesterday just looks like rubbish to me. He is a sandblaster candidate I think. So what did I make today you ask?

Pretzels.

Thats right pretzels. What the hell? I spent four hours trying to perfect the pretzel. I probably should have been spending my time perfecting the beet, but like I said, I felt like I just couldn't face another today. It is always frustrating beginning work on something entirely new, but I think it is good for the mind to try and switch gears and make something new. I get frustrated easily and because I was feeling a bit tired I think I have the potential to give up easily. Lucky for me Jeff was there and he must have figured out what buttons to press to make me flare up and get on with it. I was struggling with this thing over and over, just about to give up and ready to switch off when he goes to me something along the lines of, "if you give up now I'm making a fucking pretzel tomorrow in my session." Of course thats like a red flag to a bull, you can't make a fucking pretzel! I am! So I persevered and I think, hopefully I might have something nice to bring out of the annealer tomorrow. I am the ultimate jerk. Don't tell me I can't make something and voila, there it is.

Trish took some shots of me making a beet that are pretty sweet. Prepare for the onslaught of images now....

And there you have it.

How to make a phat beet.

Git around!

Today was the big day....
The pitch was open yo! First roll of the season!! Do you know how long we have been waiting for this (well technically only two weeks but lemme tell you it feels a lot longer) we have been watching the same dude out there, rain, wind, hail or SNOW buffing that pitch within an inch of its life. All ready for today; lawn bowls day. Allllllllrriiiiiiiight!!

So this is how it goes down, you rock up, write your name down to go into the draw to see whos team you are on (kinda feel bad for the old mate that got stuck with me) and then we roll!! 

Check out this dude, rollin with a pipe (thats my new mate by the way). On my team was the Scottish doppelganger of my very own grandfather. Tall, kind of like a big barrel, balding (or bald actually), stern, a snappy dresser and quite the kidder. (If he had started reading any sign out aloud I would have known for sure they had been separated at birth.) He was the best by far. 

I was the only one who managed to knock the jack into the ditch. Sorry boys. It was just the first social day for the club so everyone and anyone can play, we have already been invited back to play Tuesdays  and Fridays. I'm thinking my Fridays might have just been kicked up a notch..

And afterwards theres refreshments!! I had a cup of tea, cake with pink icing, a cider for $1 and some lovely gent bought me a whiskey. Like I said, my Fridays are lookin good. Now here comes the kicker, there is a raffle!! So I asked if I could donate a piece, surprisingly I think this boosted ticket sales at the last minute (mainly from my new mate).

This was the booty up for grabs. I really wanted the wizz fizz look alikes. Oh and in the grey bag? Just a cheeky bottle of tanqueray gin....

Oh no you di'nt!!! Flip yeah we did! WINNERS!! (Actually the winning ticket was Annas but she had left it in our care...we figure any win is counted as a win for the group. A delicious gin based win.) So now Anna will be hailed as the gamblor of Lybster, having won both bingo and the bowls raffle in Lybster. Two major events I might add. Lets just say I am going to sit extra close to her tonight at Bingo and possibly try and rub her little paw like a lucky rabbits foot.

And just incase you were wondering, I did make some stuff this week too (in amongst the bingo playing, whiskey drinking and bowls).

So as another week is about to begin I feel as though I have a few tricks up my sleeve and about a list as long as my arm of things I want to make in the hot shop. I'm thinking bottles with radish stoppers...

And lastly here is a picture of my two beloved gents just because I miss them so much;

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm late for my bingo date. 

"Lucky for some, number 7."