In the Studio

Studio news, new work, and the 5 year plan. Sort of... [...]

Paper notes, meet technology and the Cloud. [...]

2019 was FULL of joyful celebrations, exciting plans and goals, and lots of surprises. [...]

Fall is right around the corner, and I am enjoying the cool nights, as the kiln heats up the studio in preparation for the fall shows.   But changes, they are a-coming! As you know, I have been diligently working on my goals, business and strategic plan, and I have hinted at some big changes that are on the horizon. Working with the consultant has led me to a number of epiphanies regarding where the art wants to go, what the artwork is telling me, what the artwork wants to be, and ultimately what makes me want to create. Seriously, I still struggle the [...]

Cold, Snow, and Shows! January and February have FLOWN by, and I write this after I just finished shoveling. Again. But the sun will soon be shining, and I can smell spring in the air (aah-aaah-aaachoooo!) even though there's still feet of snow on the ground. I have been busy in the studio getting ready for my Spring Shows and catching up on the commissions from last year. I have also been working with a business consultant from the St. Thomas Small Business Development Center, and am almost 'finished' with my business plan, as well as working on the strategic plan and action [...]

I wrote this from a hotel room in Chicago. Yup, the windy city, and only a couple blocks from Lake Michigan. Why? Because I attended the annual Stained Glass Association of America’s conference – the SGAA for short – and Oh. My. Gosh. I listened to my colleagues give talks on business issues like working your art into your work, copyright infringements, and stolen property; new LED lighting specifically for stained glass; silver stains (exactly what they sound like); the diverse and varied history of American art glass and how it was so influential to Europe [...]

Mini-Class & TV It has been a wonderful, short winter, and spring is bringing some growth to the studio. On February 29th, leap day in this leap year, I jumped into teaching a mini-class in the new kiln. This is something that is completely outside my comfort zone, but you (or at least a lot of you :-) ) have been asking me to do this for years... so I took the LEAP!  We had 3 one-hour mini-classes with 4-6 people each on LEAP day - these wonderful guinea pigs taught me a lot, plus they got to take home a really cool project. [...]

I’m currently hunkered down in a coffee shop (trying to stay warm now that winter has truly arrived) as I try to remember all of the awesome things that happened last year. There were so many milestones this year it was difficult remembering all of them and I had to limit myself to 25 highlights. In fact I almost forgot about the film crew! Year in Review: completed over 60 square feet of commissions hung a show at the Phipps Center Atrium Gallery 12 week online ArtBiz Bootcamp class finally got the new, replacement kiln up and working like a charm modified [...]

Back in April at the ACC Show I met the owner of the Plum Bottom Gallery. He bought a good number of panels wholesale to sell in his gallery located in Egg Harbor, Door County, WI. A typical gallery will sell an artists work on a consignment contract. All that means is that they take a percentage of the sale (usually 50%) and then send you a check after something has sold. This definitely works to the gallery’s advantage: they have lots of great artwork, and no major upfront inventory costs. The artist and the gallery work out how much work [...]

Aaaahhhh, I spent most of a weekend plus a good chunk of that following week working in the studio last month, but of course I was moving glass containers around, stacking extra pieces here and there, ripping off shelves, running to Home Depot, adding new shelves, and in general trying to figure out how everything was going to fit. Then I started moving the glass. COE90 storage reorganization, progress! {Side note: very, very glad the new kiln is on a work bench with wheels.} After neatly transferring all of the COE90 glass currently stacked in the takeout containers, plastic [...]

Stained Glass Association of America Conference… AKA: meeting new people and reconnecting with friends. This year the conference for me was way better than the last (which was my first conference). Sure, last year I won an award, but I didn’t know anyone, and since I was so nervous about meeting so many new people that knew way more about glass than I did, I spent more time quaking in my sandals rather than having fun getting to know people and listening to the lectures. This year, those same people just weren’t as scary; I’d met many of [...]

Art Crawl is done for the spring. It was an excellent weekend. On top of meeting all the new people, reconnecting with current people and making new friends (all fun aspects of an open studio), one of my favorite and least favorite aspects of Crawl is cleaning out the studio. I love spending an entire day puttering around the studio, putting things back in place, figuring out new storage methods, realizing that new storage solutions need to be found, and organizing in general. All of this would not be nearly so much fun without an [...]

It has been a tremendously busy month for me. Both in the studio and with shows – I am not one of those artists that does a show every weekend, or every other weekend all summer long. So having two shows in one month, plus one more coming up in a couple weeks (Art-A-Whirl) on top of the commissions and business in general makes for a very busy time in the studio. So a quick synopsis of the month starts with picking up my work at the Phipps Center for the Arts in Hudson. Had a lot of fabulous comments on the show, and [...]

Longer Days = more time in the studio! It has been a long, cold winter, but it has still been pretty busy in the studio: Hung an exhibit in the Atrium Gallery at the Phipps Center for the Arts in Hudson, WI. This show will be up through April 4th. Remember the secret series I’m starting? (hint, it had something to do with birds) I will have a couple of pieces debut at the ACC Show in April, hopefully with a couple more to be seen during the Art Crawl and Art-A-Whirl. Halfway through my class, Artbiz Bootcamp, and love all that I am learning even if some of it challenging my current [...]

By the beginning of February, whether life remained in the pond was in doubt… Dr. Seuss seemed to have moved in to build a new village. The icicles, or more accurately stalagmites, growing up from the pond have a truly awesome whimsical look. But by the middle of March, the ice had melted and shockingly enough, almost all of the fish had survived! Spring Ice Out, and LOTS of hardy goldfish. And with the ice melting so early, joy, I had to start up the pump this weekend. Though it took about 10 tries for the pump to break through [...]

A good design looks good the way it is intended, but also works upside down, sideways, and sometimes backwards. Balance is what makes it work, visual balance and structure. So when I work on a piece, I move around and look at it from different directions. I am always looking at my work in progress from the top, side, bottom and sometimes even climb on the table or set up the step-ladder to get a better view. Because if the visual balance is off, then the artwork is simply not going to be as good. And then sometimes when I get done, I’ll cock my head [...]

The Highlights from 2014: 11 year anniversary for the studio completed just under a dozen commissions sold more than a dozen art panels Saint Paul American Craft Council Show 2 Art Crawls, plus the Last chance Holiday open studios Art-A-Whirl at the Grain Belt Bottling House Ramsey, Mabel and Peggy helped sell my artwork participated in the Minnetonka and Bloomington Art Centers Holiday Shows the Grand Hand continues to represent me made more than 400 snowflakes and trees, plus 400 plus stars made another 100 snowflakes and 1200 stars for a new wholesale account printed the 2015 CD calendar and more note cards continued ‘sketching’ in watercolor, encaustic and mixed mediums was a finalist to be mentored by a [...]

Lots of changes are afoot in the studio. After launching the Fire Me Up! Go Fund Me campaign last month, I am ECSTATIC to report that the studio goal was met, and is still being exceeded!!! Changes that are already completed: replacement of studio electrical sub-panel new dedicated outlets for the new kiln AND the small older kiln outlet wired for future window AC unit second sub-panel installed for the heat and AC wiring controls main panel had some additional usage tracking components installed old work countertop has been removed and wall painted to get ready for the new workbench lumber, castors, cement board and carpet for [...]

So I am taking the plunge, and launching a crowd-funding campaign. What’s the plan? Well, the studio needs some better electricity and a new kiln, so I’m offering rewards to help me fund the infrastructure. Want to help? Currently my 396 square foot studio has a tiny baby kiln, and if you have been following the studio lately, you know that little baby has broken down & been fixed more than once because it has been working overtime. The dilemma is that the current electrical load is already maxed out in the studio. So when the kiln is [...]

The calendar is in the clear CD case that opens up to sit on your desktop – how cool is that? Fall is in the air, and you know what that means… the Holidays are almost here! In the studio this year, that means that I have been busy designing a new series of greeting cards and a special 2014 Desktop Calendar in a CD case – all featuring art glass images. Brief Anatomy of the Envelope and Greeting Card sizes Why do cards have such odd size designations like the A2 and #9? The “A” actually stands for ‘announcement’, but it also is a designation [...]

Retreat to the woods Hiding out this week in the Wisconsin north woods… the Heartwood Conference Center, just outside Minong to be specific. Beautiful setting, quiet in terms of people and traffic, but very melodic with birds and frogs, where you can sleep with the patio doors open all night long and wake to the call of a loon. And in truth, the mosquitoes have not been too bad.   Marketing, Goals, and Focus I have been doing some sketching of the great spring landscapes, crooked pine trees, and the lake, but mostly working through business strategies. This is the [...]

When I finally made the decision to smash my older work, it really was about allowing myself to grow and letting go of the work I am no longer making. It was an artistic decision and a personal one; one that took me 3-4 years to actually make and implement. And the mental release and euphoria completely stunned me. I truly figured that with the short notice, the crappy weather (rain & the potential of sleet) and the proximity to the holidays that maybe half a dozen people would come by the studio. The “show” started at 10 am and at 10:30 [...]

WHY? OK, a lot of people have asked why I am doing this. Well, that is not so simple to answer. Yes, I would rather sell my work, not smash it, but these pieces are of a style I have been letting go for a few years now. Don’t misunderstand – I love the artwork. There is nothing wrong with them (well one of them has some broken glass) and they are perfect for someone out there which is why I am giving you a Last Chance. But … The reason for the CASH or SMASH is both [...]

Part of the mundane housekeeping issues in the studio is goal setting – this year I am simplifying my life and not creating a huge to-do list or even a detailed plan. I am going to work from a simple, clear life plan. Yes, life not work! My 3 goals for the year: Blogging as a means to talk with my clients like I would if they were standing in the studio – so hello! Spend more time developing relationships with new clients and deepening the existing ones; and be bolder about asking for referrals – know anyone I would like to meet? And most [...]

What’s been happening in the studio lately you ask? Well… over the holidays, I generally take care of a lot of really, really, really boring things. Things nobody ever wants to do, but really need to get done anyway, and when it is cold outside (well, since it has been so warm I have been a bit distracted by early spring fever) it is a good time to do some of these things: empty out the email inbox & sent folders (keeping important ones of course) and resolve to not let my inbox become a [...]

One of the best things about working from a home studio is being able to have a dog and not feel guilty about working long hours. As you can see, these two are working for their dinner protecting the studio; all without interruption from their real job – squirrel surveillance. Piper watching the studio and Shelby watching Piper... but really, they are waiting for one of those grey furry creatures to jump from the pine tree. Then Piper leads the chase, with Shelby chasing Piper. Do you see the pattern here?   The big white one is [...]

Nothing ever seems to go as smoothly as anticipated… but the painting is complete! All of the studio walls are now a brilliant white. You almost need sunglasses, it makes such a difference! We even painted the windows white; not the glass, just the trim since I like watching the dog chase the squirrels while I am working. Now that I see how beautiful the walls are, I think I will remove all of the glass from the storage racks in the corner and paint there as well, and maybe the storage room, just not yet. Soon. Tomorrow, it is back to work [...]

It seems so appropriate to post the inaugural blog entry the same week as the soft launch of the website and the evening before the studio is finally painted! I actually built the garage in 1999 with a second floor thinking “some day when…” Then I began designing and creating stained glass windows in 2003, and I finished (and I use that term loosely) the studio with workbenches, lights (hindsight tells me I should have put in a lot more), a ceiling fan, insulation and above all HEAT. The walls are OSB, so I don’t have to worry about putting a few nails in [...]