I’ve got some pictures of the first set of beads that I managed to make in the studio at home. I made them for a novice beadmaker challenge. I like them although Miki says that one of the clown fish looks more like a baracuda. 
Yay!!!!! Tristram is converting the plays from video to DVD and posting them on You Tube. 
YAY!!!! The first one is from Black Gryphon 2008 and you can watch it here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M08RXntx1pw It is called the Divorce Court Judge. I’m hoping that the tape of one that I directed this year comes out ok. I also am excited to see the others that the Montani have done over the years posted. I’ll put up links as they become available.
I like fire. For many of you this will not be a surprise. I got the chance a few years ago to go to a lampwork bead class at the John C. Campbell school in North Carolina. It was a great class. Lots of folks there who had been working with torches and glass for years. I think I was the only one who had never sparked a torch to life before. Pattie was a great teacher. It was her first time teaching and I think her being nervous actually made me feel better. That sounds strange doesn’t it? But it’s true. The more she worried and fretted about teaching the more at ease I felt being a total nube working with glass. She did a terrific job and I really and truly enjoyed the class. So much so that I requested a starter kit for my Christmas present that year. Here is a link to the beads I made during my first class. I can tell you it’s not easy to photograph the little buggers. So my pictures are all kinds of bizarre. As you may be able to guess I like blue and white. Again shocking to those who know me. The short story is that even though I’ve had the starter kit for 2 years I’ve not had anywhere I could safely set it up to make beads. 
So all of the equipment has been hanging out waiting patiently for a plan to emerge.
SOoooo last year Betty and I went and took and a Cloisonne class and a metal smithing classes. That spured on the interest in having our own workshop. We are fortunate enough to have 2 2-car garages that came with our house. The first is attached to the house and had all kinds of cabinets and a closet already built into it. The second garage was built by the previous owner to work on his antique cars. It has been under construction to become a full fledged workshop.
Betty has been leading up a team of folks who have insulated, panelled, painted, moved cabinets, put on gutters, re-worked the drainage around the foundation, put in a large dryer vent and is now looking at connecting the dryer vent to two stove hoods to vent out the fumes from the torches and the kiln. (the story of how I got the kiln is a whole different post.) It is nearing it’s completion and I’m starting to get really excited about how it’s all going to come together. I will post pictures soon of the workshop once it is set up and running. I’m sorry I didn’t get more pictures of it as the work has progressed so you could see all the stuff Betty and Eric have done.
Betty and I made another sojourn to John C. Campbell school at the end of January. I took a second bead class and she took a silver smithing class. She made some amazing earring bezels and she reset one of her cloisonnepieces which looked terrific when she got done with it. I took an intermediate lampwork bead class with Kimberly Adams. She is a phenomenal teacher. I was in there with some amazing lampwork bead makers. These folks were mostly professionals who had a minimum of 2-3 years of working as professional bead makers. I felt majorly overwhelmed.
Due to SCA obligations I’d come into class a day late. (Holly and Ivy was well worth it.) I’d only ever been on a torch two years prior and then for only a weeks worth of class time. It helped that I was in the same classroom, with the same torches. I settled in and just focused in on not blowing myself up light the torch Propane Oxygen, turn off the torch Oxygen Propane… I wound a couple of simple beads and played with shapes and masking and dots. ( I love dots). Then Kim taught a demo. I tried that bead and I was able to do it. Yay! So then I just dived in with both feet. My classmates were very supportive and I had a blast. Here are the ones that I made in Class 2.
So now you won’t be surprised when I post up photos of the studio once it’s all finished.
Yay we had a terrific time at Black Gryphon. The play went really, really well. I was so proud of all the cast they just blew my socks clean off. The Montani did two pantomime plays with narration. The Nun’s Priest’s Tale and The Wife of Bath’s Tale both by Chaucer.
Jack and Eleanor did the narration. Tristram, Rayne, Swain, Giovanna, Leon, Jack, and Bella were the general cast for both productions. Giovanna and Tristram both did outstanding jobs working in and with the audience as the Fox and the Knight. Jack and Eleanor both did terrific jobs narrating the plays. Eleanor narrated the Wife of Bath and Jack narrated the Nun’s Priest’s Tale. Swain (made it bigger) was a wonderful Chanticleer. You should have seen him “roaming” and “crowing”. Rayne made a fabulous Partelote and Queen. Bella rocked as the Old Woman and Young Maid (she did a great transition on stage between the two, which was neat). And of course Leon had great fun running amuck playing guard and hunter. The dance of the “fairies” made up of Mao, Rayne, Giovanna, Swain, Jack, Leon … (yeah it broke my brain too).
I hope that Tristram is able to convert it to DVD so we can have a cast party movie night sometime soon. Rayne has posted some of her pictures up on Flicker. I’m glad somebody remembered their camera. I sure didn’t. I did remember to bring it to photograph the bookmarks that Rayne, Govanna, and I created as gifts for the Heraldic Symposium Teachers. I did the calligraphy and we all did the illumination and white work. I think that they came out really well. Here’s a link to my Picasa photos of the bookmarks.
Court was nifty Njal and his lady got Ram’s horns for the Arts and Service. Rayne got a Ram’s horn for “kicking butt on the field” Father Gregory took a yellow belt from Roz. The Barony was gifted some arrow making materials (which sounds ever so much better than the Baroness was given a bunch of shafts…. ) So anywho here are some pictures from Court once I remembered that I had a camera.
We have again been on an adventure. Defined thus because in typical Liz fashion we had to turn around at least once. Miki and I went with our friends James and Joanna on a whirlwind daytrip to Atlanta to see Cirque de Soleil’s Kooza. James and Joanna have seen several of Cirque’s live performances. This was the first time for Miki and I to see their live performance. Let me just say WOW!!! I’ve seen several of their movies which are faboo, but it really is much better in person. The music was outstanding. The performers were fantastic. The little contortionist mushroom girls were facinating and kinda creepy. Especially the one that could walk around herself.
I found it intersting that some of the parts I found the most riviting were the near misses. When the tightrope walker almost fell but caught the rope, pulled himself back up, and did the stunt again. It made it feel more real. I really liked the wheel of death. Although I kept thinking that the guys costumes looked a little like wrestler costumes which then made me laugh. They did some amazing stunts, catching air as they spun the big wheels. When the guy started to do the jump rope on the outside of the wheel it just made me bite my nails. I also thought that the juggler did a really phenominal job. I can’t juggle at all, period, not even my thoughts. He did some contact juggling along with the standard balls, hoops, and pins. I think he had 14 hoops going at one point. I just was just, wow!
If you are in Atlanta or near Atlanta or near an airport that flys to Atlanta get thee some tickets and go to see Kooza. It was very much worth the going.
We came out of the show to find that it had started to snow and sleet so we decided to head for home. (There had been plans of calling friends in Atlanta to see if we could meet up somewhere for dinner.) I wasn’t driving. I didn’t have the directions, or a map. I hadn’t figured out the GPS thingy that my phone apparently does. So when our direct route back to the interstate was closed we went exploring. This is the part that makes it an adventure. It is officially a Liz Adventure when the vehicle has to turn around. This could be as simple as a missed exit or as complicated as ending up in another state while looking for the movie theatre… (Kathryn and Sarah were there they can tell you that it’s true.) We had no idea how to get to the interstate so we decided to follow the flow of traffic for awhile. I mean the whole city is encircled by interstate we were bound to see signs right? Since I wasn’t driving I decided to play a game of take pictures at stop lights. You can see the progression.
We finally found an on ramp to I-75 and headed for home. It was a fun time, and we really appreciate James and Joanna for taking us to our first Cirque show.
Today I am reminding myself that I should be pretty darn grateful. I’ve got a really terrific hubby and family. I’ve still got a job. My cat’s haven’t horked on anything that I can’t steam clean or bleach. My car runs. The house is still standing and the workshop is really starting to come together. No one is on fire or bleeding… although Becca and I are cooking for Holly and Ivy tonight so that last one is still well within the realm of possibilities. So for this moment I am taking a step back and taking a deep breath, and being glad for today.
Those of you who drive large vehicles will understand this post’s title. It’s been raining buckets, pails, cats, dogs, wild mongeese and a few badgers over the last few days so the roads are covered and flooding has started in the low lying areas of our neighborhood. Add to that the large rectangular sail on wheels that is my van and this morning was more a lesson in tacking with the wind and water than it was driving on the roads. Fortune smiled on me and I didn’t actually hydroplane but it was interesting having the back wheels trying to out race the front wheels on the highway this morning. The weather reports are calling for freezing and snow overnight…. joy.
The holidays flew by this year. It literally seemed like they were here and gone in the blink of an eye. We got to visit with family and friends over Christmas. We got to have a quiet evening to ourselves for New Years. We missed those that weren’t able to be with us. We cherished those we had with us, and we slept late when we could.
The New Year’s project of making a new personal SCA banner got finished W00t! I’ll post pictures. It was warm and sunny enough on Sunday to go out and actually fight at fighter practice. I had a really good time. I got to work with a couple of new fighters. We also had enough people to do some melee fighting, which isn’t my favorite to say but it did help with the knocking the rust off the blade bits.
January activities are starting to kick into high gear. We’ve started cooking for Holly and Ivy in earnest. Becca is a first time feastcrat and I’m having a good time watching her learn. Ahhh memories. The Nun’s Priest’s Tale and the Wife of Bath’s tale have been cast and rehearsals are going well. Everyone should have down their parts really well by the time Black Gryphon gets here. Having them done pantomime is interesting and rehearsals have been a scream with some of the stuff the actors have been coming up with to do. I’m also catching up on all the data entry stuff that I’d let slide over the holidays. (”hey there’s a light at the end of this tunnel… I hope it’s not a train.”) Oh and there is always getting ready for Gulf Wars, the planning for tends to start pushing it’s way to the front of my brain about this time every year. It’s going to be a really large camp this year 25+ people. I think that it’s going to be a really terrific war.
At the end of January I get to go take another bead class at the John C Campbell school. I’m really looking forward to it. The class is being taught by the author of one of my favorite lamp-work bead books. So hopefully I’ll learn lots.
Now I must return to plotting what I’m going to do if I get to have a snow day tomorrow. muwahahahaha…
Ok I now know why I try to stay behind the camera instead of in front of it. *SIGH* however that being said their are photos up at the Picassa site. http://picasaweb.google.com/heronskeep/WeddingAndParty# Or you can hit the link off the right hand menu for Heronskeep Photos. Sigh… I’m now going to go play with photoshop. – Liz
Whirlwinds have caught up my normally busy bustling life and have caused it to hit warp-speed. I realized I’d not put up a blog post since October… So I thought I’d catch everyone up on the general goings on. Biggest event for Miki and I since October is that we got married on December 4th. W00t! Thank you to everyone who sent us well wishes and helped us to celebrate in person or in spirit we really appreciate it. We pressure tested the house with a reception/party on the 6th.
I couldn’t wrap my head around 60+ people fitting into my house at one time but they did. Of course we also started working on the workshop and garage in October to turn the garage into a usable party space. Miki’s mother Betty truly outdid herself working on getting everything ready for the party. We would come home and things like the workshop floor would have be epoxied. The cabinets in the garage would have been cleaned out and all the stuff inside them would have been put into clear storage boxes with labels. Rolling shelving would have been put together in the workshop and all the clear labeled boxes would have been sorted and stored…. she’s retired, and no she’s not coming to your house next, she’s ours. nee-ner.
We also went with Miki’s parents to Sanibel Island for Thanksgiving. After all the stress of gearing up for the wedding laying back on the sand at night and watching stars shoot across the sky was just what we needed. We walked on the beach at sunrise. (I took pictures to document Miki actually being conscious and wearing pants pre-dawn on the beach.) One of the highlights was going kayaking in Tarpon bay through the mangroves. It is hard to describe just how quiet and how beautiful it is out there. I could have joyfully gone again. We took a pontoon boat ride at sunset out to just outside the bay. We were entertained by dolphins jumping and playing for about a half hour. We grilled Pork tenderloins in a Tequila lime and chili marinade for T-day dinner. It was all really relaxed and wonderful. I love going to sleep listening to the ocean outside.
I sang Christmas Carols with my co-workers for our office party. I kind of got conscripted to sing, but given that my boss was also conscripted to get the entertainment together and he “got to” sing karaoke Elvis the week of his birthday, I guess I can’t complain too much. I’ve really missed singing. This time of year it can be a 2 edged sword. December tends to be a very hard month for me emotionally, both of my parents have shed this mortal coil which makes all the festivities a field of landmines of both wonder and sadness. One of the last memories that I have of my Mom is singing for her in the nursing home with Past Times (Medieval Madrigal Group). I also have other friends who’s voices only join with mine now in my memory – so every so often when I’m singing, especially at Christmas I get this huge lump in my throat and end up all choked up and teary eyed and red faced. (By the way if this happens while singing about Wassail people look at you like you’ve completely lost your mind.) So any time I make it through a set of Christmas music happy, dry eyed and overall cheerful I count it as a success and add it to the growing list of happy December memories.
The day after the reception/party I held auditions for the plays for Black Gryphon. I’m directing the Wife of Bath’s tale and the Nun’s Priest’s tale by Chaucer. I’m going to have 2 narrators and have all the actors pantomiming the action. Tonight is the first rehearsal. I’m nervous and excited. I think it will be terrific fun but alot of work. But as with everything as long as no-one is bleeding or on fire I guess it’s ok. Bella and I are also gearing up to work on feast for Holly and Ivy. I’m trying to not jump in and take over. I’m using it to help me learn how to help guide someone without taking over a project. When your baby book has a one of your first descriptions as being bossy, not taking over a project takes practice.
So that kinda sums up the whirlwind of our latest adventures. I’ll post pictures of the beach/wedding/ and reception as soon as I have time to get everything pulled off the cameras.
Miki’s Mom, Betty, and I took a Metal working class at Arrowmont over the weekend. It was really terrific. Barbara Joiner taught the class. We learned how to make etched brass plates. How to take those plates and press the designs into copper and silver. We took several pieces and cut them up and made bracelets and rivited them together to make beads. As per usual Betty and I were very ambitious we made 14 plates total. There were two techniques that we used the first was to take a fine point paint pen and draw your designs onto the plates. The second was to copy designs onto PnP paper and then melt the toner from the copies onto the brass. The etching solution did the hard part. Remembering to rinse every half hour was interesting. The plates had to soak for three hours. We pressed all the plates at least once into copper. There were a couple of plates we liked really well and we pressed those designs into silver. I made one plate that has two really small Meridian shields on them. I got some really good presses into copper and silver of those to make earrings out of.
