The Reasons Behind My Recent MIA Status

First of all, let me start out with apologies to my followers who have been waiting with baited breath for my next post since May.  Hopefully you have not given up on me completely.  Colossal slacking on my part when it came to sitting down at the ol' computer to write a few words.  Not only has my blogging suffered, but I have also fallen way behind on my research and marketing, and pretty much anything that didn't involve a quick check of email and facebook (shameless plug, but please visit and "like" me!). 

It's been a pretty intense summer.  Where did it go, by the way?  Here it is August 5, and it seems like it should still be June.  Here are some highlights of what I've been up to since my last post:

May
- My delightful parents came to visit, and we had a great time showing them all the lovely things Richmond has to offer - including this mural by Jeff Soto painted at the RVA Street Art Festival.

- Taught a workshop at Sawtooth School for Visual Art, Using the Hydraulic Press in the Jewelry Studio.  That was really fun, and I had a great group of students.  Sadly, I have no photos from that one, as we were crazy busy up till the very end.  (If that sounds interesting, I'll be teaching a Part 2 of that workshop this October 20-21.  Stay tuned!)

June
- Mark and I traveled to Ocracoke Island on the Outer Banks of NC for the Ocrafolk Festival.  It was a small two-day festival all about art, music, and story-telling.  Both CopperTide and CopperDog Studio were represented.  We had a great time, and will do that one again next year.  (Maaaaaaaajor improvement over the disasterous Watermelon Festival of last year.)

My booth

- Took an amazing Glass Fusing workshop at VisArts with Jude Shlotzhauer.  I learned so much, and I can't wait to make more pieces (albeit smaller pieces) in my own kiln!

This is a close-up of a fused/slumped bowl I made, about 10" diameter.

No, it's not spinning, that pattern is created with a technique called a "pot melt."

Detail of a fused/slumped glass tray I made, about 11"x7".

- Taught an evening Enameling class at the Visual Arts Center of Richmond.  Also a great class!

- Had more visits from fabulous friends and family.

 3 Generations of Annelles!

- Traveled to Winston-Salem, NC to look for a new residence... more on that later.

July
- Celebrated the Fourth with our marvelous neighbors and some fireworks, RVA style.  (I also became slightly obsessed with taking Instagram photos.)

- Taught a Micro Raising workshop at VisArts.  Another great time - I hope to see some of those students again for Micro Forming in Floyd, VA in November!

- Started work on a new neckpiece from the "Sea Pods" series.  (Haven't been able to finish just yet.)

- Thennnnnnn, we packed up our house, studio, and pets, and moved it all to Winston-Salem, NC!  Amazing how much stuff you have to fit into boxes when you're moving both your home and your business(es)!

Gabardine was very helpful in the packing process.

Winston-Salem is our hometown, and while we loved Richmond, this is just the place to be right now.  We have family and friends and lots of new opportunities, so here we are!  We finally got everything done with the wretched moving process (with a lot of help from awesome friends and family) and became Winstoners once again as of last Monday.  Last week consisted of mostly arranging and unpacking, along with a few much-needed naps, and I plan to get back to work full-time again this week.  So stay tuned - new adventures to come!

My new studio space!  Woot woot!