There are fewer things that just make my heart beat faster than great efficient design. I think this comes through in many areas in my life... and certainly in my glasswork ... : ) happily so.
Last week my youngest son was in the final throes of packing to return to college and from the other end of the house I heard "Mom... do you want this box?" I, in a decluttering mode, answered "NOOOOO". He replied - "ARE YOU SUUUURE.....???" Does he know me or what?
While I only claim a few of the boxes below - it represents a timeline from the past six or so years, when my love affair with Apple began. I cannot bring myself to throw any of them out. I remember opening my new phones and marveling at the incredibly efficient design - packing so much into such a small, and oh so sturdy, box! The box so rigid and sturdy... what can I say - if this is as bad as it gets - I'm doing pretty good, huh? I know I must certainly not be alone in my collection. Right?
Funny also, look at how the boxes have grown as we've migrated (some of us... Sweetie) from the 4 to the 6+... Funny. smiles, Jill
1.13.2016 -
While I 'know' the next beady 'holiday' is Valentines Day... I am just not there yet. I am still feeling the contemporary old world charm of Santa Fe.... I know... it gets old, huh?
How 'bout this... we'll do a fun blog about things that just make you want to go "huh..." This is the Culinary Institute of America (in San Antonio) - eye catching thing on the ceiling at the entry, huh? Upon closer inspection they were skillets. NICE. (Oh, and there was a nicely hidden bird's nest in the very center/bottom!)
I'm always struck by the ability of nature to climb and get to where the light is... saw this and it just struck me that the vines are just so doggone persistent... and usually able to achieve just what they want.
OK, this one is a bit strange... on the road to Silverton, CO - there was this colorful blob. Anyone care to take a guess?
Seems it's an advertisement of sorts for the mineral springs just below... My source (yes, Barbara.. you) said that it wasn't naturally there - but relocated of sorts from across the road to draw attention to the hot springs. Nevertheless... mighty colorful and expecially hot on an otherwise rather monochrome/cold day!
... and sadly this is the last... as I'm running out of time. But at La Mesa Gallery in Santa Fe... this wonderful wall sconce. Makes me want to take a pottery class!! if you enjoyed this sort of blog - let me know - Lord knows I've got a ton of images just like these!!! Have a great week, Jill
1.6.2016 - Santa Fe, more GLASS
While in Santa Fe a few weeks ago, I'd say that the most stunning thing I saw was this sculpture outside of the Pippin Contemporary Art Gallery... it was early evening - so we visited it again the following day...
The Artist is Greg Reiche and from what I can gather - he has made a brass grid framework from tubing, then has little wire baskets that are each holding a glass tile *about 3" square. These baskets are hooked over the top of the tubing, but are free to rock in the wind... so in the evening - the glass was shimmering as the light bounced off each at a different angle. I think some of the pieces were coated with a iridescent layer... but I'm not sure. There were two opposing Yin/Yang pieces and all I can say is bravo... this was truly breathtaking!
12.30.2015 - ... I'm back... and I have some pretties to show you!
My sweetie, Luis, stole me away to Durango a few weeks before Christmas... it'd been a long time since I'd seen snow - and while there wasn't any on the ground upon our arrival - it snowed the second night starting at 2am... it was truly breathtakingly so quiet... and very cold! This Texas girl had forgotten what it was like to be in snow. The top image was taken on the highway between Purgatory and Silverton CO - at about 10,000' altitude. There was a big storm rolling in - and this was the last picture taken before we decided to get back to Durango.
Somehow - there is always glass!
The B&B was a cute main house with cottages out back...
The trip had us flying into Albuquerque - then driving through Santa Feand on to Durango. I totally fell in love with Santa Fe. I'd hear for years about what a beautiful place it was for artists and of the many studio/shops there... but I truly had no idea. We stopped for lunch on the way up to Durango - and came back to spend the last day of the trip there to explore more... sigh.
I am thankful Luis was so patient - as there were so many things that caught my eye - we were forever stopping to capture this and that!! There was a garden full of those metal kinetic wind sculptures - I'd only ever seen one or two - so it was amazing seeing so many lazily going about their airy ballet...
... and then there was this...
We tripped across this amazing sculpture at La Mesa Gallery in Santa Fe discovering it in the evening, and chose to come back by daylight to capture the image. The artist is Russ Vogt, and all I can say is that it filled my heart with such joy - I thought it would burst! I can only imagine it does you as well..... it stands about 8' tall - and is a series of pottery 'beads'... they sway slightly in the wind and are quite the statement.
I also noticed that Eleanore Macnish - EllieMac was represented at this gallery - yay glass artists!! She had a case filled with her colorful lampwork - lovely. I have much more to share - but will have to be next week (next YEAR)!! BIG smiles - Jill
12.2.2015 - Texture at the Palmer Events Center
This gem was created by the time I resurfaced here in Austin - circa July 4, 2009 *Independence day!) I'd been gone 20 years since my college days - and lots had happened. Two MAJOR East/West highways had gone through renovations, I certainly hadn't missed that... lots of the landmarks from my college days were now gone - but - in 2002 this building had appeared. It's where large events are held - and most recently we had gone to the Citywide Garage Sale. While nothing was purchased, I had a heyday with my iPhone, as the venue was by far more elegant than the event it hosted.
I'd totally forgotten about the applied elements - these creatures that were cast and stuck to the limestone faced walls. Isn't this just wonderful?
What an absolutely spectacular space! I do have to wonder though about the inspiration for the item below... any ideas?? smiles - Jill
11.25.2015 - Whole Foods in Austin
While my passion most days lie with glass, I confess - my love affair with iron continues.
This time at the flagship Whole Foods store on Lamar Avenue right here in Austin. This marked the end of a most enjoyable afternoon tromping around Ladybird Lake - took a brief moment to relax at the outdoor area here at the store. I love the way that even though this is RIGHT at the road's edge - somehow it's been made to feel like it's tucked away in an iron forest. Basically these pseudo umbrellas are a trellis of sorts for some wild vine to grow up... and thus obscure the area from the road. When I looked down - even the tree surrounds were dressier than expected! Bonus points for Whole Foods!!
Since Charlie was in tow, I assumed the rings that were embedded in the concrete were to be used by owners to tether their pets so that they could enjoy lunch... but - my sensibilities tell me that they were perhaps more for a furniture tie down purpose(??) dunno. But - all being said - they could go either way. Smiles - Jill
11.18.2015 - A Photographer's (most) Favorite Model.... →
...I just love these. Simply LOVE them.
Why? Well - they exemplify what transparent glass is all about - beauty, color, transparency and they convey the feeling of being weightless. They are all that - AND...
11.11.2015 - Calm Between the Storms : )
The accidental photographer here... I was driving and reaching to turn my phone off... thank you iPhone 6 for having the off button directly opposite the volume button which makes it SO easy to NOT TURN THINGS OFF... this time I had the camera app open so it took this really cool picture of the big TEXAS sky.
Which had suddenly turned beautiful... (big smile)
See, here in Texas, there is no small way to do anything. If it rains - it rains quickly and with such fury that it leads to terrible flooding. The sun then comes out apologetically and bakes God's country to a crisp in such a thorough way that we think no end is in sight! Here it is November 11th... Colorado is in fits of snowstorms and we're looking for sunblock and turning the a/c on to combat the humidity of a 74 degree day... Please God - moderation?
Yesterday I got to show off the quirkiness of my longtime hometown of Austin... see, I know this place like the back of my hand, I have stories and know shortcuts like no one else! With a quick survey of what my California Cousins wanted to see - we quickly fabricated a loop of sights that made good use of my "Economy of Motion"* operational theory... and led us to the end destination of the Oasis for a quick lunch - an "over the top" restaurant that clings to a west facing hillside overlooking Lake Travis... where the sunset is always occasion for a round of applause! While we weren't there for sunset - but did manage to see the awesomeness of how HIGH the sky here is!
... and of course, I'm always blown away by cool iron work, especially if it's blue! : ) While there is so much to see at the Oasis - I was quietly pleased to see the cool colored party lights that I'm so fond of. Color that lights my life..... still smiling - Jill
*"Economy of Motion" - to do things in such a way that no real crazy backtracking is needed. One smooth loop of efficiency! : )
11.4.2015 - Glass, Color & Emotion
I'll be the first to admit it...
It's difficult to go anywhere with me - when I'm not wearing a blindfold. Last weekend we went to a restaurant in San Antonio - and upon entry I almost fell over when I saw this chandelier overhead... I WANT IT.
Well, if I can't have it - I at least want a really cool photo of the glass. It just struck every chord of my being. Maybe because I can 'see' how it was made and in my mind - and am already lining up all my short rods... LOL.
What does it do for you?
Next assault on my senses was shelf upon shelf of glassware - displayed so nicely at Marti's... My first thought was 'what? No dust?'... but really... again - I can see these being created - and love the downright assault of color and movement. Glass is everywhere in my vision scope - so is the amazing color... Can you imagine the amount of time and effort that went into the creation of this mask? I shied away from cross stitch embroidery because my Xs never crossed consistently in the same direction... every small seed bead is oriented correctly... amazing.
... Then there are mosaics.... sigh... Smiles - Jill
10.28.2015 - Crazy Mix...
I fired Adobe Photoshop - and downloaded something called Pixelmator... still learning to use that - so am using some older pictures. This is a shot I took at the Ladybird Wildflower Center just about this time of year - a few years back... kind of cool that Nature creates its own garland! Come the holidays I always like to find some excuse to leave a strand or two of lights up... I've always liked the unexpected lighting afforded by them. But, this year - I bought a strand of those outdoor string lights - like you see at trendy outdoor cafes. - (while I'm confessing.. I also love timers) - These cool string lights are adorning the oak tree that leans over my deck out back... and they dutifully come on at dusk and go off promptly two hours later. I have never been so aware at the shift of daylight to dark as the days grow shorter...
on an aside... seeing as it's cooling down - we went to an outdoor pottery festival last weekend - and while I enjoyed the pottery - I REALLY was taken by the innovative means of display... I know a great many of you that read also sell in shows - and I thought I'd share. This one below all folded out by means of piano hinges... and it all was just things that folded off of a small trailer! Very cool. It would also allow, depending upon depth, *for smaller items* - such as jewelry - a means to simply fold up and secure.
There were other amazing displays - I wish I'd taken more pictures. NOTE TO SELF... do it. smiles - Jill
10.21.2015 - Welcome to my MACRO world...
This is my new friend... the potato vine... an amazingly vine that requires little water - loves sunshine and is a good ground cover that spreads easily. All this and to BOOT - it turns a beautiful range of nice fall colors!
early morning fog combined with dew, condensed onto nasturtium leaves and was caught spilling over the edge. LOVELY(jk) checkered snake I happened upon as he was lounging between my nicely edged yard and the rock wall... nice, huh? LOL.
No, not taken here in Texas - this taken last winter up north where the temperatures actually get scary cold... this on the inside of a windowpane... caught in the early morning sunshine.
New color reaction yellow frit on a base of Kermit Green...
Nice Potato Vine also has sweet flowers! All that, and flowers too!
Actually not really frit - but I had you going, no? This little guy was only about 1.5"L and was all tucked in on the side of a glavanized metal pipe... was completely cool with my intrusive photography. That's it for this week - smiles - Jill
9.30.2015 - Hollow Beads & Hot Air
This week I got my mojo back when it comes to hollow beads... and as a precursor to tonight's website update, I thought I'd send out an educational video - so you can see just how these beads are made... It's fascinating for those of you who've never seen or tried it...
Earlier this week, I had sent a quick version of this out into FB , but unless you had your superhuman eyes finely tuned - you'd just miss most of it. This version is much nicer - slow where it needs to be... etc.
I use mostly Lauscha's Glassdaddy Purple transparent and Czech Denim glass. I like these two particular glasses because they work hot and don't boil & they tend to be nicely stiffer than the usual Italian glass. This property of havig a nice stretchy viscosity when molten means that it can be worked without all the drippiness. If that makes sense to you - I'm smiling.
Instructional video on the fundamentals of making a hollow glass bead. Lauscha glass, Lynx torch, Jill Symons glass artist.
so - what you're seeing in the video is first making two disks... then applying a molten bridge of glass to connect them - making sure it's airtight. This 'bridge' serves to stabilize the disks and also traps a volume of air inside - which - when heated, expands. When the "bridge" is heated to molten - the trapped air literally inflates the hollow bead - rounding it out nicely. I usually end by taking the bead into a graphite marble mold and gently working it to a rounder bead shape - simply because sometimes I prefer that to a more elongated one. But - be careful not to crack the release at any step along the way - as that allows the air to escape and your bead will, that reads WILL, collapse. Happy trails... or is that trials?! Jill
JillSymons.com
Denim Blue Hollow Bead Set - $165
