Let the adventures begin!

I have meant to blog for AGES. So, here I am at 3a.m. after drinking a cafe americano and not having the slightest bit of sleepiness. I'll begin by telling you about myself.

I started my business, www.chromosapien.org about a year ago. My main reason for having a website was to join the Dallas Craft Mafia. It was like coming home when I found a community of crafters who didn't make anything with ducks, chickens, or large bows attached. Granted, I grew up and still reside in Texas, the home of Kuntry Kraftin'. My grandparents took me to the flea market every few months and there was everything from farm animal themed toilet brush holders to decorative wheat brooms with big calico print bows glued on. So naturally I leaned away from those items, opting instead for the vintage shirts and chunky silver jewelry. (i scored plenty, too- the things i looked for were overlooked by the average flea market shopper.)

Recently I have become the leader of the Dallas Craft Mafia. While it is challenging, I feel as though we have a strong group of entrepreneurs who complement each other's abilities. All of us have the same goal of promoting our businesses and attending shows, and we help each other do that. We will apply to two upcoming shows, and hopefully we'll get in both! It's hard to choose one or the other.

My latest creations have not been photographed yet, but hopefully you'll be able to see them in my etsy shop soon.(www.chromosapien.etsy.com) I have some enameled fine silver medallions with ornate initials stamped on them. I just fired a couple of fused glass craft- themed pendants and a wallpaper inspired sugar skull belt buckle. (confusing, i know. i'll try to post pics tomorrow after letting it cool a bit.) I also fired 35 magnets for goodie bags for an upcoming conference i'll be attending. So exciting! The part i relish is actually opening the kiln for the first time after a firing. I always have butterflies until the moment the lid is opened- and the glass usually turns out well. (that doesn't mean i don't have a drawer of fuckups.) In fact, i actually taught my first fused glass class at Make Studio the other day. My first pupil was my friend of fifteen years, Mary. She assembled two 4" X 4" tiles using stringers, stencils, and powders. One of her tiles-my fave- has a red moon and a green grasshopper. It turned out well because the powder was thicker in places, giving a variation of depth of color. You see, with glass what you put in the kiln looks very different than what you pull out after it's fired. That's half of the fun to me- I love how fire changes things. I work with torches and kilns mainly, and I love the suspense involved with fused glass and PMC. There. I rambled on and on, and now I'm tired :)