I’m still having fused glass fun with new friend, Lori. We’ve gotten together a few times now, to “play” with various colors and textures of glass. Most of our work so far, has been EXPERIMENTING. We’re learning what works and what doesn’t. Some things flop, some things “crack”, some slither into big messes once they heat up in the kiln, and some turn out beautifully. When we create, we sit side by side, with great music and conversation, each doing our own thing. Here are some of my recent fused glass pendants. They range in size, from 1-2 inches wide/high:

This one is actually my favorite. It’s quite small, and features a leaf-like form on darker green glass

This one tried to slide in the kiln, but I liked the unique look of it anyways

I had “vertical” intentions for this one, but due to clear back-ground glass, the only way I could hide the bail was to morph the pendant to “horizontal”. I still like it though.

I always like green

This is also one of my favorites

This one features a piece of copper foil (typically used for copper foiling in stain glass work) sandwiched between layers of glass. The layers moved abit in the kiln, with an interesting effect

I like the earth tones in this one

The blues

This pendant is fairly large, and has some really fun interior glass colors

A nature-lover’s pendant

The yellow started dripping on this one. I still think it’s fun though.

This one is quite small but very likable

There are other pieces too, but the ones shown here are representative of recent work. Lori and I will probably get together again sometime in April or May. In the meantime, we tend to other parts of our lives.

What an unexpected “long run” outcome! Lloyd set out at 5:30AM today, for a 10 miler with icey and very cold conditions. He treaded VERY carefully over ice and snow patches, as he didn’t want to slip. On the dry surface areas, he was able to relax and find his rythmn. He must have relaxed TOO much though, cuz he tripped on a tiny VERY DRY sidewalk crack, landed on his right side and fractured his elbow! After getting upright, he tried running back home. OUCH! So he opted to walk home instead. Luckily he was well-dressed for the weather. A doctor’s appointment later in the morning confirmed the fracture. Now it’s 6 weeks in the sling. Luckily, he didn’t need a cast. This will have some interesting implications for work, marathon training and home projects. “New opportunities”:)

For you RunDesMoines folks to view: here’s another pre-trail-run Psycho Wyco pic of the Des Moines contingent. From left to right, John K, Vicki, Greta, Beth, Doug. Mike Bender from DSM also ran, but when this pic was taken we hadn’t yet found him in the crowd. When this pic was taken, we were all still nice and clean.