Pretty Pretty Bang Bang

Man, it feels good to be home – and a little weird. Now I have to think about all the little things I didn’t think about for the past two weeks. Like laundry, groceries, gas, cleaning up the house, paying bills, running errands. Oh well, it’s still good to be back.

I had a fantastic time at Arrowmont and don’t regret going even though it was expensive and kept me away from home for a long time. Although I didn’t actually finish any of the projects I started, I plan to do that soon which will allow me to get back into my studio and make some new stuff.

While I was gone, Steve spent some time working on my website. It’s looking really great so please take a look at it and tell me what you think. It’s http://www.redbeedesigns.com. I have pictures of some of my new granulation on there.

Tomorrow is my last day at Arrowmont and, while I’ll miss the class, I’m anxious to get home and get back to my routine. Alas, my cup did not get granulated. After two very intense days of trying, we could never get the correct time/temperature combination in the kiln. I fired it about nine times and never got fused. I did make several cool pieces in the kiln which I plan to finish at home. I do like kiln granulation, but have learned that firing the kiln at about 1708 degrees can greatly reduce the life of the kiln. In other words, I don’t know if I want to do this at home. I think I’ll do some experimenting and see.

Steve is planning to drive all the way here to pick me up and take me home – what a guy! Actually, he loves road trips and the drive back will give us a chance to catch up on the last 17 days before we get home and I go crazy doing laundry and stuf

Today marks two weeks since I’ve been home. While I’m having a good time here, I admit I do miss some things about home.

First, I miss my hubby! It was weird to celebrate my birthday without him, but he managed to make the day special anyway.

I miss my morning routine. Here it’s get up, shower, eat breakfast (because they only serve it until 8:30) and start working. At home I’d get up, work out, have some coffee and read the newspaper while watching the Today show.

I miss my wardrobe! I’m tired of t-shirts, crop pants and sandals. Yes, I’d probably wear that at home, but I like choices. Today it was: do I wear the black t-shirt or the brown t-shirt?

I miss the kitties. My little furry friends provide comic relief during the day even if they are sleeping most of the time.

I miss my studio. I’m learning so much and wish I had my entire metal inventory here. I love the studio here with the huge windows and lovely view, but at home I have everything I need.

I only have a couple more days here and so much to do. I don’t know if I’ll have a finished piece to bring home, but I plan to have several started I can finish next week. I’m still working on granulating my vessel so maybe, just maybe, it will get done in time!

Today is my birthday and, silly me, I was afraid I wouldn’t enjoy it away from home. However, all my family and friends made sure it was a special day for me.

Steve called first thing this morning to wish me a happy birthday. Mom sent me two cards that included pics of my adorable nieces and some nice cash (I plan to spend some of it on a hand-dyed scarf from an Arrowmont artist). Suzanne also sent me a card so now my bench is deocrated with well wishes. This morning, when I left my room, Rhiannon had taped birthday streamers from my door way and then deocrated my bench. Throughout the day I received flowers from Steve, cupcakes from Sarah and Rhiannon, ice cream treats in the afternoon, a stuffed black bear (a personal joke this week) and a special blackberry cobbler for dessert. Steve called the kitchen and asked if they’d make me something for my birthday. Tonight’s plans include celebrating with a drink, but we’ll probably stay here. It’s really hot outside and we have so much work to do!

So a big thanks to everyone for making me feel really special on my birthday. I love all of you!

I’ve noticed several funny things about Gatlinburg and Tennessee in general. First, there is a huge population of foreigners here! Not just visitors, but people who live and work here. Most have a Russian accent and one waiter of ours said he was from Serbia. It’s just unusual to see so many of them in one area.

Second is the volume of pancake houses. Walk a block and you’ll most likely pass four of them. Sarah commented that she wanted to eat one pancake at every pancake house and a local told her she’d be full in no time flat. I have yet to eat a pancake here but it seems like something I should do before I leave.

Air brushing is alive and well here in the Smoky Mountains. Almost every block has a shop that boasts air brushing art. I really thought that had died in the 80s but apparently it just moved to Tennessee.

Rhiannon said I’m picking up a twang so I guess I’d better get out of here soon before I’m mistaken for a local!

Tomorrow is my birthday! Do you have your shopping done yet?

Weekends in Gatlinburg are pretty exciting – if you like crowds and air-brushed t-shirts. Friday night, Sarah, Rhiannon and I skipped dinner and walked down to the brewery for some real beer. The beer was great, the food was ok, and it was nice to leave campus. Things here get pretty crowded on the weekend so we were lucky to get served quickly without much of a wait.

Saturday we all decided to check out the outlet mall in Sevierville (pronounced Severe-ville) right outside of Pigeon Forge. You have to drive the entire strip of Pigeon Forge to get to the mall, so we left early to avoid the crowds.Sarah, being the exercise guru she is (we’ve named her Biker Betty) rode her bike while Rhiannon and I followed in the car. We arrived early and found that this mall is outstanding. They have a Gap, Banana Republic and…a Puma store! I was in heaven. Although I can spend the better part of the day shopping, I knew my companions didn’t share that desire so I only went to the places that I loved most. As always, the Gap outlet came through and I scored some big bargains there. Banana Republic was the perfect stop to get Steve several new shirts and the Puma store had a great selection. I left with a new pair of shoes and a cool t-shirt. We came back to Arrowmont and worked the rest of the day. I got a lot accomplished and am ready for the next week.

Doug Harling arrived today and I’m really excited about tomorrow. My plans are to granulate my cup and enamel the inside. I promise I’ll have pictures once I return!

Happy Birthday Julia! You’re the cutest 4 year-old I know. Only two days until my birthday! Shop early and shop often.

After a huge rain storm yesterday, today dawned foggy, but cleared up soon. I was hoping to get a picture of the fog on the mountains, but didn’t have time to run back and get my camera. It was a beautiful sight.

I’ve been a little lazy today. We had several sessions of demonstrations and I’ve yet to hit my working stride. Rhiannon and I have spent a lot of time hanging out at the bookstore spending money on little treasures for our projects. I have fold formed a fine silver brooch I’m planning to enamel and just finished a copper brooch form to enamel. My fine silver cup is almost completely planished and is looking quite beautiful. I have planned out how I’m going to granulate it once Doug gets here on Monday. In my head it looks gorgeous, but we’ll see what happens in reality.

All in all, a good week so far. Sarah, Rhiannon and I are getting a little restless for a change of pace and are thinking about skipping the dinner tonight to hit the town. We did make a quick trip over lunch to Food City to get some goodies – fresh fruit and beer. More later when I have something interesting to report!

Day one at Arrowmont is over and I’m now ready for day two. Yesterday I began raising my first silver vessel. It’s really quite beautiful and fun as long as I wasn’t thinking about how much the silver costs. After a full day of hammering, our arms and ears are weary so today we’ll start a brooch to eventually enamel.

Last night, Rhiannon, Danielle and I went on a search for some beer. Apparently in Gatlinburg you can’t buy hard liquor at conveninece stores, but they sell the mixers. The beer selection is very small, but the price was good. The only decent beer I could find was Killian’s Red which wasn’t too bad. We sat on the huge front porch of Hughes Hall with our beers and chatted for about an hour before bed. Burl, you’d love Rhiannon as she only drinks Coor’s Light – blech!

This morning, the mountains were gorgeous with the sun hitting them so I sat on the front porch after breakfast and drank my coffee before the day started. It’s nice to hear nothing but the birds chirping. It’s funny that the sounds of the busy Gatlinburg strip (which is right at the end of the driveway) are muffled, but I’m not complaining.

My precious niece and goddaughter Lydia finally decided it was time to walk! My sis called me last night and left me a message that she’d taken her first steps. At 16 months, we were beginning to wonder about that kid! Now it’s time for Aunt Tammy to get her a nice pair of shoes.

Only one week until my birthday! Get your shopping done now!

Greetings everyone! I made it to Arrowmont with no real problems. SNAG in Memphis wasn’t bad – I’ll write more on that later – but I’m glad to be here in Gatlinburg. Coming back to Arrowmont felt like home and I got a little choked up last night during the slide show. My last experience was so amazing that I hope this one will be half as good. Here are some highlights from the trip so far:

* Rendezvous Bar-B-Que in Memphis is the best I’ve ever had (and not just because the bartender carded me). Dry rub ribs rock!

* Graceland is much smaller than you can imagine. It’s really interesting to see how we, as a people, currently view wealth with size. Elvis had a lovely home, with lots of land, but the house was probably no larger than many homes today. It was very cool.

* The Peabody was wonderful! I just loved those ducks! Aside from the ducks, the people were great and the rooms were really nice.

* Sarah, Rhiannon and I got up at 5 a.m. yesterday to hit the road to Gatlinburg. The trip took a solid 8 hours. On the way, Sarah got a speeding ticket for doing 65 in a 45! The trip was nice with not too much traffic once we reached Pigeon Forge.

* I’m so glad I got a private room! I’ll have pictures of everything on my Flickr account when I get back. It’s like a dorm room, but the bed is comfortable and I did get some sleep.

Well, that’s all to report so far. Today’s the first full day of class and I’ll be working on a new raised piece of fine silver which I’ll granulate next week when Doug Harling arrives. Hope all’s well where you are. It’s going to be a steamy 94 here today. Yikes!

My brain has been working on overdrive lately as I get ready to leave for almost three weeks. With all the preparation, I’m full of random thoughts. I figured I’d share them with you.

* I noticed yesterday, as I was running errands at the mall, that people walk the mall like they drive. Most are ambling along, taking up more than their lane, and not paying attention to anyone around them. It was all I could do not to make honking sounds to get people out of my way. I’m focused here, move it!

* As I was driving home from the South side of town, the most bizarre thing happened to me. I was driving down Glenstone when I spotted a large piece of plywood in my lane. I was unable to switch lanes so I prepared myself to drive over it. Right when I approached it, the wind blew it up onto the hood of my car! I wasn’t scared so much as I was pissed. Fortunately, all the damage is cosmetic and my lights weren’t broken nor were dents made in the hood. I swear, my car is cosmetically cursed. I’ve had a garage door fall on the back end, been rear ended only hard enough to cause cosmetic damage, been backed into by my stepmom (again only cosmetic damage), had hail damage, a large scratch on the side and countless door dings. Good news is that the car runs great.

* Packing for almost three weeks is tricky. Not to mention the fact that it’s hotter and more humid than hell in Memphis. I swear, if I had the figure, I’d just wear a bikini.

* All the things I need for Arrowmont, work wise, weigh a ton! I packed my studio yesterday then discovered I was missing a key piece for my class. I needed a 4×4″ piece of fine silver sheet metal and I can’t buy it at Arrowmont. I called my metal distributor in St. Louis and they agreed to ship it to the school. Crisis averted!

* It will be weird to have a birthday away from home. No matter how old I get, I do enjoy a celebration and a bit of a fuss. Now, granted, I did have quite the fuss last year so I shouldn’t be whiney. I guess I just don’t want it to be like any other day. I bet Sarah and Rhiannon will make sure I have a good time!