Kline Art Studio

Sure, I was running unoppsed. But I was nervous! What if no one voted for me besides myself? Or what if I got a lot less votes than the others running for the board?

I got votes. I got a lot of votes. I wasn't the lowest recipient of votes. I wasn't the highest.

I'm glad this is over. Even though it was really a given, it was still a little stressful. And I'm supposed to be stress-free for health reasons! (yeah, right)

I have been caffeine-free for three weeks. Let me tell you, I am ready to choke someone to get an ice cold Pepsi on ice or a big giant iced tea (unsweetened, of course!). Already I can taste the difference between Sprite and Sierra Mist--Sierra Mist tastes better to me.

I have done some glass work this week. I fused the pieces for a swap I am doing on the kilnglass yahoo group. Twenty pieces, nearly identical. I like what I've been doing with frit and used that on the pieces. I just turned off the kiln on the last batch. Now to package and ship. They are due May 1st, so I am ahead of schedule!

I also got my new mapp gas contraption hooked up and  used it on Sunday. I burnt all my beads! The clear ones have a smokey look to them. Not entirely nasty, but not clear. I even singed some red--I have no idea how else to describe what I did.

I went to Ace Hardware today, explained what I needed to the young man, and we found come clamps to use on my torch. I needed to adjust it on my table. Today when I made beads, they came out much better. My clear is still smokey, though. I need to figure out what's going on with that.

I still think strapping on the Ipod (I got new comfortable ear phones today--the ear buds bug the crap out of me, my ear phones that hung on the top of my ear gave me a headache) and sitting in the garage making beads is the coolest. I could do it for hours and hours. Very relaxing. Who needs yoga or meditation when you're making beads!?

Yesterday I attempted wire wrapping. A fusing buddy sent me some dvds. I carefully watched the one on wire wrapping. Then I attempted it. I even whent to Hobby Lobby and used my coupon to buy a set of smaller tools. I tried doing it with two different wires--and messed everything up! It was so frustrating!

So frustrating that I dug out one of the new sock yarns I got Friday at The Fold in Marengo and cast on a pair of two-up two at a time socks. Very cool yarn! And The Fold is incredible! They have yarn--but they also have fibers for spinning. I felt camel, yak, bison. My favorite was the baby alpaca. I wanted to buy an ounce just to have at home. I would rub it on my face occasionally! That would be relaxing!

Posted by susiekline at 05:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today is election day in Illinois. I am running for Roselle Public Library District board trustee. I am already serving on the board. I was appointed in November to replace someone who could no longer serve. I am running unopposed, so I needn't worry too much.

But I saw the polling place at the school behind me and got a twinge of nervousness! What if only 2 people vote for me? Jim and I voted early at the mall last weekend. (And if only one person voted for me--me!--Jim's going to be in big trouble! We will have issues! lol)

I had to gather signatures on petitions to get my name on the ballot. I had to file financial interest papers (I have none) with the county. My name was printed in the paper several times. I received campaign-ware junk mail. Did you know you can get a personalized fly swatter? I'm not sure I want you to think about voting for me as you're killing pests!

Anyway...my campaign manager Kelly forgot to book the ball room for the victory party. I told her a bucket of chicken and a six-pack of Sprite would suffice!

I'll let you know tomorrow or the next day how many votes I got!

Posted by susiekline at 07:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We had a quiet Easter at home. I cooked dinner. There was no fire...no disaster. No one walked away hungry. My neighbor Kelly sent over a bouquet of flowers. They are so pretty. Belvidere the cat thinks they make a great salad bar.

I made the basket at Banbury Fair's Ladies night earlier this month. They supplied the basket (which came in the multiple colors) and we painted the daisies and little flowers on. It was so much fun.

We also painted a small coin purse with a cow. Mine's a funky purple and pink. The glitter adds a lot! I'll have to post a picture of that later!

Posted by susiekline at 07:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I am sharing pictures of The Studio. I work in my unheated garage. I will soon be investing in some sort of heating device for that garage. I thought I could wait until the fall, but we're in the middle of winter weather (in April!!). Snow and cold keep me from working in The Studio. OK, the cold does. The snow just makes me cranky!

The top left picture is where I make lampwork beads. I got a big tank of gas a few weeks ago, and it's been to cold to even hook it up. When I try to make beads in the cold garage, the glass acts really funky. Anyway, this is where I work. The rolling cart can be pushed around, the top of it is big enough to hold tools and the heat-resistant surface. I have my disasterous pot melt on it right now.

The next picture is my work bench. I can't do lampworking there because the window prevents me from seeing the glass properly. I'm trying to keep it neat, but that doesn't work very well for me! I have been good about keeping my different COEs separate. I'm running out of 90 because I've been concentrating on buying 96. I keep my glass in plastic bins--one for each COE and one for stained glass. I have a show box sized piece that I keep on the work bench with 96 scraps. That way they're handy when I need them.

The third picture is my wine rack/glass bottle rod storage. I got it at IKEA. I can add another wine rack on top if I get many more rods. I have them sorted by color groups. Except for the bottom center and bottom right. Those were groups of rods I got from Delphi (tropical and floral). If you look at the left side of the picture you can sort of see the spinning spice rack where I have my frit and pre-cut squares stored. They spice jars are clearly marked with the item numbers and colors--neatly labeled!

Posted by susiekline at 07:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I had to try a pot melt. I used a terra cotta pot and filled it with blues and white. Balanced it on two stainless steel mandrels on a kiln washed terra cotta saucer. The stainless steel mandrel melted! I ended up pulling the pot out--with half-melted glass still in it and the non-stuck mandrel--making some really cool stringers in the process. Thank God The Studio is the garage with a concrete floor! But I did manage to slightly melt my gym shoe when I nudged the still-hot pot with my foot.

The pot melt is pretty cool. But I do have one heck of a nipple/belly button on it. Now I need a tile saw or something to cut it apart. Because it is thick!

Posted by susiekline at 04:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I made this drop ring vase for my sister in law, Debbie.

It was my second drop ring vase, and I love to make them! I just wish I could do it faster! It takes two days to make one of these. One day to make the tile. Then a second to drop through to make the vase.

But I guess it's worth it because I love them!

Posted by susiekline at 04:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)