Stupid Butterflies....

Just a quick update as I pull myself together and leave for Day 2 at Art in the Courtyard at the Lowell Folk Festival.

I have indeed come up with a couple PIGS IN SPACE to share!  (I capitalize the name as I hear it being spoken like the Muppet sketch.)  I won't publish any photos yet as they are a little on the wonky side.  New designs typically go through an awkward and funky phase while I work out the balance and form.  I will show them to the few artists and patrons I feel like getting input from and from those I want to make laugh.  This is real progress I can report!

The other item I wanted to share was I have been working on and off for some time on a Butterfly ornament.  I believed I had resolved most of my issues so I created some for this show, Friday night I got such a positive response that naturally I felt I needed more.  From 9:30 PM to 12:00ish PM last night I went for it and tried to get some real production done in anticipation for today.  Half of my work exploded!  *sigh*  Stupid butterflies.  This is one of the most frustrating phases for a design.  They finally look good (when they make it) but I have yet to resolve completely the trouble consistently.  The work that gets annealed and passes the stress tests make it to the shelf.... but I am only at 50% in my success rate. 

STUPID BUTTERFLIES 

I took this photo last night as I was loading the kiln to aneal the work that made it.  Sad that all that inspired energy late at night had to be like this, but this is really how my work is.  I may have one or two more sessions like this on the Butterfly design but I eventually work it out.  This ornament with then join my regular production with all the other designs I have mastered through a similar process.  As I am packing the beautiful Butterflies that DID make it for today's show, I am gratified that through my real work I am finally adding this piece that so many people have expressed interest in seeing!

I will do my best to publish a post live from Art in the Courtyard to share with you the response my work is getting.  Look for a photo of my butterflies hanging in the sunshine outside as that will show them off in all their glory.