Shardsandlight’s Weblog

  One week from today, the Artisan Market starts at Elkhart Lake.  When the market finished in Fall last year it seemed like I had all this ‘time’ ahead to get loads of things made, and here we are ‘one week to go’.  I have made quite a few new items, but I’ve always got new ideas brewing of things I want to do.  Just to bad my full time job seems to iterfer with what I’d really love to be doing,…..   I will have some unusual pendants this year, all will be ‘one of a kind’.  I have been experimenting with some thick chunky glass, of various colors, shapes and sizes, then adding hammered copper wire, beads, and maybe some decorative soldering in the process.  Nothing is planned when I am making pieces, so they are as much of a surprise to me as they are to my customers, only thing is I see them first!  LOL  Is this what they refer to as an “artist”?????  Things just…….happen when creating a piece.
  I was quite busy with customer orders before Christmas, and of course a few of the last minute things to do, someone usually will ask, “could you get this done before Christmas yet?”  And as usual I have a hard time saying ’no’, and will burn the midnight oil in the workshop to try to fulfill everyones requests.  So I guess that also took a great deal of time too, but I enjoy making the glass pieces, I really am pleased when someone is happy to have a piece of mine for their own.  Knowing they now own a piece that will last for alot of years to come!   Keeping part of an old traditional art as part of our current life, possibly handed down as history.

  Both of these have a piece of iridized milky colored glass, along with a glass squiggle on the top, and a glass glob at the bottom.  Everything is wrapped with copper foil, then soldered using ‘lead-free’ solder, something I use in all of the jewelry made from “Shards and Light”   www.shardsandlight.com    These are just a few of my new pieces for the 2009 Artisan Market, soon to be starting at Elkhart Lake.  Less than a month to go before the market opens again. 
  June 6th is opening day          See you there!

  This is an old frame, that needed a bit of TLC.  It is covered in leather, I added the copper pieces, and used some stained glass, ball chain, some beads, the heart in the middle is done with polymer clay, embossed and baked, all in this little mosaic.    
I will have this at Elkhart Lake Artisan Market for sale this coming season.

  We just added some new items to my website, in the lightcatcher and hearts catogories.  Some of the new lightcatchers have a cast glass flower or medallion in the center.  These pieces will be of limited supply, because the company who manufactured them is no longer in business. 
  I will also have these at Elkhart Lake Artisan Market starting June 6th.  Here’s a quick link to my website, enjoy!    www.shardsandlight.com