Stairway To Heaven - Photo courtesy of Artistic Buffet

I got an email from the owner of the blog spot shown below. You will want to check out her blog to see the rest of the photos of this awesome mosaic. Since I have been renovating my studio, working on my mosaic floor, and entertaining ideas for future projects, I found this very fascinating.

Take a peek. You won't be disappointed. http://artisticbuffet.blogspot.com/

Pat Deere

Mosaic Class: Try taking a mosaic class. The possibilities are limitless and don't worry about not being "artistic". I can help you with that.
Custom Mosaics: What a great way to enhance your kitchen backsplash, shower walls, or stairs. Give me a call and let me come up with the idea for you.
Free Glass: I still have boxes of free glass available for mosaic work or small stained glass projects.

Kids and their passions

Ok - you're thinking ... what does this have to do with glass. A lot actually. This is my son Travis skateboarding. It is a passion of his, like glass is a passion of mine.

Travis is also one of my artistic children, although he chooses not to express that part of himself right now because all of his spare time is spent on a skateboard.

Whether the person is artistic, athletic, intellectual, etc. when their passion shows through like mine does for my art, they are people I enjoy being around and are inspired by.

Sunday I am leaving for Chicago for my suppliers big glass sale. They have it annually and I always get a lot of great bargains. I'll update you when I return!

Pat Deere

It's happening - my studio is taking shape!

This may not look like much to you, but to me it marks the last big piece to my studio work. I believe I talked about my husbands electrical contracting company, Deere Electric Inc. This is a combination of his logo, company name, and imagery in my own mind to create a really cool entrance to his room.

Living in Michigan, we get absolutely beautiful sunrises and sunsets among the clouds. The colors can be out of this world. The fall gives us beautiful colors in the leaves and that is what I have depicted around the border. Evergreens really help create a wonderful pallet of colors any time of year. And, since our last name is Deere and we have our studio and business in a log cabin, this seemed to be an appropriate design.

Can't wait to show you the finished piece. For now, I have to get back to work! You know how it is when your on a roll... nothing can stop you till it's done!

Pat Deere

Classes: I offer mosaic classes any time of the year - hope this inspires you.
Custom Stained Glass: What kind of design can I add to your home to give you an awesome family heirloom?
Free Stuff: Right now I still have boxes of free glass for students who like to do mosaic work. Send me an email or give me a call!

Back in the swing!

Ok - I'll admit this doesn't look like much, but to me ... it represents the ending point of a 3 week process of working on my studio to put it into a condition that works better for myself and my customers.

It started out like most projects. The flooring was coming up when I tried to sweep so I thought it was time to replace it. I planned on a simple tile floor. A friend, very lovingly, called and told me about a great deal on some porcelain tile. Great! I said. It should take a Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday to complete. Well, as most projects go, that turned into:

New glass bins
Rearranging all the glass in those bins
Disassembling and removing old bins
Finding a place for all the stuff while working on the projects
Moving my desk, file cabinets, book shelves and computer into any corner I could find
Removing the old flooring
Removing the old sink
Installing the new flooring
Grouting the flooring
Trying to get the studio ready for a visit by a church committee I'm working with while not damaging the work in progress
etc., etc., etc.

It's really hard for me to be productive in those conditions. In the process, we decided to make a really cool mosaic in front of the room that houses my husbands electrical contracting room. Thus, the picture above. I am using some of the same glass from that mosaic flooring to create a glass edge on my desk. I know it doesn't look like much here, but wait to see ... THE REST OF THE PHOTOS. I'll post them as we move along.

I didn't take "before photos" because I couldn't find where I put my camera. Now that I found it, I can show you the progress and hopefully inspire you to do something similar in your own home or office.

Enjoy the day. We are supposed to get 4-5" of snow here!

Pat

Thank God for Change!

I am so glad things don't last forever... sometimes. My studio is in a complete dissaray. I am building new glass bins, taking up old flooring and replacing it with ceramic tile, and rearranging the whole front studio space. A lot of work right now, but I can already see the difference it is going to make. I am finding glass I didn't know I had. That is fun. The new floor should be in on Tuesday and I should be able to put my desk, file cabinets, book shelves, etc. back in place so I can reach my glass bins. That will be exciting.

If you don't mind working through the construction, feel free to contact me if you need anything!

Pat

Kids Can Be So Inspiring

This is kind of quirky I know, but... one day I was driving down the road. It was quiet in the car because I was by myself. It was night time and there were clear skies.

When I looked in my rear view mirror I just had to laugh out loud. On my back window were a set of hand prints, which indicated that one of my three boys was laying on top of my car with their hands on the back of my rear window. Their prints showed up clearly because a car behind me had his bright lights on. I immediately came home and tried to photograph the prints. I couldn't get it to come out right so I stayed outside in my car, in the dark, with my drawing pad and pencils, lit by a flash light to get this image down.

You just never know what is going to give you the insipiration for your next piece of art. I haven't actually made this in glass yet, but that is my goal. I never did find out whose hands were behind the prints.

Look around. There is inspiration everywhere you look!

Pat

What Makes Me Look Good

Ever have those days where you take a look at yourself and you're not the person you want to be? I don't mean what you see physically in the mirror, I mean how you see yourself as a person.

I was dealing with this today when I googled, "What Makes Me Look Good", and I should have known it was all about physical beauty. Because I was thinking in another direction, what I expected to find was a few articles about inner beauty. I'm sure there out there if I google the right thing, but I didn't find it in my search.

Realizing that what people see in me, that they are attracted to - at least on good days - is the way I interact with them. When I am really caring, and concerned about them and what they have to say or feel that day, I am the kind of person they want to be around. If I allow their negative emotions to flow through me and come back out in a negative way, obviously that is not the kind of person most people want to be around.

At any rate, as simple as that sounds, sometimes it is hard to remember. The photo here is one I was drawing when I was trying to draw a self portrait (sorry - can't find the original drawing right now). Obviously, it looks nothing like me, but it does reflect how I was feeling that day. The second photo was my first stab at that drawing in glass. This was done before I got my larger kiln. I am anxious to try it again. Because I was using glass stringer (spaghetti like strings of glass), I really needed a large kiln surface to recreate what I was feeling in the glass. Anyway, it was fun trying. My goal today is to be the kind of person other people want to be around. If I can create that feeling in glass and make people feel good when they see it, that is a bonus.

Have a wonderful Wednesday,

Pat

Window Of The Month

Cathedral of St. Paul, Detroit, MI.
Built 1911. Cram, Goodhue and Ferguson, architects.

The following information was taken directly from the Michigan Stained Glass Census web site. For those of you who only hear bad things about Detroit... think again. There are so many treasures, like this one, that people really need to hear about. Click on the Window Of The Month link on this blog for details and photos of the windows.

Many of the early Episcopal churches in large cities possess a who's who of the late 19th and early 20th century world of stained glass. The Cathedral of St. Paul in Detroit is no exception. The building was designed (1908-1911) by Cram, Goodhue and Ferguson, the famed Boston architectural firm. Architect Ralph Adams Cram is said to have planned the overall theme for the stained glass windows, which eventually included the participation of several fine American and European studios: Charles Connick; J&R Lamb Studio and the William/Henry Willet Studio; from Germany, Mayer Studio; and from England, Powell & Whitefriers and Heaton, Butler and Bayne. St. Paul’s was designated a state historical property in 1980 and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. This location is the administrative home for 97 Episcopalian congregations throughout southeast and mid-Michigan, supporting 15 Diocesan-wide social service agencies/programs and chaplains at the University of Michigan, Michigan State University and Wayne State University.

Hope you are having a happy Monday!

Pat

Boysville, Art Glass, and You

Saturday morning will give you an opportunity to work on a window that will be installed in Grace Bible Church - whether you have experience or not. Last year I worked with the students at Boysville, taught them a little about stained glass, helped them to create a window of their own, and allowed them an opportunity to draw some designs for my "Church Glass Giveaway" during April for Michigan Glass Month. This is the drawing that was chosen by the church.

Tomorrow the window will be started so students will have a chance to try various processes of working with stained glass. You will learn to cut glass, foil the edges, put it together, solder, etc. The amount of participation will depend on the number of students who plan to attend.

Hope to see you tomorrow. If you can't make it, further opportunities like this will be available from time to time.

Pat

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch & Recycling Lead

Wow. If you haven't heard about it, you will want to read about it, and for sure you will want to do something about it.

These articles I have links to here talk about the huge garbage dump floating in the Pacific Ocean. All of the articles (when I searched "ocean garbage dump") bring the responsibility back to each of us. In my glass studio, I rarely throw anything away. I do the best I can to recycle my glass, lead, paper and plastic. Reading these articles about all of the plactic pieces found in the fish we eat ... my favorite food ... is pretty alarming and makes me want to be more diligent. I carry canvas bags for my groceries and they actually work better than the cheap plastic that breaks and spew groceries all over.

For any of you within the distance of my Tecumseh, MI studio, feel free to bring your unused lead to me for recycling or take it to Omnisource in Adrian, MI. Their address and more locations can be found by clicking onto their web site: www.OmniSource.com , then click on "Locations". Today, the Adrian location is paying 12 cents per pound for lead.

The above photo and great article can be seen by going to: http://discovermagazine.com/2008/jul/10-the-worlds-largest-dump

The following information was received from: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/10/19/SS6JS8RH0.DTL&hw=pacific+patch&sn=001&sc=1000

How to help
You can help to limit the ever-growing patch of garbage floating in the Pacific Ocean. Here are some ways to help:
Limit your use of plastics when possible. Plastic doesn't easily degrade and can kill sea life.
Use a reusable bag when shopping. Throwaway bags can easily blow into the ocean.
Take your trash with you when you leave the beach.
Make sure your trash bins are securely closed. Keep all trash in closed bags.
Trash is also a problem in parts of San Francisco Bay. For an interactive map showing some of the worst locations, go to www.savesfbay.org/baytrash.
- Justin Berton jberton@sfchronicle.com

Pat

Dale Chihuly

I had a customer ask me about making his collection of blown glass fish into a unique kind of underwater scene. The first person I thought of was Dale Chihuly and how he creates spaces with his work. When I got on the internet I found a couple of nice places you might like to go to check out Dale Chihuly's work. The first is a UTube video, the send is his web site.

Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETJhw9_B_X4

http://www.chihuly.com/installations/

Pat

Einstein, Art, Science & Math

I am currently in the process of reading, "Einstein, His Life and Universe" by Walter Isaacson. What does he have to do with art?

It is amazing to me the passion Einstein had for his work. And, although I am very passionate about my work in glass, I cannot compare to how driven he was.

This makes me think about some of the issues I have had as a mother, wife, business owner, artist, and a person living in society. In this book, I read about the months on end that Einstein would spend away from his home and family in search of the thoughts that he was compelled to investigate and solve. Over the years I have been jealous, at times, of other artists who were free to spend hours on end creating what was to be their next work of art, investigating other options through workshops and seminars, or travelling to inspirational places.

Once, when I was feeling "less than" because my life situation at the time with three young boys under the age of 5 kept me from volunteering in a position I thought I would really enjoy, I discussed my feelings with a friend. I felt like I should be contributing my time by teaching young children at our church. My friend, who very much understood the feelings I was having, explained that my job at that point in time was my children and my family. They are where my focus needed to be.

I am so glad I listened to her. I have since had the opportunity to teach middle school students and found it to be very inspiring. They have wonderful ideas and are still unashamed to tell you about them. Through my children I have been inspired by their unending need to push for what they feel they need to do and accomplish in their own lives - although I would be lying if I said it wasn't extremely exhausting for my husband and I at times. They are all wonderful people. Very different but all inspirational to me. My oldest, Matthew is pursuing his dream of becoming doctor. He recently accepted a research opportunity at Lake Superior State. He talks about things that are beyond my ability to understand (although he is 30 years younger than me). My middle child, Travis, has chosen a different path with his education. His focus revolves around his talents as a skateboarder and he is getting ready for his first trip to California where skating can happen every day - unlike here in Michigan with our unpredictable weather. He pushes for his dream in a way that I can totally relate to. And my youngest son, Casey, is still in high school. He has a determination that serves him well in many areas of his life and will certainly help him when he chooses his career path.

Needless to say, my art is inspired not in the same way as Einstein was inspired by his scientific thoughts, but, it is inspired by my own life experiences and that's what makes it truly unique. I can't get enough time to read all of the biographies I would like to read. No matter how different another person is than I am, there is always something I learn from them... and eventually that is reflected in the art I produce and the person I become.

For all of this, I am thankful!

Pat