just finished casting, getting ready for orlando!

Tony Blackwell put this wax tree together for me, and I think he did an amazing job! The picture doesn't quite capture the glory that is this piece... he crammed about 50 charms on there!

So we're getting ready for the Bead Mercantile Orlando show... and we'll be staying with Cynthia's folks down there. Then on Tuesday our friend Jeremiah from http://www.smallandround.com/ will be attending a show where his work will be on display in Miami, so we're going there to support that and say hi and all.

If you come to the show in Orlando, mention my blog and I'll give you an additional discount! You've got to come get some of the little charms in this pic!

Getting ready for BABE! bead show in San Fransisco...

So Tony is out in the garage making wax trees and Lisa is in the office helping me get ready for the big show in California this weekend. We'll be casting nine flasks tomorrow, the maximum amount I can fit in my kiln. Bob would be proud!

I look forward to hanging around Oakland. Last spring Bob and I walked around the Jack London square and hit the cool Barnes and Noble there on the water. But this year I'll be heading up to Antioch on Sunday night and staying on Bob's boat for the first time. Maybe I can talk him into building a fire with me at the little local campsite...

T.J. just decided to do all the Innovative Bead Expo shows next year. So check out their site! They have around 20 shows in the New England area and we'll be at every one of them!

I got a chance to write a lot on my story this past weekend in Pittsburgh and hope to have a chance this weekend after Bob passes out for the night. The thirty-page outline is only a paragraph or two from completion and then I can start on the layout (chapter-by-chapter plan and deciding what illustrations will accompany each chapter). And then on to the writing itself! haha...

PITTSBURGH A GREAT SUCCESS!!!

WOW! What an awesome show in Pittsburgh this weekend! Just got done packing up and having dinner...
Thanks, Lisa from Cleveland! (She bought three of Cynthia's hand-sculpted-one-of-a-kind resin portraits) and really made my day! You rock!

so now I'm ready to drive back tomorrow and start casting frantically for San Fransisco (BABE! Show in Oakland). I'll be seeing Bob Burkett this weekend, he will be driving down for the show and I offered him a stay at my hotel. He's been having some pretty serious health problems here recently and I've been very worried about him. It will be nice to see him and find out how things have improved since I've last talked to him.

Anyone who hasn't read Don Quixote, I suggest it to you. I am still near the beginning because it is almost a thousand pages long, if not more. But even so far, I have taken a message from it that is profound beyond description. The best I can do is this: Once an individual has discovered his potential, he is obligated to it. The realization itself binds you to the deed.

But maybe I'm just reading into it more than I should....