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Last week, I got back from the opening of the “Life in the Gardens – Frabel at Phipps” exhibition. This is our 4th large exhibition at Botanical Gardens (the first one was in 2004) and every time the exhibition becomes a bit bigger. This one required two 53ft tractor trailers to transport all the glass to this beautiful botanical garden.

One of my goals for this summer is to work more with silver and glass and see what else can be done in the art of wearable sculptures.

As many of you probably know, the Glass Show in Las Vegas from April 3 – 5 will have a new event, the International Glass Invitational competition organized by Will of Flow Magazine. Although I hate travelling and am not a big fan of public appearances, Will and others talked me into going.

Congratulations to the Frabel Award winners Joanna H Manousis and Maureen B McRorie . May you have a wonderful time in June with Mr Frabel and the staff. Mr. Frabel thank you for all that you are doing to keep this art alive.
Sincerely,
catherine

My work is very time consuming. I work long hours to make the pieces I make. Most of my larger pieces take 2 to 3 weeks to complete. The mermaid tookalmost two months. Platters and smaller works take anywhere from a couple days to a week. I draw a small sketch, undetailed, and it is basically a line drawing. If i need to make it bigger I go to kinkos and have it blown up.

Last week, I had the good fortune to meet up with my long-time friend and hero, Harvey Littleton. He and his lovely wife for 61 years, Beth invited me to a wonderful barbeque place, close to his home and gallery in Fort. Pierce, Florida. His home, during the winter months, overlooks the river and on clear days you can see as far as 27 miles away, so you actually have a great view of the ocean.

Although glass is my hobby, and I love it, sometimes it (almost) turns into work. This was the case when I, together with my team of incredible glass artists, were finishing our latest exhibition that is now on display at the McKee Botanical Garden in Vero Beach, Florida. Good old, blood, sweat and tears, people!

My wife and I have been planning a trip to New Zealand this November for a long time now. Last month I started looking online to see what the lampworking scene was like down there. I quickly realized there wasnt to much going on with borosilicate glass, at least what I could find online. I did find one distributor who is selling Glass Alchemy colors in a town north of Auckland.

We are getting our first cool nights of fall. The confederate rose out at the country house is starting to bloom. It should be magnificent in a week or two. The ginger here, those that survived the battering of Hurricane Ike, are still blooming and the angel trumpet just put on a huge burst of blooms.

The pain of working in glass. I had spent 2 months working on a picture only to have accidently broken it. That is so frustrating and disappointing as it truly was my best work. Think I need a little time to pout about it before I attempt another, lol.

A problem I have had (maybe since birth) is that I have a tough time accepting compliments. I guess I just never wanted to be perceived as a bragger. Now, this does not seem like a problem by itself, until you, out of a wrong sense of modesty, diminish your own work and your accomplishments as an artist, by not accepting compliments or just waving them away.

I started out my professional life as a mechanical designer. I worked for five years designing everything from automotive assemblies to jet landing gear. I found the lack of creativity in my job absolutely stifling and in 2003 I left the field completely to persue art. Since then I've received a B.A.