Snow and Orchids

 Snow, snow, and more snow with an additional four inches last night. This mound of snow is right outside the studio door. The corner is the path Ray has shoveled out for us to walk penguin style to the car avoiding slipping. We had 19 inches on Saturday. Schools and colleges are closed. Some roads get plowed some don't. Mail hasn't been delivered in over a week. Fed Ex and UPS have come most days.

                           A rather large snow plate that almost seems blue in all the snow.

 I am a gardener inside and outside. Thought I would share a view with you that I see from the table. It is a window filled with my orchids and cyclamen. The little  hand blown glass bird is from a trip we took to England. The round glass was a gift from our children. You can see the green house and the outside porch all covered in snow.

 Orchids are relatively new to me. I have been taking care of them for about two years now. I have learned after losing several they like to be misted. I actually spray all our houseplants everyday with water that is room temperature.

 After talking to my brother in law Monroe and my friend Fiona, I now water the orchids really well about every two weeks. This is a very special little orchid. She bloomed after being dormant. These are the new flowers and blooms. She is very tiny and enjoys being near the window.

 Cyclamen have their own way of telling me when they need to be watered. We have only one that is four years old. The others were purchased at a Valentine's Day clearance. They do really make you smile as you look upon the table filled with flowers in this snow.

 The view outside the studio window with birds patiently waiting for their turns at the feeders. The cardinal is almost breathtaking red against the snow and dark colors of the woods.

Another view of the cardinal with the snow covered roof of the house and one of the little houses in the yard. Our road is covered in snow this morning. The studio is a busy place with glass being cut to create flowers and jewelry. Under all of this snow are the green shoots of daffodils waiting with more patience than I have.

www.carolingrammoore.com ~ www.artisansofthegap.com www.facebook.com/CarolIngramMoore

Daffodils

www.carolingrammoore.com ~ www.artisansofthegap.com www.facebook.com/CarolIngramMoore

 I really can't even remember when I realized how much I like daffodils. It must have been when I was a little girl walking around both of my grandmothers gardens. Both of them enjoyed daffodils.

 Each year, I add more than 100 daffodil bulbs to the garden here in Big Stone Gap.

 This year, I was a little late in planting some of them. They are all coming up now!

 The first year we moved here, a friend gave me a tub of daffodils her brother had dug out of his yard. It took two full years for these King Alfred daffodils to bloom. They now line the entire front of the house.

                Each area of the yard has its own daffodil garden. These are in the iris garden.

                                      Just a few close ups of some of the different varieties....

                                       A soft touch of peachy pink

                                                                  These smell heavenly.

                 N ear the woods

                                         Oldest and sweetest of all the flowers

 These border the woods. Bunnies, deers, moles, and voles do not like daffodils. One year a critter had dug up a daffodil, took a bite and left the rest.

Outside the greenhouse

If you look closely, you can see a little bug under the petal of the top daffodil.

Joy of Opening the Kiln

A few weeks ago, the kiln had a problem. The wires in the control panel caught on fire. The smell lasted for quite awhile. I contacted the company I bought the kiln from and they referred me to the manufacturer. I called them and they were closed early on Friday. This was about 4:30 on Friday and the next week was a holiday craft show. The kiln was about two weeks out of warranty. I mailed the part and waited to find out what the problem was. I called the company. It had only happened once before and was a problem with the part itself. They sent me a new one at no charge. It arrived a few days later. And the kiln has been working very well since then. A special thank you to Jen-Ken and the Delphi Glass. They have fantastic customer service folks.
I opened the kiln this morning after it had cooled down to about 70 degrees. Inside was the bird of peace flying against a blue sky background. It is the joy of working with Bullseye  90 glass, what an incredible art glass. Peace is ready for the Holiday Open Studio on Sunday.

 I really enjoy the six sided shapes of snowflakes. I used punched copper foil between two layers of glass. Two of the pieces have confetti and stringers in the glass. Three of them are on a white background. The third one has the blue sky like Peace and then I cut two white stringers at the bottom and thought what is that shinning piece of glass in the cutting tray? It was some dichroic glass. Using creativity and tweezers, I place the tiny shard between the stringers.

 I had ordered some new dichroic glass and wanted to see the results. It is really more white than blue and purple and rose. I took two photographs of the same piece is light coming from a stained glass window.

 By moving the butterfly just a bit, the shine of the natural light through the window left a different glow to the butterfly. If the sun was shinning on this piece, you might just have to wear sunglasses.

For those of you who live nearby, it would be nice to see you at the Holiday Open Studio on December 8 from 1 - 6 in the afternoon. Fiona Zahnke will also be in the Studio with her pottery, fiber arts, and hand spun yarn.

www.carolingrammoore.com ~ www.artisansofthegap.com www.facebook.com/CarolIngramMoore

Getting Ready for Holiday Show in Big Stone Gap

In between preparing for art classes for the City of Norton Parks and Recreation, which is a lot of fun. The studio has been filled with all sorts of arts and crafts for the holidays. Although as I wrote to a friend this morning, it has been like  blazing a holidaze trail.
This Saturday from 10 am - 5 pm  and Sunday from 1 pm - 5 pm is the annual Big Stone Gap Holiday Crafts Show at Carnes Gym.

 Just a few of the pieces of jewelry I will have at the show. Hope, the limited edition Holiday ornament will be available for sale. One is currently at the Southwest Virginia Museum in their art gallery.

 These bracelets have a variety of beads from metal, to crystal, to gemstone, to glass and stretch. They can stretch due to memory wire. The bracelet can become a necklace when stretched. It always comes back to a bracelet shape.

If you live locally, come by this weekend. There are some great arts and crafts available for sale.
Supporting your local artists is always a good thing.

www.carolingrammoore.com ~ www.artisansofthegap.com www.facebook.com/CarolIngramMoore

Jewelry and Glass Art in the Studio

www.carolingrammoore.com ~ www.artisansofthegap.com www.facebook.com/CarolIngramMoore

The studio is filled with some fascinating and interesting art.  I thought I would share some of the art in the studio with you. This piece is actually shrinkey dink with glass beads and gemstones on a satin cord. 

 A glass plate that has mutli layers of glass. Wonder what the cat is thinking about?

 I created some leaves in a class I took on cold connections. I made all the copper connectors and wraped the leather to create a very one of a kind necklace.

 This is definitely a one of a kind piece and it was pierced and threaded together. My first attempt with a jewelry saw.

A peaceful sleeping face set on a copper leaf with copper tendrils spiraling down the pendant. These are just a few of the unique and one of a kind art and jewelry in the studio. It is open by appointment only. Do come by and visit. We'll take a stroll in the gardens.

Glass on a Winter's Day

 While the sun was shinning, I kept seeing streaks of colors next to the computer and several rainbows as well. I thought it would be a nice time to share with you some of my latest glass art creations. The small plate above was somewhat of a challenge with the copper pieces to cut out and place without moving too much. I am thinking I will use a glass glue the next time I want to add flowers.

 Several folks made comments on facebook about the small bunny plate I had made. I had more of the blue green glass, so I created a larger plate and added more copper grass.

 These are some of the newest pieces. This one will be featured in an online shop in April.

 The dichroic glass seemed to radiate in the sunshine.

The dragonfly has a pair of earrings to match. Doesn't it glimmer in the sunlight?


www.carolingrammoore.com ~ www.artisansofthegap.com www.facebook.com/CarolIngramMoore

A storm came though today

 Imagine an afternoon in the mountains with the wind just a whippety tucking through the valley.

 The trees bend and twirl. When I first saw this out the back door, I thought geez, these trees dance. And they really bend and sway as the wind blasts them around. I tried to capture the leaves as they fell from the trees. I am not a photographer, just someone with a camera who loves living in the mountains and wants to share with you  the joy of what I see.

In the corner, a leaf is caught. Thrown upward by the wind and spirals downward in a dance of the leaves.
The wind still blows and the trees are still swaying. Yellow poplar leaves twirl gingerly on tree branches, not long to stay in one place this time of year.