iOffer is not an Auction

In order to continue my crafting fun, I must sell the items I so happily create. I not only sell on Etsy, I sell on Ebay, DeWanda and on ioffer. Clicking on the banner will send you there. If you haven't checked it out before, it is time you did. I believe it is turning into a fun place to buy from. Many people on iOffer are selling on Ebay as well but instead of playing the "biddem up" game, you may purchase or make an offer on what you see and like. Go ahead a take a peek and let me know what you think.

Embarking or barking up a new tree

Anyone who knows me, knows I can't stick with one thing too long. Or is it that there are just too many interesting things to do?? I don't know which it is but it makes me crazy.
The glass studio has been really nice and still is, but there was all this space on the opposite side of the basement. My aunt Lynn and I have been weavers and we both own floor looms. Hers was safely in storage and use to belong to her aunt. Her aunt bought it in the 1930's and it is a nice primitive 2 harness. My loom is a 4 harness LeClerc Floor loom that I disassembled years ago for lack of room, and had stored it in the garage, when 2 years ago, we had a very major flood and it was covered in muddy disgusting contaminated river water for nearly a week before the water receded. Well, here was my chance at dragging out the pieces of hard rock maple LeClerc goodness out of that garage and into the tub for a good scrub, and to reassemble it back to it's grandeur. Between her and I we finally got our babies back to workable condition and we are so excited to have the chance to bring them back to life and produce some runners, rugs, fabrics and other goodies. I am so grateful the LeClerc was made so rugged from that hard rock maple. It would have never survived otherwise.

Uglying up NYS

I live in beautiful rural Upstate, NY where a private commercial company has decided to take it upon themselves to build these huge high voltage transmission line towers standing 120 feet tall just to pull power from Utica to NYC. This will pass through 190 miles of beautiful scenic forests and waterways, all the way down through the Delaware River Water Gap area, some of the most scenic areas in the Northeast, just to feed NYC's growing energy needs. They already take our water, now they will take our beautiful scenery, hindering tourism in our already depressed area, and take our health with the effects of these high voltage lines.
The 1,200-megawatt line would cross 154 streams or rivers, 155 mapped wetlands, 65 miles of farmland, seven counties, one city, seven villages and 30 towns.

Yesterday while driving to Binghamton, I saw a sign in the rear window of a passing car. It said, "Conserve Electricity. Turn Off Time Square" This was in protest to the transmission line project, called the New York Regional Interconnection, N.Y.R.I. To read more about it, just Google.

One of My Favorite Arts-Concrete

Spring is just around the corner and one thing I am looking forward to is creating my outdoor art. I have a passion for concrete and I sculpt and mold items from hypertufa. Hypertufa is a mix made from portland cement and other aggregates. I love to experiment with different formulas and make up my own recipes for tufa. I try to make my hypertufa as light and as strong as possible. Someday I plan to work on a formula for hypertufa that will remain strong in high heat so it can be used for outdoor ovens and barbecues.

There is a concrete art that has fascinated me for years. It is a technic called Faux Bois, French for fake wood. With this process, you can create fantasy items that look exactly like wood. I belong to the Garden Art Forum and it has many creative concrete artists there. One of those artist is a very talented faux bois artist. You can find his blog here.
http://fauxboisinconcrete.blogspot.com/