New hearts in time for Halloween!

As we near that wonderful fall time of year, I have prepared a few new anatomical hearts for our upcoming shows. I have a few variations on my favorite style including some special dark red veins and some sparkly blue veins. I am making a few different sizes now for different preferences. Please check out my Etsy shop to see which ones are currently listed.  Thanks! :)

3 New Summer Glass Goodies!

Yesterday was pretty productive in my studio, despite the heat and looming running-out-of-gases threat (I'm a worrier, but see I'm working on it! :D )  To top off that productivity, I actually photographed the new goodies this afternoon, wow! I know, it's really not that difficult, but for a procrastinator that gets distracted by all the shiny things, foodstuffs and electronics, this is an accomplishment for me.  Behold three of my newest summer jujees:

Beach Scene Shell Pendant

Green and Blue Sparkly Flower Implosion Shell  Sea Turtle

Orange and Purple Dragonfly Pendant

New designs on the way, so stay tuned.  I know these are a few of my traditionally awesome designs, but I have some new tricks up my sleeve... ;)

(Edited: Blogger made my pics darker with "Auto-Enhance" unbeknownst to me, so I had to re-upload them after turning that feature off)

Tomorrow: Olive and Wine Faire!

Come see us! I'd mention more about it but the flyer says it all, at least the important stuff.  Plus I just finished a piece that literarily took hours to make and I need a walk now! :-)

On Sale: Glass Guinea Pig Pendant!

Tonight's post is about this cute little pendant, full of detail and adorableness:

Guinea Pig Pendant!

Another view:

I bid you adieu! :)

Bluegreen Glass Seahorse Pendant, Second Day of the Sale

Second day of my daring sale, and I'm showing off this excellently sculpted seahorse pendant, in vivid shades of bluegreen:

Bluegreen Seahorse Pendant, Glass Art by Patrice Shepherd

(Photo updated to possibly another seahorse in 2019 maintenance)

Email me if you have any questions, and as always: 

Thanks folks! :)

RARE SALE: 25% OFF Through September 14th!

Well, some shows are expensive to apply for.  Some are cheaper, but those are not the issue today. ;)  I'm trying to save up for our annual big show before Christmas, but am having a little trouble raising funds, so it's your golden opportunity to score some of my best work for the lowest prices I've offered them: Our shop's first discount of the year (I usually don't discount my art, as it isn't totally fair to our patrons who pay normal price), and it's going to last until September 14th.  I know, it's going to be hard to part with my clownfish pendant that took around two hours of sweat and tears for around $39, but it's for a good reason, and I can try to make another one before the busy season gets underway, hopefully. :)   So today is the first day of the sale, and below is the fruits of my "Labor," so check out this gorgeous art glass clownfish pendant while it's on sale in our Artfire Shop:

Art Glass Clownfish Pendant by Patrice Shepherd

Have a great evening, and please, by all means, email, retweet and share this link!  We appreciate you gals and guys spreading our names as far and wide as you have already, and always welcome more word of mouth. :)
Thanks again!

100th Post, and Lavender Festival!!!

Wow, my 100th post! :)  This is a nice milestone for a blog, especially with so many abandoned ones on the web, it's nice that this one is still kicking. Thanks for sticking around!! ;)

This is a hit-and-run type celebration, however, as I still have tons of work to do before this weekend, when we wrap up the Lavender Festival with its second weekend.  Paul and I are excited because this festival is run by awesome people and full of excellent lavender goodies (lavender: ice cream, margaritas, brisket, beer, iced tea, sweet buns, just tons of unique lavender dishes).  Definitely coming back next year!  Here's a photo of some of my lavender pendants, and a link to the festival's website.  And Facebook.  Cheers!

Some of my lavender glass pendants

Sunday's Best: My new hummingbird design :)

I've been making hummingbirds for a good number of years now (6, I think?), but sometimes it's good to change it up.  This is my newest design of hummingbirds, and they have been so well-received that I don't have any left in stock yet, but I'll try to make one or two this week when I'm off work. :)

Ruby-throated new hummingbird design

And since this is Sunday and I'm posting some of my newest bestest favoritest goodies, here's my little teal frog on an implosion sculpture:

Teal frog on an implosion sculpture

Thanks for checking out my newest goodies! :)

Saturday NIGHT Show and Tell: A DRAGON and a Frog!

Wow, two posts in one day?!?  I should save some for later, right?  Well, there are just so many new goodies that I haven't shared with you yet that I'm too excited to wait, so feast your eyes on these new creatures: my favorite dragon, and an adorable frog on an implosion!

Awesome new cute dragon sculpture!

Cute frog on an implosion sculpture!

So as you can see, I've been making new sculptures (because come on, I can't focus on just flowers and flower pendants, right?  Well I guess I could, but that's not nearly as much fun!), and I have a few more designs coming down the pike one of these days, so stay tuned for more goodies, or come to our booth for that day's freshest goodies.  You won't find this blue frog, however, as he's already hopped into someone else's heart at a recent show. :)

Saturday Show and Tell: New Iris and Hibiscuses!

Well it's my first real day off in a few weeks, so I'm pretty excited to hurry up and relax. ;)  Paul is working on our next big show's application, so I will laze back and throw a blog post up here for you guys to see our newest flowers.  Some of these have sold (last week's Iris Festival was great for selling our irises!), but it gives a good idea of the botanical creations we'll be bringing to the Temecula Valley Balloon and Wine Festival next weekend (May 31-June 2, 2013). :)

Amber Reddish Hibiscus Pendant

Yellow and Red Hibiscus Pendant

Yellow and Red Hibiscus Earrings, matching pendant above (but a little more bold since they're earrings)

My Cute Blue and Yellow Iris Pendant!

We've got lots more up our sleeves, so be sure to check back here or on Facebook.  Our Facebook page will likely get the most attention in the coming weeks though, as we can post from anywhere!).  Thanks for reading again! :)

Hibiscus Flowers and a new Daffodil!

This will be a quick post just to show off my pretty new flowers. New birds made also, which I'll have to show off later, so come back soon! :)

Spring Forward/Spring Flowers!

We're ramping up for the Spring shows, including the Highland Citrus Harvest Festival and the Hillside Farm Spring Boutique (Norco).  Our Events page on the website will be updated each week with the upcoming show dates, and I'm adding them pretty often as we apply for and get accepted to new shows. :)  Busy bees!  Well, I'll have new bees another week, but today's fancy is my pair of pansies.  I will modify my design a bit, but here are the freshest flowers to spring up from my kiln:

I've got a GLASS PICKLE!!!

Do you?  Not yet! Mwahahahaha!!!  Here's my newest glass culinary creation, at the suggestion of a patron at our Farmer's Market (thanks, lady whose kids teethed on pickles and other lady who has relatives with the surname of Pickle! :) )    Looking around online didn't yield many good pickle pendants, so I figured the market was "ripe" for my take on the favorite snack made from an original veggie...

Glass Pickle Pendant, Glass Art by Patrice Shepherd

Thanks for stopping by my oft-neglected blog; I still appreciate you guys and haven't forgotten.  Just been busy.  More to come though, as this year holds a TON of shows, some brand new ones in our lineup, so I'll just have to blog about our new escapades. :)

New Kiln Booty! Turtles, a Penguin, and more!

Not a lot of blogging recently (time constraints, plus I'm trying to figure out if blogging is truly dead or dying). Well, the heat is really preventing me from getting a lot done in the studio lately.  Despite that, I did manage to get out there in the wee morning hours recently, and here are my new critters.  Just hearts today, so nothing to photo yet, but these I am quite proud of. :)

What Matters Most, and How You Need to Get Back to It

There are tons of books on organizing, prioritizing, getting things done, time management, and that sort of thing.  You've probably read lots of them too, and are perhaps even burnt out from some point of all the "useful tips" these books offer.  A friend of mine (who proclaims she's had plenty of it too) had work send her to time management training years ago, when planners were all the rage, and that actually did stick -- she still uses it to this day (forsaking even her smartphone and tablet, no less).  At the same time, she is still dissatisfied every week (and many days in between) at the fact that she still didn't get the things done that she'd hoped for.  Why are so many of us still swimming, yet never arriving on dry land?  If we are all perpetually drowning, who's going to pull us out of the water?  Hey, I like to dog-paddle as much as the next gal, but there are times when we need to start swimming, and in specific directions.  This is the kind of thinking I feel is good for Sundays....

Getting to the point: While it's great to learn about time management, we need to remember to continuously assess which direction we're going instead of going the same direction we are already headed.  As either Einstein or Rita Mae Brown said, "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results." Aside from planning to use an insanity plea in the future, why do we continue the same efforts and expect better?  Identify what is important in your life, and what makes you happy, and make time for those things.  Not later, but now.  Just a little bit.  Be happy right now (or make time for it today).  We truly can't live in the future, as it will get here and we'll still be waiting for the next thing coming.  Serenity now! :P

I like hiking: it's nature combined with exercise (which I desperately need), what could be better?  It's Paul's fault, he got me hooked on it.  It's also important to find something you love doing that your partner also enjoys (like glass, hiking, etc.).  I also love eating good food that someone else cooked, but sometimes that hobby can get expensive! ;)

So get out there!  Figure out if your current direction is the right one, and make time to be happy now.  No one else will do this work for you, and if they do -- I don't trust them... :)

Footnote: Yes, this is still my blog on glass art, but more importantly it's partly to describe the (not-so-creative-at-times) journey through it, and how it ties into the other aspects of a (what I consider) successful existence.  At least, that's the direction I think it may go.  Come on, haven't we all been tempted to change the direction of our blogs?  There are so many abandoned blogs out there that I wonder how many folks just gave up because they ran out of things to say on their chosen topics, instead of trying to slightly alter the direction.  Well, today's post is more about direction than glass, and if you only read here for glass goodies, please forgive the change, and I will of course still post glass goodies as the general theme.  Just mixing it up today. :)

3 New Listings, Hot From the Kiln!

After my recent brush with death (ok, so it wasn't that dramatic, but it was closer than I've been in years!), I finally got back to the studio (unsupervised, too!).  You and I do enjoy our glasswork, and I'm sorry for dropping off the map, but you understand, right? :) 

I've been making some neat beads lately, but they're for a project that's still top-secret, so no peeking at those today... But I do have three newbies on the fire block: Spiral Bee, Grey Rhino and Whale Fluke!

Spiral Bee Pendant on ArtFire

Grey Rhino Pendant on ArtFire

Whale Fluke Pendant on ArtFire

Yay for glass time!  Now if I can finish my beads soon, perhaps I'll get to show and tell with those... Otherwise, stay tuned.  Have a great Saturday and final day of March! :)

Back on the Juicing Wagon!

Since recent events have reminded us to get back onto the path of nutritious foodage, I was compelled to resume my juicing hobby today after working in the garden for a few hours.  No, I didn't grow these veggies, but they are the next best thing: from my local farmer's market and Goodwin's Organics market! :)

Cleaned veggies before juicing

I juiced almost all of this, the only thing different is I only used half that beet at the northwest corner of the shot, as you really have to be careful when starting out with beets.  Some folks get sick to their stomachs from too much, and although Paul and I have juiced them before, best not to risk it and only use half. 
This isn't a recipe from a website, but just what felt like the right ratio today.  I used:

• about 15 carrots
• half a beet
• 3 stalks swiss chard
• 3 leaves kale
• 5 stalks celery
• 2 apples

Yes, I omitted the ginger today because I forgot it until I was juicing, but that's OK.  It tastes fine without it, and it's not a huge batch anyway.  Before our vacation, Paul had juiced a large batch and we ended up wasting some of the liquid gold, so I'd rather start small at first to ensure none is wasted. Plus I used lots of carrot because it's delicious and again, I'm easing back into the greenish-brownish-brackish-water-looking-stuff we normally drink. :)

The end result was about 40+ ounces of delicious/nutritious juice (I drank some before photographing, sorry!), plus all this pulp.  The carrot pulp will become carrot-banana-coconut muffins later, and I'm undecided about what to do with the green pulp, maybe soup?  I juiced the carrots first so I could separate the pulp for the aforementioned muffins. :)  Off to sip some juice and have some tofu onion pepper curry I made last night. 

*Cheers: To being more healthy this year!!*

My Favorite Seahorse (Today)

Well, I shared it here when the house got burglarized two years ago, might as well share about this:  Friday at the Farmer's Market, I had my first (and hopefully last) seizure.  It was the scariest thing in recent memory, and even worse for Paul, as he thought I was dying.  (Neither of us had ever witnessed a seizure, so I guess it looks terrible the first time).  My legs have been sore since then, and I have an appointment today with the doctor.  I don't like to miss work, but I guess this was a wake-up call that we've been pushing ourselves too hard, what with limited sleep and extra caffeine and ginseng, I guess we had to learn the hard way...

I want to get back out to the studio.  I'm off today because I have to go to the doctor, but I'd really like to go and make some new glass goodies.  After having the seizure Friday, I'm just a little scared to be out there without Paul, though I'm sure there's nothing to worry about.  It was probably just the perfect storm of stress and lack of sleep compounded by too much caffeine and ginseng (which is like caffeine).  I'd just like to hear that from the doctor.  Then I'll feel better about it. :)  In the meantime, this is my favorite seahorse.  If I blew a mental fuse and never got to do glass again, I'd probably keep all my critters, and wear him the most, though I'm sure that's not the case and everything will be just fine. :)

Fire Divas January Challenge: Poll Closes TONIGHT!!!

Glass lovers pay attention: ;) This month's Fire Divas challenge is Romance, and although I'm sure you good folks have already seen this poll and voted, I'll repost it here just in case you had to re-heat your cup of tea last time before you could click your vote in, or comment and BE ENTERED IN THE DRAWING FOR THE GRAND PRIZE!!! The Poll closes tonight at Midnight EST!!!

One lucky commenter will receive a 25% off Coupon for Sonja’s Artfire shop. So after you vote don’t forget to leave a comment at the bottom of the post on the Divas Blog to win!! Poll closes at Midnight (EST) on Saturday, January 21st.



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Good luck, Fire Divas!

Wednesday's Llama...

Happy Wednesday!  Today I'm basking in the completed status of a custom order.  This was a tough one, and I'm so glad my customer is happy with it, whew! Also, school is almost over for the semester, and I'm really going to be relieved after I take my final next week.  I can't believe it's almost done, my first term back after my last five-year absence from higher education... ;)

Well, this morning I wanted to share my favorite piece from the custom order, which turned out to be this llama pendant (accent beads are also in the shot):

I think he's just the cutest, and he's gotten some pretty good feedback from those who saw him prior to making the cross-country voyage via USPS, what do you think?

Along similar lines, I came across this alpaca-felted soap this morning, and wondered if anyone I know has actually used such a kind of soap?  If so, comment so I can know if it's a good gift jujee! :)
Have a great Wednesday!