The entry for “Spring Burning” is on it’s way to Houston for “Celebrate Spring”! I hope it makes it by the 14th which is the deadline for receiving. It should have gone earlier, but it just was not possible and I think it will make it unless something goes terribly wrong.

I’m taking the day off, going to town for lunch and a movie with a friend, then before I get started on the new project, I need to tidy up and get the books caught up for my next deadline – sales tax!

We are really enjoying our “warm” temperatures, I think we made it up above freezing yesterday.

The dogs interrupted their playing to pose for me.

We got OUT yesterday!  The temperature even got up in the 20′s and this whole week will be above freezing!   The wind sculpted drifts are really quite pretty if you can get past the inconvenience of it all. 

Our road runs east and west so the north wind sweeps the fields and dumps it all in the road.

Especially at the tops of the hills  where you pray you don’t meet up with someone going the other way!

Amazingly, once you get out to the main blacktop roads they are for the most part clear and dry.  The gravel roads, however, stay snow packed and icy for a long time.

I did not get much beading done over the weekend so that’s the plan for today. Again.  Time is running out!

Bet you thought I’d be done by now….NOT!

I had some interruptions that kept me from putting in the hours so I am a day or so from finishing. I have beaded all of the flames but the early work is not as dense as the later so I am having to go back and fill in. Last week we had to make an emergency run into town to restock up on beads before the big snowstorm and we just made it home as the snow started falling. By the next morning we had huge drifts. Even though the snowplow came through, by noon the road was drifted shut again with a five foot drift! Since we live on a dead end road, that is not a good thing!

Yesterday was the coldest day in years, record breaking cold with a chill factor in the minus double digits and wouldn’t you know – our furnace’s blower fan died. Luckily the road had been plowed, the wind let up and the repairman made it in to fix it. With the fireplace going it was not too bad in here, but not conducive to beading so I started a jigsaw puzzle.

This is a small portion of yesterday’s work:

This piece has thousands of beads, all individually chosen and placed by hand to add movement and sparkle to the flames and the background. I enjoy the process of beading but don’t do it a lot.The piece needs to really need it, I don’t do it gratuitously. I figure there are two or three more days of beading to go in this one. At least.

The weather is cooperating; more snow today and tonight with winds to make it drift, combined with bone chilling temperatures, so what better way to spend the time than beading?

I had intended to add a link to Patrick Daugherty’s site yesterday, but I forgot. It’s there now so if you didn’t pursue it yesterday, go back and check it out.

I did more beading yesterday and I would say that I am half way done with “Spring Burning”! Frankly, I am getting a little tired of this and am anxiously looking forward to beginning the next piece!

Patrick Daugherty‘s work fascinates me. I first saw it several years ago at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, so I was thrilled that he has produced some right here in Topeka, KS in front of the Mulvane Art Museum on the Washburn University campus.

It was snowing yesterday when I took these photos, quite a contrast to the heat of Arizona where the pieces, as I remember, were more spherical.

It was deserted because of Christmas break, so I took advantage of the solitude anyway.

I plan to revisit when it is warmer! I would have loved to have known about it during the building process but I didn’t hear about it in time. Perhaps I was traveling. They are large, big enough to go inside. Pretty cool!

He has an extensive resume – perhaps you can find some where YOU live!

They say whatever you do on New Year’s Day will carry on for the whole year. Yesterday I started the day as usual on the computer catching up on e-mail and posting to my blog. Then moved on to putting all of the Christmas decorations away and generally tidying up – even cleaned a closet! The afternoon was spent being creative and sewing on more beads. And then in the evening, after dinner, TV and reading. A nice balance. I should have made time for a little exercise and bookwork and I’d have had it covered!

We’ll see.

The dawning of a new year, the view from my studio window this morning.

I’m not one to make resolutions, just goals to meet the deadlines; it works for me!

My wish for you is that you just have the best year ever, doing what makes you happiest!!