Art in the Garden at Annie's July 12-13

I've always loved puttering in the garden, seeing what magic nature and nurture will bring. One of my absolute favorite places to find interesting and esoteric, as well as common plants, is Annie's Annuals in Richmond. Annie's is unlike any other nursery I've ever visited or patronized. You can feast your eyes and nose on row upon row of delectable perennials and annuals, see what the blooms look like, learn where they come from, how big (or small) they grow, and how to take care of them. One of my favorite things to do on Mother's Day weekend is to visit Annie's when she goes all out to celebrate moms with music, food, fun and more plants.

This July 12-13 Annie's is sponsoring Art in the Garden at Annie's and I have been invited to show and sell my GlassLight wares! Come sample Annie's snacks and drinks, and take home a few plants and glass plates for your next garden tea party.

It's going to be a blast! I hope to see you there!

Annie's Annuals
740 Market Ave. in Richmond, CA
510.215.1671
Don't use Google Maps or Mapquest, they will get you lost. Follow these directions:
Take 80 east towards Sacramento. Exit San Pablo Dam Rd. (two exits past San Pablo Ave) and make a left at the light. Turn right at the 3rd light onto San Pablo Ave. Turn Left at Church Lane, which automatically turns into Market Ave. Go approx. 1.5 miles (through 2 lights -- 23rd St. and Rumrill) and over 2 railroad tracks. "Annie's" is on the left a few feet past the second set of tracks, where you will see our sign and our large green fence. Pull into our secure parking lot.

Resurfacing

I know it's been a year and a half since my last GlassLight blog entry. My silence is not an indication that I flamed out in the kiln or gave up doing glasswork altogether.


Rather, the absence of words reflects my struggle to photograph the glass pieces. Capturing the way light penetrates the glass and brings out the brilliant colors as eluded me for all these months. I've photographed the pieces under a skylight. I've placed them on a white background with incandescent light shining from one side. I've even photographed some pieces with a CFL shining through them. Those are the least satisfying because the fluorescence causes the glass to appear yellowish--like dirty, tobacco-stained teeth. Yuck!



Take this otherwise lovely piece, for example, I call it Deep Seaweed because the iridescent layers reflect light and remind me of deep sea kelp laying under the Bay water.

One evening I was playing around with some clear iridescence that had a fish scale-like appearance. Tossing around some blue and green shards, I suddenly got the idea for my next "marine" scene. This "under the sea" serving plate reminds me of my marine biology days, peering through layers of water to see the colors of oceanic flora and funa.



This other piece in my Under the Sea series is focused more on blue, which is another color I usually eschew!



I've been playing around with the idea of reduce, recycle, re-use. Glass has its own mind. Sometimes I have an idea of a shape I want to cut the glass sheet into, but the glass decides whether it wants to be a circle (or break into piece of a circle, as it is often wont to do) or a rectangle or a square, or a squiggly shape. Often I throw away all preconceived ideas of how a finished piece will look, and let the unexpected shape of the glass lead the way. This means that no two pieces can ever look the same or be the same size. Unlike some other glass artists in our studio who carefully measure and cut squares and strips to fit, I am drawn into the world of "whatever will be will be, the future is not ours to see, que será será, what will be will be."





So rather than striving for perfection, I've decided to upload photos of a few pieces.




There are more, but those pieces will have to wait until I feel brave to turn the camera on them again.







This delicate iridescent clear and chartreuse dish makes golden cubes of butter look absolutely de-luscioius.











My feeble attempt to do mosaic, but I have no patience for precision cutting!



This photo definitely does an injustice:


I'm really not an avid lover of red, however last year I got a large piece of glass called "striker red." It looks like transparent streaky orange. When fired in the kiln, the glass turns a deep, rich transparent red. Dedicating to using up what I have, I've had to find imaginative ways to use the color. This is an example of a circle gone haywire!








A small dish for small treasures, like earrings or a watch that needs to rest at night






Many of the GlassLight pieces are for sale. Proceeds are donated to a local homeless shelter and this year, some will be donated to my daughter's college fund. Send your queries to glasslight@barbarachan.com with your telephone number, name and description of the piece you are interested in, and I will call you back.