Sharry Miller

Class Coasters

Perhaps my favorite part of teaching glass classes is seeing the amazingly different creations people come up with. Faced with the same four 3.5-inch squares of clear glass and bins of scrap glass and millefiori, Nanci, Celeste, and Carly made sets of coasters that looked like they'd been separated into different rooms. Not only did each have her own unique sense of style, but they were completely uninfluenced by what the others were doing. Wonderful!... Read more →

Learning to See

My bedtime reading lately has been essays from A Year in the World by Frances Mayes (author of Under the Tuscan Sun). It tempts me on a near daily basis with dreams of traveling through Europe. After work today, Thane and I were indulging in a rare late afternoon soak in the hot tub. I was reading about Ed and Frances's trip to England and Wales where they rented a series of homes and explored... Read more →

Pauper's Philanthropy

Okay, not by any stretch of the imagination can I be considered a pauper, but bear with me here. More than once, twice or twenty times have Thane and I said, "If we were millionaires, we'd support...." Fill in the blank with any number of worthy causes: not just feeding starving children in Africa, but helping support struggling artists here at home. We're no Rockefellers, however (hench the pauper reference). I've recently been introduced to... Read more →

Organic Crochet

Turns out I wasn't able to resist the urge to play with crochet yesterday. I spent a couple of hours with my size G hook and two balls of wool yarn, increasing and decreasing stitches as the spirit moved me. I was envisioning organic creations, sea creatures come to live in my house. What do you think? Read more →

Crocheting the Past

A week or so ago I found instructions for making granny circles here. I forwarded the website to Rowan, hoping to feed her interest in fiber. We snuggled up on the couch this morning with a few skeins of wool yarn to play. She chose the turquoise and lime, while I opted for a couple of handy balls of light and dark pink. I was about Rowan's age when I first learned to crochet. Sitting... Read more →

Fabulous Winter Day

Sun sparkles on snow Silly grin plays on my lips Snowshoeing is fun! Read more →

Hearts and Flowers and Love

It's become so easy in recent years to blow off most holidays as "Hallmark holidays," ones that only exist because greeting card and candy companies are trying to make money. Of course, some we know have older roots; Christmas and Easter, for example, have roots even more ancient than most would like to acknowledge. Valentine's Day has never been a holiday that Thane and I have really celebrated. We're not the two most romantic souls... Read more →

Split Personality

It turns out I may be doomed to live with a split personality. Either that or I need to travel extensively to find all the parts of myself. Inspired by my upcoming trip to Bhutan, Linda bought the book Beneath Blossom Rain - Discovering Bhutan on the Toughest Trek in the World by Kevin Grange. She then loaned it to me before she'd even read it herself. Now that's a good friend! As I lay... Read more →

My Muse of the Moment

Officials reported that last night, just before dark, a man fell to his death from the concrete wall near the library. Eyewitnesses say that he had been precariously perched there for over an hour, apparently just watching passers-by, when he suddenly fell forward and landed on his nose. Regina Knowles was walking by when the fall occurred. "One minute he was on the wall, the next minute he was on the sidewalk," she said. "I... Read more →

Glass Steampunk Owl

Yesterday I forced myself down to the studio to do something, no matter what it was. Of course, I ended up having a great time. I thought I'd share a couple of the things I made. I stole the idea for this owl made of circles from a bead I saw in a magazine (if I weren't so lazy, I'd go downstairs and find out who it was so I could give her credit -... Read more →