Here are some pictures from my latest taster workshop on Sunday 6th of Feb

Fantastic results for novices after only 3hours.

Glass Panels before firing

Fantastic finished pieces.

Follow on sessions have already been booked.

Why not Book a Taster course, Gift vouchers are available Ideal for a valentine gift.

Oh scary, scary!!  I’ve just got back from my first ever radio interview and over half an hour later I am still feeling totally wired by the whole experience.  The interview was to talk about my glass work and my courses and was with Geoff of Phoenix Radio, a local radio station in Calderdale.   I was totally prepared in terms of questions and answers for the topics I wanted to talk about but it was still  really scary doing it all live on air.  

What a busy week I’ve had - the radio interview was just one of many things over the last few days.  Last week was the BCTF in Harrogate which was good to do with lots of great feedback on my work, but so, so tiring.  I had Wednesday to recover before heading back to the day job for a 2 day stint before the weekend.  No rest here though as I had a stained glass course on the Saturday which turned out to be a really great day.  Just the one student, Anthea, but she came prepared with lots of sketches of the sort of thing she wanted to produce, the size of the window to be filled and her inspiration had come from the photographs on my website of my own front door.  And to top it all she had arrived with a supply of home-made cup-cakes.   A brilliant day and we had lunch in the garden as it was such a sunny day.

Sunday was supposed to be a day of running for me as I am getting really behind on my marathon training, but the 16 miles didn’t happen.  Instead I spent most of the day updating my website with all the activities planned for the Craft & Design Month of May in preparation for the radio interview today.   It’s amazing how what you think is going to be a quick activity turns out to be most of the day!

And as if I don’t already have tons to keep me busy, the Stainland Lions beginners course starts today so much of this morning (after a quick trip to gymnastics with Zachary) was spent getting all the final bits and pieces ready for the start of this evening - oh why did I volunteer to be the beginners captain this year when I knew I was already really busy!

And then tomorrow it’s back to the day job which is a day trip to London, meaning a very early start and a late finish and being totally knackered -well more than I already am if that is possible!

But some good news - by some total miracle that I am not going to question, I actually passed my grade 8 piano exam!  It’s only taken me 6 years since I restarted lessons (plus the 19 years since I originally passed grade 7) and despite having a total breakdown in all 3 pieces I have passed.  I should feel pleased but it was such a disaster of an exam I don’t feel that I’ve finished on a high.  When I mentioned to my piano teacher that I was considering re-sitting it, she sounded a bit horrified - I think I’ve stressed her out enough over the past few months.

At least I have Wednesday afternoon free, so I will try and do some running and maybe even have a rest.  Thursday afternoon is going to be good though - I have my first session with a life coach followed by a business mentoring session with Calderdale council.  These should both be great for keeping me highly motivated and making sure that I am doing all the right things to make sure that my glass efforts are a success. 

And then that takes me to the weekend when I have my next course - 2 days of fused glass with 3 excited people - hooray!

Should you be interested in attending one of my courses please don’t hesitate to get in touch

Last weekend I had another fused glass course with three excited people full of enthusiasm for fused glass and what fun we had!  Two of my students were on a weekend break courtesy of their husbands who contacted me way back in December about a Christmas present for their wives.  Away from all family comitments they were both great fun all weekend.  My third student was a teacher who wants to introduce her students to glass fusing.  With so much enthusiasm I tried to give them as much information as I could about all aspects of glass fusing - I probably over-did it but when you have such an enthusiastic audience it is hard not to get caught up with all the enthusiasm.  At lunch time on both days we managed to enjoy the fabulous sunshine which finished off an excellent weekend course. 

My next big task is to get details of my courses posted up everywhere so that my courses get busier.  I had a fully booked stained glass course last month which was great news but now I am struggling to find my courses on internet searches which is impacting my course bookings for the next couple of months.  So much for being a glass artist - I seem to spend most of my time on the internet doing sales and marketing activities and web management!

Should you be interested in attending one of my courses please don’t hesitate to get in touch