As promised, here is the first of the new items I will be adding. More to come next week as I get all of my photos together. I really love this necklace. My husband bought me a necklace with a beautiful green and black stone heart in Sedona, and I tried to imitate it in this pendant.

For sale here, if you are interested.

-Dione
www.inspiredglass.net

Hi everyone,

Yes, I realize it has been a very long time since I posted anything, but I wanted to check in and say that I’m still in business, and I’ll have a few more things in my store this week.

It feels like it’s been forever since I’ve been able to have my studio up and running. Normally I wouldn’t post such personal information, but there is a point to this story so please keep reading. In November of 2008, I woke up one morning with a horrible migraine. After 2 urgent care visits, a trip to the emergency room for a spinal tap, and 3 days in the hospital, I found out I had viral meningitis. Several weeks after that, I was still having horrible daily headaches, and the painkillers gave me an ulcer, which meant more trips to the doctor and more medication. On top of that, it turned out that the headaches were not caused by the meningitis, but that I had become severely anemic, which meant… more trips to the doctor and more pills. (This month should put me 2/3 of the way through treatment for the anemia, and everything else is gone!)

I had a lot of questions about how this happened since I try very hard to live a healthy lifestyle, and even my doctor said he had a hard time figuring out what was wrong with me because I am otherwise in very good health. I asked how this happened and how I could prevent it from happening again, and he said I couldn’t. It was completely random. I was exposed to a virus that could have been any virus, and my body for some reason, this one time, reacted the way it did.

Besides the obvious health concerns, the truly frightening thing was seeing the hospital bills. Luckily I have great health insurance, but if I hadn’t, this entire thing would have easily cost me $50,000.  If I had known I didn’t have insurance, and how much it would have cost, I don’t know that I even would have gotten treatment for something potentially deadly.  It was a huge wake up call to realize how quickly and randomly something can happen to your health that can financially devastate you. It’s very sobering to think how many people can’t afford to have health insurance, and can’t afford not to have it either. It’s not just the bills, either. I’m still amazed at how much of my life my illness has taken away for the past several months, and what a struggle it has been to get it back.

The point of my story is to bring attention to something that some wonderful friends are going through right now. They are uninsured and facing urgent dental issues that will cost tens of thousands of dollars. Their situation has been beautifully explained on the Friend of a Friend Healthcare Initiative website, so please visit and find out more. I can vouch for the fact that these are very real and beautiful people, and fully deserving of community support.

I have donated some and will continue to donate as I can. I want to encourage any of my friends who can donate even just a little to help out. Every little bit adds up, and it would mean so much to a very deserving family.

-Dione
www.inspiredglass.net

If you have a chance to stop by in the next couple of weeks, AGASC is having their annual juried show. Unfortunately, I had to drop out due to illness, so I won’t be entering anything, but I will still be attending the reception on November 22nd. There are many overwhelmingly talented artists that will be represented, so if you are interested in glass art, it’s definitely worth a stop by.

Good luck to everyone who entered! I can’t wait to see what you’ve come up with this year.

-Dione
www.inspiredglass.net

The Barnes&Noble in Santee, CA, has done a very nice thing for the Art Glass Association of Southern California, which I am a member of. In an effort to help support and promote local art, they have invited us in for two days to do a show and sale. In addition to letting us use their space to show off and sell our work, they are also donating a percentage of any sales throughout the store by our guests that have a voucher (including Starbucks) to AGASC. To download the voucher, click here.

I will have a table there with several pieces of jewelry and a selection of dishes. If you are around, please stop in and say hi and support both AGASC and Barnes&Noble. The sale is from 10 am. to 10 p.m. on Saturday, November 8th, and Sunday, November 9th. I will be there on Saturday from 2 p.m to 6 p.m., and again on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Starbucks will be hosting a reception for us from 1 to 3 on both afternoons.

Click here for a map and to look up directions.
Santee Trolley Square
9938 Mission Gorge Road
Santee, CA 92071
619-562-1755

-Dione
www.inspiredglass.net

It’s hard to believe that it’s already almost the end of October! As fast as the year has gone, I’m ready for some cool weather, pumpkin pie, hot soup, and holidays with the family. In that spirit, I’ve designed a new three strand necklace with antique gold leaf charms. It makes me think of driving to Julian, CA, to see the pretty fall trees, grab some apple cider, and do a little shopping!

-Dione
www.inspiredglass.net

My new page comes complete with a photo of me and my friend Gracie, who belongs to a friend. Next time I’ll call and see what she is wearing to the party first. How embarrassing to show up in the same outfit!

-Dione
www.inspiredglass.net

I’m very excited that my koi plate won 2nd place in the Puyallup Fair this year! This is the first time I’ve entered this fair, and it was a lot of fun to see all of the entries from a range of talented glass artists. I’m going to be entering this piece in a few more competitions, and then it will go up for sale.

-Dione
www.inspiredglass.net

I’m very excited to show off my newest glass jewelry design! I love making glass that looks very natural. In the past, I’ve done several pieces that were similar to amber, which have been very popular. I decided to try again with some new colors, this time playing with reds and browns I found in some stone beads. I’m very happy with the way it came out. So far the people who I have shown the design to have found it difficult to tell which is the glass, and which is the stone. I think this is an especially great piece for women that want jewelry that is handmade, but looks classy and can be worn in a professional setting or to dressier occasions.

-Dione
www.inspiredglass.net

When I started this blog a few weeks ago, I wasn’t sure what direction I should take. Since my art and business is glass, should I only focus on glass, or should I share whatever was on my mind that day?

After this weekend, I’ve decided that I can’t honestly represent my views on art and life without expanding past glass. I chose the name Inspired Glass because there are so many things, places, and people that catch my eye and inspire me to be more creative. Some of that is glass, but a lot of it is not. This weekend, I was inspired by chocolate.

We spent the past couple of days in Denver at the Great American Beer Festival. While the focus was, of course, beer, there was one table that sucked me right in. Anyone who knows me knows of my infamous love of candy. It’s truly amazing that I weigh under 1,000 pounds. On a day-to-day basis, I’m not that picky, but I have a deep appreciation for GOOD chocolate.

Until now, I have had one chocolatier that I held above the rest. San Diegans will recognize Chuao, although I’ve recently seen them in Seattle and other places as well. Thanks to the beer festival, it’s now a tie between Chuao and Askinosie, located in Springfield, MO.  I’m an instant addict of their white chocolate, and I don’t even normally like white chocolate. I could only buy one bar with the cash I had on hand, so I’m rationing it out one square at a time to the people I think will appreciate it. I can’t wait to get more.

What makes their chocolate even more special though is their commitment to working with farmers, and the care that they put into their product. I won’t retell their story here since it can be found on their website, but their chocolate is all handmade in small batches. It’s a little pricey, but well worth it as a treat to yourself or someone you care about.

How does this tie in to my art? I’ve discovered that the common theme among the artists/people/businesses I admire is the passion that drives them, the care they put into what they make, and their desire to make the world a better place by doing what they love. These are the people that make the world such an amazing place, and make me want to keep pushing myself to pursue my own passions.

-Dione
www.inspiredglass.net

Sand casting of leaf and tree frog

My husband and I went to Kauai last month to celebrate our first anniversary. We spent a day in Hanalei where we found a really fun art gallery that unfortunately I can’t remember the name of. It’s across the street from Shave Ice Paradise, and that’s all I can remember!

In this gallery, I stumbled on a table with a handful of beautiful sand castings. I’ve wanted to try casting, but so far haven’t, and I’m especially intrigued by sand casting. I have so many questions! The gallery owner told us it was done by a local artist, so I bought the casting of the leaf and tree frog, and we set out to find her studio and see if we could talk to her in person. We did find it near the airport behind a recycling center, but unfortunately she was not in at the time.

We did manage to find her on the web though. Her name is Kathy Cowan, and her website is www.kauaiglass.org. I was extremely pleased to read about Kauai Recycling for the Arts, and see what she and other artists are doing with recycling in that area. Here is what the website says: “KRA’s mission is to demonstrate, promote, educate and empower the community with productive skills that nurture recycling, artistic culture and sustainability. “

I’m hoping at some point I can go back and meet her in person!

-Dione
www.inspiredglass.net