FOXY Fusions Blog

As I sent my kiddos off to school this week, I was thinking about fall fashion for girls. Here’s some FOXY items my 17yr old daughter, Shana, thinks are awesome for pre-teen through college.

Mini-Circle Pendants

At just $25, these mini-circle pendants are just fab for younger femme fatales….I wrap a leather cord through the center of this 1″ pendant and include the sterling silver clasp. The mini-circle pendant can be ordered in any of the 28 FOXY Circle styles! And since these pendants anneal a really long time in the kiln, they’re pretty tough. (Still..try not to bang or drop them!)

FOXY Bracelets

The FOXY Fusions bracelets are awesome on any size wrist! Links can be removed from the standard 7.5″ length to snug up to a smaller girly wrist, or you can order the 8″ length for the “I’m all that and more!” FOXY lady! Try this on for some funky fall purple and green! These bracelets are pretty darned resilient…even customers with the most active lifestyles tell me that FOXY holds up.

Ring Bling!

FOXY Rectangle - Sunset #5

What self-respecting hand talking female does not like some ring bling??? Ive got lots of different rings for your fingers at FOXY Fusions! It’s all  set up so you can order a square ring in any of the FOXY Rectangle styles for your young woman…all rings are adjustable and fit ring sizes 6-10. I’m still working on the FOXY Rings page, so visit the FOXY Rectangles to order rings…or contact me to order a circle ring!

If you need a smaller size, I do have  a small ring blank that fits size 4-7. Custom order by emailing me using the form on the FOXY website.

A key fall 2009 fashion trend is sparkle and shine…how perfect for dichroic fused glass! So how can you incorporate a little sparkle and shine into your wardrobe this fall?

Well, one hot look for the fall is the monochromatic look with a little sparkle to add dramatic accent. So choose a blouse and casual work trouser in neutrals like gray and black, and then add a splash of color and sparkle with a dichroic FOXY Fusions pendant.

Or put on some artistically ripped jeans with a solid color shirt in a smoky blue, and accent with a FOXY Fusions belt buckle (new for the fall!).  A little sparkle goes a long way!

I’ll also be designing some big hoop earrings for this fall. I was inspired by so many customers wondering if my circle pendants were earrings that it finally sunk in—you want some BIG GLASS HOOPS to adorn your lovely ears! They’re comin’…

Watch this recap of 2009 New York Fashion Week to get some visuals of fall fashions coming your way: Top Fall 2009 Fashion Trends

And check these articles:

- Celebrity Style: Fall Fashion Trends for 2009

- Beauty Biz: Fashion Trends for Fall 2009

Expect to see classic clothing with earth tones this fall in browns, yellows, oranges, and greens with muted solids enhanced by slightly louder colors in reds, oranges and blues. Emphasize your spirit of exploration and experimentation by accenting these solids with some brighter but sophisticated FOXY Fusions designs…

For a more “chic” look, seek out designs with deep blues and pinks that have a stormy look to them and contrast this with burnt oranges and browns that summon the red clay or boulders of our nation’s canyons. Here are some FOXY designs to compliment your “chic” clothing this fall:

Read the rest of this entry »

I just saw the movie Julie & Julia and it was fabulous. In this movie, Julia Child’s story of her start in the cooking profession is intertwined with blogger Julie Powell’s 2002 challenge to cook all the recipes in Child’s first book. But at essence, what this story describes is the inner quest of both women to find their true purpose, pursue it with vigor, and discover some measure of worldly recognition for their efforts.

It’s the story of any creative person, in any decade or century. In fact, in some ways, it’s my story.

Like Julie and Julia, I am driven towards creativity as a life-long pursuit, as a career, as a calling. For Julia, it was cooking that unleashed her passion. For Julie, it was writing. And for me, it has always been art–painting, drawing, and now fused glass.

“There are two great days in a person’s life–the day we were born and the day we discover why.”  -William Barclay

But it was not enough for Julia Child to be a great cook for family and friends. It was not enough for Julie Powell to write a blog for a hobby. And it has never been enough for me to do a corporate job during the week, and be an artist on the weekend.  I can’t be passionate part-time….I must be consumed by my passion. I must truly “be” an artist, earn my way as an artist, to feel I have reached my full potential. I feel these women must have also felt this way.

Of course, the rub is that it takes money to live, and it’s very hard to earn money following your creative passions until you’ve reached far and wide to find enough people who love what you do that you can survive on their endorsement and support. In simpler terms, it’s hard to get a break.

After eight long years working full time developing her now famous first cookbook, Julia Child succeeded–her first publishing contract proved she wasn’t just passing the time by cooking, she was finally recognized as a chef. And after blogging and cooking an impossible number of recipes in just 365 days, Julie Powell got her break and now earns her living as a writer.

Stories of success like these are inspiring to creative people. These stories prove it can happen. Someday I’ll wake up and realize that I’m an artist, and that creating beautiful things is what I do for a living. A heartfelt thanks to all my family, friends, and FOXY Fusions fans that help me get one step closer to making this dream a reality every day.

It’s almost back to school time, and as I prepare to run the Texas PTA Reflections program for my sons’ school, I am reminded how important it is for everyone to support arts in the schools in Texas. We’re so lucky that these valuable programs still have funding in Texas…they’ve been eliminated in so many other parts of the country.

So if you support the arts in Texas, there’s one easy way to show it!

Texas State of the Arts License Plate
Your purchase of a “Texas State of the Arts” license plate will help nurture all the arts and give your car a little class at the same time. It is only $30.00 more than the normal registration fee and can be personalized. Best of all, the proceeds bring arts programs, education, and performances to communities across the state and provide funding to artists in every field, from every background, for all art forms. Remember, you don’t have to wait until the registration on your current plates expire. You may apply for this special plate at any time during the year and your regular registration fees will be prorated. ACT NOW! For more information on how to order your work of art, call the Texas Commission on the Arts at 1.800.252.9415 or go online at http://www.arts.state.tx.us/lp to download an application. Did you know that the State of the Arts license plates has sold more plates than all 48 collegiate plate designs combined?

I’ll be ordering mine today!

People often ask me how they can learn about fused glass. The only way to really learn it is to try it. And the only safe way to try it is to learn from an experienced fused glass person. Austin has several places to learn fused glass including:

• Art Glass Fusing Center (www.artglassfusingcenter.com). I took my first fused glass class here, and was so inspired I started FOXY Fusions! I often purchase my Bullseye glass from their store.
• Helios Kiln Glass Studio (www.heliosglass.com). I have taken classes at Helios and purchased glass here. Karen and Paul run a great shop and studio and are awesome people!
• Blue Moon Glassworks (www.austinbluemoon.com). I took a class in torchwork here and found out just how hard it is to work with glass under a flame! They have awesome classes and a great selection of glass and supplies.

If you live outside of Austin, you might be able to find a fused glass center by searching in Google with the terms “fused glass classes in <city>” and put your city in replace of  <city>.

You can also check out warmglass.com. It is a wealth of resourceful information about fused glass. And they have a book you can order online as well called Contemporary Warm Glass by Brad Walker.

People have also inquired as to whether I teach classes at my studio. Due to insurance requirements for holding classes, I haven’t yet done this. But you never know…I might team up with one of our Austin fused glass centers in the future….

Pirate Tremain loves her FOXY Fusions!

Even pirates love me FOXY Fusions mateys! Pirate Alice Tremain, me first mate aboard the pirate ship called the  Fury, loves to wear her FOXY Fusions circle pendant!

This past weekend we ventured to the island of Santo Oloroso (otherwise known as a “boat” on Lake Travis in Austin) for our annual murder mystery party.  Fun was had by all as we “arrrggged” our way through the plot.  Many of us had to walk the plank..but at the end of a hot evening, twas not too bad!

My fate was poor indeed! Me mateys all turned on me and cast their Capt “Saucy” Nancy Martin into the volcano as a sacrifice to the Taino gods! Arrrrrr!

So with a title like that, what the heck is this blog about? It’s about blown glass, of course! (get your mind out of the gutter…will ya?)

Sometimes people think fused glass and blown glass or torchwork are all the same thing. Well…they’re all different types of warm glass, but beyond that, they’re extremely different.

• Fused glass involves flat sheets of glass layered and then heated up in a kiln to melting point. Fused glass can be draped over a form and slumped so that the glass melts down the sides of the form. (sample of slumped dish) And while there are lots of other awesome techniques you can do with fused glass, it all happens inside the kiln.
• Torchworked glass or lampworking involves a torch and rods of glass that are melted by placing the glass into the hottest part of the flame, and then bending the glass over some kind of steel rod or other tool. (read about the History of lampworking…) You’ve likely seen lots of torchworked beads in your time. Here’s some excellent examples from lampworking artist and friend Lindsay Fields. You can “blow glass” with torchwork, but only small pieces. I tried making torchworked beads and made the most horrendously awful misshapen beads that I immediately ran back to my kiln!
• Blown glass is what artists like Chihuli do. The amazingly beautiful glasswork affixed to the ceiling of the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas is one installation of Chihuli’s work that takes my breath away. Glassblowing is a glassforming technique that involves melting glass in an extremely hot open oven, and then inflating the molten glass into a bubble, or parison, with the aid of the blowpipe, or blow tube. This is the most advanced, most difficult kind of warm glass craft, and typically involves several people working together in front of a very, very hot open firepit-like oven.

Because each of these types of glasswork involve tons of practice and experimentation, glass artists usually pick one and stick with it. Fused glass suits my sensibilities, so I’ll probably be crafting with a kiln for a long time to come!

There are so many reasons to buy handmade…..where should I start?  I know…I’ll take some quotes directly from the Buy Handmade website where almost 45,000 people from all over have pledged to buy handmade (and YOU can TOO!)…

“What gift could be more thoughtful and personal than one handmade?”

“Support the creative revolution!”

“Handmade is food for the soul.”

In fact, handmade is such a powerful force in today’s culture that it has supported the birth of a movie called Handmade Nation. You can watch the trailer here…and buy the book here…and read the blog here…

Why is handmade so important to people? The same reason that people are flocking to social media like Facebook and Twitter and Myspace by the droves—we want to be connected with other people. We want to feel a personal connection with the people from whom we buy clothing and jewelry and things for our homes. We’re tired of mass marketing from big companies that don’t know anything about who we are or what we want. We want to feel special.

And we want to have cool, unique things that no one else has. We want one-of-a-kind special things that someone made just for us. At least, that’s what I want. That’s why I surround myself by crafters and artists, and why I pursue fine craft as my career. I love handmade! I hope you do too, and I hope you’ll join me in the handmade revolution!

One of my favorite quotes on success is by Sasha Azevedo, an actress you might have seen in The Notebook. Sasha has an inspiring story of surviving brain surgery at 21 to cure epilepsy (Read more…).

“To believe in yourself and to follow your
dreams, to have goals in life and a drive to
succeed, and to surround yourself with the
things and the people that make you happy -
this is success!”

Another resource that has really inspired me about success is appropriately titled….Success. Edited by Jena Pincott, this little gold book is a goldmine…literally…of quotes by successful people about how they got successful. I keep this little book in my jewelry bag and periodically flip through for some good advice. From the Amazon.com editorial review:

Success is a collection of insights from more than 400 remarkably successful people in all fields – including business, politics, entertainment, and the arts. Here are quotes and passages from J.K. Rowling and Federico Fellini on getting started, and Steve Jobs and Tiger Woods on passion. Here, too, are George Lucas and Bill Clinton on goals, Katie Couric and George Foreman on competition, and Edmund Hillary and Carly Fiorina on leadership.

Have a great Wednesday!