Imagine

ATC -- Art Trading Card -- Imagine -- Done While at Dale Music

The original Star Trek series ran originally from 1966 through 1969. The culture represented in that series portrayed an idealized socialism later described by John Lennon in the song Imagine. John Lennon was a dreamer. I mean that in a good way. All artists are dreamers by nature. Dreams are what drive the creative spirit forward.

What would actually happen to society if we had essentially free housing, power, and food? Would we choose to further our education? Without the actual need to provide for the basics of life, would we continue to work? I don’t know about other professions, but I do know that artists would continue to create. That’s what we do. Unless we create, a little piece of us dies.

ATC -- Art Trading Card -- Love Ya -- Done While at Dale Music

I sometimes wonder what would have happened differently in my life if I had parents who supported my artistic development. I didn’t have those parents. I had parents who ridiculed my art even when I won awards. I sometimes imagine how much farther I would be in my career as an artist. My grade school art teacher was one of the most profoundly influential esteem builders I had as a child. Mrs. Peterson. Wherever you are, thank you. You kept that dream alive in me for all those years.

With all the cuts in arts funding, I fear for the budding artists growing up. Quash their creativity by learning only those things that up the test scores for the schools. Not much of a goal for a society. Imagine what it would be like if creativity were to be allowed to flourish.

John Lennon -- Imagine

Imagine

Transitional Turquoise

Turquoise and Lime Green Watercolor Study.

I love the color turquoise even though I don’t really wear it very often -- except jewelry, of course. Even so, the color turquoise keeps popping into my head when I consider colors for the farmhouse. I know that’s an odd color choice when my farm is landlocked in the mountains. Maybe it’s a transitional color for me -- signifying the change in my life from a sophisticated urban life to a more simple country life.

Fused Art Glass Pendant -- Bullseye and Wasser Glasses With Enamel.

I don’t really spend a lot of time outside in the city; but, the farm has a lot of reasons to pull me outside. I know the sky isn’t technically turquoise -- it’s azure. Turquoise has more green in it; but, turquoise is a combination of the colors I see at the farm: the azure sky combined with the green of the fields. The view at the farm is a deconstructed turquoise.

Fused Art Glass Pendant -- Bullseye and Wasser Glasses With Enamel.

Turquoise can be a little overwhelming. I don’t think I’d be comfortable in a completely turquoise room. Maybe I’ll just start small… Like the steps to the basement -- see how I like it in real life. Who knows, maybe the whole farmhouse really wants to be turquoise.

Fused Glass Pendant -- Bullseye and Wasser Glass With Enamel.

I do make and sell quite of bit of turquoise and turquoise-colored jewelry. Real turquoise is a big seller for most jewelry designers. It’s a calming color. No one has ever walked into my booth and said, “I’d NEVER wear turquoise.” The same can’t be said for other colors… like orange or yellow. Turquoise is my third bestselling color after posh purple and sophisticated teal.

Polymer/Wood Pin With Paint.

I tend to sell more turquoise glass than I do real turquoise. That’s probably because I make more glass jewelry than stone jewelry. It’s part of that ethical sourcing dilemma. It’s just so much easier to buy Bullseye glass than it is to track where the stones come from and then test them to see if they’re real and/or adulterated. Glass is just, well, unabashedly glass. It doesn’t try to impress with a pedigree (real or made up). It’s just sand and some minerals. I’ve included a few of my favorite turquoise-colored glass pendants for your enjoyment. So, enjoy.

Fused Art Glass Pendant -- Bullseye and Wasser Glasses With Enamel.