Thank God it's Monday!

To the right of me I watch the furnace purr. 2000 degrees Fahrenheit it sits billowing soft flames from its door. Fresh, molten glass awaiting me – here – in Ottawa! I’ve been waiting so many years to say that. I have the tendency to only allow a certain amount of excitement to build until that monumental task is complete… I reach that task to realize that a new, much more pressing task awaits in the horizons so I again I wait to get excited until the next hurdle has passed. Yes - there are still big hurdles that await. We need to make some money and get this business buzzing, but for the moment, on this day, I deem myself very very excited! So many people have chipped in from every end of my life offering their support and extending a hand where they can - thank you thank you thank you!! I am feeling very loving and lucky lately. This week we can anticipate some wonderful hail and rain showers while the easter bunnies are at play. This doesn’t bother me now that it’s warm in the studio. I will be a busy bee finally able to start making the work (after being down for 6 months). If you are in the Ottawa area come by for a visit. The studio is now open Tuesdays-Saturdays 10am-5pm Here's what my view of the shop looks like today :) more pics coming soon more info http://www.floglassblowing.ca/

studio update

Well its been a long overhaul, one i thought would come sooner than it has but we officially are in the last stage of getting the furnace up and running could be weeks could be more (please please let it come sooner than later) but we await the final safety inspection to allow us to fire up and get to work.

I am in my last month at the law firm i've been holding down to keep the money coming in, and i am oh so very excited to finally be in the shop and being doing all this full time.

No the website is not yet up but its close, ohh so close and its fabulous and im excited to share it.

Studio courses have finalized. My flameworking set up is complete for production to begin. Its time to finally get to making stuff and i cant wait!!

I'll be holding a photoshoot at the shop this sunday to take pictures of some beautiful ladies modling the newest wares.

I have admitedly let the daily creativity challenge drop. Its a busy time and one of my worst attributes is over commiting myself and running myself ragged. The challenge was meant to be fun and keep creativity flowing during this down period... and though it has been fun, i will continue to take a breather because it still can't be put as a priority.

Im feeling sentimental today. Feeling gratitude for all my loved ones and I'm hopeful that in the very near future great things will be taking shape.

i hope all are well

whats wrong with the handmade challenge

Lets take this moment to touch base and get re-orientated shall we?

The handmade challenge has had its high moments but mainly its been a lot of me going 'what on earth am i thinking? I'm the last person in the world with time to complete this challenge'.

Everyday? Am I setting myself up for failure? Some have voiced as much... and stubborn me is torn between wanting to catch up and wanting to let the weight drop, after all, there are a lot more important tasks at hand, such as getting this business off the ground.

I like my little challenges. They go in hand with my personal lists... you know the ones that are meant to make me feel more balanced? But I worry now that as soon as I actually concretely make that wish and note it on my checklist that it in fact causes me to avoid it like the plague because it appears - I AM A PROCRASTINATOR and the mile long wish list, well that's a good distraction from my irritating MUST do items. I can't pile up more MUST do items and attempt to balance them by creating more 'meant to be fun but will end up feeling like work' challenges. As a result. I admit a change of course, and a full revision of this handmade project of mine.

Despite the fact that i really truly long to do one thing daily... perhaps now is NOT so ideal a time to take on more personal challenges. Keep making work. Keep posting work, but the deadlines on fun stuff... maybe a bad idea JUST for the moment.

New suggested handmade challenge date? April 22nd 2011.
I can't say now how I'd like to run the challenge but this date is picked because it is the first day of our official studio opening. And in two months time, I WILL be working full time in my studio space vs the law firm I'm spending my days in now... The furnace WILL be up, and the task of making something will be not just easier but mandatory for work reasons too... consequently making this personal challenge and my efforts for an improved personal quality of life easier, not another item on my checklist.

Prioritizing is not my favourite task, but hard as it is to admit defeat, I don't want to loose focus on where i need to be putting most of my energy right now.

NOTE: I will be updating hand made things still.. just not daily. And I will continue to write my daily's and even start trying to upload a photo a day as the studio work gets more interesting.

Studio update for those who are interested:
WEBSITE is getting close, cannot wait for that one to be off the checklist. Goal launch date - end of the weekend
FURNACE - hurts to say it, but we wont be up till march at least... as soon as we've got the safeties approved I'll be singing from the rooftops, but in the meantime, I'm taking the time to get all the other small studio projects completed
SPACE is looking good. remember we're open days now 12-5 tues-fri and saturdays 10-5. Come see how we're looking... shes going to be a grand play place, I can't wait for the classes to begin.

The adventures of beans and rice

The simplicity of this button makes it one of my favourite items... and its not even fully my item, I share wearing it with Brian.

May this little memento always remind me of two things:

1- I love my partner dearly

2- I must keep it close to remind me to lighten up and get out for spin. Lifes only as hard as you make it... and smile for god sakes.

smile and the world smiles with you, cry and you cry alone.

London Calling

Ohhh my goodness its nearly here! Tomorrow Bri guy and I fly to England for 18days of what I expect will be a Grand Adventure living as a Brit in ol' London town!

There are very few rules for the trip, other than to catch as much live music as we can and to document as much as possible in any form that suits. I've purchased a fresh new sketch book and a splurge pencil case loaded with every magical writing device i could hope for. So with that, my new birthday lens, and a little video action we should be well covered. I also hope do a little writing and send some updates on here as time permits.

If it isn't already nauseously obvious, I am uber happy and deeply in love. The skeptic has quickly traded in her feisty cards for those of a romantic... and this whole adventure to Europe seems like it should be written in a chick lit novel where i would normally gag at the end and go.... sure that would happen?! Needless to say I'm very lucky and I hope not to take a second of it for granted.

Alrighty. And with that, Cheerio! - I'm off to England!

re-rooting from the beginning

I’d like to start actively using this space for its original intentions, artistic expression. I created a blog and a twitter account and the facebook page all with a social media, marketing mentality… This is for Flo.

Flo & I sharing a laugh

However, for those who are less in the know, Flo, despite being the name of mine and Bronwens glassblowing business, is the name of my late grandmother Jewitt. She was a tyrant of a woman, strong and passionate about two things - family and creativity. My fondest and most common of activities with her included doing crafts in our exclusive crafts room, where items of every imaginable purpose piled high on their floor to ceiling shelving unit of fun. As a kid, I sewed and hand fabric painted my wardrobe (i promise to find and post pictures of this, hilarious). I knit my neck warmers and mitts. I always had a colouring pad handy in my handmade travel bag. And Lewis Craft was our weekly store outing.

Needless to say, Flo was a very large contributor for where I’ve found myself today. And for lame reasons (no proper photos/no scanner/too busy) I’ve neglected to use this page for its rightful purpose... to post new and random items of creativity that I generally do on a daily basis.
So, let’s start fresh. Yes, this is a method of marketing to the world wide web of flo glassblowing happenings, news and events… but mainly, this is about creativity and sharing creativity and storing all that creativity in one spot visible for whomever is interested in viewing/reading.

Bronwen insists she will be taking part in some blog entries as well, so she will have to add to the list, but for future postings... expect some of the following:

- Sketchbook articling
- Photography Favourites
- Videography and Demonstration videos
- All things DIY (instead of 'do it yourself', I prefer 'design it yourself')
- Creative writings/ lyrics
- Song clips/recordings
- flo glassblowing studio journaling

back to the races

Despite best intentions, I seem to have dropped off the radar these past few weeks. And as a consequence, the longer I was away the harder it was to bubble to the surface again and remember where to start.

I sit in what I newly deem my ‘layer’. The layer is my new office where im hell bent and determined to finish that big looming document that keeps me from moving forward with my plans. To recap all those who are out of the loop (and to hopefully keep from repeating myself 20 times a day)… I’ve quit my day job to finish my business plan, to finally merge and relocate our studio into Ottawa, to make a decent living doing something that gets me excited and to better educate the populace of the mesmerizing and inherent wickedness that is glassblowing. I’m in transition… quite the understatement. And yet, every transition has made me giggle a touch more gleefully.

Due to the fact that I’m now unemployed and free to roam as I please, I’ve decided to take this entire month back in my home town of Thunder bay. The lists of reasons to come home are both personal and work related… perhaps contradictory and overly ambitions. I don’t know how I manage to tack on so many extra to do lists or how I fully plan on accomplishing it all but I honestly wish to achieve the following while here:

1 – glass
- complete bus. plan
- launch new website

2 – music
- refine and record 5 of my song
- record lyrics for dads childrens album
- write 3 bones to songs w luc for SOG
- play live jazz, solo stuff, SOG & backup
- partake in as many group jams as able

3 – photos
- capture Tbay in a collection of shots
- practice photoshoots w kel

4 – personal
- relax. get grounded
- regroup. get motivated
- recap w old friends
- good visits w all the family
- fuel creativity wherever inspired
- escape the city embrace all things nature

These lists all have sub-lists presented in order of importance with extra stars, highlights and underlines where needed… but mainly this visit is because I can. I have the opportunity to and ultimately it’s making my heart happy. By no means does this entail me staying in Thunder Bay however. I’m home to relax and accomplish a few goals then get back to the races.

Annnd at that, maybe its best I get back to this plan of mine.

scrooge

As a special present from Andy, these two photos came to me in an email. It appears I have developed a new disgruntled grandpa smirk, and being the good friend that she is, she thought I should be aware of it.

I assure you this was unconsciously done.

there is no wrong decision

I have an embarrassing admission. When I was a girl I wanted to be a singer. Now I realize this isn’t too silly a notion, you know, a 6 year old kid playing air guitar and lip-syncing to Queen's classics in her fake microphone. My real admission is the fact that I went into glass as my expressive medium thinking I’d outsmart the curse of the starving artist syndrome. My father had made his go at a musical career and retreated back to Thunder Bay when we kiddies came along. I think this knowledge is likely the reason I never went on to study music as a career. I didn’t admire the hard life style, yet I wasn’t about to bow down to the man either and take on a degree I couldn’t get excited about… sooo in all my illogical logic I thought glassblowing would be a much more suitable career choice.

It wasn't until about a year into my design program at Sheridan that I realized I was a complete idiot for thinking there was any difference between being a starving musician artist and being a starving glass artist. They’re both the same, sooo amazingly the same… and even worse, now I have two enormous passions that hold the same amount of importance and difficulty that I have to channel and express myself through in order to feel fulfilled. Wow that’s exhausting. And yet…. exhilarating!

My current life to some may be a complete backwards mess at this point. I could very feasibly still be in a not particularly unhappy relationship; a big somewhat put together home; a steady job I don’t hate with benefits, and likely a lot more money in the bank. And yet, even as I wake up alone in my uncle's basement, most of my things in boxes, no mode of transportation, and a mere week away from being unemployed… one thing scenario #1 has that scenario #2 surprisingly doesn’t have is - doubt. Even more, scenario #2 has somehow guided me to the thing I’d traveled as far as India to try and find again - sweet, wonderful, happiness!

I'm not exactly sure what I'm trying to get at here. Had i originally studied music as i likely was too fearful to attempt, I could potentially be a very serious musician or I could have made a few other forks in the road and ended up somewhere completely different. Maybe I needed to pursue glass to build up my starving artist stamina to get to a level where I'm confident enough to attempt music on a more serious note? None of it really matters, I'm exactly where I'm meant to be at this exact moment in time.

I remember asking my Dad for advice growing up. I'd be all panicked and flustered and he'd always respond calmly with 'there is no wrong decision'. To me this was his cop-out way of answering the question without having to answer the question. I'd get irritated, roll my eyes, and walk away. Turns out he knew what he was talking about. Took a bit to sink in but I'm now 2 days away from taking a leap into the unknown world of starving artist again and all i need to really remember is that one piece of advice.

Create, Inspire, Evolve

I've been trying to determine for sometime what my first official post would be within this mysterious world of 'blogging.'

I'm glad I've given it time to stew in my mind… to grumble and moan, “What do I have to say?”

Ideally?

I'd like to be part, in some way, of the shift that is taking place in the world right now. On so many levels, as seen in politics, the economy, and the environment, ‘change’ is the opportune word of the times. Eyes are wide open and attention is finally paid to those who have something to say.

Creativity most recently has developed a stronger voice in North America.

Hand-made versus mass production; quality versus quantity; clever versus common; these are shifts that excite me. These are the shifts I want to take part in.

Art has been given such little praise in the realistic world of priorities. In an economic downturn it's not questioned to be the first of the cut backs in governmental spending.

But 'art', by my definition, is all forms of expression that fuel creativity. And creativity, as described by new urban thinkers such as Richard Florida, is the future craze, and the one activity needed to sustain the economy for the times ahead.

I'm surprised at my own intensity for the politics of this subject. In a very simple form I just like to make things, all things, anything, as often as I can!

My name is Melody Jewitt. I am a glassblower by trade, a musician by heart, and a dreamer of many other creative channels such as writing, photography, sketching, videography, and painting.

Here's hoping this is one more channel within this massive internet stream that fuels a little more creative flo in your every day existence.