THE EXCITING WORLD OF GLASS BLOWING

I love trying new things and today I took a Glass Blowing Class.  Weird right?  Indeed.  This is an uncommon class that I never imagined I would take.

The owner of the studio, Robert Shield, is a friendly and talented guy from Australia that has been into glass blowing for over thirty years.  Master Shield, and I don’t call him “master” lightly, is a well known artist and on one occasion he gave a gift to Prince Andrew and Lady Sarah for their wedding anniversary. For this, he received a thank you letter from Buckingham Palace.

Robert's Gift from Australia to Prince Andrew and Lady Sarah on the occasion of their wedding and letter of thanks from Buckingham Palace, London, England.

He started by giving us a brief demonstration of his work and I felt like watching an act of magic.  It’s one of those things that look easy from the surface, but you know it really isn’t.  

The class is hands on under Robert’s directions.  The cool part is that you get to keep the two small pieces of glass that you worked on.  I didn’t get to blow, but I was able to play with the fire to create a pendant and a little ornament to place on a wine bottle cork.  I will cherish those little pieces forever.  After all, it’s MY creation, and considering that I am not creative, for me it has even more value.

Glass blowing is an amazing art and the fact that I was able to take a class with master craftman Robert Shield was an incredible privilege. 

I encourage everybody to try it at least once.  Maybe a treat to yourself or for a loved one. 

I did it!

Studio Royal (Shield International)

648 Joey Lane, Suite 6

Henderson, NV 89011

702-465-5114

An Evening with The Joffrey Ballet

This evening I did something very special.  I went to see the one and only, the Joffrey Ballet, at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts, downtown Las Vegas.  Impeccable performance!  

 As I mentioned in one of my first posts, ballet was my first incursion into dancing when I was 4 years old.  I am so grateful to my mom for sending me to a ballet studio at that early age, so that now, after so many years, I can still elevate my spirit watching a good ballet performance.  For many years, I had been interested in seeing the Joffrey Ballet.  Whenever they visited Los Angeles, for one reason or another, I always missed their show.  So tonight was the night.  I enjoyed an amazing performance at the beautiful Smith Center for the Performing Arts.

The theater was packed and that made me so happy.  It’s so good to know that, in spite of all the wonderful and hi tech shows of Las Vegas, people still appreciate ballet.  And people were dressed up!  That shouldn’t surprise anybody, but in Vegas no one dresses up anymore.  People go to the most expensive shows in very casual attire.  A packed theater with people dressed for the occasion was a pleasant surprise.  It also gave me peace of mind knowing that I was not overdressed.  

I went by myself since none of my friends was interested.  Since I had waited so long to see this ballet, I chose the third row center seat.  Oh yeah, I wanted to see them as close as I could, I wanted to see their muscles, their expressions, I wanted to smell them.  My seat could not have been any better.  In fact, that will be my row and seat for future performances at the Smith Center.  The show lasted 130 minutes with two intermissions, but time went very fast.  

My favorite piece was In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated, choreographed by William Forsythe, a union of classical and modern dance. 

It was just an enchanted evening.  I had never seen ballet at that level.  Bravo!!!

Testing my artistic skills

I love, respect and support the arts. One of my resolutions this year is to work on my artistic skills. I have designated year 2013 the year to explore the arts hands on. Before I go any further, I must disclose that, other than music and dance, I am not creative and I think I have no artistic skills.

On that note, I decided to start my year doing something easy. Today I took a “Paint Your Own Pottery” class at The Artful Pottery. Sounds easy, but to me it was a big deal since I’ve never painted anything before.

I arrived to the studio a bit nervous. We were a small group of seven and I had no doubt in my mind that I would be the worst. I was surprised at how many people come to this store. There was even a group of children and adults celebrating a birthday. Now, how cool is that!  Kids and adults painting pottery followed by the Happy Birthday song and birthday cake. Sounds great to me.

First, we were supposed to pick a ceramic piece. The store carries a great variety of pieces to choose from. I decided to keep it simple, so since I love the ocean, I picked a little fish - just to get my feet wet.

After picking our ceramic piece, we were supposed to pick a design. They also had assorted stencils and a book with ideas of different designs. Next, we were supposed to pick the colors, a couple of brushes and voilá, that’s all we needed to create our masterpiece.

At the beginning my mind was blocked. I didn’t know how to start or what colors to pick. But once I started painting, it turned out to be a relaxing and enjoyable experience.

I guess I was not wrong. I lack skills for painting and I have no sense for combining colors. This is my “master piece” and no laughing please because I’m very proud of it.

Before

In Progress

After

You need to leave your painted pottery at the studio.  They glaze it and call you within 3 to 5 days to be picked up. I'm sure my little fish will look better after it is glazed.

I am not giving up.  This is only the beginning of interesting things I'm planning to do this year that will challenge my artsy side in different ways. So stayed tuned and come back to check how I am doing.  I hope to do better next time.

Told ya - mine was the worst.

Aha!  Something for me to keep in mind.

Beginning a New Year

A new year, a new beginning.  I usually begin my new year with a set of goals that bring excitement and a bit of fear at the same time.  We never now the negative that is to come and that's just the way life is.  La vie en rose only at times.  Obstacles and challenges will arise in 2013.  What brings to my mind the Christian song “we don’t know what the future holds, but we know who holds the future.”  So it’s a matter of staying positive and having faith in God. 

I love starting new and fresh.  Unfortunately, there are those ongoing projects that trespassed to the new year and that now need priority before launching into new adventures.  Another aspect is the challenge of newness.  When we start new things we make mistakes.  We often fall short. We fail. 

This is the right time to charge our batteries, improve our attitude, be focused on our projects and have faith in God and in ourselves.

And with all that in mind, I am ready for 2013.