Gallery Show & Skinny Bench √

CHECK IT √  — business Monday Status Report:

√   wk 11–> Skinny Bench painted [link to be added]
√   wk 9&10–> Glass Only art show & summer fun
√   wk 8 –> Fire & Ice Abstracts finished & Gallery submitted [link to be added]
√  wks 7 through 1 –> please see Check It √  page index

A few months ago, Kristi, at Addicted2Decorating introduced Make It Happen! Mondays & I found it a great way to finish some of those ‘hanging-around-never-done’ projects.  Although Kristi’s not continuing, I am still going to use this method to make me accountable — for both finishing projects & posting at least once per week!

To better suit my style, I’ve renamed it to Check It √  Business Monday & added a page on the top menu with the ever-increasing weekly status report list.  So, you know what all that thinking meant — my ‘week‘ of summer fun stretched into three weeks!  😎

For the first 2 weeks, I was totally excited about exhibiting in my first gallery art show, “Glass Only, Debbie Jansen & Friends” at the beautiful Coast Collective Gallery where each visit was like a little retreat getaway.

The restored old west coast home had a breathtaking central stairway with gorgeous woodwork everywhere.

All the tall, stupendous show room & smaller glass porch windows were filled with glowing glass art.  And it was so relaxing sitting in the porch with a hot or iced tea & gaze over the Esquimalt Lagoon at the property’s back edge — not my usual side when I come here because the dogs would chase all the gorgeous swans & geese living here!

Turnout at the art show was pretty good but sales were low — 12 of over 65 pieces.  My two panels, Ice & Fire, didn’t sell, but no worries, I’m putting them, plus two others, into the Coast Collective booth at the Saanich Fair on Labour Day weekend.

The third week found the Skinny Bench finished for now, with:

• a cube storage shelf underneath,
• both side tables attached,
• two gorgeous pieces of architecture glass cut for the table tops,
• all the wood primed & painted 2 coats of semi-gloss ivory — with floor splatter bonus,
• even decorated with turquoise pillows & vases — not sure the yellow bird cage candles will stay that colour.  😉

I’ll come back to the bench in a few weeks to completely finish it by:

1. Deciding between clear patterned, ivory, or turquoise glass for the middle shelves on both ends — & then cutting it.
2. Although I plan on painting the floor a white-washed turquoise, I really don’t want to also paint the ucky walls of siding — after cleaning, either a huge print of the ocean out back or a gallery of blue prints will be hung above to beautify above the bench.
3. Getting another turquoise fabric cube for storage underneath.
4. Hmm, maybe painting a couple birdcages turquoise, . . . maybe.

Next Project

For the Sanich Fair, with a different crowd than the art gallery, I’m including my CityScape Window [Project 28].  That means removing it from the porch & installing it in a frame.

These framed babies, at 36″ h X 32″ w, are quite a bit larger — thus heavier — than the 17″ h X 12″ w Ice & Fire panels [above].

The wood frame will be spray painted first with a really cool metallic blue, then a dusting of metallic silver — can’t wait to see it all done!

Taking out CityScape leaves a hole open in the porch — Mollie might get out but critters can certainly get in!  So, even though it’s gorgeous weather, Mollie can’t sleep in the porch like she usually does.  She’s not the happiest puppy in town.  😦

I quickly made the new side panels using simple blocks of glass colours with brown opaque at bottom, through purples non- & opaque, gold non-opaque, yellow & ivory opaque, reaching the top with crackled clear.

I can’t take more than a couple days to make a simple window, so Mollie can reclaim her summer sleeping spot & I can quickly get back to making the 4th piece for the fair — a blue ombre 12″X12″ much smaller panel.

With the side panels installed today, I love the darker-to-lighter, almost ombre colour effect & the opaque-clear, opaque-clear textural order.  🙂

I’m just starting the larger middle section with wider glass pieces & some colours a bit different — again I’m not buying new, simply using what I already have.

Check back next Monday [August 27th] to see how I do at Check It √  Business Monday!

and look for Check It √  Fun Friday where I look forward to my weekend plans!

Vanessa Dawne Studio of Design

Functional glass & wood art on Vancouver Isle

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