Art, creative, creativity, DIY Crafts, glass art, glass on glass art, glass windows, happiness, Mara Lee

Glass Class

09/15/2020 Tile Gypsy

Months later … okay almost a year … along with my biggest fan and brain-trust Rober’ we finally finished my “Glass on Glass” instructional video class. In this class, I’ll show you how to create a Glass on Glass vintage window of your very own!

Available on Vimeo @ learn more

Creating an instructional video was much easier than writing my book.

What book you ask? … it was a few years back (OMG 11 years ) I was contacted by a publisher to write a book about my found object and pique-assiette mosaic tile artwork. The book took almost a year to write and photograph, was a great experience and a ton of work. The next time I write a book, I’m going to make darn sure that I get to name it and choose the cover image. I’m mostly over it. Sort of … not really.

Vintage Window
Tons of Glass
Shines Bright Day or …
Night.

The book is forever in the Library of Congress and is sold on Goodreads and Barnes & Noble, to name a few. It’s been reviewed by some happy people, who encouraged me to keep gluing, while others posted some really mean reviews that at first made me very sad, then mad and then finally really bad for the people who wrote them. People need to be nicer and smile more.

10 Panes
Tons of Glass
It’s so big …
one of my favorites. © mara lee

Overall, I give the book a B+ … which was always acceptable in my world, especially in math. The book is good, not great but I finished it and survived everything that came along with it like the realization that I’m good enough, I’m smart enough and gosh darn it a few people loved it.

Giving my DIY Glass on Glass video an A+ out of celebration that I knocked the class out – unscripted – in 3 takes, didn’t cut myself once and Rob was not harmed when he pushed the publish button.

Hope you’ll check it out.

Glass Class with Mara Lee is now available on Vimeo @ learnmore

Art, happiness, life, Mara Lee, Photography, Wisdom

Come To Your Senses

09/10/2020 Tile Gypsy

“Sometimes fate is like a small sandstorm that keeps changing directions. You change direction but the sandstorm chases you. You turn again, but the storm adjusts. Over and over you play this out, like some ominous dance with death just before dawn. Why? Because this storm isn’t something that blew in from far away, something that has nothing to do with you. This storm is you. Something inside of you. So all you can do is give in to it, step right inside the storm, closing your eyes and plugging up your ears so the sand doesn’t get in, and walk through it, step by step. There’s no sun there, no moon, no direction, no sense of time. Just fine white sand swirling up into the sky like pulverized bones. That’s the kind of sandstorm you need to imagine.

And you really will have to make it through that violent, metaphysical, symbolic storm. No matter how metaphysical or symbolic it might be, make no mistake about it: it will cut through flesh like a thousand razor blades. People will bleed there, and you will bleed too. Hot, red blood. You’ll catch that blood in your hands, your own blood and the blood of others.

And once the storm is over you won’t remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won’t even be sure, in fact, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm you won’t be the same person who walked in. That’s what this storm’s all about.” ― Haruki Murakami, Kafka on the Shore

Art, Bathroom Floors, Bathrooms, design, Historic, Housework, Mara Lee, Restoration

Bathroom Sinks

08/23/2020 Tile Gypsy

Didn’t have a ton of time to pick out the bungalow bathroom sink and thought I hit pay dirt with this one.

Win some, lose some … when you install a footed vanity or have a bottom shelf that hugs the bathroom floor – right next to the toilet – cleaning is impossible, especially under a vanity … and how does an open shelf get that filthy one day to the next? Beyond disgusting. Pass, this will not stand, man.

Think pedestal sink, built-in vanity (minus the feet) or a wall hung sink for extra freshness. The end.