April 5-6, 2025 Las Vegas, Nevada

 High of 78 and sunny. 

This is a class in making glass murine. We were pulling came from the bottom of these kilns. This is what we were making. 

Here I am pulling red hot came from the bottom of the kiln. I bought one of these kilns last year, so figured I should learn more things I can do with it. Lois pulling came.

You cut the came into smaller pieces and can fuse them together to look like this. These are the beads I made in the intro to torch class yesterday. 

Torch demo at the exhibit hall. The Meet and Greet last night at the expo. 

Lois and I dancing  at the meet and greet. Anita was taking photos. Anita with Shirley.

We posed for the free photos at the meet and greet. 

I had this photo taken today. This morning I took another wire wrapping class. Libby demoing what we were going to make.

The top two were demo pieces the instructor made of the garden gate wrap, the bottom one is the one I made in the class.  Picked up my entries from the Gallery of Excellence. I did not win any ribbons, which was not a surprise, the completion was incredible. But I sold the left one. 

Spent the rest of the afternoon at the pool. Me with an umbrella drink in a coconut by the pool. We had dinner from the pool snack bar by the pool. 

April 3-4, 2025 Las Vegas, Nevada

 High of 61 and partly cloudy. Not that I knew, I was inside in classes all day.

I took a sandblasting class today. Liz, the instructor demonstrating sand blasting, and me sandblasting. I ended up buying this sandblaster. I have been wanting it for years and they offered me a deal I couldn't refuse on this used one. They will ship it to Denver for me when I get back in June. This is one of the pieces I sandblasted in class today.

This is the second one I blasted in class today. I ate my lunch at the horse arena in the hotel and watched the some of the Stallion Stakes. 

In the afternoon I took a dichroic glass slab pendant class. Kevin, the instructor , demonstrating how to polish our glass pieces. Classmates cutting up our glass pieces on these giant saws. 

Some of the glass pieces I polished this afternoon. I have a few more to finish up at home. We went to to a meet and greet with Jamaison and Tabitha this evening. They did a demo, a hilarious talk, answered questions and raffled off goodies. I had not heard of them before, but I guess they are very well known glass artists. There were a few hundred people attending the sold out event.

At one point in the talk they said there was a prize taped under a couple of the chairs. So all couple hundred of us were trying to look under our chairs for the prizes in very cramped quarters, and mostly all we found were the labels attached to the bottom of the chairs! Lois with her chair label prizes... Jess demonstrating how to make glass beads in a torch in my Intro to Torch class today. This has been my favorite class so far this year, I made out a dozen beads. 

Right as Rain, one of my entries into the Gallery of Excellence in the Glass expo. It sold right away. Emerald sunset another of my entries into the Gallery of Excellence at the Glass expo.

You can go in and vote for my pieces for peoples choice in the jewelry, professional category before Sat afternoon. My friend Cindy that I know from working on the Colorado Trail Crew was here for the glass show today. Great to see her. 

My friends Anita and Lois entered the glass cutting contest. The lady on the right was in the completion too, but don't know her name. Cutters up!

For some reason I got placed in the advanced section of the glass cutting contest. Anita and Lois got into the intermediate category. I came in last.  They came in 3rd and 4th. Fortunatly there were enough prizes we all got a prize.  Cutting.

Anita, Shirley, Sue and Lois. The Glass Artist of Colorado participants in the Glass Expo. Great to see my friends from Denver.  We all had dinner at the Primarily Prime Rib tonight. 

March 29- April 2 , 2025 Shoshone, California to Las Vegas, Nevada

 76 and sunny. 

Today we went to Vole Fest. I won this tote bag at the raffle for Vole Fest. The Amargosa Vole is endangered and only found in this valley. The tour of the vole habitat in Shoshone for Vole Fest.

The Shoshone pupfish (Another endangered species only found here) pond on the vole tour. Marsh 54 in Tecopa is one of three marshes in the area the voles live. There are 54 marshes in this valley, but the voles only live in 3 of them. 

Vole Marsh tour in Tecopa.  There was a fire here about a month ago that claimed the lives of they think 150 voles. It had the biggest vole population in the area. The bullrush is already starting to grow back, but it will be a few years before some voles from across the street in marsh 54 can live there. They need matted dead bullrush. Speakers at Vole Fest.

John Vole. A couple stuffed voles so we can see what they look like. 

Sunset with a jet trail. Cameron. the director of the Friends of the Amargosa Basin, gave a great talk on his newest book of wildflower photos and poems at the museum today. 

The farewell Primrose Patio potluck was last night. We are headed to Vegas and Judy D moved out of the artist in residence house. 5 of the 7 desert tortoises were out today, these three big guys were ganging up on the smaller one. 

Down on the wetlands trail the mesquite and willows are leafing out. Spring green. Sunset tonight. 

We are in Las Vegas Nevada for the Glass Expo that starts tomorrow. Here is our room in the South Point Casino.

Sunset tonight. Today I learned how to make silicon molds and silk mat molds. Barbara teaching silk mat molds, A face mold I made of silk mat, it needs to dry, A clear glass face made in a silk mat mold, Carry teaching silicon molds, a star and cow head silk mat mold I made. 

Two nights in a row I lost my whole $20 I take to gamble. I am about ready to give up. Saw this great movie tonight on the origins of Bullseye Glass.