Sweet Home Alabama

In celebration of The Year of Alabama Arts by the Alabama State Council on the Arts, a few months back when Southern Living had written an article about my work, I was thrilled. Shortly after that I received an email from the Alabama Bureau of Tourism saying that they had sent out a notice in their e-news about the Southern Living article as I had registered on their site as an artist. Now, I find that my page is still there!! (I thought they would take it down at the end of 2007)

I love to garden. Today when I checked my small vegetable garden, my beans were up. I can't wait to taste that part of summer.

Birmingham Business Journal

I finally picked up several copies of The Birmingham Business Journal from February 15 of this year so that I would have a copy of the article that they wrote about me working on my business plan. It is a very nice article.



This afternoon, my friend, Julian Hazlett, called me to say "Hello" and to ask what was going on. He had visited New York and has returned home. It was great to hear from him. We were discussing traveling to Selma, Alabama on Sunday for Kathryn Tucker Windham's 90 birthday celebration. Word has it that Kathryn has purchased 1000 combs and will teach everyone that attends to play the comb.

The Business of Art

I have posted several times about the business side of art. This year, I have focused on the business side of art as it relates to web site development, revenue sources, business plans, etc.

In January of this year I attended a web summit entitled smARTist Telesummit. This was a web workshop that was organized by Ariane Goodwin and conducted on the web. It featured discussions led by experts on money, licensing, web design, marketing, taking care of yourself and many other valuable topics. smARTist Telesummit was very well organized and full of information.

Today, I was contacted by the staff of Ariane Goodwin and they requested permission to use one of my images in some of the follow-up marketing packages!!! Needless to say I was thrilled! I have Ariane Goodwin's book about writing an artist statement and it is an excellent resource. The book contains exercises that you do whereby you develop your own language for your artist statement. I have not finished the exercises, but I will be working on them and will post here when I'm done.

Tonight I have been working on a newsletter that will be sent to my mailing list. This is an email marketing program that I purchased from Go Daddy with "spam compliant" attributes. I'm excited to finally get this finished and I will be emailing that out later in the week. I feel like I accomplished something big today.

Monday Monday...but it is Tuesday Tuesday

Today is Tuesday and I worked on the financial section of my business plan today. This week I plan to call on the gallery that represents my work, which is located in town. Short post today, gotta run!

Memorial Day on the Tennessee River

Each Memorial Day Weekend, Decatur Alabama sponsors a hot air balloon festival called the Alabama Jubilee. Decatur is located on the Tennessee River in North Alabama and is a beautiful place.









These pictures were taken during the 2007 balloon festival. The first one is taken with a very large cotton field in the foreground and the balloons are off in the distance.









The second and third picture was taken as we got closer and the last picture was taken from the Tennessee River Bridge and you can see two balloons that look like small dots. We were returning home from a trip to




the farm when these were taken. My friend Debra Riffe planned to go to the balloon festival this weekend. I hope the weather was great in North Alabama for the festival.
The quality of the pictures is not that good, but I think you can see how beautiful is, particularly when you see them riding the wind over the river.

TGIF

It's Friday and will be a busy weekend working more on the Serenbe Project. Tomorrow, the studio has to be cleaned and things put back in place. Then, it will be ready to go again.

What do you see when you look in the mirror?

I received an email today from Bob Straka that contained the following story and I wanted to share the story and give Bob credit for a super challenge : pass it on

'With graduation season in full swing, it’s an opportune time to sample some wisdom from Steve Jobs, who gave the commencement address at Stanford University in June 2005. Here’s a snippet from what he told the students that day.

"For the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: ‘If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?’ And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something."

What do you see when you look in the mirror?

Thanks, Bob.

May 19, 2008 Summer and Teaching Glass at Alabama Folk School

Today is Monday. I feel as though I am out of a cave, as I have been working on a very big project. More on that later in the year.

I'm doing some brainstorming for the class that I will teach at Alabama Folk School.
I will teach two classes. Each class is one week, and June 22 - 27, I will teach "Let's Kick Some Glass!!" and it will entail all of the basics of how to work in kilnformed glass. The class does not require prerequisites and will include basic design theory and basic studio practices. Glass selection, glass cutting and grinding, and firing schedules will be covered. I hope that we will have a good reception to the class and I think it will be fun.The second class, August 24-29, will be Mosaics: Telling a Story or Painting a Picture with Stones, Twigs, glass and ceramic tiles, broken china, yarn and anything else we can find.

One of the things that I love about the South this time of year is the rhododendrons in bloom. I took some picture of the ones in my yard and posted on the blog. They finished blooming this weekend and I'm glad I can share this beautiful picture with you.

May 6, 2008 Cast Glass, Carved,

I am still going through exhibition applications and trying to make decisions. Had to pick up work today, as an exhibition closed on last Friday. Also have some correspondence to write then I will be done for the evening. It has been a long day.

May 5, 2008, Cast Glass

Previously on my blog I showed how I formed the pieces of plastiscene to fill the crevices in the mold box. This first image shows the leaf in the mold box, which has been "dammed" and sprayed with PAM. I then mix the plaster with an electric drill and get ready to pour.

This picture shows the mold box after I have poured the investment into the box (covered the leaf with the plaster). If you look carefully you will see my respirator, which I use regularly.


Finally I use a level to shim the mold box to make sure that it will cure on a level platform.


This is the mold after the box is removed and the clay (plastiscene) leaf taken out. The clay was removed very easily. I anticipated some problem with this, but had none.

Today was spent doing a lot of paperwork. I am deciding what exhibitions for which to apply and this takes a lot of time. Meanwhile, here are some other photos of the cast leaves process. I have been taking a lot of photos to share. Until then.....

Cast Glass Leaves and the Serenbe Project

I have not posted for a while because I have not remembered to post until right before I go to sleep at night. There has been so much to do. Just wanted to post a short one tonight. On Friday, the Southern Roots Exhibition closes so I will be getting that work back. Decisions have to be made about applying to some future exhibitions. Hope to have some new pictures for the next post. I'm still working hard on the Serenbe Project and have new models ready to invest. It seems as if every minute has been filled.

Cast Glass Leaves

Back to the Serenbe Project: I have been working on the white oak leaf designs, thinking about the sizes and shapes. During this process I collected some white oak leaves and I'm drawing small studies of the leaves. I don't quiet remember who said that " it is in drawing that one sees". Also show in the picture is a sculpted white oak acorn. I continue to study and refine these forms.

Alabama Studio Weekend...Y'all Come!!

This image is the property of Alabama Studio Weekend Website.

Robert Rausch, a designer with whom I'm working on the Serenbe Project, wrote last night and gave me the information about Alabama Studio Weekend. Alabama Studio Weekend is the celebration, advancement, and preservation of Southern culture. This type of celebration is part of the Slow Movement which I talk about sometimes. The three major partners of Alabama Studio Weekend are Alabama Chanin, Billy Reid, and Gas Studio. This is gong to be a great weekend, so be sure and check out all of the links.

I've been re-calculating the number of leaves of each size to be installed on the iron "white oak" tree which is the Serenbe Project. I think I will be increasing the number of different leaves that we will be making so that the tree will look more realistic.

Casting Glass

Today I met with the Bessemer Development Board and they officially gave the "proceed" with the studio building. I hope that this will enable me to have another outlet for teaching. It was a productive meeting and now I have been asked to find other artists who may want to move into the building. They are offering spaces for $50.00 per month....and no that is not a typo.

Cast Glass: More about the Process

Earlier in my blog I had posted about studio work in casting glass. In case you did not visit, it is in my earlier post on March 13, 2008. The next step in the casting is to "dam" the inside and outside walls of the mould box wherever there is a "join". In the earlier posts I had rolled "sausages" of plasticene clay and then took the clay and lined this portion of the box so that the investment (plaster) material would not leak out. It leaks out sometimes because, the wood does not perfectly join. This step is kind of like re-caulking your bathtub. I lay the roll of clay on the crevice and thentake my index finger and run it along the line to make sure that the clay is embedded in the cracks. You can review earlier blogs to find out about the Serenbe Community or go to I will post a couple more process pictures for the casting process on the blog with captions.

I am going to meet the Bessemer Development Board and a contractor at a historic building in Bessemer, Alabama tomorrow afternoon to discuss the rennovation of the building for artist studios. The next step in this process will be to recruit artists who need affordable space. The space will cost approximately $50.00 for 200-250 sf at this point. That is very reasonable and the project is exciting. I hope to do most of the mold pouring and pattern making in this building. So far, I do not have that many interns. Hopefully, I will get more responses to my ad. If everything works out, I plan to move my studio to this building later in the summer.


I had the pleasure of visiting with my friend Debra Riffe today. I enjoy our "Salon" sessions and encouragement as well as constructive criticisms of different things that are happening with our careers. It is great to have her as a friend . Her web site can be found in my "Salon" section on the right hand side of the blog. Because studio work is so often done alone, it is great to get feedback from others and hear what they are doing. Debra is teaching a session this Saturday on linoleum block printing and I plan to attend the session (because I missed the one last fall) with my friend Julian Hazlett, who is another very talented artist.


Other than The Serenbe Project, I talked with the Alabama Folk School director, Megan Huston today about the classes I will teach this summer. These classes are listed on the right side of the blog and I hope I will have enough students to register. The classes will be fun and Megan and I discussed blogging from the class and posting some pictures of the classes. I look forward to teaching and enjoy it very much.

The Slow Life

I haven't written since March 13. My husband and I left town to visit our farm in Tennessee for some much needed rest and relaxation. It was wonderful to be in slow motion and now I have to get back into the "groove" of things. Although we did have work to do, it was a very different pace. When I need to "fill my well" and recharge my creativity this is where I go when I am at the farm: http://www.donnabranch.com/sanctuary.html When I cannot go there in reality, I can visit that special place virtually. I call this place my secret sanctuary. My secret sanctuary is always featured on my web site, so if you want to visit often just go to http://www.donnabranch.com/sanctuary.html

Cast Glass and "The Serenbe Project"/Inside the Studio

Today I wanted to show more of the process of "The Serenbe Project"http://www.serenbe.com/. I have posted an ad for interns. Last week I was contacted by the Redevelopment Authority of a small town located near where I live and they wanted to offer me space in a building that they will use as studios. The Auburn Rural Architectural Studio http://jcsm.auburn.edu/whatsHappen/RuralStudio.html has completed a plan for the arts district in Bessemer, Alabama. This was good news for me, because I knew if my intern project was successful, I would soon be out of space. I am meeting with the director of the project tomorrow and hopefully will be able to use the space if interns want to work at their leisure. This space will be invaluable to me.


The first thing that I will do is to work out a prototype in order to define the process. The mold material that I had originally intended to use is not refirable, so I have ordered a material that is refirable. In a large project like this, the expense of using a material that is non-refirable would be prohibitive.


In the photo above, I am rolling out "sausages" in order to "dam" the mold box. This ensures that the investment material will not "leak" between crevices in the mold box. After the mold box was made, it was shellacked. The mold box is a minimum of 2 inches larger than my pattern. The pattern is made of No. 1 Plasticene and after you get the material warm, it is fairly easy to work with. Plasticene is an oil-based clay which does not dry. That means that it is reuseable as long as it does not have mold material embedded in it.

Cast Glass Leaves and Internships for the Serenbe Project

Internships are available for the Serenbe Project http://www.serenbe.com/. The following is the ad that will be distributed beginning tomorrow.

Internships available

Award winning glass artist, Donna Branch, Tara GlassArt Studio, is taking applications from individuals who wish to serve as interns on a project known as “The Serenbe Project”. Serenbe is a planned, sustainable, green community located 32 miles outside of Atlanta, Georgia (http://www.serenbe.com/).

The Serenbe Project will entail the casting of glass leaveshttp://www.donnabranch.com/ and the installation of the leaves on an iron “white oak tree”. The project is to be installed in late October 2008.

An Applicant can be any age or level in their artistic experience and does not have to be a professional artist; interns only need to possess a good work ethic and a passion for learning. An internship could be accomplished with only a few hours per week and can be done at the interns own home/studio in the first phase. Interns may work on any phase of the project or the entire Project.

Experience gained by this internship will be knowledge of project organization, pattern making, mold making, making glass frit (crushed glass pieces), firing & cooling schedules, installation, experience in a public art project, and general studio practices.

If interested, please contact Donna Branch at donnabranch@taraglassart.com or 205.477.6661

You may visit The Artist web site at http://www.donnabranch.com/

You may read about The Serenbe Project at http://www.donnabranchglassstudio.blogspot.com/

This ad will also be posted on the first page, right hand side, of the blog throughout the project

Slow Movement....So, What is it?

According to Wikipedia, the Slow Movement first began when a protest against the opening of a McDonald's restaurant in Piazza di Spagna, Rome inspired the creation of the Slow Food organization.

The Slow Food Movement is part of the larger Slow Movement which has existed in some form since the industrial revolution. According to http://theworldinstituteofslowness.com/aboutus.html the slow movement is the perfect antidote for the poison of our current hurried, fast world and a great way to get in touch with oneself.

If you are unsure where to start, start slowly, and be sure to check here, http://theworldinstituteofslowness.com/aboutus.html. The slow lifestyle is whatever you make of it. So, take some pieces of it and integrate into your lifestyle and discard others that do not work well for you.

For instance, the slow food movement heralds the enjoyment of regional flavors, regional produce and celebrates traditional regional foods, which are often grown organically. An interesting organization in the slow food movement is Southern Foodways Alliance, http://www.southernfoodways.com/ and of course, they celebrate "The Cornbread Nation", as every Southerner does.

I encourage everyone to learn about this movement and ways that we can improve our relationships, our families and our planet. It is very important that we all realize that by becoming a slow energy saver, we can focus on what we need to do relative to evergy saving to reduce energy use and pollution.

It's easy, remember, just start the slow movement with yourself....by downshifting.

http://www.slowmovement.com/

The Slow Movement...So What's NEW In the South?

The Slow Movement web site identifies the slow movement as a "movement which aims to address the issue of "time poverty" through making a connection." The South has finally arrived.

http://www.slowmovement.com/

A lot of people are wondering "why" the slow movement. What is going on with people? Why are we so stressed? Why is everyone so irritable?

Everybody needs connections. We need connections to family, friends, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents. We need connections to community, to neighbors. Not to long ago people were very connected. Where I grew up, the family backyard was a regular meeting place. Many families grew their own food. What happened? Our society has become so face paced that we are constantly rushing off to the next meeting, next task, next errand. What are we doing? The Slow Movement http://www.slowmovement.com/is a growing cultural shift toward slowing down...downshifting as it were.

Southerners, I think, have always experienced "the slow life" to a greater extent. Now, it is nice that the rest of the world is catching on. http://www.donnabranch.com/