A Picture A Day

It does what it says on the tin :)

This a fused glass piece, made from hand cut glass fused and annealed in my kiln.

Otterly Delightful

I got followed on Twitter by a very charming Otter and popped across to look at his (or her) page.

How do you feel about otters?

http://www.iamotter.co.uk

I have now decided I want a pet otter and will make him or her a special water slide in the bathroom.

Check out Otter's special toast making tutorial :)

Purky Video :)

So I have been meaning to do this for absolutely ages.

Essentially a slideshow video showing off my work as a viewable portfolio. I found a copy of Windows Movie Maker on my laptop (whoop!) and gave it a go.

The music is a free download (link in the description) and I quite enjoyed laying the slides out and adding the transitions.

Please let me know what you guys think!

Captain P xx

Glass Casting - experiment!

Just a quickie really, experimenting with using frit in a mould to cast pendants.

Shall be rather exciting methinks :)

I mixed frits of various consistancies together to see what effects could be created.

Much Purky love

Captain P x

Look What I found....

Just a quickie, but a local shop have a project for me.

So look what I have pulled out of Purky storage.....

Exciting, no?

Much Purky Love

Captain P x

Monday Money

So here we are, 'Hello Monday'

Traditionally a day of sorting things out. Popping to the bank, listing things on folksy, photographing stock, maybe making a few things, sending out emails etc.

I am in a very unproductive mood and rather anxious about Money. That big scary thing that very few people have enough of.

We are slightly behind with our rent at the Purky Enclave and coupled with two large event expenditures coming up in February I am wary that ends may not quite meet. Where should cuts be made?

Happily I learned how to budget from my frugal Mother (and how to splurge from my Father) and have been feeding us quite well on minimal financial input. I have lined up a few expenses to cut thus maximising our cash flow.

I am quite keen on the idea of finding a reasonably paid 9-5 job where I do not work weekends. That would maintain a lot of my flexibility for attending events whilst topping up the household income. We are not far far behind just a few hundred pounds extra a month would make all the difference.

Historically I have worked until stupid o clock in the morning to keep up with my artistic ambitions and hold down paid work. So this is rather achieveable, if I can find a job.

Plus I am relatively confident that the quality and variety of my new work will start to pay off in the next six months. Several small shops are interested in stocking my work locally and I am trying to build on my online sales.

So temporary boost in finances - commit for six months maybe? and then jump back into part time work and artistry?

Appeals to me.

Have a beautiful leaping bronze Gearcat Brooch picture, for positivity :)

Much love from Captain Purky xx

January

I do not really get along well with January.

Traditionally lots of people have post seasonal blues and I understand and accept that.

Somehow though, I get sucked into a pit of self hatred and misery that becomes overwhelming. It causes me to isolate myself and judge everything I do with angry eyes.

Last year that isolation was unbearable, living by myself and utterly financially empty just amplified that feeling.

This year, I am living with my lovely fella which is frankly wonderful but my internal emotional state is not that much rosier. I feel guilty for feeling down when actually things in many ways are not that bad. He is loving and supportive and gives the most amazing cuddles. Finances are tight but we have a budget in place.

However, the angsty feelings leave me at a point of doubt - am I worthwhile? are my intentions valuable? should I continue?

It eats away at my confidence and happiness and I usually retreat into myself.

January 2013, I have retreated into my projects.

Lots of Purky Products have been photographed and are now listed online. I have set the infrastructure in place for my Magnificent Maker's Market and have so much to do. I want to help my partner regenerate his family business and push the limits of my productivity.

Obviously I wish I had more financial resources to draw upon and this will be a struggle but I am used to that.

I think I should share a photograph or two now, to lighten the mood.

These are Purky bronze items :)

They are formed using unique Purky dies and texture forms then are sintered in the Purky kiln.

I then hand finish them to bring out the rich bronze tones.

At this point I should mention that my careful efforts to document and share my work online has brought me huge amounts of suppport that have made things much better.

Wonderful people on www.facebook.com/purkyproducts and www.facebook.com/magnificentmakersmarket have offered me wonderful feedback.

It will all be ok, it is just January.

Anyways folks, much love for now xx