Feel the Power

I am a glass artist and even though I am, sometimes it's easy to lose connection about why I'm a glass artist. This week I resolved (so far) an ongoing issue with me and glass: I hate custom orders. It's not that I can't do them, it's just that my shoulders tighten, and I literally drag my feet at getting to them. Not good for profitable biz. What's up with that? I had a friend do her work on me and what was revealed was the "not good enough", "can't do it right", "never amount to much", "get a real job (had one of those, thanks)" crud that I took on from parental adults in my much younger years. Basically I was banging my head against a wall that wasn't mine to begin with. I wasn't seeing the opportunity within nor the "wow, I was picked to do this project" and long term, not the income potential. Time to shift and move that junk out.

On Tuesday I did my energy work and decided to make the dragon for the auction. Before I go on the torch I meditate and connect in with the Creative Spirit. When I touched the rods that would determine the colors in the dragon, I felt a surge of energy. I knew that the dragon's owner had been summoned. (Work with me here, think Avatar) When I lit my torch a big fireball exploded from my torch. A first for that. (Okay yes, I am now on propane instead of natural gas and has a higher pressure, but again, work with me here). Whoa!! This dragon has intensity!! My type of dragon!!

The creating process went well and took 2 hours. I used my new, and much bigger, kiln discovering that it's hot!! I love my Kevlar gloves because now my hands don't smoke like they did with leather when I am holding a hot piece of glass that's at about 1,000 degrees F. I did start to doubt myself in the process, but I thought of last year and how Sifus (then Sihings) Kichko and Lindstrom strong-armed me into putting my dragons in the auction and the result of that night. Back to the Creative Spirit connection and flow. In that moment I realized why I'm a glass artist and what happens when I'm in the zone of creativity and the feelings I have as a result. Some say it's Nirvana, but whatever the word, it's a state I want to be in more often.

The next day. I took the dragon out of the kiln and I liked him. Then I started to see my mistakes, hence: slide back into my old patterns. I realized that this dragon is perfect as he is and he's gorgeous. Yes there are things I can improve on or do differently, but that's for a different day. I now want to practice making dragon heads to improve the teeth and tongue area. Plus I want to make eye canes and get more "realistic" with the eyes. Side note: if I ask to look into your eyes, I want to see the color formation. Consider that a compliment. Wow, can you imagine if I can make a dragon to match the owner's eyes!!

So now I have a dragon I am proud of, a dragon that's full of power, grace, and intensity. He's an original, one of a kind, and unique. Look into his eyes and see if you too can feel the power.
Meet Dragon 8.

Sherri Donohue
Hot Torch, Room Full of Glass, and a Kung Fu Kwoon