The End

I recently published my first edited book,  Labor of Love: A Literary Mama Staff Anthology ,  with  Small Harbor Publishing . It's an anthology of writing from  Literary Mama  staff over the past 20 years. It's a beautiful collection and I am proud of the writers and proud to share the book.  It seems a fitting moment, as I pondered sharing about the book here on the blog, to reflect on my life as a blogger, and acknowledge that it is time to officially end this blog.   I started blogging in about 2007, when my baby was learning to toddle, when I was learning how to be a mother and stepmother, when I was just starting to see my way as a writer. I needed it back then. I craved it. I had a variety of blog iterations--family, art, creativity, writing things I delved into. There's a freedom in blogging, a casualness, an easy familiarity that's lacking (for me anyway) in other kinds of writing. I loved blogging and the words came pouring out.  Over the years since then, some
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Looking at Glass



I took an artist date field trip this week to the Corning Museum of Glass. I haven't been there in years, I needed a short escape from town, and with the resident discount, it was a great destination choice. As I wandered the halls, I was amazed at every turn. 

 Looking At Glass Through The Ages (Hardcover) ~ Bruce Koscielnia... Cover ArtAnother artist date this week was to the library, where I happened upon a book about glass- Looking at Glass Through the Ages by Bruce Koscielniak. I gave it a read, and was surprised that CMOG doesn't sell this in their bookshop! It is an excellent, albeit, brief, rundown of the history of glass. 

 The book says that earliest known glass makers were from Egypt or Mesopotamia in about 2500 BC. A visit to CMOG confirms this with it's extensive collection of ancient glass pieces. 

Looking at Glass then goes on through the centuries of glassmaking to describe new inventions and how glass added to and was a part of society. It is all accompanied by simple but bright watercolor paintings. From blown glass, to the advent of clear glass, to lenses, to stained glass, to mirrors, to modern glass art, each topic is described in short, but clear, words and images. 

 All these types of glass are found throughout CMOG. There were endless rooms of glass to photograph- here are a few pieces I saw...

 Tiffany...

Amenhotep...

 Frederick the Great...

Wright...

Simpson...

Both the book, and the trip to the museum reminded me that art comes in all shapes and sizes, and that whatever art you make, keep on making it. It enriches the lives of those around you. And who knows, 4,500 years from now some archaeologically-inclined human might find a piece of your work and deem it the greatest representation of our time. 

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