October.... hmmm I guess it has been a while since I last posted. Ops...  :-D
Sigh, well I have been on the go so you will have to forgive me. Two shows in September with lots of rain and severe weather, followed by two trips. Then a wonderful show in St. Louis and a visit with my son.  Next are a show in Parkville (see my show scheduled) followed by a weekend off and then my last show of the fall back in St. Louis.  I am hoping to get organized and have an open house/customer appreciation sale end of November - I am keeping my fingers crossed so that I can make it happen.  Stay tuned and be well.

Hi everyone!
Just popped in for a bit to say hey!  No great news to report - only that I am in the final stretch making beads for the upcoming shows. I am looking forward to seeing all of you my wonderful customers and showing you what I have new for Fall. So hope to see you all soon, till then be well and be happy!

Hmmm July...  I guess it has been a while.  As always life is busy with moments of joy and moments of sadness.  Most recently some very sad-heart shaking experiences.  My beloved friend Norma passed away- I know we will be together again and for now she is in a wonderful place of love. I will miss her dearly.    At the same time life has given me an opportunity to  give my love and support to another dear friend whose husband passed away a few days ago -  I knew him well and will also miss him, but my dear friend is here and I can be here for her; in these moments of loss it is comforting to know that I can be there for my wonderful friend who has so enriched my life with her friendship...
As you may know I have a teacher who has helped me find inner peace, and in a very opportune moment I received the link below which talks about the preciousness of life and all that is important:
Walking with Strength
"You exist. You are alive.  Gather your strengths, not your weaknesses. What are your strengths? Your strengths are consciousness, kindness, understanding, acknowledging, rejoicing, loving. And when you walk with these, the outcome is beautiful."  Prem Rawat

To read more: http://inspire.contactinfo.net/v5_i152/story_1.htm

The joys - my beautiful daughter Kayleigh graduated June 21 from Northwestern University with a degree in Political Science and Social Policy.  She was accepted into the Emerson Congressional Fellowship where she will have the opportunity to learn skills in working towards ending poverty and hunger. Will work with a local organization for six months in Louisville KY, and then with a national organization in Washington D.C.
My son completed his second year in medical school and started with clerkships a couple of weeks ago - OBGYN to start and he is really enjoying it.
We were all together during Kayleigh's graduation and had a great time.

Finally a bit about bead work and such. Well, I have not made very many beads, but I did take a couple of classes in Precious Metal Clay. Hopefully you will see a bit of that incorporated into my fall work.

I hope you are enjoying summer and that you can stop by to see me at the next art show in September.

Well that is all for now.  Be well and enjoy life!

Hello everyone,

Just popped in quickly to say hi. Was wondering if anyone was reading this blog, and found out that friends and customers alike are keeping track of my whereabouts through this blog, so time is not being wasted by keeping it  up. I guess lots has happened since last I wrote. In chronological order, ten days in April were spent working remote and visiting with my mom, nephew, niece and great niece in San Diego - as always it is a wonderful time although I do miss everyone back home. First of May I had a very successful show at  the Brookside Art fair.  As some of you may know it is a nationally recognized  show, so I felt very privileged by being able to participate. Even though we were having some pretty bad weather (tornadoes and straight winds all around the area that weekend) the show went without a hitch, although not without a lot of sweat and effort trying to keep my tent from blowing into oblivion!  whew... But many customers stopped by to say hi and that was great.
After that Shakespeare's  wheel took a downward turn as I found out that a very dear friend was very ill. Definitely one of those experiences in life that one could do without, but life is life and nature takes  it's course and loved ones have lo leave and we can only feel grateful for the wonderful time we had to share for as long as we did in this wonderful life.  Concurrently to the news my mom falls, breaks her hip and has to have surgery bringing about continued decline, as she is 88. So it has been a worrisome and sad-to-the heart time.  Life continues and one must trust, look forward and be open to the love that is waiting to be felt.
Next for me is a busy show season - wait listed for Prairie Village Art show, then on to Topeka for Mulvaine Plains Art show and the TownArt. The week of the 19th of June I will be heading up to Evanston, IL for my daughter's college graduation - Political Science and Social Policy - needless to say I am very much looking forward to that.
With that I leave you - hope you get a chance to stop by and say hi at one of my upcoming shows.

Have a wonderful weekend!
With best regards,
Cecilia

Hi everyone!

I hope you are staying dry out there (it has been raining cats and dogs here in Missouri!)  Well I have not update this blog for a while because I have been doing some traveling.  During the second half of February I went to Mexico City and then on to Taxco with my brother and a good friend. Went to Mexico City to look after some of my moms affairs and then on to Taxco for some silver buying and just to take a break. Taxco is a small silver mining town about 3 hrs  Southwest of Mexico City. It is  very colonial and  beautiful.  The weather was perfect - about 82 degrees morning, noon and night - amazing... We had a fabulous time - bought some beautiful silver beads, eat some delicious Mexican food and just had a great time in the company of my wonderful brother and Jody, one of my best friends.
After that, at the end of Feb. went to Artsmart, the yearly conference sponsored by Best Of Missouri Hands, an artist organization, which was held at the Lake of the Ozarks. They had some fabulous speaker, with the highlight being a presentation given by Donna Potts a local art show director.  She talked about the dos and don'ts of booth display,  how art shows are juried and other great information for artists applying to art shows.
My last adventure happened this last weekend. Went to Omaha to take a fantastic class with Borosilicate artist extraordinary Brent Graber (check out his website:  http://www.brentgraber.com/). Going to Omaha to take lampworking classes has become a biannual tradition for me and a couple of friends.  It becomes a girls weekend, where we get to spend time together hanging out, learning and playing with glass.
Now back home and trying to get ready for show season. I was fortunate enough to get accepted to Brookside Art Fair, one of the top national shows that happens to be in Kansas City.  I am SO excited!!!
I have also been accepted to a few more shows during the Spring and Summer season - check out my show schedule.
Well that is all for now.  Be well and enjoy life!

To indicate my state of mind I had completely forgotten I had a blog page!  That is sad...
It was not until I received my acceptance letter to becoming a Juried artist member of Best Of Missouri Hands and wanted to tell someone that I remembered - oh wait I can post it on my blog page! Probably not that anyone reads it - but a girl can dream!  ;)
This was GREAT news, especially after receiving a rejection letter from one of the big local art shows. You loose some - you win some.
Not sure if you have noticed but I have added a few new pieces to the website - and more to come - I promise! I spent the whole month of January making beads.  Now I have a mound of them and will start turning them into jewelry. I think I finally figured out the correct setting for my camera which will reduce the time I spend taking and uploading pictures into the website!
Well that is all for now.  Be well.

P.S. By the way - How long should one keep entries from a blog? Any suggestions?

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you had a wonderful Holiday season and that the New Year brings you happiness, love, good health and prosperity.
Well I am back home after spending a month in San Diego. Sure did not miss all the snow and ice that graced Kansas City during December ;).  Weather in San Diego was not phenomenal (5o - 60 F), but it sure beat 20 - 40F. The visit with my mom was great and she is actually holding her own. As an added bonus I got spend lots of time with my wonderful nephew, his wife and new baby daughter who is about 10 months. Babies are a ray of sunshine, especially this one: Ms. Eli.



On the 22nd my children, brother and his family arrived and we all spent Christmas together - had a wonderful time.
Now I am back to work updating the website and working on some new Valentine's day pieces. You will be able to find these at the store and galleries that carry my work. See *Retail Shops * for details.
Next will be working on new pieces for the upcoming Art show season.  I do not have any acceptance letters yet but as soon as I do I will update the 2008 Show schedule.
That is all for now - Have a wonderful day.

With best regards.