Small Yellow Flowers

Here's a photo I took two nights ago in front of one of the other studios. These flowers belong to a plant that's called a poor man's orchid. It has clumps of tiny yellow flowers on a long stalk that protrudes from a pattern of orchid-like leaves. I don't know whether it's a succulent or not. I'd have to go and examine it. A succulent usually has thick leathery leaves plump with fluid.

Today was a very slow day in the Park. I think the economy has something to do with the situation. Also, I think the Padres, our San Diego baseball team might be playing a game, so that might have kept people home to watch it or sent them to the ballpark.

The tree outside my studio, the one that hangs out over the glassblowing canopy is at the stage now where it is dropping showers of tiny yellow flowers. Some of the leaves are beginning to drop as well. Next it will develop seed pods that look like orange paper lanterns. They are really very pretty. But then of course it will lose those as well as its leaves. So the lanterns are really small consolation for what's coming: fall. Jon walked into my studio late today to use the drill press, and he came out saying, "it smells like fall back there," to which I responded, "being a California girl, I can't really relate to that."

I spent time working on some necklaces. I have a client who asked me for turquoise, so I've been going to the various bead suppliers to see what is available. There are all kinds of turquoise, of course, in all colors. I found some which is so bright it looks fake. The label says it's stablized turquoise. I asked the owner of the warehouse, and he told me what they told him. Apparently the turquoise is mined in Arizona, and it's very soft, so they add colored resin to it, making it harder and brighter. So then I picked up another strand that I had selected and asked him if it was dyed, too. It was bright as well. And he said, "most everything is dyed nowadays." I like to know so that I can tell my clients. I don't want to misrepresent anything I sell. Recently, I sold a red coral necklace to a client, and I made sure that I told her it was dyed. Red coral is endangered now, so the real red coral isn't available.

After I finish several other turquoise necklaces tomorrow, I'll go back to etching. I have about three or four plates that are ready to go in the ferric chloride to be etched. I don't want to wait until Monday to do it for my class on Tuesday. I just have to make sure I wear a shirt that is already stained. I have a tendency to get the etching solution on my shirts, no matter how careful I try to me. Etching is messy, one way or another.