The Heat is On ...

It has been amazingly hot here in Southern California. The temperatures reaching in the 100's. Imagine working on the torch in this heat! I've been away from the torch for nearly two months working on finishing the book. Inventory is way low. I have so many beads to make for three August shows. So how am I going to do it? I've made a mental schedule and targeted a certain quantity of beads to make each day of a particular style. And if I should slack off and not meet my daily targets, this only means I have to work that much harder the next day(s) to make it up. I always like to be over-prepared with more than less beads to offer.

Bead Fest Philly moved to a new location and moved up to new dates, from October to August. Otherwise, do you think I would be this crazy to schedule three major shows in one month! It will be a hectic few weeks, but what else is new? This heat is not helping at all and the pressure is high but I'll try my best. "The heat is on", literally and figuratively, as in Glenn Frey's song:

The heat is on, on the street
Inside your head, on every beat
And the beat's so loud, deep inside
The pressure's high, just to stay alive
Cause the heat is on

I play with fire all the time to create my art, but there are obvious dangers in doing so. I often contemplate how fire can be so destructive, yet can create beautiful works of art in the right hands. The two photos below illustrate fire and water juxtaposed as two opposing yet similar elements. Water puts out fire, but both can be just as destructive and lethal as the other. We need both in differing degrees to survive, yet with too much of either, destruction results.

fire on water: reflective pool

fire and water: circle of life