Wings of Glass

I am surrounded by friends who give me inspiration. The Sasquatch has returned to graduate school - online and after work (consuming most of his time) - to get an MFA in Graphic Design. The Atomic Editor has taken on a new role at a dream institution where he can edit some awfully fine writing and put together one of the nation's coolest magazines. And Javi, of course, is overseeing the move of his comicbook creation to the small screen. (I have to wonder if Javi has to strike against himself, being a Writers Guild guy... hmm...)

Now, my fabulously talented friend, glass artist extraordinaire Lunesse, has a new page on TalentDatabase.com, highlighting her beautiful beads and jewelry. Take a gander at the gorgeous pieces she has on her portfolio page there. Pretty rockin' stuff, eh? The girl's got talent, and now she's balancing her glass craft with watching her new kiddo, just arrived in August. I'm impressed. As most of you know, I have trouble finding matching socks in the morning. By the way, if you get a hankering to buy something that Lunesse has created, you can click on her store link, her Etsy link, or - if you dig making your stuff - her JustBeads link for, well, just beads. (If I had any skills at all in making my own jewelry, I'd buy some of her funky beads, but since I'm less than adept at such things, I'll just keep saving my pennies to buy a piece of her fab jewelry!)

Lunesse, along with being a gifted artist, is a tremendous writer and a damn fine web designer, too. She left a successful tech career in the IT mecca of the San Francisco Bay area to become a glass artist. I can't begin to tell you how much I admire her for that! It's an amazing life change - and one that requires bravery and strength of character along with real talent and tenacity.

There are days when I would love to chuck the office life and just pursue writing, but I have always been just a little too afraid to do it. Lunesse did it. She leapt off that cliff and found she had wings. Wings of beautiful glass.

I hope I am willing to take that creative leap of faith someday, too. In the meantime, though, I'll just be delighted to see what new things she and the rest of my friends make.

It's a wonderful thing to have creatively inspired friends. They encourage me to want to do better, to aspire to more.

I'm damn lucky to have such people around me, and I know it.