Blog name change...

For those of you who have been kind enough to "follow" me, I'd like to explain the renaming of my blog.  I've known for a while that I wanted to make lampworking a commercial endeavor, so I've been struggling with coming up with a good business name for myself.  I was drawn to the elemental sensations of fire and water or fire and rain, but as lyrical as those phrases sound and the concepts they make me imagine, I haven't felt completely enamored with them.

It wasn't until today, when I was thinking of something else completely, that I realized I already have an icon that I've felt represents myself for over 15 years... the image of three cats dancing in a row, the middle cat dancing upside down.  In 1995, at a wine festival, I found a t-shirt with that image drawn in a crude, child-like finger-painted design.  The cat on the right was blue with a thick black outline, the cat on the left was purple, and the cat in the center was yellow.  The left and right cats were on their hind feet dancing, the center one was upside down on his paws.  The moment I saw the shirt, I knew that the blue cat was my Thea, a sweet, lady-like brown/white/grey tabby, the purple cat was my Violet, a small, grey, skittish tabby, and in the center, hamming it up, was my baby boy Walter, a huge, white, Maine Coone with a penchant for running into walls and eating plastic.

I loved this t-shirt so much, I wore it so frequently it literally disintegrated and I had to cut the front off and lay it in a box for safe keeping.  Later, when I joined the SCA, I based my device on the image: three cats rampant.  If only they'd let me put one of the cats upside down... but I guess that's what artistic license is for.

So today, after months of searching, I have found a business name that truly feels like who I am and what I love.  A friend has already asked me why I didn't choose a name that shows I do lampworking, but I feel a more creative name was in order, a name that gives me the option to show off not just my lampworking skills but maybe my spinning, my weaving, my knitting, and any other ways I may decide to express myself.

So, I have changed my Blogspot name and address, I have my own URL at which I will share more of myself, and I will hopefully be getting banners and other artwork for my site and this blog.  For now, please bear with the dust, as I'm making something I hope will honor the love I still have for Thea, Walter, and Violet.  Too bad cats don't live forever.  I miss you guys so much.