10/31-11/1: Halloween at Jan's

Halloween. Woke up at the hotel in Binghamton and dawdled some because I thought I was pretty close to where Jan lived in Mt. Tremper (if I have the name right), near Woodstock, where if you blinked, you might end up in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, or Manhattan. But, of course, where someone like myself could get lost, or, as is more the case, not go quite far enough. Looking at the map in retrospect, it looks like the name of this river is the Beaver Kill, believe it or not -- a roadside view along route 30.

I did pause here and there for pics this time as the Catskills were rather autumnly pretty.

It took me a frazzelled while, but I finally made it to Jan's place. She was still at work finishing up some of her earrings. She makes really cool jewelry, using this special glass that's made in a vacuum, so that when you look at it one way it's one color and when the light shines through it, it's another. She also makes small plates, and these really neat glass wall hangings (about 6 inches square) that have a very small vase worked into it, where you can add water and a small flower. Of course, I didn't take any pics of them. Gad. Her business is called "Luminosity Glass," and she has her things in a myriad of stores around the U.S.

Here's a ldescription I found when I googled her name that she put on eBay some time back when she was living in Philadelphia:

I loved the magical luminosity of Fused Dichroic Glass the first time I saw it. A few years ago I was drawn to experiment with making it myself. What you see here are a few of the results. I cut, stack, arrange and fire the Stained Glass and Dichroic Glass in a kiln at a temperature of 1500 degrees Fahrenheit at which it melts and fuses together. Each piece is made of at least 3-4 layers of glass. In addition, some have 24-karat gold or pure silver foil added to the design.

Jan just sent me her website address: http://www.janwilcox.com

She lives in a fairly modern house, with a large basement where she has her kilns and workshop. She gave me a small tour of her yard, or environs. There's a river runs through it where she can skinny dip if she's so minded.

We had a great dinner and talked until we were tired. It felt great to miss the whole Halloween miasma.

I slept well and got up early to make the run to Brunswick to see my friend Annie again before I made my way back to Nova Scotia.