One thing I love, almost as much as creating glass art, is traveling!  It's a joy to be able to get away and explore other places and I always feel like my art is enhanced from the experience. As Leonardo da Vinci said, "Every now and then go away, have a little relaxation, for when you come back to your work your judgement will be surer. Go some distance away because then the work seems smaller and more of it can be taken in at a glance and a lack of harmony and proportion is more readily seen."

So following the recommendation of a master, I am closing the studio for two and a half weeks for a vacation that will give my hiking boots a chance to see something other than the back of my closet.  I'll be back in mid-July, ready to start some new projects.  Hope you get the chance to get some distance away from your work this summer too!