So I recently had a surgery that has pretty much redirected my direction in life and affected my decision making process. I have been living with Crohn’s disease for 10 years and it finally got to the point where I needed to have 10 inches of my small intestine removed. I believe that the main cause for this surgery was the stress of working the R. Strong Glass studio. I love glass and I was excited for the future and the possibility of one day buying the studio, but my body rejected it. What I was putting myself through to get to that point was too much, and I think it would have killed me in the end.

I realized why I was so stressed and not enjoying making glass any more while I was lying in the hospital recovering. It had such a negative impact on my relationships with family and friends. I know that any job will take up your free time and no great job isn’t going to somewhat stressful, but this took something more out of me. Call it soul or mojo or whatever, but I was not in a good place. 

However, what working at the studio did give me, was the knowledge that whatever I want to do, I need to make it happen. I am the only person standing in my own way or pushing me forward. I can choose the people I am friends with and who I work with. Combined with this, my surgery taught me that my friends and family are so supportive and of upmost importance to my life and well being. My life desire is to make the best I can out of those existing relationships and create new meaningful ones with people I meet.

So I have decided to move the focus of this Blog towards my endeavors into any and all creative pursuits. Whether it be music, art, glass, theater, costumes… I especially want to highlight any projects in which I collaborate with other artists and friends. 

I hope you enjoy what I post and I would love to hear feedback. And if you have an idea or project you would like to work on together, let me know! I would love to get involved.