An artist dream vacation

We are home from a wonderful vacation with mixed emotions. Kentucky is beautiful and full of talented artists and we only got to see a small portion of what we had on our list. After 8 days of being away from home and spending so much time on the road we were ready to be out of the car and sleep in our own beds. I can't wait to go back again and meet more artists and crafters though, I was amazed at the talent and friendliness of the people we met.


We started out in Whitley City at Troy's family reunion. We rode the Big South Forks Scenic Railway in Sterns, KY. It takes you back through the old coal mines and was very interesting for us because Troy's grandfather had worked in one of the coal mines we saw on the train ride. Troy's dad "Pop" was with us and shared a lot of info with us so that was great too. We actually rode the train twice, My wonderful step son and daughter in law showed up on Sat. night so we took them to ride it on Mon. That's them in the third picture. I am so blessed to have married into such a fantastic family. I have some beautiful photos I will be sharing over the next few weeks but for now here are some of us.

~~~~~~Troy & I~~~~~~~~~~~Pop & I~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Steven & Autum~~~~~~~~~






If you get a chance to visit Sterns, KY I recommend you stop by the Big South Fork Scenic Railway. There is an interesting museum there as well as a couple of great shops that carry hand crafted items by Kentucky artists. I was in heaven looking at the great talent of the local craftspeople and artisans. One shop in particular had all items marked by the area the artist was from so if you wanted something made by a local artist it was easy to find. I appreciated that because I did want to get something made in Sterns, KY and it sure made it easier for me. I ended up with a very unusual red cedar candle holder. I haven't taken a picture of it yet so will have to post it later.


Since most of our time in the Whitley City/Sterns area was spent sight seeing or with family we didn't visit a lot of art studios while we were in that area. We did go to the Natural Arch and a beautiful waterfall in the Daniel Boone forest. Troy's family has a land right in the middle of the Daniel Boone national forest so that is where the family reunion is held each year. You drive in on a fire road and it is so beautiful and primitive. I love it there! I enjoy hearing the stories of how they grew up living back there with no electric and walking to school through the woods. Rattlesnakes and bears, natural remedies and outhouses. Actually they still have the outhouse.

Anyway I got off subject. We did find an amazing craft coop in the middle of the woods outside Whitley City in a very old log cabin. It was called the Whitely City 4H Craft Coop. I had a nice long talk with the woman who was running it. She had moved from another state to run the coop and in return gets a small wage and a super old log cabin right next door to live in. The shop itself was actually 3 old log cabins put together. The items ranged from amazing art to kitchen crafts and the prices were very low. I ended up just buying a couple gourds but I enjoyed the good conversation very much. The lady in charge told me she didn't know if she would end up staying long, she was very homesick and wasn't sure she liked living so far out in a log cabin with just her and her kids. She wondered if Troy and I would be interested in the job if she decided to leave. Now I would give about anything to live in a log cabin and the job would be so much fun. I do admit I have said many times I would love to move to KY but I don't think in reality we could just pick up and do it. Our business is just starting to get known and I love our house here, so I don't think we will be moving to Whitley City any time soon to take over a craft coop no matter how temping it sounds.


Once we left Whitley City we visited 3 or 4 craft shops, art studios or other places of interest each day we were on our vacation. We met so many wonderful people, talented artists and made a number of friends. We had an offer to do a month long show that I think we may do later in the year or early next spring at a very impressive gallery. We saw art work that just blew us away. There is so much to share with you, but for now I will leave you with my favorite photo from the trip. This is Troy at one of the stops we made. I don't even remember the name of the part off the top of my head. I will look at my notes and let you know in my next post. I saved this as my wall paper on my desktop I think it is just an incredible pic. Hope you enjoy it.

Blog Special

We will be taking everything from our Etsy shop to the Washington Street Festival on Sept. 15th & 16th. This is one of our best shows of the year so a lot of our inventory probably will not be coming back. If you purchase anything from our shop between now and Sept. 14th you will receive free shipping in the USA and half price shipping on International orders if you put blog special in notes to seller. Wait for a revised invoice before you pay or if you pay I will issue a refund. Don't miss out on this chance, you never know what will come back from this show so if you have had your eye on something now is the time to grab it.

Remember, if you can dream it, you can create it. Let what ever is in your head and your heart be born. No matter what anyone has told you, you do have talent and you can create. Don't ever be afraid to try.

Baby, it's hot outside!

Indiana is under a heat advisory

Temperatures have been in the upper 90's and it has not been pleasant at all around here. they have been announcing heat advisories and 10 minute burn warnings on the radio all week.

We finally broke down and bought an air conditioner for the studio. I know all my mosaic students will be happy about that. Even I have to admit it makes working in the studio more comfortable thought I turn it off when I go out there. I can't tolerate cold air blowing on me, it increases my pain levels. I have to keep a sweater in the car to wear when we go out to eat or into a store with air conditioning. I know I am strange that way, part of the fibro or spinal stenosis I guess. I am always cold when others are complaining of being hot.

I can remember when I was a kid and it would be hot outside you would see pictures in the newspaper of moms taking the children to the local swimming pool and kids playing under the sprinklers. Now you don't see any kids playing outside at all. I can't help thinking what they are missing. We enjoyed those days at the reservoir or running under the watering hose to cool off. I guess now they know more about the dangers of the sun and with global warming it is more dangerous to spend the day playing outside. I know we live in a neighborhood full of young children but you never see them. I think I would rather hear the laughter of happy kids running and playing than a silent neighborhood all summer long. It makes me sad the way things are now. I wonder if kids know what they are missing, playing hide and seek until the street lights come on from one end of the street to the other. Once the street lights came on you knew you better get to your own yard but until then you were free to roam as long as you didn't leave the neighborhood. Things have sure changed.

Talking about change, Serenity is growing fast

Did I say in my last post that Serenity is well behaved and not messing with anything? Well, I think she has gone from sweet baby to playful, curious kitten and she is sure very curious about everything. But, she is so much fun. She loves to play and she thinks I am her own personal play toy. Actually I am glad she likes to play, while I enjoyed having her curl up and snuggle with me she makes me laugh so much with her antics and keeps me busy getting her out of things. I do believe if I am not in the studio she is resting, just waiting for me to come out then she puts on her act for me. I never notice much out of place until I arrive, then the show begins.

A couple days ago she found my box of air pillows for packaging. I heard her scampering around in the garage that is attached to the studio so I went to see what she was doing. Oh, what a fun time she was having chasing the air pillows around. It was so funny seeing her slide across the garage floor trying to keep up with them. Can you tell how much she has grown? She is just so darn cute. You can't help but fall in love with her. One of her favorite places to hide and attack from is under the bench Troy is working on. I think this photo of her lying is wait is just so adorable. Can you see her under there waiting for me? I got lucky and snapped it just in time.

We had a sale on Etsy

I sold one of my favorite pieces on Etsy last week. I am so excited about it. I did change the base and think it looks so much better. Here is how it looked originally I never was happy with the base she was on to start with. Don't you think she looks better now? I am most excited because she is my first piece to be sold outside of the US or Canada. She will be going to London, United Kingdom. That is just so cool to me! Her new owner has named her Rhodolita, I can tell she loves her very much and that is important to me. She will be going to a wonderful home. This piece took several months to make and I put a lot of work into her so I am very attached and want her to have a good life. Sometimes I feel more like I am adopting my art pieces out rather than selling them. I suppose a lot of artists feel that way. Plus, she has a look on her face that makes me want to protect her.

Yellow Veined Glass Finned Fish

My mosaic fish is grouted but I am still trying to think of a name for her/him. I had a name in mind when I was working on it and I wrote it down but lost the paper. I just hate when that happens. It was a good name too. I love how this little guy or gal turned out. As soon as I think of a name I will list it in my Etsy shop. Hopefully in the next few days. Any suggestions would be appreciated. If I use your suggestion I will send you a code for a nice discount in my shop. Seems like it took forever to get the safety glass on this fish. That could have to do with the fact that a kitten was trying to climb up my bare leg with her claws out. I can tell you that does not feel good at all. I have 2 more fish substrates that I need to figure out what to do with now. I don't want to do them all alike so I will have to come up with something unique and fun to do with them.

Another completed bowling ball

Another student has completed her bowling ball and I just had to share it with you. I love how the black grout makes the colors pop. She used a variety of colors and mirrors on her ball and then added in some glass globs for texture. For this being her first time mosaic project she caught on super fast and went right to work.

I have been so proud of all my students and have to say it is so much fun working with all of them. We spend so much time laughing and talking its a wonder we get any work done but they all manage to end up with beautiful projects they can be proud of. I am proud to show them off in my blog for everyone to see and proud to say they are made my Bunker Studio students.

The IN Crowd

Have you been to the IN Crowd blog lately? There has been a lot going on there with the Sunny contest and featured sellers. We had a contest where IN Crowd members hid a picture of Sunny, a bright smiling sun in our shops and anyone could go in and find the picture in all the shops and be entered in a drawing to win a great necklace from Pingwen's Etsy shop. It was a lot of fun. We are going to start doing it every month I think. I will be doing it with a prize from the Bunker shop in a couple months. I am so excited about it. If you have not check out the IN Crowd blog you should. IN Crowd is a street team for Etsy sellers from Indiana. We have some wonderful talented artists from all mediums in the group. Be sure to check us out. To find IN Crowd members on Etsy just put incrowd into the search box and our members items will come up.

Well I think that about covers it for today. I will try to do better at updating this blog with exciting information and happenings and as soon as I find anything. Until then don't forget to check out our Etsy shop and if you are in the Muncie, IN area send us an email at atthebunker@comcast.net about getting started on a fun and informative mosaic class.

The purpose of blogging

I have been doing some thinking about the purpose of my blog and decided that if I am writing a blog to promote Stuff From the Bunker then besides telling you what is going on at the Bunker Studio and the Etsy shop maybe I should also let you get to know us a little bit too. I know I enjoy getting to know the artists whose work I like. So, I am just going to write about what ever comes to mind. That might help me feel more motivated to make it in here to blog on the days I don't feel up to talking about the Bunker Studio. I have to admit, things have been pretty busy around here lately. Lets see if I can catch you up to date.

After the Clean Up
Last time I posted I had unplug the computer so Troy could get to the window and take out the old air conditioner. I did what I could to help him clean behind where the computer desk sits but I can't get down on the floor very well and I can't use my arms to wash the walls so he had to do most of it. I do have to say the corner looks fantastic now! We went shopping and got new curtains and I love them. It looks so much brighter and bigger in the living room. Troy even agrees the new curtains look better than his old functional, durable, simple, green curtains. I love how we work together on any changes we make to the bunker and he has been so receptive to my ideas. I know it isn't easy for him after living alone for so many years but he is wonderful about it and has let me know this was my home from the day I moved in. After a year and 15 days I still believe I married the most wonderful man in the world and have to pinch myself to see if I am dreaming this wonderful fairy tale life or if it's real.

Mean Doctors and Mosaic Head Bands
In all the cleaning up and taking down of old curtains I also had my monthly appointment with my pain mgmt. doctor. I call her the mean doctor because she took me off work almost a year ago and has signed papers saying I will never be able to work again. She also has me on a lot of medication, some that has side effects that drive me crazy. I know I need it to keep me going but I hate what it does to my ability to think straight. She started me on yet another medication this month that she hopes will help with bringing my pain level down and increase my range of motion in my arms eventually. It's called Lyrica and was just approved for fibro patients in June I believe. All it seems to be doing for me so far is making it very hard to stay awake, to the point of falling asleep in the middle of having a conversation sitting up straight in a chair. Or, right now while trying to type this blog posting.
Thursday night is Express Yourself night in the Bunker Studio Mosaic classes. Students choose a project and pay for studio time by the hour plus what ever supplies they use. It is a very relaxed time at the Studio with students coming and going when ever they please and everyone having fun. One of my star students made these mosaic head bands. For someone who came to the Bunker Studio declaring she had no talent this lady has made some beautiful works of art.

Serenity in the Studio
We had a very busy Sat. on the 28th. First we got up super early to go rummaging in a small town not far from us. They were having a town rummage so it was easy to park and walk a bit then Troy would go get the truck so I could sit down a bit then off we would go again. We didn't buy much but saw someone we knew who walked up and handed Troy a bowling ball for free. What we did end up with was Serenity, and she is just adorable! We got her for the studio and she loves it out there. Serenity is very well behaved and so far is not messing with anything. She is now just over 9 weeks old. Here is a photo of her, isn't she the cutest little thing you have ever seen?

After Serenity chose us to be her family at the rummage sale we had to rush home and drop her off. We were suppose to be in another little town about 25 minutes in the opposite direction to pick up a load of bowling balls that I sweet couple called to donate to us. She said she thought they had around 20 BB so we took the big truck wondering how to keep them from rolling around in the back. We planned to bring them home so Troy could unload them before we went to PetSmart. We got there and they had not 20 but 31 bowling balls! Thankfully and much to our amazement they were all in the original boxes they came in. As Troy and the gentleman loaded the bb, I had a wonderful conversation with a very nice lady. I am making her a blue mosaic bowling ball for her front yard and will take it to her next week.


Mosaic Bowling Ball Classes
The mosaic bowling ball classes have been popular and busy. I so enjoy seeing the creativity of my students. Some come in with an idea of what they want to do while others have no clue and spend a lot of time looking through all the glass and other items in the studio trying to decide on a pattern or theme. Most have ended up going with a color theme rather than a specific design. It is so much fun hearing them go from hesitation at the end of the first night, not sure if they chose the right colors, wondering if their ball is going to be pretty when they get it done. When they return the second night they usually see it with new eyes and feel more enthusiastic about their art work and begin working with excitement. By the time they get it finished they are so excited and proud of what they have done. They can't wait to show it off and find just the right spot for it in their garden or home. I love seeing that transformation in both the student and the bowling ball mosaic. So far all of my students who have done a bowling ball are coming back to take another mosaic class, they have been bitten by the mosaic bug. I wonder if I should add to all my promotional material a statement that says: WARNING~~Mosaics can be addictive~~
Here are some of my wonderful students and their beautiful bowling balls in different stages of completion.











This and That
Does that sound like enough for the past 11 days since my last post? Actually there has been several more things going on around the Bunker. I finally got the glass panel done to go in the cabinets Troy recreated for our kitchen. I am so proud of these cabinets. You can't see them very well in this picture but they are beautiful. The glass on glass I did has our last name done in green stained glass then is surrounded in textured clear glass. I also did small handles for the cabinet on the right but need to take a picture of them. They set the piece off so well. As soon as we get the freezer moved to the summer kitchen we will put these in the kitchen in the house. I can't wait. Troy did such a beautiful job recreating these, they were a total mess before he did them. The roll top part of the larger cabinet was in pieces but he was able to save it and use all the original parts. He is so amazing! The project he is working on now is this bench that I begged him to rescue from a house that was abandoned next door to his dad's. It was in pretty


sad shape but I knew Troy could fix it right up. He is doing it in brown and gold leafing with an antique effect. We found a great fabric for the bench top. I love that it has storage space under the seat. the colors will work in the new guest room just perfect. I honestly believe there is nothing Troy can't do and no matter what I ask him to do he does it perfectly! I am so very blessed to have such a wonderful husband.

Here are a couple mosaics I have been working on. Actually I have been working on the fish for about 6 weeks now. Since I have been sick I can no longer sit down and finish something with one try anymore. Many things take me weeks or even months to finish that I use to be able to do in just a few days. It is very frustrating and discouraging at times but because I love mosaic art and I would be lost without it I can't give it up. Troy has modified many of my tools and my workspace to make working with them easier for me and that helps a great deal. He also helps with custom orders so that they can be done in a timely fashion. That is one reason I enjoy teaching mosaic so much. I can sit or stand depending on how I feel. I move around a lot and I don't do any lifting. I let my students know up front that I may have trouble with words and so far everyone has been wonderful about it. Being disabled isn't the end of the world, it just means making changes to your world.

The fish is being done with safety glass so it is clear glass on top of a substrate of wood. I left the wooden fish painted the colors it was when I got it and will grout it in a color that will compliment the colors of he fish.
The IU stand has an IU etched glass bevel on the top layer that I am designing this around. I am using small pieces of red, white and clear textured glass on the bottom layer over clear glass. Once all the glass is on I will cover it with Enviro Tech for a clear durable and protective finish.



That is it for today. My medication has me so I can't stay awake and I don't have everything on my to do list done yet. I hate when that happens, it is only 7pm Indiana time! I planned to list some things on Etsy this evening but I don't see that happening now. I have typed much of this with my eyes closed.

Have a wonderful week and remember to stop by our Etsy shop If you are an Etsy seller and have not seen the new Etsy Tools web site with all the great information we have been begging for like top sellers, charts with the best time to list items and much more you need to check them out. You can read about it on this forum post on Etsy forums or go straight to Etsy Tools. You won't regret it.

Till later,
Deb from the Bunker Studio

Quick message before the clean up

Wow, trying to keep up with a blog on top of everything else on my to do list can sure be difficult. I need to unplug the computer and have everything moved by the time Troy gets off work in about 45 minutes.


There is an air conditioner in the window behind my computer desk that has been in the Bunker since Troy bought it. We don't use it so he is taking it out tomorrow. I am so excited because it will mean more light coming in. He took one out of the bedroom last week and it is so much nicer. Smokey loves it, she has another window to play in. Only problem is we will be off line for a day or so. I will get to clean behind the computer desk so that is good. I am sure everyone knows how difficult it is to clean behind all the computer wires and heavy computer desks. I can imagine how much cat, umm I mean angel fur will be hiding back there.


Great news! The IN Crowd was featured in our local newspaper on Wed. July 25th. Kathy Kirby who does stories on Troy and I from time to time did a wonderful article. You can read it online here but. It does not show all the great items that were photographed for the article but you can read about some of the members of the IN Crowd. Check out the IN Crowd Blog to see the whole article. It is well worth clicking on the link to see it. Of course I would say that, one of my items and my picture are there LOL.



I have had a number of people sign up for the Bowling Ball class this week and I also had the sweetest lady call to offer us some bowling balls. OVER 20 BOWLING BALLS ! She said her husband was a great bowling fan and had to have every ball that came out, now he only bowls one a week. We are going to pick them up on Sat. I am going to be doing a lot of mosaicing. Of course I will also share with any of my students who can't find a bb to use for the class. Normally I supply everything they need for the class except the ball.

I had a nice man call today who wants to take the class and do a butterfly design on his bowling ball to give to his granddaughter. He said she loves butterflies and is moving away to college this year for the first time. He sounded so nice on the phone. I am looking foreward to having him in class. I just love working with nice people.

We had the Board meeting for theMuncie, Indiana Visitors Bureau Summer Heat Festival on Wed. night. It looks like I will be able to lower the booth cost for artists and crafters next year. I am very excited about that. It will also be a juried show from now on. Troy and I will be jurying it and I will be looking for a couple other people to add to the jury committee.

We will also be working to bring in a lot more artists and crafters, creating an artist village with our artists and craft vendors doing demonstrations through the day. It is my goal to totally change the image that Muncie's Summer Heat Festival has with the Art vendors due to past leadership. I know that it will take a lot of work. I am trying to find a way to reach people who displayed at Summer Heat in the past and try to bring them back to show them how things are changing. If you have been there or know of someone please have them contact me at atthebunker@comcast.net.

I better scoot, I have 10 minutes to unplug this computer and get it all moved. I have been such a slug today. I saw my pain managment doc today and once she tried to get my arms above my head I am afraid my day was ruined from that point on. Now it is time to put on a happy face and get something accomplished.

Be sure to stop by The Bunker and have a happy safe weekend.

No reason to reinvent the wheel

There are so many great blogs you can read that I am not going to repeat information you can find other places.

If you want to know what is going on with the IN Crowd, the great bunch of Indiana Etsy sellers you can check out our blog. Actually I recommend that you do every week. Pingwen of Gwen's Jewelry and Arts and Becky of BeckbyDesign both do a fantastic job updating the IN Crowd blog and keeping it up to date.

A great blog for both sellers on Etsy and everyone else She's Crafty she has all kinds of great tips on how to improve your selling experience. She also features Etsy shops and just has an all around interesting blog. You never know what you might find there, I wouldn't miss it. She also Be sure to check out her Etsy shop too.

While you are looking over the blogs you may as well check out the bloggers shops too. All 3 are talents artists and have some amazing items in their shops. Becky lives in Muncie and we did the Summer Heat Festival together. She also took my Mosaic Bowling Ball class and we had a great time. She still needs to come back and finish her bowling ball soon. She has the most adorable little boy named Charlie and I keep telling her I am going to keep him. He is the model in her shop and just the sweetest little guy. I purchased a set of her BUBS for my niece when she had her baby and she loves them. I gave them to her at her baby shower and it turned the whole thing into an Etsy promo event. Everyone was very impressed with the quality and had to rub them on their face, they were so soft and cuddly.

Since we brought it up might as well talk about the Bunker Bowling Ball Mosaic Classes. What fun they are! As I said, Becky attended one not long ago. It was a special class, Kathy Kirby from the Muncie StarPress was here to interview us for a feature article about the Bunker Studio in the Muncie newspaper that is bringing in a lot of new students. You can see that article here.

Here is a picture of the mosaic bowling ball Becky is making. She drew a freehand paisley design on her bb. Troy pointed out how interesting it is that Becky carried through her love of her work in fabric into the mosaic by using a paisley design. I noticed in her shop that she had just listed some beautiful paisley BUBS. We artists are such funny creatures. That is Becky in brown working on her BB in the Bunker Studio. The bb on the right is one I did about 5 years ago. It still looks great in the garden.

This next photo is Peggy, one of the only student who posed for the camera. She spent most of the 3 hour class talking so didn't get a lot of tesserae glued to her bowling ball in typical Peggy fashion but she is so much fun. Her mosaic bowling ball will be a memorial to her dog who passed away last her when she gets it done. Here is a picture of what she has done so far.

She is using a glass glob with a photo underneath it as the focal point of her mosaic bowling ball. It will look great when she gets it all done.

One thing I do to help students decide on a design is offer toppers to get them thinking. Two students chose dolpins in this class but they both went their own way with the design. Autum & Christina are both doing mosaic for the first time but you would think they were experienced from the looks of their work.

The photo on the left is Autum's and on the right is Christina's. Aren't they doing a great job? I am so proud of all my students. If you live in the Muncie IN. or surrounding area and would like to take a mosaic class just send me a convo through our etsy shop. We also sell a bowling ball mosaic DIY kit there or scrap glass by the pound. Mosaic is so much fun to do and breaking things for art is a great way to take out your frustrations!

Looks like I have managed another blog post. If anyone has suggestions how to make these pictures easier to work with I would sure appreciate it. They don't seem to want to go where I want them to and they move when I try to type around them. I suppose I will figure it out with a bit more practice.

Have a great day and don't forget to check out Stuff From the Bunker on Etsy and let us know what you think.

My first blog entry from the Bunker Studio...

Starting a blog is a first for me but today is the perfect day for it. This is also our first wedding anniversary and considering what a wonderful year it's been I can think of no better time to start this blog.
The purpose of this Bunker Blog will be to keep our wonderful readers who we hope will include buyers, students and other interested friends informed of what is going on in the Bunker Studio as well as at Stuff From the Bunker on Etsy and sometimes just around the Bunker itself.
We will also use the Bunker Blog to list specials and Blog only deals, tell what is going on with the great street teams we belong to and probably discuss the Summer Heat Festival that Troy and I are the Vendor Coordinators for and hope to bring in a lot more artists and crafters for in the next few years.
There will be times I will share photos of my mosaic classes and my very creative students. We have a wonderful time and learn a lot in the various classes at the Bunker Studio. If you live in the Muncie area and are interested in learning mosaic art, glass on glass or stepping stones you should e-mail me, I promise you will love it and take home a piece of art you will treasure!
Right now I am running a special on my bowling ball mosaic classes and having so much fun seeing the wonderful designs my students are coming up with. I get so much pleasure out of seeing the looks on their faces when after walking in telling me how they have no artistic talent after just a few hours they are working on a beautiful design they created on their own with just a few encouraging words and a little inspiring items from me.
I can be long winded at times and you never know what kind of mood I might be in or what I might decide to talk about on any given day. Be sure to check in often and please, post your comments. I love to hear from people and know what they are thinking. Visit my Etsy shop and Visit the shops of the artists I will be linking to on here. I might be slow adding my favorite shops but I will get it done. Blogging is new to me but I will get the hang of it soon enough. If you have suggestions feel free to give me a shout.