Are you wondering, what happened to all the art fairs? Well, they have all been cancelled until later in the summer or fall, when everyone hopes that virus isn't lurking on every corner.

The artists are all still working making art, including me, and I am having a virtual art fair, right here on the internet. Just come to the website, and click on the shop page, and then click on the link to Shopify, the ones who maintain my virtual shop. 

I am offering a discount until May 31, (30 days has September...Yep, May has a 31) and at the check out counter use the promo code covid-19, and receive a 10 per cent discount, and free shipping anywhere in the USA.

If this website acts the way I think it does, you have received this email blog because in a weak moment (fueled by great wine I hope) you signed up for my email. If you don't want to get my email, I will try not to send you anymore. 

Thanks for your past support, and thanks for wasting some of your precious time looking at my jewelry.

I am excited about the new shows I am in this year. I finally have the means to spread out, and try some new shows that require travel, and new customers. 

Last year I was in the Krasl on the Bluff show in St. Joseph MI, and I was pleased to have a customer from Chicago One of a Kind, come to my booth. She remembered me from that show a few years ago. Amazingly enough, I also saw someone I know from home at the show, she was there to teach hammer dulcimer! Small world. 

What do I mean by "Independent Women"? Well, many things, and maybe not what most would think. When people come into my booth at an art fair, they often remark on that sentence, Uncommon Jewelry for Independent Women, and I say to the man who is there, that not all men can live with an independent woman, and they both nod with a world of knowing between them.

A independent woman does not necessarily want to run the world, or any world for that matter. It may be something they do, but it is not necessary for them to aspire to, to be independent. A independent woman may be the lowest one on the "ladder" they occupy, and still more independent than the woman who is at the top of that ladder. A independent woman chooses what matters to her, and what matters most may depend on her choices in life, that determines where she is. She is where she is, because what matters most to her is also there. 

A independent woman does not care if people like her, or what she does, though like all humans, does want validation for what they are. Where the validation comes from is a different matter, and not the same for everyone. 

When a woman wears my jewelry, they know it reflects a part of them, and of course hope that when people notice, they like that refection. But, if they don't, it is OK. Their inner core is secure.

These bars are always a great hit, and I am pretty sure there is not one single bit of nutrition in them. This is not my recipe,it is from the cookbook by Paula Deen, The Lady and Sons. 

Preheat oven to 350
Cake Pan
​
Crust
One 18 1/4 package yellow cake mix 
1 large egg
8 tablespoons butter, melted. (1 stick)

Combine these ingredients well, and pat into the bottom of a 13 x 9 inch baking pan. Set aside.

Filling
1 package cream cheese, softened
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
8 tablespoons butter, melted. (1 stick)
One 16 ounce box powdered sugar

Beat the first 4 ingredients well, slowly add the powdered sugar, beating well, then pour into the crust, smooth out evenly. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes until the center is set, but not over baked. Cool completely, and cut into squares. 

How to tell if this is done is a bit tricky, because it depends on your pan, and the usual toothpick test won't work. However, it is delicious no matter what, and if you realize it is not firm enough in the middle to cut into squares, you can preheat the oven again, and put it back in for a bit. If the people you are serving this to are friends, they won't care, they will just scoop it out onto a plate, and lap it up. 

I think the original recipe for this was in the Pillsbury Bake Off, but it has been around longer than Jed Clampet, so who knows. There many variations all over the internet, but this is the one I use all the time. This has a bit of nutrition, if you count quick oats, otherwise, not a scrap. 

Preheat oven to 350
Cookie sheet with rim (jelly roll pan)

Cookie Layer
1 cup butter, softened. (two sticks)
1 cup white sugar 
1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all purpose white flour, lightly spooned into the cup, leveled
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups quick cooking oatmeal
Stir all the dry ingredients together in a separate bowl, until well mixed. 

Beat the butter and sugar until well mixed and a bit fluffy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla well, Stir in the dry ingredients a little at a time until it is cookie dough. 

Fudge Layer
1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick)
14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk  (Eagle Brand)
12 ounce package real chocolate chips
1 teaspoon vanilla

Melt the ingredients for the fudge layer in the top of a double boiler. (see notes). Stir together until butter is completely melted, and glossy. 

Assembling

With damp fingers press 2/3 of the cookie dough into the bottom of a 10 x 15 x 1 inch cookie sheet. Spread the fudge mixture over the top to the very edge, and with damp fingers make "islands" and place randomly all over the top. 

Bake for 20 minutes until the cookie layer is a very light brown, and the fudge layer is slightly wrinkled in the center. DO NOT OVER-BAKE BY ONE MINUTE.  Watch this like a hawk those last few minutes. It is better to have this under baked by one minute, than over baked by one minute. Cool and cut into squares. 

If perchance something in the directions doesn't make sense, there is a wealth of info on the internet. These recipes are simple, and don't require baking experience, beating stuff together is easier if it is all room temperature, especially if you don't have a fancy heavy duty mixer. But, if all you have is a bowl, a wooden spoon, and determination, you can make both these recipes. 

The fudge layer says to use a double boiler, if you don't have one, you can improvise. You can't really make this over direct heat, because the chance to burn is too ready and waiting to ruin you. 
Just put a few cups of water in a large sauce pan and heat to boiling. In another pan that will fit into that one put the ingredients. Then, take off the heat. The chocolate and butter will melt together sooner or later, and just give it a stir once in a while as you prepare the cookie dough. If it is not melting well, just re-heat the water, and continue. 

I decided to spruce up my website, and it is a new learning curve. I love using Weebly for my website, but the old theme would no longer do the tricks I had learned, so I had to change. Now I have to find out how to get this new and improved theme to do what I think I want it to do. 

I have learned new things about how to take images, and how to configure them, so I wanted to use the new images and knowledge. We'll see how this goes. Sooo much to do!

I am a volunteer for a non profit art organization in New Albany Indiana, called Art Seed. We are new with this venture, but not new in the endeavor to bring art to southern Indiana. A story there, but not mine to tell. 

So, the newest project dear to my heart is a show called I.M.A.G.I.N.E. Peace now. A artist friend named Boris Bally has sent 100 decommissioned guns to artists all over the world, and they sent them back as art. Amazing art. Art you would never think of. I had a chance to participate, but I just could not think of a thing to do, and if you see the art that was made, you will be glad they did come up with something. 

About the project, I want to bring this show to Kentuckiana, and we, those of us involved in the project, need funds to ship the art here, and then back to the artists, or to the collectors who have bought. (At least 11 pieces have been sold so far) We need funds to bring in speakers, and some of the artist who created these works. We want to involve the community and start dialogue about guns, and to really give this exhibit the attention it deserves, it will take funds to make the community aware the show is in Louisville, and what it is all about. 

​If you would love to see this show in Louisville, please go to the I.M.A.G.I.N.E. Peace Page, and click on the link. 

I have had a few shows since my last post. Florida, Chicago and the next one will be in Bloomington IN. A artsy college town. Even though I have a large stash of so called raw material, in the form of trays and bowls from thrift stores, I always hunt for more. When I go to Florida, I don't hit the beach, I hit the thrift stores! Sometimes there isn't too much to pick from, and other times I find great pieces to turn into art.

This will be a new venture for the new year 2017. I am new to having a blog, and so bear with me as it will be a bit clunky at times. If you guys keep reading, I will keep posting, and sooner or later get the hang of it. In the meantime, I hope I don't bore you. I intend to post pictures of jewelry in the making, then put on the Shop Roxy, and then sell it to its new owner.