Amber Peterson
Houston, TX

This first round was a challenge because I was at my daughter's house laying a tile floor and without access to a computer. My husband told me what the Theme Items would be and I started contemplating how to put them together. I thought "camel, sun, desert, hot, sun" and finally came across the idea of a camel and a moth imagining the sunflower as the promised land of a hot desert. So I call this "Mirage of the Sunflower", with the jewel being the stabbing brightness of a sunny desert. So during the day, I lay tile, and during the evening, I designed a panel without benefit of any tools. There was a glass store in town though so I purchased my glass: Kokomo Peach Opal for the sun streaks, Spectrum Yellow and White Translucent for the big sunflower petals, Kokomo Yellow Clear Pink Opal for the next row of petals and Kokomo Dark Amber Opal for the small petals. I chose Spectrum Light Blue and white Translucent Opalescent for the hints of sky in the Mirage. Finally, the camel and moth are sitting on Kokomo Olive Green Amber and White Opal. Nuggets make up the interior of the Sunflower. The Theme Item jewel sits on a clear jewel. I managed to get my glass cut while on the road driving back home and once home, with my grinder and tools, I finished the panel with time to spare. What a hoot! it was fun.