Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Color Mixing

Yesterday I played around with mixing my own custom colors.  Basically, you take two rods of glass, heat the ends, smoosh them around and pull them into something resembling a new rod.  Actually, it's more like a thick stringer when I do it. :)  I then made clear beads and encased them with the new color - the clear base makes it so my skinny rod of glass will go farther.

This set is made from effetre rosewood and dark ivory mixed about 50/50.  So far it's one of my favorite custom colors!  This is something I will most likely continue to play with, as a matter of fact, I'm off to play now!  Have a great day :)

Monday, October 12, 2009

Shards


This past week I decided to try my hand at shards again. The dismal results from my first attempts notwithstanding - I think I've finally figured it out! :) For those of you that don't know - shards are made by wrapping glass around the end of a hollow tube, blowing until you get something that resembles a lightbulb, then shattering the bulb and using the bits on your bead.


So far, the recipe I've liked the most is ivory glass wrapped in silver foil, burnished in, then rolled in aion powder. This makes a nice organic webbed effect!




The most important lesson I learned doing this is to heat the bead, not the shard! Applying heat to just the shard instantly melts it down to nothing! Sometimes doing it wrong is the best way to learn to do it right. :)
I'm off to the torch to see what lessons I can learn the hard way today! Have a fantabulous Monday!!

Monday, October 5, 2009

New work

I'm working on a few new things - night scenes and ocean scenes. Couldn't be farther apart! But I'm having fun with both :)

Here's a night scene - Blue goldstone background, big yellow moon, tree silhouette and a black bird preparing to take off from a branch.





and from a series of Starfish by the Sea - A red starfish waits on a sandy beach for the cool blue water to cover him.

I have another series of ocean floor beads that I'm working on as well. For now, I'm calling these my 'no fear' beads. My goal is to feel the freedom to add more and more elements to a bead with out the fear that the next step will 'ruin' it! It's a concept that I have difficulty allowing myself to believe :)

Off to the torch!! Happy Monday :)

Monday, September 21, 2009

Glass Stock



The most fun I've ever had with my torch on!!! Four full days of torching with and learning from some of the most amazing artists I've ever met! I learned so much from the classes, but I also learned something from every single person I met there.

This is a picture of Deb Crowely ~ the indominatable force behind the Glass Stock event. She is an incredible artist and also a fun, kind-hearted women who is passionate about glass and infuses everyone she meets with the same passion! Thank you Deb for sharing your knowledge and spirit with all of us :)

The most important lesson I learned at this event was to stop fearing that every new element I added to a bead would be the one to ruin it. I learned a freedom to create that I had never allowed myself before. I haven't put every technique I learned to use - but this one lesson I'm sure will dominate my efforts at the torch - probably for as long as I do this. Thanks again to all the incredible artists who shared so much of their knowledge and their spirit with all of us - You all rock out loud!!


Monday, August 31, 2009

Glass Stock!!

I'm on my way to Oregon for an incredible glassy adventure!! 4 days of glass classes, demos and torching!! I've never had an opportunity to take classes before, so I am hugely excited about this! Plus, I get to meet in person many of people that I've "known" online for years and I'm sharing a house with 7 or 8 of my closest strangers :) I just have to say that I am so fortunate to be a part of this community of "co-workers". Within 2 hours of finding out I could go 2 people emailed me offering a place to stay, and another offering to car pool. I was stunned! What an amazing group of people I get to work with - even though we all do our own thing, the camaraderie is unbelievable!

These are the vendor gifts I'm taking (each person needs to bring 2) I hope they like them!



I've been packing for 2 days. So far I think I have everything but the computer, my toothbrush and the kitchen sink. The computer and toothbrush will go in last, I'm still debating about the kitchen sink :) I better go recheck my list for the hundredth time, I'm sure I've forgotten something.

Everyone has to do a demo at this event. I'm nervous about this so I had to pick something I could do in my sleep ~ Fancy Squares:


I'll be posting lots of pics when I get home next week and hopefully making use of a ton of new info! See you soon :)

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Art Bead Scene Monthly Challenge



I just entered Art Bead Scene's monthly challenge for the first time! I don't usually enter this sort of thing; but I'm really making an effort to push myself, challenge myself and gernerally try things that are out of my comfort zone. This seemed like an excellent way to start!

The challenge for August is to be insired by the ocean, which has always been a huge inspiration for me! My entry is a seastar bracelet and earring set made with my lampwork beads and heshi shells. Be sure to check out all the great work at Art Bead Scene!

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Random Thoughts

I have been on a roll lately! In the last two days I delivered over 140 beads to my local bead store The Sun Dog Bead Co. Two torching sessions per day have really boosted my production, and the cooler weather has helped a little. I'm still working my way through a huge pile of beads that aren't currently listed anywhere for some reason or other. I must often put them in the boxes that correspond with where they are listed before they actually make it on the site! Some of that pile will be made into jewelry for my 1000 Markets shop, but most will be listed on Etsy and ArtFire. There is only a week and a half before school starts so we're headed out of town for a few days, but come September - Look Out! I'll actually be able to torch full time without any interuptions! I'm planning to update my blog once a week starting now (wait, now - no, now) :) and I'm also working on a tutorial! More on that soon. There is so much to do when you're a one man show!! Have a fabulous weekend and I'll see you next week :)