Peacock Beads Thursday, Jul 9 2009

Peacock Bead Set

 

Peacock Procession Closeup

The idea of the peacock bead is one that has been marinating in the back of my mind for a pretty long time. Actually the term “marinating” is a bit too gentle. . . ”Simmering” is more like it because it seems the idea stayed warm, even though a part of me just wanted to give up and move on.  When I first started making them, the peacocks were arranged on an ivory background. I liked them, but to me, they screamed, “HEY!! LOOK AT ME!! LOOK AT ME!!!  I”M A PEACOCK!!” Which to me, was sort of okay because peacocks carry themselves in a way that seems almost arrogant. Kind of like, they are looking at all of God’s other creatures and thinking, “Yeah, I’m sexier and more beautiful than you. My feathers are magically artistic and yours just keep warm.” Still, that’s not how I wanted to portray them, when it came right down to it.  When my work makes an abrupt statement, I always feel less than satisfied. I knew I wouldn’t get where I was going with my peacock idea unless I brought down the contrast volume a bit. What I really wanted was to portray the peacock in a way that was graceful and proud, yet subtle. Finally, I think my ideas were well communicated when I made the “Peacock Procession” set. This is a good thing, because I was totally ready to throw in the towel and move on to something else. I dunno what. . .Maybe beads that look “Stewie” from the Family Guy? lol

Overnight, I received a couple of emails, asking me what glasses were used to create these beads. So, I thought I’d share a bit about them here. The base glass is Double Helix, “Nix”. Nix is a fabulous silver glass because it shifts in blues and greens and sometimes I’ve seen a lovely irid purple. The peacock’s bodies were made with Double Helix’s “Triton”. The feathers were made using several different striking browns, (”Striking Color” and a little “Da Vinci”, by “Precision”), layered with blue and green transparents. As for the process, well, each bead took me about an hour and half to two hours so I can’t even attempt to try and explain the hows. I will tell you this though, the stringer was literally hair thin and I had to keep chasing them around my counter top because my fan was blowing them all over the place. LOL!! Ah. . .Fun times can always be had in my studio.

On a personal note, I did my first round of baby twin boy shopping!! (I wasn’t shopping for babies, I was shopping for stuff for babies.) I bought blankies and booties that look like little puppies. It was SO much fun, but this is a very small drop in the bucket. I intend to greet these little ones with lots of gifts from grandma. The babies are due in December, but we are expecting them sometime in November, since Twins rarely go to full term. Poor Ashley, she’s already showing pretty good. . .I can’t wait to see the belly a couple of months from now!

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Full Blum Beads Thursday, May 28 2009

I’m in a total stupor. . .I think it’s this South Beach phase one thing that I’m doing.  My goodness, how I took carbs for granted. I keep telling myself that this is for the best and when my two weeks of diet bondage transitions into something more tolerable, I’ll feel better for having put myself through this two weeks of hell. It’s not the food that I miss. I’m on day four and all cravings for food have disappeared. I just feel crappy and have ZERO energy, which makes my workouts that much more difficult to bear. Bet if someone holding a chilled glass of pinot were to stand in front of my treadmill, I’d huff it for an hour with no problem as long as I could actually have the glass when my hour was over with. Either that, or I’d simply step off of the little moving belt thingy, punch their lights out and chug that chilled delightful goodness in one mammoth sized GULP. I miss my nightly glass of PINOT G!!!!! Oh well. . .maybe I’ll learn some new habits and I’ll also learn how to properly deal with my aggressions when I can’t have what I want. lol

Enough about my diet woes. . . Seems like I’ll always have them. I finished the first set and focals in my hydrangea series. The first set is called “Full Blum” after Cheri Blum. I guess it’s sort of my way of acknowledging her for the inspiration that she gave me all of the many times that I’ve admired her hydrangea work. For the most part, I know that blue is what most of you love most, but I wanted to start with brown, simply because I love brown. Well, not just any brown, but really warm burnt sienna brown for it’s reddish undertones. This first set and focal has an enamel base and multiple layers of tiny florets that makeup the hydrangea bloom. I didn’t want the hydrangea to be full on blue, but more of slate blue with gray and off-white petals to bring attention to points of light and shadow. I really love them, but I’m sure most of you will prefer the blue.

Full Blum Bead Set

 

Full Blum Lampwork Focal No. 1

Full Blum Focal Bead No. 2

In closing, I wanted to let you new lampworkers know that I’ve not forgotten about you. . .It’s just been SO long since I started making beads that I couldn’t much remember the best way of learning the basics outside of my spacers suggestion. I’m still thinking and will put up a post for you new folks within a few days.

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Inspirational Ideas Friday, May 22 2009

My husband, Mark comes to this blog each day because he wants to see if I’ve actually taken the time to write something. He’s challenged me to write something every single day, even if it’s a short and silly two line entry of text. . . So, I’m taking this challenge, even if I don’t post something every single day, I WILL post much more often.

Classical Rome No. 1

Today, I’ve chosen to talk about inspiration. I’ll start with my new “Classical Rome” series. As I mentioned in another blog entry, I’ve been watching the HBO “Rome” series on DVD. I think I more so watch it for it’s artistic set than any other reason. The villas on Palatine Hill are so beautifully decorated with very authentic looking classical murals and home decor. Of course the rich fabrics and elegantly hand crafted jewelry worn by the Patrician women tends to inspire me a great deal too. I love the scenery and I think the people that built the set for “Rome” did a fantastic job.

Classical Rome No. 2

I have been inspired by the Classical since I was a little girl. My homemade Barbie doll dresses looked like togas. I have no clue why that is, perhaps maybe I watched some historical fiction movie with my parents or something, and thought the togas were cool. I also drew all over my walls and bordered some of my artwork with scrolling motifs. Again, have no clue why or where I got the idea. Perhaps I carry some weird sort of classical design gene? lol Well, my point is that with or without the “Rome” HBO series, this need to create things of a classical nature is very much a part of who I am as an artist. In fact, it’s this style of work that granted me notice during my second year as a lampworker. I feel most alive when I communicate my ideas of the classical, so why did I seemingly leave the look behind and move on to other works? Well, as an artist, it’s necessary to spread your wings and fly outside of the coup from time to time. I needed to evolve and build upon the skills that I had and the only way to do so was to develop and practice new techniques ad nauseum.  The cased beads and murrini work that I have been doing over the past six months have been fueled by my need for evolution. Never can you sit still and become comfortable in your skill in this business. You must always push to the next level, and that involves a great deal of soul searching for means of inspiration. 

Getting back to the “Classical Rome” beads series, I plan to make this series full of different bead sets in the classical style. I’m very excited about it because I know how much I am going to enjoy exploring my ideas. For example, what where the colors, fabrics, murals like in the bed chamber of Caesar’s wife? I bet they were far beyond fabulous! See, with that one little question, I now have an idea of what my next bead set, “Her Bed Chamber” will look like and I even have a name for the set. Really, it IS this easy when your inspiration comes from the heart. My heart is tied to the ideas of ancient Rome. Not the bad part of ancient Rome, (division of the classes, the brutality), just the romantic part of it, (fabric, decor, cobblestone, jewelry, shiny armor, men in kilts).

At this point, I’m sounding a bit contradictory by telling you to evolve your skill and not get too comfortable, while also telling you to stay true to your heart’s inspiration. Confusing? You bet it is and that is exactly why you must dig really REALLY deep within your own soul to find new sources of inspiration. It is there, but often times a sort of dust covers the inspirational layers of your mind. When you begin to dig, you’ll find that those layers are infused with nostalgia and that nostalgia yields a creative fuel that can’t be found elsewhere. For example, grandma’s copper kettle. . . It wasn’t all that beautiful but there was something so incredibly graceful about the handle and even the dings and decades of patina lent one the idea that it was indeed a real treasure. Try it for yourself.  Think of that lost loved one and watch for the icons that pop up around them. Often times the things that they cherished are very closely associated with their memory. The copper kettle used by my grandmother was one of many things that pops up in my mind when I think of her standing in her kitchen, using that kettle to warm the water for her morning tea as she made my breakfast. This particular memory is so filled with nostalgic fuel that it almost brings me to tears.

I’d love to hear the inspirational ideas that some of you come up with when you envision that lost loved one. Please do feel free to share here, whether you are a jewelry designer, lampworker or both. Mark will be helping to ensure that your posts are moderated and published so you won’t have to wait a day or two for me to screen and publish them myself. lol

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Gaffer Chalcedony (G109) Saturday, May 16 2009

Before I begin talking about Chalcedony, I just wanted to say that there is nothing like a refreshing sugar-free margarita to put you right again on warm Saturday afternoon. My neck and shoulders were screaming in pain before I even begin my hour long treadmill adventure. Now, I’m relaxed, freshly showered and ready to talk about my experience with Gaffer Chalcedony. I know I promised I would like, forever ago, but really I’m just now beginning to give it the attention that I think it deserves.  

Chalcedony is like Raku on steroids. One of things that I appreciate most about it is that when used for layering,  the glass doesn’t bleed, nor does it pit. It’s a bit darker than Raku too and holds it’s color a lot longer. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate Raku also and still use it. It’s especially great for leaves and it makes beautiful opal-like encased florals. Chalcedony doesn’t seem to be good for those applications, as once it strikes, it holds a very low tonal value. However, if you are looking for a dark colored glass that has the ability to shift in dark earth tones, this glass is pretty awesome.

Both of these beads were capped with Chalcedony. I applied the Chalcedony layers last, as I knew the longer I worked the glass, the less color I would have. Still, the bead was in and out of the flame for a good 45 minutes after the Chalcedony layer was applied to it. The second bead, “Never-Never Land 2″ was in the flame a bit longer but as you can see it still held it’s color fairly well.

Never-Never Land No. 1 Never-Never Land No. 2

 

Last weekend I started watching the “Rome” series again, and being the classical gal that I am, I was overwhelmed by inspiration. I chose to give it over to Chalcedony again and boy was she up for the test drive. These beads were  inspired by the studio sets that were created to be used as the Roman villas. The florals are Raku but the base glass is Chalcedony. As you can see in the below photograph, the pallet of color ranges in quite an awesome pallet of earth tone color. These beads were in the flame for a pretty long time so the colors a bit muted. Worked for me though, as I wanted them to be less rich. So, way to go Gaffer! I love this glass!

Roman Villa

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Evolving or Just Spinning Out of Control? Thursday, Oct 9 2008

Hi you all! I know, quiet again am I. I can’t help it. When I become either overwhelmed with inspiration or depressed due to creative block, I almost always become withdrawn. When I’m on a roll and my progression is coming along swimmingly, I’m much more chatty and even almost organized. Right now, I’m obsessed with the new direction that I’d like to take with my glass work and that direction required a new torch. Last week I purchased a GTT Cheetah. I installed it over the weekend and have been getting to know it’s complex flame environment. Although the torch is hotter than my Mini CC, it still not hot enough thanks to my limited oxygen setup. I either need additional oxygen concentrator or a new oxygen source altogether. Woe is me. . . I suppose I’ll get there eventually.

First, I’ll talk about my new Dragonfly series. Funny, huh? Summer’s over. Shouldn’t I be doing Autumn leaves or Christmas trees? I suppose I should, but my muse has no sense of time or season. Hence this bead, “Early Snow”. I’m pretty sure that this dragonfly wouldn’t have wanted to come out from his hiding place to take a peak at the unexpected October snow storm.

Early Snow

Also, a couple of new urn shaped focals. . .

House of Vettii Urn

Garden Wishes Urn

I’ve also been working on blown glass pieces. They have been the biggest source of my frustration but the feeling is actually bitter-sweet. These made these two pieces into oil lamps.

Hanging Dragonfly Oil Candle

 

Gazing Ball Oil Candle Lamp

The Gazing Ball lamp was a total pain in the A$$!!!! It was a good experience though. She stands a full 4.5″ tall and is the largest piece I’ve ever made. I’m keeping her, as my little trophy.

Here’s wishing you all a wonderful weekend!!!  

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Lampwork Tutorials Tuesday, Aug 5 2008

Hi all!! GEEEEEEEEEEEEEEZ!!! I’ve had quite a day. . .I hope your Monday has been much better than mine. After giving it a lot of thought, I have decided to do a series of lampwork bead tutorials. Over the weekend, I worked a bit on the layout. “So far, so good”, till I started making photos late this afternoon. Well, I won’t go into how I did it, but, my camera hit the concrete floor of my studio. It’s SO busted. I actually broke down in tears because I had the camera for less than a year and it was a pretty expensive one.  Luckily, I have an understanding husband (Thank you love of my life!). He went to Best Buy and bought me a new one after work tonight. It’s a lot nicer than the one that I destroyed today so I’m going to have to play with it after I finish this post.

 As I mentioned before I started wallowing in self pity, I am working on a tutorial. Yes, me, “she who rarely blogs” is actually doing a writing project. When I decided to do this, I began to think about all of the different elements that I use in my work and what inspired them. Simply doing one tutorial that shows you how to make a three hour focal doesn’t feel right to me. I’d much prefer to teach some of the beads that helped me develop my skill and style. Then, you could take the techniques, combine them and “create your own song”, so to speak.

My first tutorial will be on the petal motif that I use quite often in my work. It was inspired by some of the borders used in black and red figure pottery that was popular during the Greek Archaic period. I’ve always loved the motif and used it often as a border element for my murals in my former life as a painter. Communicating this look in glass was a real challenge for me, but by the time I truly “got it”, I was shocked at how much my raking skill had improved.

The first tutorial will have three sections, the first section will cover pulling goldstone stringer, the second section will be a tutorial for my “Black Tie Event” beads and the third section will be a tutorial for the “Chick Rock” beads. I just realized today that neither sets were in my gallery. DOH!! I have no clue why they weren’t there, but I just added them.

Black Tie EventChick Rock

Today, I made a bead using this design that was inspired by a Greek Amphora and I think it’s going to turn out fabulous! At least it looked great going into the kiln. lol I’ll post a pic tomorrow if I can figure out how to use my new camera. lol!!

Night all!

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Hi Beaders!! Wednesday, Jul 23 2008

As usual, I am sorry for my lack of recent postings. . .I would blame it on the fact that I’m busy, but really, that’s not a good excuse. I guess I sort of need to be in the “mood” to write. Plus, I work on beads and jewelry every single day so by the time I have a moment to sit down and write, I can’t think of a thing to say!

So far this week, I have only two focals in the gallery.  The ”Pandora” focal was inspired by the audio book that I’m listening to by Anne Rice. The title is “Pandora” and it’s a novel from her Vampire Chronicles. I been having a blast listening to her audios while I work! I particularly like Pandora’s character. . .She was a Patrician Roman woman turned vampire during the reign of Augustus. The book takes walks you through her transition and gives a beautiful visual of the fabrics, decor, fashion and political position of the Patrician Roman woman. When I sat down to torch and listen, she became my muse. Sure, she’s a vampire but she’s soft, sweet, beautiful and she only takes the bad guys as victims. During her life as a Roman, her name was Lydia. See, I knew there was another reason that I liked her!

“Pandora”

 

Urgh! I am still playing “get to know ya” with my PMC. Thankfully, it’s becoming easier as I continue to work with it. I made the bail for this pendant and I love the bead so much that I am going to make a couple that are similar to it over the next couple of days. I am in love with color pallet. . .It reminds me of the Servilia’s interior decor in the series “Rome”.

“Royal Ball”

Well, I am headed to the torch now. Thank you all for stopping by!

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Wednesday, Jul 9 2008

Hi everybody!! Yes, I AM still kicking!! I have had my nose buried in jewelry and pmc projects since last Friday. At first, the PMC thing frustrated me so badly that I was ready to throw it out with the trash, but I think I’m starting to catch on now. Patience, is an absolute MUST when working with the stuff so I had to slow down a bit an try to ease my way through it. I’m excited though! I finished some new silver cored beads with PMC bead caps, and a new pendant that I absolutely adore! I have a way to go in learning this new media but I’m having a blast in the mean time. I think one of the reasons that I like the PMC so much is because it allows me to marry the ideas of elegance and rustic into one single expression of art. . . I really don’t want the silver to be pristine, I want more of an old world pewter sort of look. I think I’m going to have a blast as I continue to meander my why through my new PMC adventures!

 

Now that I have finished playing with PMC for the week, I have hit the torch again to make some beads for this week’s preview. So far, I have a new set inspired by the “Treasury Jewel” focals that I’ve made over the past two weeks. I also made a vessel. It was a fun venture, as I haven’t made a vessel since last fall. I think it’s camera shy due to the transparent glass. It is so much prettier in real life. If I have time, I might take another photo of it before Friday.

Well friends, that’s all for today but I’ll be back again soon! Thank you all for stopping in!

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Another “Vettii” bead. . . Wednesday, Jun 11 2008

Last week’s “House of Vettii” focal evoked a response that I didn’t quite expect. Normally, red beads aren’t hot sellers for me. That is one of the reasons that I work so often in blues and greens. People seem to love the combination and it is almost always well received. However, (for me) the color red is one that stimulates my senses. Not just any ole red though. A red that has a bit of blue mixed in. . .It cools down the red so that it is less visually “hot”. When I see red in it’s pure hue, it doesn’t appeal to me in the least. It evokes emotions that I don’t care to identify with. Maybe it’s because so many dangerous things in life are purely red. . .I guess that is why warnings signs on the road are red with white writing on them. Red stop signs, red traffic lights, red sirens on emergency response vehicles, the red glass knob in the movie “The Sixth Sense”. However, a rich garnet red feels very different to me. It makes me think of romance, passion, intense emotion, drama and a tasty glass of good cab-sav. Amazing what tiny bit of blue can do for the color red. . .

The first time that I saw pictures of the House of Vettii, I was studying classical murals. The inspiration that engulfed my mind nearly brought me to tears. A visit to Pompeii is number one on my list of things to do one day. It would be nice if they still traveled via litter over there, I would do it in a skinny minute. . . I am sure that I would be too spiritually swept off of my own feet if I tried to follow the tour guy through the ancient town.

Speaking of litters, lately I have been thinking about purchasing a new car. I kind of don’t need one since I work from home. If I purchased one for myself, I would have a car payment. I don’t want one of those right now. The only reason that I would need one of my own is so that I could run to the store or to the post office. Hmmm. . .Maybe it would be cheaper if I just hire 6 muscle bound dudes dressed in loin clothes to carry me to the corner “Quick Stop” on a big ole bed. Since my outings would only take place about once month or so, it might be more cost effective. Heh. . .The vision in my head is too funny. Could you imagine being on your way to work and getting stuck behind a litter? Well, it may be frustrating but at least you’d have something fun to look at as you wait to make your way down the street. However, I doubt your boss would buy the excuse, “Sorry, boss, I was late because I got stuck behind another danged litter this morning. . . Things move slower than my grandma!”

Geez, I just drove the bus right off of the road with that idea. The point that I was trying to get to in paragraph one was really supposed to be about the new Vettii bead that I made on Monday. lol  Here she is. . .She’ll go on sale Friday.

So far this week, I’m making nice progress. I should have several focals, some lampwork charms, lampwork pairs for earrings and quite a few silver cored beads. I haven’t had time to photograph it but if I have time before Friday, I’ll get some pics and post them here.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!!

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She had style, she had class and she sure knew how to handle her men!! Monday, Jun 9 2008

I’m talking about Cleopatra, of course. lol

I was in the studio for the better part of the day yesterday working on a new bead design. Recently I made a set of beads called “Queen of Alexandria.” The set was inspired by the ebook that I was listening to at the time, “Antony and Cleopatra” by Colleen McCullough. After I finished it, I listened to “Memories of Cleopatra” by Margaret George. Whew!! Talk about baby mamma drama! Both books were good though. I think I preferred the one by Colleen McCullough more. Both were absolutely gripping, but “Memoriors of Cleapatra” had a sort of Harlequin Romance feel to it at times. Still yet, I love the places that both authors allowed me to virtually visit.

When I made the first ”Queen of Alexandria” bead set, I liked it, but my artistic vision felt a bit limited by the tiny pallets that I was working on. Yesterday, I was inspired to try something a bit different with the design concept. . .Not quite as much yellow. When I think of Alexandria, I think of yellow white sands, blue green harbors, tropical leaves, ornate gold gilding inspired by Greek design. So, this is what I came up with. . .Of course, the bead had to be very feminine since it celebrates the memory of a Queen.

I also made a couple of sterling cored beads over the weekend. These were fun, but I had to do them “old school”, since i don’t have one of Jim Moore’s tools. That said, I’m still very happy with them. I polished and shined them this morning and they photographed very nicely. I am going to make more of them this week. These beads will fit Pandora, Biagi and Troll bracelets.

 I’m going to do my best to have a lot more beads this Friday than I did last Friday. I’ll be listing them again at 2pm Eastern. I’ll come back and update throughout the week as I have time to do my photography.

Enjoy your week!!!

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