These are so much fun to make! I’m still refining and experimenting with the shapes and colours (from left to right): All are 1.75″-2.5″
Metallic Moss:This goddess was supposed to be a deep blue colour but i somehow managed to reduce this furnace glass to a weird (but way cool!) metallic green colour. i absolutely did not expect this and hope i can recreate this technique, it’s fantastic!
Purple Rose: I love this furnace glass - it gives a great mottled purple ranging from very light to deep with minimal effort. I even reduced her a bit for some dark interest.
Sandy Gold: I love, love the depth of colour in this one and the odd little streak that developed across her belly - makes her look like she’s been carved from stone. I ran out fuel making her, so popped her in the kiln to keep warm and swapped tanks. But then when i took her out to finish the sculpting i decided i liked her very raw, slightly unformed finish and left her just as she was…
More Grey Goddesses:
i made the one on the left in May (or was it June?) and then tried to replicate the effect using the same glass.
This is a white furnace glass that when reduced develops this awesome streaky grey finish that is also slightly irridescent. I still haven’t figured out how i created the metallic effect on the first one but i did manage to get two other cool looks.
Hard to beleive these are all made pretty much the same way from the exact same glass!
Question i’ve been recently asked: So what does one do with these goddesses?
Well…they can be framed (i think they’d look lovely in a trio of shadow box frames) or for a more personal connection they can be worn as a pendant. Here’s an example:
I haven’t had much time or energy to torch over the past month or so but still managed to squeeze in a few hours with these happy results (from left to right):
Picasso’s Dream #1 & 2: these were (very!) loosely inspired by a tiny magazine clipping of a Picasso etching that i’ve had for years and always wanted to do something with - they’re very moody and i’m quite happy with how they came out. Their names refer to me dreaming i can create something as stunning as a Picasso. (note my improving stringer control…)
Solitudes: I’ve been trying to experiment with relatively monochromatic colour palettes but i’m struggling - it just doesn’t come naturally to me. I love full, bright, lush, riotous combinations of colours (hence my obsession with frit). So while this bead was supposed to be solely black and white, i couldn’t resist adding just a touch of bright yellow and and hints of mottled green…
Spring Rain #4: A custom order from my Spring Rain series - this design is simple yet so versatile and seems to have a very broad appeal. There’s always multiple layers of frit and silver in these so a lot of depth that i’m not sure fully comes across in the photos. The Teenager says this focal reminds him of looking down at coral in the ocean…
This is the question I’m most frequently asked when i mention i make glass beads (after of course, we get past that initial stage of incomprehension where i explain that yes, a person canmake their own glass beads if they so choose, and no, it’s not really like glassblowing).
SO! in honour of that ever repeating question, i decided to make a video demonstrating that process. Ha! easier said than done. Unfortunately life and the whims of a teenage schedule means that video never quite happened.
Instead, thanks to the wonder of modern technology, the internet and lots of people with way more time and video talent than I will ever have, here are some YouTube videos (of other glass beadmakers) demonstrating how they make their glass beads. I’ve explained the process and components on this page: My Glass Beads. Any questions? let me know…
My beads are essentially made just like these - but bigger.Enjoy!
Simple disc bead:
Encased floral:
Sculpted polar bear:
(Yes, someday i will get my own video made and posted… someday…)
It’s long weekend here so instead of gallivanting like i normally do, i decided to stay home and make some beads. I’ve been either sick with the flu or so busy for the past several weeks that i haven’t been able to enjoy much torch time. This weekend has really made up for that though - just got all these out of the kiln and i’m pretty happy with the results.
First, some focals: I’ve had a really positive response to my floral attempts so i’ve decided to practice some more (plus a couple other ideas)… all about 2″ long. From left to right:
Swamp Daisies - (sold) this is a big bead and it really wanted to be made: I ran out of fuel about halfway through, had to pop the bead in the kiln, wait for the torch to cool down so i could change the propane canister and then slowly reheat and finish it off. It’s my ongoing attempt to develop a love for that finicky copper green glass - the verdigris colour is intriguing but i’m still struggling to control the amount of that dark residue it develops. (and yes i know the name isn’t very sexy - if you have a better suggestion let me know)
Blue Lagoon - another encased floral, this time i added the flowers first then the encasing. I had planned to add another layer of encased florals but frankly i ran out of patience. It’s encased with Lauscha clear and while the optical clarity is truly magnificent that clear layer was so stiff it took bloody FOREVER to melt. At several points i was ready to through the whole damn thing (burning molten glass and all) across the room.
Part of the problem is the limits of my torch, part is due to the Lauscha clear being really quite stiff but the other though is just the process of encasing florals - you have to slowly heat the clear layer enough to smooth it out but at the same time not get everything so hot that you soften and distort the layer of flowers and the core just underneath. So you’re constantly twirling and swooping the bead in and out of the flame and slowly, slowly, slowly melting smooth that clear layer - an incredibly tedious process. Somewhat like toasting marshmallows to a delicate golden brown at a bonfire except that each marshmallow takes a freaking HOUR to roast. (ok, i’m done venting. perhaps i’ll just put the Lauscha clear aside until i get a hotter torch). I must say, I have now developed a new respect for the beadmakers who make encased florals for a living… (siiigh, i must really not have cooked it properly as it has slowly cracked in half over the last few weeks)
Summer Garden - This is me playing to create something cute and fun and completely unlike my usual stuff (do i even have a usual yet?). The Teenager declared this one as his fave while making sure to gruffly add the qualifier that of course he “…doesn’t like flowers but it’s still nice.”
Buttercup Swirl- Again something a little different and summery with some encased stringer spirals. Those spirals were supposed to be a pale pastel yellow but came out bright buttercup yellow instead. Now i could go into a rant about paying a premium for an “odd lot” glass that looks soft and creamy in the store ad but then strikes to a colour pretty darned close to something i could have bought for a 1/3 the price but i won’t. cuz i’m done venting. so there.
ZigZag - this is a weird one. i was inspired by a room in a decorating mag designed with these colours - it’s odd but i like it.
And here is a custom order i’m working on - pregnant goddesses. These were too much fun to make. As i was sculpting each one it reminded me of the last few months of my pregnancy and how alternately excited /scared /annoyed /exhausted I was as i heaved myself around with that huge belly.
Here’s a side view - they’re not just a little bit pregnant - these babes are nine plus months and ready to deliver at any moment! (i think that grey goddess is having triplets…)
And finally a rear view - cuz no pregnancy ever passes without this extremely important question: “Honey, does my butt look big?”
I’m back on the Teenager’s computer again as the kitten Busta finally finished chewing through my laptop’s power cable. Now doesn’t having a cat usually mean no pets chewing random valuables around the house??? i might as well have a dog.
Soooo… until i decide whether to replace the power cable and harddrive on my laptop vs buying a new one, i’m trapped in that teenage hellhole again… damn cat. Anyhoo, i did manage to backup most of my pics from the last meltdown so found a few more from February and March. (I didn’t torch much in April/May as I had the flu.)
These random beads were for a long bead exchange on LE. They’re all about 2-2.5″ long (except the purple one) which isn’t huge for me at all - my beads are normally 1.5-2.5″ long. I think the winner made a bead something like 11″ long. not sure what one would do with a massive (and fragile!) piece of glass like that… I wanted to try bigger but about 4″ is my max. anything larger seems to be beyond the limits of my current torch - i can get there but it takes forever to melt all that glass and the results are seriously ugly.
This Chocolate Goddess was part of a gift package for Valentine’s Day…
My sister snapped up this Winter Garden pendant as soon as it came out of the kiln… Note my improved stringer control - that Corina stringer DVD has really helped.
I’ve been torching all weekend and have some new beadies cooling in the kiln right now. I’ll try to post them tomorrow…
they’re stunningly, frivolously, fabulously beautiful
and all my favourite colours.
i had dreams about them. seriously.
showcased with a fantastic pencil skirt and an airy white shirt…
watching them dangle flirtatiously from the bottom of my jeans…
thinking about how they’d sparkle in the lights while i made my moves on the dance floor.
i even planned to make big beads in colours to match -
yes, another one of my ever so rare sets!
think about it…
just sitting there on a patio with my girlz
sipping a martini
enjoying the spring weather,
people watching
and chatting…
catching up on our lives.
and then i’d look down…
and i’d see my own fabulous beads
in all my fave colours
strung into a stunning necklace
nestled in the collar of my crisp white linen shirt (ok, maybe not so crisp since this would probably be after work)
glistening in the evening sun.
and then i’d look further down
down the looonnng, lean expanse
of my blue jean covered legs… (umm, ok i admit it. there may be a slight exaggeration here on the long part…)
(uuuhh, ok yeah. perhaps a bit on the lean part too…)
and see my FAB-ulous new shoes
and my freshly manicured (and colour coordinated!) toes.
and i would be so caught by all this combined beauty
i would just have to breathe: “oooooooooooooooooooo”
and my girlz would catch the same view and also breathe: “oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo those shoooeeesss…”
and then the other women passing…
at least the ones who understand
that since comfort and cute can’t always be combined
cute should win - most of the time
…only within the context of shoes, of course. (smirk)
…they would also look down
and be caught in the colourful kaleidoscope
of my stunningly beautiful fab shoe/custom bead combo.
and they’d lift their eyes to mine and smile
and say: “ooooooooooooooo… nice shoooooeeeessss!”
“…and nice beads tooooo!”
And i’d contentedly sip my girlie martini
or maybe Bellini cuz that would definitely match!
And know just for that one moment
that my lampworking skillz
and my fashionista street cred were perfectly aligned in my world.
p.s. Can you tell i can’t wait for the new Sex and the City Movie to open?
(And no, i didn’t buy them, i stocked up on glass instead. choices. sigh)
Nope, not beads this time - a cat. Got him this week from a friend’s co-worker who’s new roommate is allergic to cats. She sent this photo around and as soon as i saw that face i was sold. i mean, how could i resist? just look at that superbly, self-satisfied smile! I actually didn’t want another cat but the Teenager has been bugging me about getting a second one since last fall (when we lost our other cat Couche-couche) so i caved. (The cat in the background is his sister - she went to live in the country.)
He’s now named Balthazar (the Teenager is currently reading Romeo & Juliet at school), Bali for short. When my son suggested that name my first comment was “wait, you want to name the cat after a demon???” Can you tell i’ve been watching waaaaay too much Space TV?
Anyhoo, this new cat is HUGE, about the size of a small dog even though he’s barely a year old. And a typical cat in the fickle way he adapted to us within a day or so and began alternately demanding belly rubs/back scratches and then completely ignoring us.
Bali’s a pleasant change though, since our current cat Busta is the most un-cat-like cat we’ve ever owned - so much so, we actually consider him our pet dog. When Bali sat down and started grooming himself, the Teenager and i were both so shocked we burst out laughing. Why? because Busta just… well… doesn’t. And yes, he smells bad. All the time. Our old cat used to have to hold him down and groom him (probably cuz he couldn’t take the smell either) and we’re hoping Bali takes up those responsibilities as well. Bathing a cat is NOT fun.
As soon as Bali stops hissing at Busta (who is just beyond thrilled to have a new playmate) i’ll get a pic of them together to post…
I found these two quirky items from a UK ceramics artist while randomly surfing etsy (click either picture to get to her store).
They are tiny, handmade and absolute perfection. The base is offwhite clay with embedded glass (you knew there’d have to glass included, right?) and gold and platinum highlights.
I had the teal pendant custom made and then found the purple brooch in her store - i LOVE purple! I’ll need to wire the pendant or maybe make a necklace for it. i think i’ll wear the brooch to an event i’m attending tonite.
I keep picking them up to look at them ‘cuz they’re just too perfectly precious…
My sister just sent me this amazing video of someone hiking through this gorge. While I’m not scared of heights and love a good thrill, this definitely falls under the category of things i love life way too much to ever try!
A few times during the video i actually held my breath as the person made their way across particularly precarious parts of the path…
Here are some of the things i’ve worked on over the last couple months:
Verdigris Swirl: This was a custom order for a green pendant. Took me forever because i had the hardest time developing a great design in green (other than lime and olive, it’s not one of my fave colours). I finally won my battle with that quirky hand-pulled glass colour copper green and this was the happy result. The verdigris finish is a natural reaction of this glass. (sold)
Modern Ethnic: This pendant is based on a designer room i saw in a home decorating magazine. I really love the contrast between the smooth modernity of the red glass vs. the rustic look and feel of the ivory. (sold)
Tribal: This pendant was an experiment in black and white - the white glass stripes reacted heavily with the silver laden black and developed a lovely antique patina. A very cool and completely unexpected reaction. (sold)
Some additional ideas in development…
The first two were efforts to work with my Kalera long and lean bead press. I have a bunch of presses i never use, so i figured it’s time i tried them out. I’m sort of on the fence about pressed beads. On the one hand (once you figure out how to use them), they offer the opportunity to make consistently formed and sized beads in shapes that are near impossible to create by hand. On the other hand i feel like the design is a bit constricted by the shape. Now is that my fault or the limitations of press? hmmm…
i think i’ll etch them… a frosted finish might highlight the shape better…
That last one on the right is my usual handshaping with a 23k gold stringer decoration (love this and will have to make more!)… i think i’ll always have a preference for hand-shaped beads. What do you think?
These organic look beads are copper green with fine silver wire, raku and/or green adventurine frit - which sure spreads a lot on copper green. This is one of those cases where less is much, much, more. They’re small (for me) and feel just great in the hand… like smooth brightly coloured pebbles.
