Thursday, November 30, 2006

pressing my luck...

so, i still have not bought my own zoozii long&lean kalera press.
yes, still mooching off one of the other nice bead ladies at morefire.

maybe i am hoping for a bit of holiday magic?
never mind gold under the x-mas tree - this year i'd like some brass, thankyou.

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'plasma' (front & side views) - opaque red, copper green, silver foil & raku

this color combination is my current favorite -
i call it gauguin, it reminds me off all his tahitian beauties and their mangos.

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'gauguin earrings' - orange delight, carrot red & raku

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'ocher landscape' - ocher, dark ivory, transparent topaz & raku

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

son of mexican refried voodoo

more 'mexican voodoo' pendants.
creepy fun for the holidays

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part of a flurry of holiday sale production...

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i love making these little monsters.
they are all layered up on a sterling head pin with a handcarved bone skull, one of my stray flameworked beads and then some freshwater pearls and semi-precious stones. finish it off with a waxed linen cord.

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to see more of these, and learn their stupid names,
please visit them at the Bead Artists Gallery site.

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Monday, November 27, 2006

big big beads

sometimes you just gotta see how much glass you can get on a mandrel.
these 2 focal beads are huge.

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'flaming carrot' - orange, carrot red & raku

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'oaxaca' - turquoise, special dark red, red & orange

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

winged hearts

my latest bead fixation...
hearts with wings.

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"harlequin" black, white & carrot red

these are huge focals, perfect for pendants.

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"blackbird dream" dark silver plum, dark ivory, aventurine chunk & light transparent blue

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"gray lady" pastel light gray, steel gray transparent & aventurine stringers

last weekend's show "eggs and art" (a holiday art & craft sale/brunch at Java's public market cafe) was a lovely success. thank you to everyone who came out, in the sleet, for waffles and beads...

Friday, November 17, 2006

chasing my tail

running around getting ready for 3 consecutive weekends of bead & jewelry selling.

Sunday, November 12, 2006

barbie stringers

unleash your inner 'barbie' by making a rubino oro encased aventurine stringer.

it's not too hard. punty up a little chunk of aventurine (goldstone) encase it all over with rubino oro then heat and pull it into a stringer. the trick is to never, never let the flame touch the goldstone or the sparkles will burn up - always work it outside the flame until it is encased.

they are so pink and full of sparkles!

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here's one used to decorate the edges of a dark silver plum claw.
it's a princess goth girl kinda thing.

myspace layouts, myspace codes, glitter graphics

Saturday, November 11, 2006

total eclipse of the heart

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another 'end of the day' bead. made with a bit of just about everything - black, an encased chunk of gold aventurine, dark ivory, a bit of silver leaf, some raku frit, opalino yellow, dark silver plum and with opalino carnelian wings.


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another large focal winged heart. made with one of my favorite color combinations - raku on coral.

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

seaweed

these beads remind me of the beachs in north carolina - where i ache to be. maybe i could get rid of my endless case of the sniffles.

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'seaweed'

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dark ivory, silver leaf & twisties.
made with the same zoozii kalera long & lean press that i was so generously allowed to use last week, and was offered again this week.

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after pressing the beads i rewarmed an edge and ruffled it with my tweezers.

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

frankfurter sandwiches

i had a wonderful afternoon at the torch yesterday. the 'babes' are outta the kiln and soaking in a bowl downstairs. so, in the meantime, enjoy some 'frankfurter sandwiches' from 1929.

Friday, November 03, 2006

opalino carnelian blossom

this blossom is made from my favorite color of glass - opalino carnelian.

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there is some encased aventurine sparkling in there and the ruffle is transparent rainbow red.

Thursday, November 02, 2006

pitiful kaleras

someone i was torching with, on monday, was gracious and generous - she let me try her zoozii kalera long & lean press, thank you.

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yes, i gave into press temptation...
and these are my pitiful first pressed beads.
yet, there is something about them i love, the painterly surface.
maybe i will have to get a press...

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i also made this bead with the press.
because i wound entirely too much glass onto the mandrel it mushed out the sides.
with a blade i hand shaped the edges - this technique may have a future.

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'maple leaf charm'
a dark ivory core with transparent red and dark special brown, encased in striking electric yellow and then the bottom rolled in fine raku frit.