Wednesday, March 28, 2007

pale pink tulips

i have luxury of living next to a city park designed by Frederick Law Olmsted.

'my' backyard park is Highland Park - famous for its collection of lilacs - hundreds and hundreds of lilac bushes. the springtime slopes of the park are planted with flowering bulbs of all kinds. the very first tiny white ones are blooming now - but soon there will be thousands of daffodils & exotic tulips. and then, the magnolias... and the lilac finale.

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pink tulips - highland park - oil on canvas, 36" x 40"

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above, pink tulip beads - cim's rose quartz with white

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white tulip earrings - flameworked beads, freshwater pearls, rose quartz beads & sterling silver

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pink tulip painting detail, and below, the tulips in Highland Park.

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Sunday, March 25, 2007

arizona highways bracelet

a new bracelet.

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arizona highways - handmade flamework beads, turquoise, coral and sterling silver

Friday, March 23, 2007

monet's kitchen

today is the first springish day.

i call it dirt day - the first day that is warm enough to smell wet dirt. believe me, if it's spring here in way upstate new york, it's finally spring.

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monet's kitchen at giverny is blue and yellow.

these beads are made with cim's french blue (a gorgeous, dreamy color) and an oddlot yellow that is some weird filigrana (it has an opaque yellow center with transparent yellow encasing) and finally the beads have transparent pink lobes that were draped and twisted down the sides.

your eyes dont lie... this is fascinating.

Thursday, March 22, 2007

coffee + oil + slate + chocolate + tar

dark silver plum on dark silver plum beads strung with oily black freshwater pearls.

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a bracelet and earring set.

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a close-up of the earrings.

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i really like how these look, like something i scraped up off the hot pavement during summer. all oozy and tarrish.

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the sketchbook page that goes with them.

johnny cash - the man in black.

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

night garden earrings

what again, already, with the night garden beads?

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to match the bracelet - night garden earrings - flameworked beads, freshwater pearls, coral & sterling silver

sorry about the low-qual entry. this house is a plague ship right now. fevers, dizziness, coughing, sore throats, ear and head aches and things to gross to mention.

Sunday, March 18, 2007

another night garden

more night garden beads.

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these are such simple beads - beginner level stuff.
but, the colors are so lush i just keep making and making them.
first a bracelet, then some for matching earrings, now more for a necklace.

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above, are basic instructions drawn out in my bead sketchbook.

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picasso's 'night fishing at antibes' (1939)

Saturday, March 17, 2007

cherry line-up

6 new cherries sitting in a row.

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it was 70 degrees and glorious here last week - but now?
we have about 10" of fluffy snow.

somedays you're the lizard, and somedays you're the porkchop tied to some squealing girl's head.

Friday, March 16, 2007

goldfinch - winged heart

a new winged heart - i hadn't made one in a couple weeks.

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goldfinch winged heart - left over bits of several yellows, pea green & black.

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side view

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from the bottom, and from the top...

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click here to see an amateur tutorial i put together on how i make these.

click here to see a gallery of my winged hearts at bead artists.

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american goldfinch.

Thursday, March 15, 2007

mouse munch

omg, kiki caught a mouse.
she ate the head off and brought me rest - still warm.

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my little pumpkin. i never knew a dog could catch a mouse.

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my first attempt at needle felting. it's fun - kinda like knitting, more like painting. the knitting guild had a mini workshop on it monday night. i have a little pile of poodle fur (from combing their poofey ears) that i am going to needle felt onto something, how queer is that?

not as queer as this...

topo gigio - el rock del quesito (rockin the little cheese)

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

viola! cherry berry earrings

as promised - a pair of swinging cherry berry earrings inspired by vintage cherry bakelite jewelry.

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i got some torch time in yesterday, and made 6 more of these plump little babies - enough for a matching swinging cherry charm bracelet. sure, sooner or later, the cherries will break - but it sure will be gorgeous, and fun, while it lasts.

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cherry poppin' daddies doing 'zoot suit riot'

Sunday, March 11, 2007

cherry pie

new cherries.

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dark red fruit, with leaves of several transparent green glasses over white, with a pea green ruffle on top.

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if all goes according to plan, by tomorrow night, these glassy bits of beady goodness will be hanging from my ears.

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i love bakelite cherry jewelry. i had a bracelet once but it became so valuable i felt silly wearing it and sold it to a collector who nearly peed themselves with happiness.

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Saturday, March 10, 2007

night garden

more with black and raku -
this time using fine raku frit on a black base with lots of dark red and thin stringer bands of copper green.

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i started out making a pair for earrings to match the coral gardens bracelet. (pics posted on 2 march 2007)


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i think i will make even more - enough for a necklace.

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'night garden' 24" x 30" oil pastel on paper

i love my sennelier oil pastels, they are so saturated and buttery, they even smell good. if you use them on a hot summer day they get all soft and gooey, so melty that their pigments stain your fingertips.

Friday, March 09, 2007

rose wreath

edith piaf - la vie en rose (1954)

a bead made on one of my new big hole mandrels. you can get these high quality, fun mandrels from Moretti & More.

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a core of some odd lot yellow that i never knew quite what it was... it has a opaque yellow core with a partially transparent yellow outside. sort of like a filigrana.

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the leaves were made with various transparent greens and pea green over a white core. they were made first, one at a time, and set aside on a graphite marver. each one was gradually reheated and applied to the yellow base bead.

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finally i added a big blob of dark red, shaped the edges like petals and pressed the center with a rivet setting tool.

grace jones - la vie en rose (1983)


(forgive me, i am on a total grace jones jag)

Thursday, March 08, 2007

fairy stones

spring cannot come soon enough.

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fairy stones - a core of CiMs gelly's sty pink that is wrapped in silver foil and then heavily encased with transparent pink.

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the foil is nice and bright. the trick is to never let the flame touch the foil.

apply the foil by rolling the hot, but not too hot, bead onto a small square of the metal leaf. then, carefully hold the bead under the flame while draping the molten transparent glass over the bead. if the flame touches the foil it will melt and bead up, so you must not let the flame touch the foil.

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it's like alchemy that the silver foil turns gold.

it doesn't happen right away, and that's another trick to making these encased foil beads. the foil doesn't change color until you flame anneal the beads. it seems to take this last slow and gentle heating at the end to 'change into' gold. when it happens - it just happnens - it is really cool.

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to get the faceted 'stone' shape i use a cheese knife.

after all the glass is in place, i heat a small area of the bead and press it flat with the side of the blade. do this over and over, and soon the beads will have this chunky, and very reflective, angled surface that enhances the foil sparkle so well.

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psst - if you have not tried CiMs (creation is messy) glass, you absolutely must. it is wonderful. my favorites are gelly's sty and cirrus.

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'the wish' by Lori Earley

Tuesday, March 06, 2007

mad as a hatter

who doesn't love hats?

checkout out this blog called Ulla Benulla - Millinery Inspriation which is devoted to wonderful, fanciful artful hats.

take a look down at this weirdness. it's an old snapshot that was found at an estate sale. definately not sure why i am including it is this blog entry - but it feels like it belongs and i couldn't wait to share it. some party, eh?

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and finally, another hat, this one from crochet goddess anna voog.

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it's so cold here the kids didn't have school today. not a snow day - a cold day. that's why the blog about hats - gotta wear a hat today, it's a health & safely issue.

you can leave your hat on - tom jones version

i torched yesterday - so new beads pics very soon. it felt great, it had been a couple weeks since i had gotten a good fix.

Monday, March 05, 2007

a fabulous gift

j&j went to india for a seven day wedding ...

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and brought me back beautiful pottery beads.

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the story of purchasing them - especially the presentation of a letter from bill clinton by the store owner somewhere in the middle - is an epic, comic saga. thankyou so very much.

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i have been daydreaming about making glass beads to go with them since the minute i opened the package. ooh ahh, maybe, the lotus ones are my favorites.

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so, something with lotus blossoms or buds.

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a photo of lotus buds that jackie took on their trip.

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j&j know how much i love lotus flowers becuase this is one of my paintings from several years ago. it is one of my personal favorites and hangs prominently in my home. it is an oil on canvas and it is quite large, measuring 3' x 4.'

Sunday, March 04, 2007

black & raku

like cinnamon & sugar - a classic combination.

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a trio of beads, just raku frit on black then encased with clear.

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two made into a pair of earrings with freshwater pearls & sterling silver. the tiny left over one got tossed into the orphan bead box - most likely to become a bit in a mexican voodoo pendant.

why would you even ask? of course, it's still snowing here.

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