Thursday, January 24, 2019

Donuts or Cherrios?




























A new bead style - like the tiniest donut or the biggest Cherrio.
Made off mandrel with swirls of color and frit.

These are for a bracelet class at the local bead store Let's Bead.

Starting with a piece of 5mm round leather and a magnetic clasp these are for piling on with other fun components to create your unique bracelet.



Wednesday, January 23, 2019

Tricks With Shorts - or - How to Make Marbled Beads

































Grab all your turquoise glass rod shorts and your nippers.
Light turquoise, dark, smurfy, atlantis, rainforest, copper green, opal, all of 'em and some sky blue too.






























Chunk them up with your nippers.
I use a plastic colander to catch them, otherwise they go rocketing everywhere.





























I keep them in a small, plastic frit jar.























To make the beads just pick up a chunky chip with the blob at the end of a rod of turquoise.
I carefully introduce them into the flame by sneaking the chip in around the backside of the blob.

After you've melted in a bunch of different hued chips, and have a nice size gather going, just wrap the whole mess on to your heated mandrel. The more you stretch out the gather to wind it the more marbled the bead will be.

Obviously this works great with all sorts of colors and mixes of colors.

I always have a jar of turquoise on hand, as well as a nice mix of corals. Greens are good, a mix of greys and browns, I'm thinking of making a mix of black, dark silver plum and ivories.
































(some of these also have some frit too)

Wednesday, January 16, 2019

Devil Baby


































The last oil painting of 2018 - 'Devil Baby.'
oil on board 4"x6" unframed

This is the one I am keeping.

Friday, January 11, 2019

Winter's Light






























This afternoon in my studio.

Tuesday, January 08, 2019

Red Apples & White Clover






















"Red Apples & White Clover"
oil on canvas 20"x20"
2018

Sunday, January 06, 2019

Because I Needed Bead Release...





























What glass beadmaker out there has not done this?
I needed bead release.
So I got all this beautiful, new glass because I wanted the free shipping deal.
The evil minimum order for free shipping.

But look at these amazing greens from Cims.






























It's like spring in January, right?
And 'Spooky" might finally be the translucent white that won't disappear while working.






























(Dr.) Who know what I need this fabulous new color for.