love songs

you think i would have made enough winged hearts by now...

'the jester' - transparent red, opalino carnelian & hand pulled aventurine stringers made with transparent orange glass over goldstone chunks.

&

'darkwing' - light silver plum wings with a heart made of end of the day bits (opalino carnelian, (ask) violet nights and (ask) caramel apple & a bit of silver foil.

soon, some beads made with the new arrow springs kugler (ask) glass called 'caramel apple.'

if you would like to see a whole photo collection of my hearts, click here.

happy new year!

i celebrated the new year with an afternoon of beadmaking and a big pot of white bean soup.
what could be better?

new year's day is always a day to relax and get ready for a whole new year. a day to think about where you're going and forget the insanity of where you have been during the holiday season.
it's a pause - to gather your thoughts.

ready, set, go!
new years eve is 'ready'
new years day is 'set'
and today - go!

i just found this posted on utube. it's a movie of margaret storms (my mango) opening at an 'instore' for pete yorn. the quality is pretty shabby - but hey - that's my girl.

arizona highways

as a kid i loved the big glossy picture magazine 'arizona highways.'

when it came to naming this set of beads that lovely old publication just popped into my head.

'arizona highways' - red tile ocher, dark ivory, copper green, silver foil & silvered ivory stringer.

sometimes, when you don't know what to make at the torch, just grab 3 rods that look great together and have at it.

perfect, perfect pink

my girl asked me to make her a present of a 'big pink bead.'

"baby girl" - gelly's sty pink by messy glass, transparent pink & aventurine stringer.

why name this post 'perfect, perfect pink?' because, this glass is the most amazing pink. it's soft, yet vibrant and not at all fussy.

violet nights

i bought some of that new glass from arrow springs called violet nights, i purchased it thru moretti & more.

just look how it reacts with silver foil!

it looks like moss on a rock, ok an outerspace rock... or an aerial photograph of a swamp.

i haven't had this much fun with a chemical reaction since dark silver plum met opalino yellow.

cupcakes & hamtitties

no time for beads today -
it's time to get ready for frank deblase's 40th birthday party!

240 freshly frosted homemade cupcakes.

chocolate with chocolate frosting and chocolate cherry 'decorations'

egg nog cupcakes with creamcheese whiskey frosting and caramel 'decorations'

big poppa models 2 of the hams.

encased silver foil

armed with a new booklet of fine silver foil, i made some beads with encased metal inside.

left to right:
'fairy stone' transparent light pink core, foil & transparent pink encasing
'winter sky' light gray core, foil & transparent steel gray encasing
& 'radioactive' carrot red core, copper green & red twistie, foil & clear encasing

the trick is to not burn off the foil.

just roll the foil onto the 'tacky hot' bead.
then quickly encase the foil without ever letting the flame touch, or overheat, the silver -
keep the bead beneath the flame and lay the molten glass onto the bead's surface from above.

* note that the silver 'turned' to gold in the pink bead - a really nice effect. why? i am guessing because there is gold in the pink glass *

to see close ups of these beads, please visit their page at the bead artists gallery.

it's theremin season!

i am in a full holiday swivet, so again, no bead blogging today...
i have to go to the theremin store and get miss baby a nice fat christmas theremin.



no, she never reads her mother's blog.
but in case you see her, congratulate her on being accepted to her 1st choice of schools.
Alfred University's school of Art & Design - and her dean's scholarship.

and don't let it slip about the theremin.

vahine no te vi

oh well, i was going to do a great post today...
about encasing fine silver foil and vintage italian glass ashtrays...
but, the beads are still soaking in a bowl in the kitchen and the ashtrays are unphotographed.

i did have a great time making a glass order from moretti & more

and thinking about gauguin

paul gauguin - vahine no te vi / woman of the mango, 1892

inspired by this painting, i bought some rich purple glass from arrow springs called violet nights, it is made by kugler (available thru moretti and more).

christmas is what you make of it.

more gauguin, please

i just love this color combination and am not a bit tired of it yet.



raku frit (size 2) with various reds, oranges & yellows.



'gauguin babydolls'

just messing around making more pairs of beads for earrings.
i am nearly sold out of earrings. so, there is an urgent need to make more so there will be presents.

winged hearts - a quick how-to

winged hearts are currently my favorite bead to make.

i made some scans of pages from my bead sketchbook that were notes to myself on how i make a winged heart. yes, i could easily forget a couple months from now when i am on to the next favorite bead.



it is very important to keep a record of what you are doing in the studio. i have kept a drawing and painting sketchbook since i was in high school. (and no, it's not scribed onto ancient clay tablets)

a sketchbook helps crystallize concepts, inspires you when you're flat and eventually you will have a record of beads that you may have sold and scads of techniques you have learned.

for beading, a spiral bound book works exceptionally well. you can lay it flat on the bench. also, you can fold it over so a minimal amount of paper is exposed to flying bits of aggressive rod ends.

my bead books (i have filled one and half of a second) came from an art supply store and measure 6" x 6." a nice size that fits in my glass tool box.

another end of the day heart

this week's last bead of the day.



"copper beech" winged heart - bits of left over rods (mostly special dark brown & red tile ocher) handpulled aventurine stringers and some some stray dark ivory frit