watermelon blossom

another floral bead.

straw yellow base rolled in homemade blend of green frit with a ruffle of rubino oro.

ullabenulla

look! i'm on ullabenulla.

it's a beautiful stylish blog, without it i would never have thought to paint that crusty old dress form. her writing & imagery is always very inspiring and engaging. and her jewelry is pure loot.

i also read a fascinating site called japonisme.

this visually enlightening blog is all about the japanese influence on 19th century western art. without her visual treats the dress form would absolutely not look quite the way it looks. graphically it is very pared down from my usual way of painting. it's all about the silhouettes...

thanks ulla & lily.

take a moment today to thank the people who inspire you.

blossoms

new beads - finally got them off their mandrels, soaked & reamed.

lots of fun with pea green commercial filigrana rods and messy gelly's sty pink.

this one is cim's rose quartz rolled in aventurine frit and encased with pale periwinkle transparent.

here's a page from my sketchbook of blossom ideas.

more of them tomorrow - tonight i am pooped. why so tired? it's the height of spring junking season - we filled the car today with all kinds of magnificent loot. i am not interested in things that are new, give me something that was someone else's.

there is no need for anything new. i love what others waste, what they don't want, what they have forgotton and left behind - what they sell me for small change. i make my living from it and live luxuriously hip deep in it.

devandra banhart - a ribbon

when in doubt - etch

whenever i have a really ugly bead - i etch it.

these two were hideous examples of dichroic gone wrong - and look at them now. they have this eerie inner glow that is quite marvelous.

this is what you use. most of the time you can turn that ugly duckling into a swan, and sometimes you will create an even uglier bead. which is always good for a laugh.

flea market photo

this 25 cent snapshot came home with us from the city flea market on sunday.

the color is all nicely faded. don't miss the dog, he's there on the left.

i finally got to make beads today - and it felt great. lots of big blossoms and party dresses.

spider cider

i have nothing artsy to blog about.
but, el marjax has a new favorite band...

man man - spider cider

she went to see them the other night - they opened for modest mouse.

plasma ruffles

ok go - do what you want (wall paper version)

el marjax sent me this hysterical, visually amazing video.

plasma ruffles - red on red beads.

dark purple red, red, raku frit, copper green frit & silver foil

a rare bead for me - i used a press. it's a zoozii kalera long & lean, reheated and the edge ruffled.

painted dress form

i needed a mannequin for my co-op space.

after a few weeks of searching i found a dirty & crusty dress form at an estate sale. it had a great ornate cast iron base and wooden finial, but the body was stained and gross.

so i got out the acrylic paints yesterday and had at it.

it is so hard to photograph metallic paint.

i never get tired of painting black birds.

the beautiful iron base - next to a cement sheep. every kitchen needs one.

these photos were taken in my studio's kitchen in front of my favorite cupboard. i added the primative cat and bird, well aged, painted wooden garden ornaments. i just nailed them on with little tiny brass nails. the kitchen is a nice sunny room.

the inside of the cupboard was filthy when i found it - so it was scrubbed and painted a dewey pale pea green.

what about my new co-op space? i have a case of loose beads and jewelry there at wholesale prices.

also, a rack of great clothing from sales. stuff like flax, blue fish and other nice linen artsy stuff, cashmere sweaters, handknits, leather bags. it is in 'antiques & old lace' on university avenue, near culver road, in front of pomodoro restaurant. oh, and i also have lots, and lots of cookbooks there for sale.

studio tour - living room

i am on the way to my studio.

one of the advantages to living in nowheresville is that urban real estate is cheap.
so, about 10 years ago i bought a second home, a few blocks from home, to use as my studio.
it was cheaper than a nice car.

it is my fortress of solitude.
it is full of my (beloved) crap.

these are photos of the living room. yep, that's 10 feet of tufted aged sage velvet 60's sofa.

the view from the sofa - where i sit and draw while watching tv.

everything in this house was bought at estate and garage sales.
i even get almost all of my art supplies & equipment this way.

brushes, stereo, antler and chair...

used cinnabar on an antique chinese scroll painting table - yes, i bought it at auction, in pieces.

a big wooden bowl of amber, citrines, sticks, a carved wooden apple core, antlers, teeth etc...

now you see why i need the studio? my better half gets nervous around all my accumulated weirdness.

ornate pod

i love it - but whatever will i do with it? it is way too fragile to wear.

the leaves were made off mandrel and applied at the end. they were made of moretti avocado with raku & amber frit.

the body of the bead was wound with cim's new color 'pate' and rolled in silver foil.

lastly, some detail dots of intense black and dark ivory were added on the pod petals.

it almost looks like some sort of larva. which makes me think i might make some cocoons.

a quick look on google image yielded these cocoons. they even look like a set of beads, don't they?

black dewdrops

another pair for earrings.

black rolled in silver foil with clear droplets.

yellow moss

a pair for earrings.

opalino yellow rolled in silver foil then wrapped with hair-like intense black stringers.

nice reactions - what could be simpler? just let chemistry & the glass do all the detail work.

it does not get any weirder than this - be sure and watch until the clown starts dancing with the barbie...

peggy lee - sometime in the 60's - what kind of fool am i?

turtle blossoms

a small set of new beads.

these beads were inspired by this little ancient glass bowl (below) that is in the permanent collection at the corning museum of glass.

i had planned to press in each dot with a spherical tool of some sort, but couldn't find just the right implement. what i did come up with was a metal tool for counter sinking nails that turned each dot into a flower-like shape.

after making the base bead i placed a large blop of dark purple red on the bead and pressed it with the tool - very simple.

the base beads are copper green with dark ivory dots melted in.

i know, they hardly look like their inspiration. as soon as i find the perfect tool there will be a set of etched ivory on ivory beads that look a lot more like that perfect tiny bowl.

tomorrow - more beads from monday's torch session.

yertle the turtle (dr seuss) performed by the red hot chili peppers