It's Winter again...and it's really COLD!

It truly is winter....again. You always know it will be coming and yet, somehow, I am never quite prepared for how really cold North Dakota can get in the winter.

I needed a new picture for my website, so with some help from the season I came up with this one...yep, I went out and gathered a bowl of snow for the photo.

I spent a week away from home. It was so much fun to get out of town and just hang out, but as always, it's nice to come back home.

Let's see, I've made a few beads, finished a necklace for a customer and had a small group of teenagers over to visit the glassy space. I'm always awkward having people watch me...I'd rather be the watcher than the one being watched.

No Snow Yet!

It's hard to believe we have no snow yet. I am not complaining and I am sure that it won't last long, but for now I am enjoying the days. I took the pick-up down to the body shop to get a new window and decided to walk home. I took the long way around as I did some banking, made an appointment to get my hair cut and just enjoyed being out in November without snow boots.

I had visitors to my studio last week. I have to admit that I don't always find it easy to let people into my work area. I'm beginning to feel a bit more confident in my ability to make a bead, so it's not quite so scary to have people see the good, the bad and the ugly....

Just a couple of pics today and then I must get some beads measured and listed...

Not a bead, but a bed.

My sister has been storing this for years and years at my house.
It's now been passed on to me, and I have made a decision about it. But first, a bit of history. My family homesteaded in southern Colorado, right along the Santa Fe Trail. I grew up going to the ranch and the memories of my granddad will always be strongly linked to horses and cattle and his fiddle. The ranch was his haven and I would bet that he traveled every possible inch over the years. This bed frame was one of the things that he found out there and according to my sister, he believed it had been left behind when someone needed to lighten their load. I'll do some work on it and give it a coat of paint, and then it will go into the back yard and I will plant a climbing rose in front and the frame can become a trellis. It will go near the wind chime that reminds of us of Jeff's mom who was taken too soon, but so loved the sound of the chime that her brother had made.





Okay, one set of beads. I am hoping that as we approach fall and the days begin to get shorter and cooler that I will find it easier to be inside on the torch rather than playing outside.

Spring is Finally Here...maybe

I've been seeing a few tulips blooming here and there, but still no lilacs or iris yet. But of course, the dandelions are out in full force.


Yep, I still have more mowing to do, but I have to go fill gas cans and I'm waiting to see if I can get Jeff to do it for me.
After the long winter, I am having a hard time convincing myself that I should be in the studio. I'm thinking I might have to put aside the glass for awhile and do some other projects that I can take out and work on in the sunshine.

But...here's a few things.

and the cuff I finally finished.

I Ordered More Glass

Eeeps! As if I really needed any more glass, but when I saw this bead done by my friend, Trish, from SunDaisyGlass ,I was hooked. She's got an Etsy shop and an Artfire shop, and you might want to check out her pretties.

But back to the story...I saw this bead and the glass intrigued me beyond words. The colors are amazing and the glass is still fairly new. It is Gaffer glass which is a company based in New Zealand. Don't you think it is just an amazing glass? I'm now waiting for new glass...eeps.


I've also been playing lately. I am so not someone who makes sculptural glass. It's not something I find very easy and it's not even something I enjoy most of the time. I think it's just the silliness of spring, but I've just been playing with little critters.

And of course, some that are flowers...

Taking Care of Business

Are you like me? I love the creating part, but can quickly get sidetracked when working on photographing, listing, paper work. Any excuse will work if it means I can put off editing pics or trying to write descriptions.

And eventually, it all catches up and I have to get things done. So I've taken pictures, edited, done some listings and cleared off the top of my desk. Now I can get back to the fun stuff without feeling guilty.
















There is such a difference in feeling. The flowers are beads, but these dark and brooding ones are cabachons that I want to use in cuffs. I have gotten so addicted to making the cuffs. I'll get some pictures of a couple more posted soon.

What I do when I'm not playing with fire

Making beads is a huge part of what I do, but I also like to play with other things that involve the beads. I don't profess to be anything more than an amateur when it comes to making jewelry, but I enjoy it and find it very relaxing.

I used one of my florals in this necklace. It's very feminine, don't you think?

This is my first try at making a seed bead cuff. My friend, Nicole, known to many as Beadwright
has always inspired and encouraged me to play with the seed beads. Then there is Vicki of Orion Designs who inspires me to mix things up. Her mixed media pieces remind me to combine things to see what happens. The cuff still needs to be finished, but I learned a lot from this one and am excited to start another one.

And something that doesn't have any of my lampwork beads

2009...Ready or Not

2008 was definitely a year of ups and downs for me. I have no idea what 2009 will bring, but I am excited to see where I go with the creativity that is just a part of who I am. I know that the glass will always be a part of what I do, but there are so many things that intrigue me that I just want to try.

I think that I will spend the summer roaming the state checking out all the talent I know exists in my home state. Sounds much more fun that spending the summer recuperating from surgery like I did in 2008, don't you think?

Here's something you won't see often from me. But these were beads that I just had to see as soon as possible. Put on my coat, boots and gloves and trudged through a couple more inches of new snow at 2:00 in the morning over to the studio because I just had to see just the one bead. Teehee...such disappointment it was. Using sterling silver wire to form the initial D and using it in a bead worked. Might have been better if I hadn't put it in upside down. The raku up and disappeared as well. But on the positive note, I can use sterling wire instead of fine silver or copper.
It seems like the dead of winter is when I want to make flower beads, so I tried a few iris.

Sizing up Beads...

One of the comments was a question about if I had beads with 2.5mm holes. I had to look at my handy little chart to see where that fit in the mandrel range.

I'm not sure if this is just a United States thing, but why can't everything be consistent? I buy glass rods that are approx 5-7mm in diameter but 13 inches in length.
We give you the sizes of the beads like this....15x17mm but give you the hole size by telling you the mandrel is 5/64".
Widget Supply sent me a business card with my order. It's become dog-eared with use because on the back it has the inch and millimeter equivalent chart.

In making beads you will find these to be some of the common mandrel sizes.
1/16" 1.588mm
5/64" 1.9844mm
3/32" 2.381mm
1/8" 3.175mm
5/32" 3.969mm
3/16" 4.762mm
The mandrels are coated with a bead release which makes the hole size bigger, but how much bigger depends on how thick the coat of bead release is.

So to answer the question, I would say that if you are looking for beads with a hole size of 2.5mm you should look for beads made on 3/32" mandrel. Beads made one at a time by hand will always have variances from bead to bead, but that is the beauty of handmade lampwork beads...

Brrr....

They say a winter storm is coming tomorrow. Brrr...blizzards are just not fun. We went to the grocery store and stocked up on all the necessary things like dry roasted peanuts and butter mints. Let it snow...I am ready!

Now that winter is truly here, it seems like all I can think about is flowers. Every time I sit down at the torch lately it's been flowers and not even normal(for me) flowers. It's all part of the process....I see something in my head and then have to figure out how to make the glass do what I see.
These are the first and don't quite make it. They are too abstract, way too top heavy and even the colors are just "off" from what is in my mind. But I do like the etching and I like the color changes on the bases.



This bead still sits in the "to list" drawer. I pull it out with every intention of listing it for sale and then for some reason, I just don't. First, it's been impossible to get a really true picture of the colors and metallic stringer. Secondly, I just don't know...so I set it aside and try again to get a good picture and it goes back into the "to list" drawer.

Opinions

Are you affected by other's opinions of your creations? I honestly never thought that it was a big deal to me. Until....this set of beads I made.



Black and white rolled in some pixie dust to give them a bit of gleam. Same dust really shows up differently on the black and white, but I kind of liked them. Then Jeff said the white ones were so pretty, but the black ones look like a bad spray paint job. Now I just can't look at them without wanting to get out the spray paint and "fix" them.



Don't forget the Gift Guide...some talented artisans and some beautiful pieces. Just click on this banner to check it out. And tied in to the gift guide is a giveaway, so click on it to get all the details.

Busy, busy....

I entered a contest with one of my implosions. It got 2nd place in the intermediate class, and I am thrilled. Plus I get free glass...life is good!

Want to see the other entries?

http://artistryinglass.on.ca/newsletter/contestwinners.html

I have been out in the studio. I have been spending time making beads in the morning, then as the kiln is annealing the beads, I am working on fusing projects that will go in the kiln once it has cooled down from bead duty. By morning, it has cooled down enough to unload the fused pieces so I can start all over again. I only have a 13" shelf so you can imagine that I don't get too many fused pieces in there at the same time.

I made a bunch of leaves for a fall exchange with some other glass artists. I love the exchanges~I get some of the most amazing glass pieces in trade. Now I haven't technically signed up because I wasn't sure how I'd be feeling, but I think I'm good. These leaves are all about 2 inches long.

Okay, so I haven't started selling the fused stuff yet! But I am finally getting a few pieces done. Tomorrow, I will hopefully have some nightlights to show you. I had these nightlights from back in the stained glass days, so they "should" work well for the fused ones. We'll see tomorrow.

And, I just got a new tool today. It will punch holes in metal in 7 different sizes from 3/32" up to 9/32". I want to try and use copper with some of my beads, so we will see what I can come up with.

Isn't this an interesting bead? I know I made it, but it's still one of those beads that just intrigue me~trying to figure out a way to use it so I won't lose the depth.

New Beads in May

It's May and it SNOWED! Even for North Dakota, that is strange: very, very strange
I've not been doing very well at getting things listed lately. I am just not any good at writing descriptions. I mean there's a picture of the bead, what else can I say about it? Naming beads? HAH!
But here are some pictures of the beads I am going to try and get listed soon, but if you see something you like, you can always let me know and save me the frustration of trying to
describe it!

I've added a widget...

I've added a new widget. I don't know who named these things, but I smile every time. Reminds me of thingamajigs and whatchamacallits.

I was asked about a newsletter to let people know when I have new beads. I found FeedBlitz, and am going to give it a try and see how it works. So if you are interested in getting information by email about my newest beads, go to the widget and sign up.

I'm still waiting for spring, but I know it's coming. The tulips and iris are beginning to come up and I am actually seeing a bit of green in the yard. And how nice it is!!

Glass is still fascinating to me, and I have begun to explore the world of fusing. It's totally different, yet still captures my curiousity. I think the fusing will become a combination of torch and kiln and I'm excited to see what I can do with it. This little soap dish is made from sheet glass with the addition of petals and leaves that I made in the flame from rods of glass.

And of course, I am still making beads...it will always be my first love when it comes to glass.

Moods....

It's very strange how my mood affects the beads that I make. Maybe it isn't really a "mood", as much as a feeling at any given moment. The beads that happen may happen just because of a thought, a memory or maybe a song on the radio.

It's not a day, but a moment. On the same day, there may be a dark organic bead sitting alongside of a light and airy floral...something like this.

and this may come out of the kiln
on the same day.

It's a whole different look and feel, but that's just how it happens when I go out and let the glass and whatever I'm "feeling" guide my choices.

This Is So Exciting!!

I love making beads, but there is nothing quite as exciting as to see the beads become "something". Since joining etsyBead, I've "met" some wonderful jewelry designers, including Brenda who bought some beads and made THIS...

Isn't it just gorgeous? I have to admit I almost didn't recognize the beads I had made because they look different when they are dressed up. Check out her other work at :

http://brenda45.etsy.com