Wednesday, May 31, 2006 Musings.......

Lots of eye candy today of the "reactive glass" that I've been experimenting with....my glass hasn't been about reactive metals and frit to create different colors and effects. Other artists create beautiful beads using these materials and glass and I've been a great admirer of them - my glass has been about understand each color of glass in it's unaltered state and understanding how it flows in the flame and how it "holds" its form. Understanding the glass has allowed me to choose the right glass for whatever I was trying to create. So, for example, ivory can be very difficult to use in sculpture - a few years ago when I started to make my glass hands, I found ivory glass wasn't the color to use - it was too "floppy" in the flame. Black, Ink blue, cobalt glass held it's shape much better and I could sculpt with these colors much easier than ivory. As I've increased in skill, I am able to use whatever color I want but I keep in mind the properties of each color and construct any piece based on that. What attracts me to the glass isn't the color but its sculptural properties.
But lately, I've been interested in combining the reactive glass with the sculptural characteristics of glass. So, here are my experiments - faux borosilicate beads and a reactive glass form Doublehelix Glassworks. You see a familiar motif here, the hand, I always have to sculpt a hand out of whatever I'm doing. As a sign language interpreter and an artist, I make a living from my hands. Therefore, it's an appropriate motif for me.

May 30, 2006....The Guggenheim

When I was at the Urban Glass Bead Show in March, I wanted to do one thing and that was to go to the Guggenheim Museum to see their collection of Kandinskys! I was excited to see the paintings but wasn't prepared for the artwork that is the Guggenheim building! You are allowed to take pictures of the lobby and that's what I've done here. At the very top is a beautiful stained glass window that looks like lacework in the sky. What an amazing structure - its form just makes you want to explore what's in it. I'm really at a loss for words - it was the best part of the trip! Driving from Chelsea to the Guggenheim, we had all green lights! I didn't think that was possible in NYC! Everyone should visit the Guggenheim once in their lives!

Memorial Day in Glass.....May 29, 2006

I've created non-wearable poppies and then a poppy necklace - both made in the style I remember as a kid. I hadn't realized the symbolism of the poppies.

For the past several weeks, I've been thinking about Memorial Day - how my mother called it "Decoration Day" and that we would always always always visit the cemetary and plant flowers.

Did you know that "Decoration Day" began during the Civil War? People were doing it informally because they felt the need to honor their loved ones who had died in war. Decoration Day was formally recognized in 1868.

I'm in awe when I think of how long the tradition that I learned from my mother has been observed. I'm saddened when I realize my teenage son doesn't know why we observe Memorial Day.

I also remember in the late 1960's - early '70's when as a kid I would dig out my change and buy a poppy from the VFW veterans (they must have been WW1 veterans because they were old to me :-) who were on every corner selling poppies.

My Mom would recite the poem that inspired the poppies, "In Flanders Field" (which I've posted below). Flanders Field is an actual place in Belgium. There is an U.S. soldiers cemetary there for US soldiers killed in WW1. It seems that after the destruction, the only plant that would grow were wild poppies. I've included the only known picture of poppies growing on the former battle site and a painting by the Canadian painter, Mary Riter Hamilton entitled "Trenches on the Somme."

I've been thinking about those poppies and how they have come to symbolize Memorial Day for me. I haven't always been so aware of what the poppies symbolize. Read the poem and you'll see.




In Flander's Field
by John McCrae


In Flanders Fields the poppies blow,
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky,
The larks, still bravely singing, fly,
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the dead.
Short days ago,
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved and now we lie,
In Flanders Fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe
To you, from failing hands, we throw,
The torch, be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us, who die,
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow,
In Flanders Fields.

May 28, 2006....Work to do!

Look at my workbench! I've got work to do! I've got to dip mandrels to make beads and I've got to clean up the bench! Problem is, I like to have EVERYTHING right at my fingertips...problem is, you can't have everything set up within reach.....sometimes you just have to plan to use something!

You can see what I'll be working on today, I've got some 8mm soft glass tubing out that I've wanted to play with for awhile. I was lucky enough to get a pretty large supply for the cost of shipping - thanks, Jiley! I'm pretty sure this is Lauscha glass because none of the American glass companies make tubing. I know that Lausha carries an 8mm tubing so, that's my educated guess. I'll mix it with some other soft glass and see if I get any cracking. If it cracks, then it'll mean it's not 104 COE (not that it means anything to the average person - but is very important in glass!)

I'm behind in my picture taking. I'll take some pictures tomorrow morning and post something new. Got lots of new things I've been working!

May 21, 2006....Painted Beads and Websites

Been having alot of trouble lately with my website. Take my advice and avoid your domain name renewal lapsing! My renewal notices went to an old email and I didn't receive them. I found out by trying to log onto my website and a site for scrap metal appearing! I've since had to get a new domain name and a new website that will end up being much better than the old but what a pain!
Today's eye candy are painted beads. This might be a misleading name as the "paint" is finely ground glass mixed with an oil - slightly different than oil paints - the ground glass painting will melt into the glass of the bead - regular oil paints won't do this. I "draw" with enamel paint pens and use brushes to create a small painting on a small sheet of glass. The painting must be fired in the kiln to melt the painting into the glass. I then make a base glass bead at the torch (see picture). The small sheet glass painting is held with tweezers and warmed in the flame then rolled onto the hot glass base bead. The bead is shaped and placed in a kiln to anneal.
I have two examples of painted beads, one is called "Thoughtful" and is in a private collection and the other is a drawing by my son that I painted onto the bead - this one is mine!

April 29, 2006....Homage to ancient peoples

Here is my homage to the ancient peoples who would thank the goddess of the earth for bringing forth the flowers each spring. Small talismans would be created representing the goddess and worn in to honor and thank her for another spring. I'm very grateful for another spring and the profusion of yellow blossoms everywhere, from daffodils to the forsythia that I see on my morning walk. Since yellow flowers are everywhere, it is only fitting that this homage be crowned with a wreath of yellow petals. She is created using Italian black glass, sunny yellow tipped with red.

April 23, 2006.....Inspiration

On my morning walk, I pass this large group of forsythia bushes....the yellow is so joyful this time of year! I love the yellow flowers that coat the entire slender branch! Although I haven't consciously been doing it, I've been creating these flowers in beads for awhile now - but with black rather than a brown - I'm inspired to try to make a more 3D sculpture of the joyous yellow blooms - I don't know how anyone can't find inspiration in these happy little flowers!

April 16, 2006....Happy Easter!

A low key kind of day today. Will be going out for Easter dinner at about 5 pm.

I've been working on jewelry pieces...lots of earrings to sell at outdoor shows this summer and more of the Lucky Knots and Lampwork necklaces for a "live jurying." I'm thinking about NOT doing any shows this summer and focusing on some ideas I have for glass sculpture and beads. If I do that, then I'll do a show or two in the fall along with my annual open house. Haven't decided for sure but think that's what I'll do.

April 13, 2006.....

This is a close up of a neckpiece I made entitled, "Mardi Gras!" It's a happy piece but I have to admit to feeling a little blah and overwhelmed this morning....I have a several things to do on my plate...I have to make a few pieces of jewelry for a "live jurying" I'll be doing at the end of the month....I have to take some pictures of a tutorial for a knotted neckpiece I make for a magazine and I have to make a custom order. That's on top of some of the interpreting work I do! So, feeling a bit overwhelmed- like "where do I start?"

Monday morning... April 10, 2006

Here's a bead self portrait . I made this awhile ago and it really doesn't look all that much like me but it's retro style. Very 1960's - early 70's in feel. I'm busy with other things right now and not spending time at the torch. I will submit to a juried show later in the month but must do it "live." I've been turned down once before for this particular show and skipped the jury last year but thought I'd try again this year. It's a very small, select show around Thanksgiving. I'd like to fill in a show for that time of year so I'm going for it. It will be finished work, though and I'm working on some pieces to take with me. I'm also working on a tutorial for an online magazine. Both of those things are keeping me away from the torch for a bit.

April 1st!.....Warmer Weather!

I returned from the Urban Glass Show on late Monday afternoon. Whew! What a trip and what a good time! I really enjoy the comraderie of the other beadmakers at a show and the opportunity to meet customers! I always see lovely bead jewelry and seed bead work! Being a very tactile person, I like it when the customers offer to take off a particular piece so I can hold it in my hands.

Weather was beautiful here yesterday - some rain but it was 74 degrees! I was in the studio working with a new prototype tool. It's exciting when you think of an idea and someone is talented enough to execute it. I'll talk more about the tool later on once I've worked with it a little more.

Saturday, March 18, 2006....see you after Urban Glass!

I'm going to put these up on my website for sale later on today (hopefully!). There will be about a 2 week "quiet" period now. I'm packing up for the Urban Glass Bead Expo in NYC next weekend (March 24-26) and won't have time at the torch or to post. I've got all my beads out and feeling like there is not enough - but I think any artist feels that way when they are getting ready for a show! Wish me luck and I'll post how it went when I get back!

Sunday, March 12, 2006.....Eye Candy!

Here's another bead made with the Wild Roses glass frit that I have been testing. This one is rolled on the Italian made pastel Ink Blue. I then encased the bead in clear to magnify the frit and dotted with Iris Gold to give it a little sparkle! After all this testing, I like the avocado and ink blue pairings the best.

I've been in the studio all weekend working away. Going through my beads now to make sure I have a wide assortment for the Urban Glass Bead Expo coming up in a few weeks. I've made the hotel reservation and ordered one more bead display - on that will fold flat. I want to have everything as compact as possible! Tomorrow, I order a banner to pin onto the front of the table!

Saturday morning.....March 11, 2006

Warmer weather is starting to slowly arrive! Spring and fall are my favorite times of the year for working in the studio, not too hot and not too cold, even with the kiln and torch running! I've been working on a new business card and printing up a sign for the Urban Glass Bead Expo. I'm a one-person business so I have to do all the details myself! Got to get back to work! Hope you all have a great day!

Thursday, March 9, 2006.....Musings on creating in glass

I got my copy of the Glass Art Magazine the other day. As usual, I sat down to read it cover to cover - there are always great articles in the mag. Anyways, I'm already an admirer of Milon Townsend's work and his ability to make a good living from his art - so when one of the articles interviewed him, I was interested in what he had to say. One of the things he said was that at the beginning of his career in glass, he was completely enamoured of the physical properties of the glass and that was what he focused on for a number of years. This struck me because it's exactly what I've been focused on - I've spent lots of time experimenting and learning the behavior and characteristics of each color of soft glass - i.e., black glass is "stiffer" than coral colored glass - when heated to a specific color, it will do this or that. I rarely use any tools to shape basic forms, rather, I choose the right color for the piece and work with heat and gravity to coax the glass into flowing into a shape rather than tooling it. But I wouldn't know how to use the heat and gravity if I hadn't spent a great deal of time learning and understanding what each color can do. Most of the glass artists and crafters I talk to aren't focused on that aspect of the glass. It was a revelation to see such an esteemed glass artist talk about that! Milon went on to explain that he's moved beyond that but that first step was a development of a vocabulary, a language to create in glass that he uses in his current work.

My good friend keeps telling me that I'm a sculptor and what is in my head to create is certainly in that direction. I'm still evolving but it is clear to me that the work I have done in understanding the characteristics of the glass is and will be invaluable in the pieces I create in the future.

Monday morning... March 7, 2006

Here's another test bead I made with the Wild Roses frit. I used the Italian Effetre red-brown for the base. You can barely see the base bead here but I think it looks only so-so. It doesn't really detract from the frit colors or react and turn black but I don't think the red-brown enhances the frit colors. I'm also not sure adding the 3 petaled flowers over the base and frit was a good idea either! Like I said, test bead :-)

I haven't put up any auctions lately because I'm feverishly working up inventory to take to the Urban Glass Show in NYC later on this month. I think every beadmaker always thinks that s/he hasn't got enough inventory for the show. You should see my home office right now - I've got trays of beads laid out from one end of the room to the other! I keep thinking, should I take mostly focals or sets? Advice to artists is to find a voice and stick with that - I find my voice is versatility! I like to do many different things. When I was in high school, I was voted "Most Versatile" - it sticks with me. There's so much to do and learn with glass, how can I stick to just a few things?!? I can't - so I always offer a wide range of "voices."

Saturday morning.....March 4, 2006

I'm calling this one "Yellow Leaf Goddess"....I've been working on a goddess series lately inspired by all of the creativity going on the glass boards with this. Most of my goddesses are torsos rather than full figures. This one is a full figure with a golden yellow crown. I like to work in the black glass because of the depth and reflection it has. I think that too much color and decoration takes away from the figure. Color is nice but sometimes I want only the shape and form to be what draws your eye to the bead. Sometimes I just want it to be wearable sculpture.

More test beads of Wild Roses....February 28, 2006

Here's another picture of the wild roses frit on a different color - this color is "pastel avocado." You'd think "avocado" would be green but no, it's a taupe color. Some say it has a cast of green but honestly, I don't see it. I believe that the name comes from a literal translation of the Italian word for the color but someone needs to talk to the interpreter with this one! It's taupe! Lovely, taupe!

About the frit - it leaves a nice brown outline on the taupe color. To me, it looks Klimt-like. I'm thinking of the Klimt backgrounds, not the women in the paintings but the backgrounds - those lovely patchwork of colors in the background. This bead reminds me of that.

February 22, 2006....Busy, busy, busy!

Working with some new glass frit called Wild Roses - here is basically the same bead but one has silver leaf in it and the other doesn't. Kewl effect isn't it?

Spending all of my time re-vamping my other website and getting ready for the Urban Glass Bead show in March. The intense cold makes it hard to heat the studio but I still go out there! Lots of layers on and my heating pad sitting on my stool! No auctions up because I'm so busy preparing for the show

February 19, 2006.....Brrrr!!!

If you've been following the blog, you know that I have new heaters in my studio. Well, today it is soooo cold, they're not making much of a dent in raising the temperature! It was 8 degrees farenheit when I got up this morning - that's negative degress in celsius! I'm going out to work but expect it maybe not to last too long. I've got 4 cotton shirts and turtlenecks on plus a cotton sweatshirt. My bead release was frozen! Waiting for it to thaw out a bit so I can coat some mandrels and then get going!