Saturday, March 18, 2006

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

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, March 11, 2006

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 09, 2006

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, March 06, 2006

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, March 04, 2006

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.