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!

Monday, February 13, 2006......I hate when that happens!

Yesterday, I spent 5 hours at the torch experimenting with some new frit (for those of you learning about glass, frit is ground glass that gets applied to a base bead). I learned alot about the frits I was using, but very few of the beads are presentable! One of my favorite frit colors, copper blue, turned to black on most of the beads I made. So I learned that copper blue reacts with the chemicals in most of the plain colors, ivory, white and silver leaf - so much so that it turns black. There needs to be caution on the copper blue frit that says not to overwork (heating the bead to orange glow over and over) the color. I was using the Italian glass, I'm thinking that I've used the copper blue on the American made glass and it didn't turn to black. I'll have to do some more testing with it to see.

I've mentioned this before, but this is what I mean about being a "hands on" learner - I have to make all of these mistakes and make all of these rotten beads to learn the properties of the glass and how color works in glass. Color in glass isn't the same as mixing paints or pastels or even colored pencils. The compounds that create the color will interact with certain other compounds and you may get a great color or you may not. This weekend I didn't get much of anything. I hate when that happens!

Sunday, February 5, 2006....Who should paint your portrait?

I have been surfing some bead blogs this morning to figure out if I want to join a ring or not. On one of the blogs there was a "who should paint your portrait?" questionnairre. So I clicked the link and did the quiz.This is all in fun and it captures the Diva in me! :-)

Not having a very good week at the torch. Last Sunday, I dropped everything I had made the day before and broke most of the beads! ARGGHHH! Then on Monday, I wasn't able to get to the torch like I had planned. I had to wait until Friday and it didn't work out on Friday either! I finally got to the torch yesterday but things were going so slow. If my schedule at the torch is regular, I am more creative. When it's not, I find myself fumbling. Yesterday was a fumbling day. Trying out some frit I don't normally use and working off mandrel. Most of the frit beads came out kind of "eh!" and the off mandrel items cracked. I keep telling myself it's a learning process and I'll crack less off mandrel sculptures as I progress. Sometimes, though you just need a good day!

Ok, rant off for the day! I'll go out into the studio today and everything will be fine!

Auctions will be up on Justbeads.com. I have one up now, will add a few more this morning! Hope your day goes well!

Who Should Paint You: Roy Lichtenstein

Larger than life, your personality overshadows everyone in the room A painter would tend to portray you with a bit of added flair!

What Artist Should Paint Your Portrait?

Friday, February 3rd, 2006......

I'll be putting this set up on Justbeads this weekend. I've got a LOT of beads I've made over the past few weeks that I need to take pictures of and put up on the blog! I'll schedule the auctions on justbeads so they list over the next several weeks.

I'm readying inventory to take to the Urban Glass Bead Expo in NYC during March 24, 25 and 26. I'll be debuting new sculptural style beads. I'm looking for a particular style, voice to the sculpturals combining enamels and texture on the beads.

Tuesday, January 31, 2006......

I love the look of carved stone - I mimic that look with the pink "stone" flower bead. I know I've shown this earlier but it's up for auction on Justbeads now. It's early and I'm not very chatty today. I'm working away at the torch getting ready for my first show in Manhattan in March!

TGIF! Torch time!

Yippppeeeee!!! It's Friday! I'll have the day to torch! Here are some puffy squares I made a week or so ago. I used a new odd lot color called "mango-coral." It's supposed be a red coral color but because the glass color is hand mixed, it doesn't always come out the intended color that the Italian glassmakers intend. It may be not coral, but it IS lovely! This set is on Justbeads.com. Search for the Lampwork Diva or cut and paste this link into your web browser.

http://snipurl.com/la9w

Wednesday, January 25, 2006.....Mid week almost Friday!

It's almost Friday! Yippeee! You might be wondering why I'm so excited about that and not because it's the end of the work week! Friday I have the whole day to myself to work at the torch! I snuck in some time on Monday morning but that didn't got too well. For some reason, people think Monday is a good day to call! My phone kept ringing and interrupting my work. Sometimes I let it ring but Monday's callers were persistent! Hollow bead up today - I made this a couple of weeks ago. It's made of Czech glass in a lovely olive color. Love that Czech glass, it's so smooth and creamy in the flame and definitely not fussy!

Creative Spurt!.....January 22, 2006

WOW! I've been having the most energetic burst of creative energy for the past 36 hours that has me so excited! I went to the torch yesterday with a plan to work with enamels to figure out how to use them. I've had a sampler set for about a year and a half and tried several times with them but nothing came out very well - with the exception of the petals on the flower ring I made last year. Other than enhancing pink, I hadn't developed any technique using them. So with that in mind, I went to the torch planning on making some enamel square beads. I made a few and then all of a sudden, I decided to try sculptural. Not your little bunny or funky alien type sculptural, but real honest to goodness sculputure - a female torso! And I make one and then another and then another and then... well you get the idea! Just all of a sudden, I was making them! They look like a female torso too! I had to get up at 5 am this morning to see the ones in the kiln and to start making some more! I was at the torch at 6:45 am!

I've got pictures up of my auctions on Justbeads. Sweet little hearts - to make these, you make dots and then heat the dot until the glass is like taffy, then with a small pick, you pull the dot into a heart shape. This pulls the bead out of round so you then have to heat and melt the whole bead back to round. Pop into the kiln for a good annealing and then ready for you!

January 15, 2006....Brrrr! Winter has returned!

I knew it was going to come back but I'm a little sad that winter has returned! I was getting used to the warmer temperatures, 40's 50's in January and in the Northeast US! It was wonderful not to have to heat the studio! Stayed out of the studio today working on photographing beads, scheduling auctions for the next few weeks. My interpreting schedule is going to get back into full swing and I don't want to miss a beat with the auctions. I want to keep weekly auctions up and so I decided to schedule them now before the next few weeks get crazy. I've scheduled auctions up to the first week in February. My schedule should calm down after that and I'll be able to schedule more.

January 14, 2006.....

Spending all of my available time at the torch. I'm doing the Urban Glass Show in NYC in March under my artist name and I'm freaking about it already! It will be the biggest venue I've ever been in and I want to ensure that I have plenty of inventory to take with me. I also don't want to slight my auctions so I've been pushing myself to work harder than I normally do. Normally, it's a pretty leisurely pace in the studio but I've been out there early every day and staying as long as possible! Auctions up at justbeads.com. Search for LampworkDiva and you'll find me!

January 8, 2006...Lots to do!

I have another ground glass frit that I've fallen in love with - this is a golden brown frit and it does amazing things in the flame! It can turn a violet blue, gold, bronze or simply stay brown! Now who would have thought you could get violet blue out of brown ground glass?! Always something new to learn and add to the glass!

Thursday, January 5, 2006.....

Sent out a newsletter yesterday morning and got some good feedback on it. For anyone who couldn't use the links I included in the newsletter, apologies! I didn't realize the link was so long! A customer was nice enough to send an email to notify me and suggested I use http://www.snipurl.com to shorten the links! Good idea!

I like to put eye candy up with every post, afterall, that's why you come here, isn't it? This is a close up of some beads that will go on auction at Justbeads.com tomorrow (Friday, January 6). I love the colors in the beads - Moroccan blue and Ivory. Oh I almost forgot to tell you - I got some new glass today! I'm always in search of a good transparent garnet color in rod form and it's hard to come by! Through the glass boards online, I found some to purchase and it arrived today. I'll be working with it tomorrow morning and post pictures this weekend. Nothing like new glass to inspire you!

January 2, 2006.....Quick posting before torching

Good morning! Here's a photo I took of a garden statue I have of a seated Buddha. He sits outside my studio door and I see him every morning as I connect the propane to torch. This one morning, he was a profound message for me. If you're feeling overwhelmed, remember, that snow will melt! I'm sharing it with you here. If you like the print as much as I do, you can go to my CafePress store - http://www.cafepress.com/cindygimbrone to purchase a print.

I'm such a morning-person! I get up early in the morning and do about 4-5 hours of torching then off to do other things for the day. I balance my freelance interpreting with the torching this way - interpret in the afternoon and torch in the morning. I know many part-time lampworkers do the opposite - "regular work" in the morning/day and then night time torching. My energy is gone by then - I've tried but my whole body is wired to do my best work in the morning. So, better get out there before the morning's gone!

Happy New Year! New auctions!...January 1, 2006

Spent all day yesterday photographing and cropping photos of the beads I've been making over the past few weeks. I don't alter my photos to change the look of a bead in any way - the colors, the surface of the bead are just as I see them. Of course, your monitor may show the colors slightly different than mine but the picture is basically untouched.
New auctions up on Justbeads.com. I won't be listing on ebay anymore, justbeads.com is a great venue for me and the customers are great! The set I've posted today are up on justbeads.com for the next week.
A word or two about the set - I've become completely addicted to this particular glass frit (I think I have talked about glass frit before this, it is ground glass that you roll onto your hot glass). It's like having two frits in one! I always love that - if I put clear over the frit, it stays white, if I don't put clear over the frit, it turns blue. Blue and white - what can be better than that!?! It's fun and pretty! Life is good! Hope yours is too!