Love Pats

I had the best time at the torch last weekend.  I wanted to do something special for Valentine's day.  I ordered this really awesome Puffy Heart press from Beadpress:

 

It's not going to be here for a while though, because it's coming from the Netherlands.  So, I had to improvise!  I knew I wanted to make hearts, so after some soul searching (get it?  Heart and soul?  Ok, ok, terrible...), I came up with this idea:

 

 Love Pats 11 Bead Set

I made the center heart using a press that my friend and fellow Fire Diva Holly from Holly's Folly generously lent me.

I was thrilled with this set.  The problem was, however, my husband and I both agreed that although it was good for Valentine's day, it was also good for Easter, and not quite what I had in mind.  I set out again to make that absolutely breathtaking, jaw-dropping, heart-stopping, romantically perfect Valentine's Day bead set.  I made this:

 

 Love Pats 8 Bead Set

Now this was what I was aiming for!  The little red hearts on ivory were the perfect combination.  It really felt like "love" to me.

Somewhere along the way I realized these little beads looked remarkably like truffles to me.  Therefore, the only natural thing to do was make a third set.

 

Chocolate Love Pats 8 Bead Set

If they were edible they'd be good enough to eat.  Mmmm... chocolate.  My biggest vice.  I think I'll go have some and ponder over what I'm going to make this weekend.

Ah, I almost forgot (sidetracked by chocolate - happens every time!), all three sets are available on my website and in my Artfire and Etsy shops.

Back Where I Started

I got into lampworking, like many other glass bead artists, by making jewelry first. In fact, I started making beaded jewelry nearly ten years ago. My first pieces were simple strung braclets and necklaces, and I really had no idea what I was doing. I was instantly addicted, though, and before long I was making detailed, complicated pieces, like my Reef design, which I won Bronze prize in the Pearls category of the Fire Mountain Beads and Gems Annual Beading Contest in 2008:


However, like many lampworkers, since I started making beads it has taken precedence over making jewelry. When you consider the fact that the reason I started making beads was to make my own beads jewelry, it is actually quite ironic! I really quite enjoy making jewelry, whether it is beadedwoven, strung, or wire worked.

Olive Twist (with matching bracelet)

For this reason, I've decided to spend more time during the week doing what I intended to do four years ago. I'm going to make more jewelry, like this bracelet and earrings set, just listed:

Passionate Affair

The set is now available on my website, my Artfire shop, and my Etsy shop, where you will also find other jewelry pieces featuring my very own lampwork beads. Look for more in the future!

Black Friday - Free Shipping!

What are you thankful for? I'm thankful for my wonderful family, my incredible customers, and, of course, beads! I want to show my appreciation. After you've finished gobbling up your turkey Thanksgiving Day, you can head over to my Artfire shop and gobble up some beads for FREE SHIPPING! The free shipping offer will start on Wednesday 11/24 and will end on Monday 11/29 and will apply to items purchased in my Artfire shop.

Zeah

With 39 new sets, focals, and pendants just listed yesterday, you shouldn't have any trouble finding something for everyone on your shopping list - including yourself!

Tiatano

I've Gotten An Upgrade

Look at what came in the mail today:


It's a lovely new Scorpion torch! The Scorpion is a 13 jet 4-stud surface mix torch designed to work quite effeciently on oxygen concentrators. It works boro and soft glass with ease. It has an inner and outer flame, which means I can use only the inner flame, or I can use the inner and outer flame together to work larger pieces. The inner flame has 5 jets and the outer has 8. This torch is a huge upgrade from my Bobcat which has only 7 jets. What all this means is that I can work hotter, bigger, and faster once I am hooked up!


I've been saving for this torch for a while now. It was being offered at the introductory price and I was about halfway there, but I got a call on Monday from Glass Torch Technologies. They wanted to know if I still wanted a Scorpion at introductory price because the price was going to go up to full retail. I reassured them that I did, and they told me they had them ready to ship out! How could I say no to this face:



So, now I just need to pay for it! I still have nearly one hundred items marked 25% off in my Artfire and Etsy shops! Plus, for a limited time, if you enter the coupon code Scorpion when purchasing from my Artfire shop, you will get FREE SHIPPING on your purchase of two or more items!

Now if you'll excuse me, I have an arthropod to tame.

How Do You Create?

Some time ago I came up with an idea for the Fire Divas called "Ask the Divas." Our fans can submit questions and we will answer them! We recently implemented it and we just received, and answered, a very good question: What is the creative process like? Here is my response to just a fantastic question:

With soft glass, I let the glass or special elements guide me. I usually think about a particular color of glass or element, like murrini, shards, etc, and end up with a general direction.

Next I sit in front of my glass and select colors that coordinate with my central element. For instance, I've been making a lot of rounds with shards lately, so I select a base color that compliments the color(s) in the shards.

Finally I end up at the torch and go with the flow; I have the idea in mind, and the rest is up to what feels right once the glass is melting in the flame. Even the simplest, most routine bead set changes every time.

Boro, however, is different. Sculptures I study and sketch out down to the last detail beforehand. Implosions I map out in my head before attempting. Boro is an entirely different beast! It's a stiffer glass and interestingly enough is much more structured creatively for me as well.

http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=Shop&op=listing&product_id=1789424


Read what some other Divas had to say about their process below!

Lara says:

I rarely can pinpoint where I get my ideas for beads, but my bunny bead is an exception. I started making these beads last year around Easter time. I think they are super cute.

My mom has a Terra Cotta pot with a large Lop Rabbit on the front. Neither of us can remember the artist, but she got the pot at an art's fair in the Seattle area. One day I was thinking about what to make next and I was looking at the pot and decided to try.

First I drew a pattern on paper to get the shapes down, then did some dots on the bead and pushed and pulled the dots into ears, a face, and legs. Tada..... bunny bead.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/36156861/lampwork-bird-glass-bead-in-aqua-and

From Holly:

For me, it depends on the bead. If the bead is sculptural, I will print out several images featuring different angles of the object I want to re-create. If I am working on a set, I might spend time pulling different color rods. No matter what I'm making, there is some kind of map in my head of where to go... what kind of glass to layer where in order to get the effect I want. Care has to be given to parts that need more heat or can take more heat vs. those that need fine detail and less heat. It's a constant balancing act. Sometimes it works; sometimes not.

http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=Shop&op=listing&product_id=960011

From Rosemarie:

Color and shape are very important elements of my work, so I usually decide right away what those are going to be. Sometimes the glass does not do what I want; then I end up with something new. Sometimes the new is good, sometimes not so good.

For this bead, I wanted to represent a dangerous river. I wanted a large surface to work on, so I decided to use the bicone shape.

How did I choose the colors? I wanted water and sky, so that was a pretty easy choice. My water colors were turquoise and cobalt and my sky was a light powder blue. I wanted some white for clouds. I have developed a way to make the webbing spread in a consistent manner, so I decided to use that to show white frothy water. I decided all of this in advance and then proceeded to make the bead.

When that was done, the bead did not look "angry" enough, so I added swirls - which happily looked like whirlpools in the water. I usually melt everything smooth, but once the swirls were on the bead and still raised, I really liked the effect so I decided that the bead was complete.

This happens often - I have a general plan on what something will be, but then modify it once the bead is in progress. Sometimes this happens once the first attempt at the bead is already cooled. Then I have to start the process from the start, modifying what it is that I don't like. http://www.etsy.com/listing/26160332/gray-ivory-and-black-glass-lampwork

Sonja's answer:

Honestly, for me, I usually start each session at the torch with certain colors in mind and maybe a vague idea of what direction I want to go in (shape, texture, or a certain style). I then decide how I want it to go together, but honestly, many times I will sit down with a certain idea in mind and midway through (or sooner) the bead goes off on a tangent and something else entirely ends up being made.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/59110489/green-and-white-handmade-spiral-lampwork

From Ema:

Each time I sit at the torch is different. Sometimes I have an idea of what I want to make; such as being inspired by a beautiful tree I have seen on a walk that I feel compelled to make into a bead. Other days I am inspired by color combinations. I will pull out all the rods in that color scheme and just let the colors take me where they may.
http://www.etsy.com/listing/57350713/kaliptico-wonders-lampwork-focal-bead

Kathleen says:

I rarely sit at my torch with a pre-conceived idea. Usually it'll be a mood that will hit me, like, I want to make flowers, or I feel like working in certain colors, or I just want to do easy stuff. Occasionally , I feel like challenging myself to step out of my box; using colors I generally don't use and techniques I want to become more familiar with. Ultimately it never plays out the way I think it will. The glass will take over, and like a dance partner, I just follow and let the glass and flame take the lead. Lately, I've been concentrating on flowers. http://www.etsy.com/listing/58878138/copper-canyon-focal-lampwork-bead-sra

Lea says:

Each session is different for me. Sometimes I start out with certain new color glass rods I want to play with or shards, new technique, etc. & basically just play & see where the session takes me. Lately, or at least the last couple of times I torched, I started out with a list of beads I wanted to make & then left myself some play time at the end. I found it to be a much more productive use of my time. Go figure!
http://www.etsy.com/listing/56968225/lampwork-glass-bead-set-fire-diamonds

And here's Laurie's answer:

Who knew there were so many different ways to come up with an amazing bead! I use a little of all of these techniques in my beads.

And I find that often one thing leads to another, as was the case with these Christmas Bird earrings. It all started with some basic twirling, a set of paisley earrings for a customer, a red and green fish, and finally these birds arrived on the scene.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/59521087/lampwork-glass-beads-pink-and-green

Fire Divas Monthly Challenges

I am one of three co-managers for a group of lampworkers called the Fire Divas. I've posted stuff on my blog about our group before. Well, one of the jobs I have is the monthly bead challenges. I create themes, accept entries from our members, write up blog posts, set up the polls, and announce the results. To be perfectly honest, I hate entering. I only enter for exposure and to set an example to my fellow members. I almost always come in dead last. In fact, I even stopped voting for myself because I was often my only vote. It was depressing.

This month's challenge was Thanksgiving. I once again had to select an entry. I had a set I made with a unique glass; it's a glass that was only made once and will never be made again. It's one of my favorite colors and is a delicious looking translucent burnt caramel. I bought a few pounds of it as soon as I melted my first rod because I just loved it! This color was the base for my set. To this, I added some incredible Lori and Kim murrini, and to accent the murrini I had chosen three colors of glass and made one single dot of each color on both sides of the beads. I really like this set; I almost kept it for myself.

That was the set I chose to enter, and below is the blog post I typed up for the Fire Divas' blog this morning.

Thanksgiving Challenge Results

We have a winner for the Thanksgiving Challenge! We tallied the votes and the entry you were most thankful for was:

Entry 5 - http://www.teasebeads.artfire.com


Congratulations to our winner!! Now let's take a look at all the other fantastic entries!


Entry 1 - http://ahouston.etsy.com




Entry 2 - http://www.artfire.com/users/LAJewelryDesigns



Entry 3 - http://www.etsy.com/shop/Lutrick



Entry 4 - http://www.artfire.com/users/HollysFollyGlass



Thanks for voting!

----------------------------

I think I earned the right to brag just a bit. :)

Looking Ahead

It is so hot. A few days ago it was 100 degrees, and on another day our heat index was 110. August is the hottest month of the year here in North Carolina. We're all stuck in the house because we have no desire to melt into sweaty blobs outside. It is definitely summertime - no doubting that!

However, as an artist, I have to look ahead to the upcoming seasons when I decide what to make. The Fire Divas are holding another Quarterly Jewelry Challenge, and this time I chose "The Holiday Season" as the theme. That means I need to make some holiday beads, pronto!

Why so early? It's only August! Well, the challenge deadline is October 15. That means jewelry designers have to have their creation submitted by that date. The designers need plenty of time to shop for beads, have them shipped, and materialize that work of art.

It's hard to switch gears. I've been doing sets lately (not that I've gotten anything listed). Recently, I made 3 large sets (up to 12 beads) - one set each of pink, gray, and mint green tabs with dots & murrini accents. I also made a cool 14 bead set of clear rounds with icy colored shards. I made some boro seahorses and flower implosions. All my work has been completely summer themed!

I finally sat down and did some brainstorming, though. I now have a list of holiday-themed sets that I plan to start creating just as soon as I can get out to my torch. I'm covering three holidays - Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. I still find it so strange to generate Christmas ideas in the summer heat!

Of course, the next challenge will be getting this all listed. In addition to what I plan to make, I have a plastic container full of things I need to list. I haven't listed anything all summer! I've marked down all my existing pieces by 25% to help make room for the new items, and school starts soon so that means a quieter house. Quieter house = easier picture taking. I'm getting there!

For info about the Fire Divas Quarterly Jewelry Challenge, please visit:
http://firedivas.blogspot.com/2010/08/fire-divas-quarterly-jewelry-challenge.html