Then It Got Better - Much Better

So I ended up with an opportunity to take a Corina class!What? Am I nuts?? Smack in the middle of one of my biggest ever bead funks??  But a friend needed someone to buy her spot in class and I had always longed to take a Corina class... So off I go...not really feeling it. And am I ever glad I did!

We pulled SO much cane for the ocean beads class... a whole day of it! And I'm not one to waste a good cane pull! Thank goodness they had the kiln going... I made one simple but so pretty barrel bead (I brought it home one day two and it didn't make this pic but I promise I'll show it off later!) The heart is the end of another cane pull. I just HATE to waste dicrho!

And while we're on the subject: Pacific Artglass is making their own dichro now! OMG! Is it ever dreamy to work with!  Corina and everyone in class was raving!

The other two are the ocean beads I made in class.

As for a class review...if you ever get the chance to take a class with Corina... GO! For me, the light bulb in my head about blew up when I suddenly "got" my issues with hair thing stringer! That alone was worth the price of admission!!

And sometimes, a funk just needs a little inspiration from a good teacher!

Glass Bead Miscellany

Welp, that open ended teaching job??? It now has an end date and that's looking like end of school. I've loved the assignment and the boys (it's an ED class of only boys) seem to like and respond to me. Instead of going through sub after sub, the school felt it best to provide some consistency to these guys. What does that have to do with glass beads?? Very little... as in that's how many beads I'll get to make in the coming months. But, a steady paycheck for a few months is a good thing, even though steady work sucks the creativity out of my bones! And I'm hoping that will lead to a productive summer...if I don't get back on the surgery track.

That being said, I've been cleaning out all my many bead boxes and making sure I have a better organization system for photos and beads for sale.  I have found every original photo for every thing I sell and placed all in one master folder organized into subfolders like focals, sets, necklaces, bracelets, etc... I still have to work on my website but my Facebook / Etsy crap is done!

And I wanted to share a bead I made for me. I've always wanted a rottweiler I made myself. I made this at the end of a Judy Carlson workshop. Very difficult as the mahogany goes black in the flame and you can't tell the two glasses apart!

Fresh Glass / Listing Again!

I made these in JC Herrell's class at The Mandrel. My favorite... the starry night bead...I'm keeping. And the long skinny has been sold. It was such a fun class and JC's tips for practicing stringer work were worth the price of admission!

 My other personal fave is in the lower right... Two enamel colors perfectly blended... so simple but I can't stop staring at it!

Here's a better shot of the long skinny:

That was an experiment in boiling enamels.

I'm listing beads again... trying to clean out some of my one offs and orphans this week. These are from yesterday and the blue flower has sold. 

As always, I post a collage on the fan page with current links!

Thanks for @@king and your support during this difficult time.

The Dot Diary - Days 1 & 2

I haven't been feeling my muse... and no glass bead sales make her run and hide . Needing to get myself out of this rut, I ran across a thread on Lampwork Etc regarding Heather Trimlett's 40 Bead Challenge. I have been aware of Heather's Challenge for some time and always wanted to try it.... kinda. But, it is dots... my least favorite kind of bead.... or so I thought!

When I saw such a large group doing it... I thought, Why not??? It might shake me out of my doldrums.

But after a week of thinking about it, choosing colors, dipping mandrels... there was nothing left to do but get started.

Day 1

Per Heather's instructions I limited myself to six beads a day. I chose to do two of each, reversing the colors each time.  Heather suggested working slow...something I'm sooo not good at. For this reason, I chose to work in Bullseye 90 knowing the stiffer glass would slow me down. And my favorite blue of all time is Bullseye - Steel Blue. For a contrast, I choose Nougat.

My first beads were simple donuts with 4 dots. I concentrated on even spacing and volume control to make the dots similar.

Next, I tried six... harder.  But I was starting to see possibilities...

My final set was what I named the roller coaster... Great! Now, I'm naming dots!  Two dots were placed dead center and one dot in between but on opposite edges. Then I filled in the area in between.

When I was done, I was actually excited. .... Hmmm... can dots be addicting???

Day 2

I found I couldn't wait to torch the next day... I woke up thinking about that roller coaster...  Could 2 look like DNA???

Beads 1 and 2 were DNA or double coasters... getting harder to evenly space and control the placement.

I didn't love the vacant space created when the dots were further apart. So the next two were DNA with eyeballs in the center. I liked those better.

And then I started on stacking dots. Two dots on top of each other.

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I'm still so excited about this project even though work has kept me from the torch for a few days now. I have my next two sessions planned out. 24 out of 40 with a plan!  My next session with focus on stacking and the one after that will be a take on smiley faces.

I'm really happy I tried this. I can't wait to see all of the beads finished! If you are in a lull of creativity, I heartily recommend this exercise!

Kimberly Affleck Has Invaded My Brain!

I just took a class with Kimberly Affleck at The Mandrel over the weekend. And my head is just spinning. I'm not good for much today!


Kimberly is a most excellent teacher! She shared every secret, every color combo. The strangest thing was... we all sort of think of her as "the seahorse lady." But, she is oh-so-much-more! We learned so much! I feel like my head is gonna explode!

And I have to share one thing about glass teachers in general... Glass classes cost a freaking fortune and you go there and you take frantic notes so you can remember what you learned because...so few teachers give you a hand out! I've been teaching since I was 17 and write VERY detailed instructions for my students complete with photos because I want them to be able to duplicate what we did in class. But that is not the norm. My community college and retail students alike all complain that so few teachers do hand outs.  Because I do it and all of the fabulous rubber stamp teachers I knew do it...I'm always shocked that  I'm spending so much for a class and yet there is no handout.

Large Lentel by Kimberly Affleck

Of all the glass classes I've taken, two have done handouts to take home and Ms. Affleck is EXCEPTIONAL! It was a full book with every demo and then some. Color combos, silver glass hints, tips on heat control and volume control... you name it! The book was in black and white but with it came a full color CD-ROM!

This freed me up in class to PAY ATTENTION. I got to be in the moment without worrying about every little detail! I think I took a whopping one page of notes on things that were asides... Not planned but extra demos!

I spent so much time ooh and ahhing over techniques, I was just dumbstruck with gratitude by the end of the class. I am truly grateful for the opportunity.

I hope you will take a moment and visit Kim's Etsy. And don't just linger over the amazing seahorses!!! Her focals are stunning!

I'm having oral surgery tomorrow morning. Things may be a bit quiet here this week depending on my recovery.

Heather Trimlett Button Class at the Mandrel

If you are remotely curious about how to make a glass button, I cannot recommend Heather Trimlett enough as THE go-to girl and fount of button making knowledge! And - as luck would have it - she's coming to The Mandrel January 8 - 9 to teach button making!

Heather's buttons are to die for!

And, Heather is simply THE best teacher no matter what level you are at! Go check out my class review from last year. Sign ups end this week so don't miss this!! Call the Mandrel to sign up!

Shifting Gears

When I get stuck as I have been of late, I often love to take a class to get me out of my own head. While I often take jewelry making classes it's great to take a glass bead class. I find it's good to get out of my own head and just learn something new!

This past weekend while at our local ISGB meeting, I found out that a local artist, Chiharu, was to be teaching her flower focals at The Mandrel the next day.  Still feeling that funk, I decided to take the class and am I ever glad I did. We were supposed to make two beads but learned many more and had ample time to make multiple versions in class.

I also took some purple rods with me and used my spare time to make a couple of hearts for Beads of Courage, which always feels good.

It was a productive day but I won't have the beads to show you for a few weeks because I'm having them mailed with other stuff waiting to arrive.

It's good to shift gears and try new things when you are in a funk. I'm anxious to get on the torch and try my new floral skills.

Have a great weekend!

Quilt Failure

I have NOTHING beady to say today... I'm in the middle of five different projects and nothing at the "sharing" stage yet!

So... I thought I would regale you with a witty story... I was reading EmaK's blog on quilts and how that passion appears in her lampwork and remembered why quilting is one of few handcrafts at which I'm a total failure.

When I was working on Carol Duvall and Simply Quilts was shooting next door and we were all sharing offices, I decided I had to learn! After some discussion with the ladies on that show, it was determined that Japanese fabrics were what really struck a cord in me. I loved the watercolor feel and the hint of metallic. And they recommended a Japanese fabric store in West L.A.

Still not sure, I stopped into the store on a Saturday, fell in love with a log cabin style quilt that had big six inch wide logs. That quilt made me sign up for a class and I bought fabric based on what the shop owner told me.... that the log cabin quilt was great for a beginner.

I returned a few weeks later, sewing machine and my stash of fabrics in tow. The shop owner set me up at a table and told me to start cutting all that fabric into little one inch strips. HUH???? How's one inch strips going to turn into that large panel quilt on the wall??? While I sat there confused and staring back and forth from my fabric to the quilt, she got on the phone. 20 minutes go by.

She strolls by me, still on the phone and YELLS at me to START CUTTING!!! Still not understanding and her still on the phone, I decided that if she wanted me to cut such small pieces I would BUY more fabric to make whatever quilt she wanted me to make.

And then, the shop owner turned into some kind of Nazi! Still on the phone, she starts yelling again, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING???? SIT DOWN AND CUT!!! CUT FABRIC NOW!"

I had had enough and no longer cared that she was on the phone. I told her I don't understand. She does not hang up but comes over and again tells me to cut small strips. I explained... A few weeks ago, when I bought my fabric....etc.

She tells me "That quilt no beginner quilt. CUT NOW!"

I tell her I would rather buy different fabric. This was not the class I was promised and I got up again to browse.

She started yelling at me to get out!!! "YOU LEAVE NOW!"

"REFUND NOW!"

She keeps yelling but as I'm packing up my sewing machine tells me she will refund 1/2. I said nothing but I went outside and called my credit card company. I got all my money back...except for the fabric.

And I never ever wanted to make a quilt after that! And YES, I told all the ladies at Simply Quilts what happened! None of them would shop there after the incident!

P.S. The Nazi Quilt shop went out of business

Heather Trimlett, Artist, Teacher Extraordinaire and Head Spinner!

I mentioned last week that my head was spinning after taking Heather Trimlett's class. I'm amazed I even blogged anything coherent last week! And while I mean NO disrespect to the other fabulous teachers I've studied with - I so wish Heather had been my first teacher.

Yes, I took her class to figure out what I'm doing wrong on big hole beads and to hopefully see how she wraps those delicate filigrana around such big beads! And yes, I learned about that but...Oh so much MORE!

This past week has had me rethinking EVERYTHING I do at the torch:

• The way I sit
• The height of my chair
• The position of my hands
• The amount of glass in my initial gather
• The heat in the mandrel
• How I hold the mandrel

Beads I made during and after Heather Trimlett's class

But all of that is just the tip of the iceberg! I've also worked on or learned:

• Patience (definitely missing from my "hot and fast" routine.)
• Why there's more white in a twisty and how make more evenly colored ones
• Dealing with great big gathers of color
• Casing great big gathers
• Getting filigranas to "line up"
• Why my BHBs melted down wonky
• Getting texture lines out of skinny beads
• The key to great puckered ends
• The coolest way ever to close up a hollow
• Getting heat to the core of a big bead
• Stringer control
  
• The art of reading the glass and getting it to do what I want by understanding what it wants
• Heating large masses evenly
  
• More patience!

And I'm sure I'm forgetting something.... I can honestly say I have a a different relationship with glass after this class! I have better understanding of heat and using it to make the glass go where I want it.

I really cannot recommend Heather's classes enough! If you have a chance, she is a must see teacher!

Zipper pull by Heather Trimlett, my treat for studying hard!

Overthinking 10,000 Times

Last week, I wrote about needing 10,000 hours of practice to master something. I've pondered that thought for endless hours in the past week and a half.

I know from experience that there is nothing that will advance lampworking skills like parking my bottom behind the torch. Practice makes perfect....or as my childhood band teacher used to say, "Perfect practice makes perfect!"

But what about all the other things I do to learn to perfect my skills?

• Reading books, tutorials, blogs & forums full of advice
• Watching demos in class or at other glass events
• Prepping to torch...dipping, sorting glass, labeling glass
• Cleaning beads

What about all those countless hours? Don't they count for something? Do they advance my skill level??

After considering all these things, I think yes and no... (typical Pisces!).

Reading and studying, creating notes for the torch session most certainly does increase my skills. Just this week, I was determined to master drilling holes with a tungsten pick. Despite my watching countless demos, it was asking a question on a forum and reading the myriad of replies that finally got me to understand the heat issue I was having. The very next session yielded many pick drilled buttons and hearts!

Watching demos - yes. Seeing demos at my bead group often inspires me to come home and stretch in a new direction. Or, sometimes I see a demo and realize how a technique can apply to something else I'm working on.... I saw one of my fellow Flame Surfers demo her technique for handles on a vessel and KNEW I could improve the loops on my hearts with the same method!

And watching master teachers... that is priceless. But maybe it's not the same as sitting there and doing the work...maybe that counts for 50%?

Prepping... of all the prep work I do, I would say labeling glass, pulling and sorting is the most helpful. It just helps to see and touch it. I know that Anice feels rougher than regular white or that the white rod is whiter when closely compared. But still, should that time "count?" Probably not.

And cleaning beads? While it is good to see what came out of a torch session...how colors reacted, was my heat control good, does a new design work??? Ultimately, I've decided not to include that time.

So where does that leave me??? While I have no idea how many hours I've added up to this point.... some weeks I torched every day. The week I spent at Bead and Button, I torched every day, all day. But there were weeks when I worked at a real job and couldn't torch at all. So, even though this is a gross underestimate, I'm starting at 1500 hours up to my class last weekend.

I'm going to keep a running tally in the bottom of the blog. It's going to be an interesting journey keeping track of this!


1523

Head Spinning

I had an A M A Z I N G class with Heather Trimlett this past weekend at the mandrel and honestly, my head is SPINNING with so many beady ideas.... I can't think straight!

So instead of putting together a blog post I'm certain won't make sense, I thought I would share a few links.

The Fire Divas, a group of beadmakers that promote one another, have a new feature to allow you to get know your bead makers in depth called Diva of the Month. It's written by yours truly. This month's Diva of the Month is Janel Dudley. Hop on over and read her first two interviews HERE

I love Janel's work and I'm sure you will too!

Available in Janel's Shop.

Southern California Marble Show

Any Marble makers out there? Marble lovers and collectors??? I'm sure!

An interesting turn of events in the glass world of So. Cal. Beloved boro teacher and marble maker, Mike Close has decided to work and live in Thailand for several years. What's to happen to the Marble show he ran???

Beloved soft glass marble maker, Rich Shelby has stepped up and taken over. And as of early December, almost all of the booths at the show were sold. With just a few spaces open, Rich says, "I'm not sure if I should be thrilled or frightened!"

I've known Rich for.... decades! I first met him at the INCREDIBLE rubber stamp shop his wife Laurie owned and Rich worked at when not at his day job. He's such a sweet and talented guy - Who wouldn't say that about one of Santa's twin "helpers" who poses for pics at Christmas fairs??? (That beard is REAL!)

Rich was also one of the rare male guests I got to produce on the Carol Duvall Show...Rich made a rubber stamped clock.

And then one day, I was at a glass meeting... and there was Rich. He makes beautiful marbles and is a kind and patient teacher.

And thanks to him, the marble show goes on! It will be held on March 20, 2010 in Fullerton at the Anaheim Park Hotel. For hotel reservations: 714-992-1700.

To see if there is a booth available, contact Rich: richshelby (at) ca.rr.com.

Getting the Most from a Lampwork Class

In so many ways, I'm a professional student. I'm always taking some kind of class from computer graphics to metal working and always - a glass class. And while I do take a more basic class now and then - I love supporting our local studios and teachers, mostly I take classes from the "big names" in glass.

Someone asked me once when I knew I was a glass artist. It was in my first glass class at Bead & Button '08. I was in a Doug Remschnieder class on making ornaments and it was my first ever class in Boro (hard glass). I watched his demo and then it was "student time" and I sat down at my torch. I happened to be sitting next to Frank Scott, another talented glass teacher (and I was already teaching beginning lampwork). We both fired up and got to work, wanting to make the most of our torch time.

I was pretty well into my piece when I realized that Frank and I were the only ones torching...everyone else was watching us. I was getting a little self conscious when a lady next to me said, "You just jump right in there, don't you?"

I told her, "That's the only way to make something...you have to start."

It was right then that I realized whatever fears, doubts and reservations I ever had where completely gone.

And I still take classes. But in the beginning, I would take copious notes of every little detail. I would return home or to my hotel and type them up. (My ability to read "Holly-hand" decreases within days of my writing it down!) And I would sit at the torch and try to capture every freaking detail. And more often than not, I would HATE, HATE, HATE the beads I made. I found them embarrassing and dreadful. Nothing I would show to anyone!

But in the past year, there has been a shift in my thinking. I still take those copious notes and frequently type them up. But now, in class, I return to my torch and actually take a moment to gather my thoughts and think. I analyze what it is I want to learn from the demo I just saw. What's different? What would incorporate nicely into my own work?

I'm certain many take classes from famous beadmakers to learn to make beads just like that particular artist. But I think, if you do that, in the end, you are selling yourself short (not to mention copying).

So when I do light up, I'm not struggling to keep up, or forgetting a step because there is something I really want to master. I don't stress over surface decoration unless that is the whole point of that particular bead. And the funny thing is, I suddenly like my class beads a whole lot more!

Take for example, my most recent class with Sarah Hornik. She was teaching us her "Barbie Bling Bead." (Follow that link for a photo and a link to the tutorial she sells.)

And I decided I really wanted to focus on getting the glass to twist. Once I got that to happen, I was happy with my bead and stopped futzing with it. And I love it.

I named my bead "Barbie," but not for the reason you may think. I often name my beads after women and that's the BFF's name. She makes me giggle with glee and so does this bead!

So, the next time you find yourself in a class with dozens of details flying at you, stop. Think about what you most want to learn and don't aim to make the same bead everyone else is making.

Finding My Voice... The Photography Project

The homework in this week's Finding Your Voice Workshop (by Sylvie Lansdowne, on Facebook), was to go out and discover new photos...ones that might be potential beads.

I took over 40 photographs in just an hour in the creek and came home with tons of potential lampwork bead ideas. I also played around with the settings on my camera, taking photos in black and white, vivid color, cyan and sepia tones. The things you can learn from looking at the same old thing in a limited color palette is amazing.

In the end, this sepia toned photo really captured my imagination. I thought it would be fun to play around with the limited palette in my favorite earth tones.



The bead is not an actual interpretation...more like it was inspired by the photo. I really like this monochromatic palette and hope to play with it more.




This bead will be for sale on Holly's Folly in a few more days.

Finding My Voice - The Memory Bead

So this week's homework assignment in Sylvie Landsdowne's Finding Your Voice workshop is to make a memory bead. We are only supposed to attempt this bead once but I felt so much pressure, I broke the rules and made four. I think my workshop members will forgive me when they find out why...

Two thoughts came to mind when I learned of the assignment. I've always wanted to make / own a bead made with the cremains of my beloved rottweiler, Maggie May. And I suddenly recalled a trip to Williamsburg, VA as a child where I purchased a worry stone. I loved having that thing in my pocket so much, I darn near rubbed a hole in it in less than a week!

I've always been a child who loved to collect rocks, acorns, cool sticks, etc. on my hikes. I guess I love having a bit of nature in my pocket. So I had a "shape" direction to go in.

And as for Maggie May - Maggie had been in Rottie Rescue for over a year when I got her. I actually had passed her over for another dog. When that girl died very suddenly and strangely, I ended up with Maggie. It took me months to commit to Maggie - I was still missing the first one. But in very short order, I realized Maggie was committed to me.



One winter night, I had been arranging some furniture in an office / laundry room adjacent to my bedroom. I finished and turned in. Some hours later, I slowly became aware of Maggie jumping on and off my bed - something she never did. I kept drifting back into a heavy sleep and then Mags would be tugging at my covers, then jumping on the bed.

Normally, if she needed to go out, she would go over the the blinds at the laundry room door and gently touch them. I'm a light sleeper so that would be enough to wake me and I would let her out. But on this night, she was sweeping those blinds like they were a cello. I was aware but I couldn't move.

Finally, Maggie tugged on my arm and I awoke as I was falling out of bed. Thinking she was ill, I ran to the door to open it, realizing on the way that I was overcome with nausea. As I raced inside to the bathroom, I smelled the gas! My house was full of it.

Later, as I thought about how close to death I had come and blowing up my house, I told Maggie that as long as I had so much as a shopping cart, she would always have a home. She was and is my hero. There is a good story I wrote on the Creekhiker blog as well as a bit about her ashes.

I know other beadmakers have used cremains in their beads and I've thought about having a bead made for me. But some part of me didn't want any part of Maggie going on a trip. I knew eventually, I would do it....just not this soon. This homework really made me stretch.

But I couldn't bring myself to use those ashes on something I might mess up on. So... there were four beads in this homework project.

The first, I was so worried about it breaking, I didn't melt the punty mark in well enough.

Round one: didn't melt the punty enough...flowers too light.

The second one, I tried to make a free-form loop but it shattered and I just made a feeble attempt at fixing it and threw it in the kiln. And I cried. It was a horrible torch day where nothing had worked and this just finished it! I literally considered selling my glass!

Round two - the loop broke, I panicked...

So I showed them to friends, artists of other mediums who give me invaluable insight. And then I went for a long hike and I realized aside from the size of the thumb grove, my biggest issue was the punty.

I fired up the torch again and puntied with clear and on the bottom of the piece. When I finished this one, I knew my idea would work and I was ready for Maggie's cremains to become part of the piece.

Round three, showing the thumb groove.

At first, I was so nervous as I poured a tablespoon of her ashes into one of my frit sifters over a shallow metal bowl. But in just seconds I was over it and actually stirred the ash to sift it better, carefully placing the chunkier bits back in Maggie's urn.

I melted some cranberry rod and dipped it in the cremains, heated and twisted and pulled a rather lumpy stringer.

The final piece was made with pastel rhubarb - my favorite for floral bases because it shifts color in the light. I'm a moody chicky - why shouldn't my memory stone be moody too???

I added leaf cane, then Maggie cane, then little flowers; got it all super hot to make my thumb hole, melted off the punty and tossed it in the kiln.

I had Maggie stringer left over and that was returned to her urn.

My final piece - the pink part contains Maggie's cremains.

I love this piece because the bits of cremains look like mica and sparkle in the sun. Just like my heroine did!

Kim Field's Class at the Mandrel

I've been dying to write about my mid-November class with Kim Fields for ages but had some really hectic and large classes of my own to teach and then, I got really sick!

I really enjoy taking classes and learning from a well-known artist. I enjoy their different philosophies on color and design even pet peeves in lampwork. I really enjoyed Kim's technique for leaf cane which creates more leaves that look similar and not identical on the same bead.

The Mandrel owner Donna Conklin and Kim Fields sharing a laugh at lunch.

Another technique Kim shared is her technique for making her petals and leaves look more natural. At first, I found it a bit tedious but can see the results. Kim's work is just gorgeous and that skill is all part of it.

She told us it was just frustration... real leaves don't look like they have a ball at the end. And she worked and worked trying to figure it out. It was in a Loren Stump class where Kim was watching him work on an eyeball that she realized the same method would for leaves and flowers.

That is the real fun of taking classes: learning some new technique that applies to something in your own work.

Kim Fields demoing for the class.

Another wonderful thing about taking classes from a pro is the wonderful trays of beads they bring. It's a great opportunity to see lots of expert quality beads up close.

I adored these large focals. They fit in the palm of my hand!

The bead I most lusted over were these little pine covered beads. They remind me of the pine tree canyons I grew up in.

Kim is renown for her birds but it was these two part penguin beads that took my breath away.

The only bad part of the whole weekend was the fires that were actually burning up by my house. The winds blew the smoke all the way down to Redondo Beach. The first day, right after lunch, it looked like it was getting dark but it was really the smoke. I wrote about that on Creekhiker (Nov 19 08 post) a few weeks back... the pictures are pretty eerie!

Ming with her mom.

One of the best parts of the weekend was Ming! She's Donna's little Shar pei puppy and she's so sweet! She visited us several times a day and always made me smile!