A blog dedicated to the creativity and the challenges of making and designing with handmade art glass (lampwork) beads.
About This Blog
This blog reflects the thoughts, passions and struggles of a glass bead artist whose day job is manufacturing food safe rubber stamps. I share the joys and challenges of making lampwork glass beads and rubber stamping. ALL images here are copyrighted unless otherwise stated and may not be used without permission!Contact Holly
Several amazing sales venues have popped up on Facebook expressly for artisan lampwork! I always share my current sales on my fan page there. But you can usually find me on any of the following groups:
More Diva news this week! The Fire Divas Quarterly Jewelry Challenge upon us and this time, the theme for this challenge is Spring! Show off your beautiful Spring themed jewelry creations featuring Fire Divas' lampwork. Head over to the Flickr site to see many beautiful jewelry pieces made with Fire Divas' lampwork to inspire you! You have the chance to win these incredible prizes from the Fire Divas:
All submissions must feature Fire Divas' lampwork. We require the name of the Fire Diva who made the beads used in the submitted piece, so if you submit something, please be ready to provide that information.
We will allow one submission per person per contest, and a maximum of two photos per submission. Entries may be submitted here (http://www.flickr.com/groups/firedivachallenge/) for approval, no later than April 15, 2010. Please include, in the comments section, the following: Information about the beads: Description of the piece: Inspiration for the piece: Submissions will not be approved without all of this information.
Fire Divas reserve the right to approve or reject any submissions.
Fire Divas reserve the right to modify or cancel the challenge at any time.
The winners will be determined by an open poll which does not allow multiple votes.
Ok, go have fun creating, and good luck to all who enter!
A rare weekend post. It's just as well because it's a fun Glassy weekend here in LA LA land. The Southern California Flame Surfers are meeting at Pacific Artglass tomorrow and it is sure to be fun! Kati O'Meara and Brian Mortensen will demo and allow the Flame Surfers to tour their Magic Glass Bus... a traveling studio!! I will post about that later next week.
But today, I want to share with you the incredible creations by my fellow Fire Divas for the Fire Divas Easter/Passover Challenge! We've allowed plenty of time to shop for those Easter and Passover beads. Below are the entries; take a good look at all that eye candy and then vote for your favorite on the right side of the Fire Divas Blog!
Entry 1:
Entry 2:
Entry 3:
Entry 4:
Entry 5:
Entry 6:
Entry 7:
Entry 8:
Entry 9:
------------- And the official announcement of the Fire Divas 2nd Jewelry Challenge is up! I will repost that next week but, jewelry designers, start making those fantastic creations for spring with your Diva beads! There are some fabulous prizes!!!
As a special, limited time offer, I am going to place a check out button here on the blog for $30 dollars OFF the list price of this necklace, provided you check out through Revolution Money Exchange. This is the only free way for vendors like myself to receive money. Other online payment systems and credit card processors take a nice chunk of artisans hard earned money and this is my way of educating the public and other artisans about this fantastic service!
So there are two buttons there: One for RME ($65.00) and one for PP at full retail (95.00)! Let's see what happens!
I rarely seem to be content with my first attempt at a design. There are often several versions before I'm happy and that violet I shared yesterday was no exception.
As these first attempts are often the ones I wear or donate to Beads of Courage (through the So Cal Flame Surfers), you guys rarely get to see behind the curtain.
The Violets for My Sisters came about when I was making some beads to take to my sorority's 25th anniversary party. I made several beads but in the end I knew the violet would strike a cord with "the girls" who are now grown women. And as I wanted to give it to a sister who extended herself in a most gracious way to me, it had to be special.
Whenever I begin a sculptural piece, I hit google images for examples of what I want to make. I try to find as many images from different angles as I can. I open a word doc and right click and paste them into one doc, dragging the corners to fit 4 - 6 on one page. I print that out and tape it to the right of my torch... on the wall, far away from the flame.
Then I select my colors, pull stringers, give some thought to structure (How will it hang? Will one side be too heavy? Along with the more obvious, "Where do I begin?"), pull any special tools and start.
At first, I really wanted an opaque glass for a base. But the fact of the matter is... no one makes a pretty opaque purple. (Before you other bead makers jump in here - there is a boutique glass company that makes a glorious opaque purple. But that color is so inconsistent; I refuse to spend more money for an unpredictable product.) For that reason alone, this bead was rejected.
Still I wore this for a few days to be sure the structure was something I could go on with. I wanted to make sure the design didn't flop when worn. I had taken care to balance this bead by adding extra glass to the back side to to prevent that but wearing it was the only way to be sure. Once I knew the bead worked structurally, I was ready to address color.
Extra glass was added to the back to keep the bead from flipping.
The second bead broke (I dropped it on my tile floor.) and it's just as well. I used a larger mandrel, wanting a more dramatic sized bead. And even though I took care to add more glass to the back, it was still front heavy as it had petals only on one side like the first. But I knew the transparent color was the perfect choice. See? There's something to learn at every turn!
For the final version, I went back to a 1/16 mandrel for a smaller bead hole and on a whim, decided to add petals to both sides. This was quite a feat in the flames! I had to make a bead, keep it warm while pulling petals and adding them one by one. 10 petals!
In the end, I was so pleased that the bead stood upright on its own making it the perfect stand-alone piece for a shelf or desktop or it can be worn without flipping.
I knew it! It was coming...I smelled it in the wind. It always happens. I'm talking about that crash that inevitably comes after I've stretched and grown a bit.
And I have been stretching and growing. My last torch sessions before I left yielded some amazing beads! I was so proud. I can't show you all of them... they are for a contest and I don't like bragging about a bead here and then asking my readers to go vote somewhere. That would be stacking the deck and I don't care for that. But I will show you one of them:
Violet for My Sisters
This bead is a thing of wonder and I will be posting more about it in a few weeks, once the contest with the other beads is over (That bead is NOTHING like this. It's NOT a flower.)
I will explain one little bit about this bead. It has 10 petals, which were added one at a time, all the while keeping this big bead warm and happy. When I finished this and put it in the kiln and took a breath - I nearly cried! I made exactly one bead that night...this one. No breakage, no flat fish...just one perfect bead.
There are times as an artist I feel so blessed. But my first art form is actually writing. I've used these skills to earn a living time and time again. And just as in lampwork, there are times the words seem to flow out of my fingertips and onto the screen in a most magical way... like I am irrelevant to the process. Like some Higher Power (believe whateveryou want here. I'm NOT here to force my beliefs on anyone...I just know what I feel.) has taken control and I'm merely the vessel.
This bead (and those others I'm DYING to show someone) and this recent blog post felt that way for me. And when I'm riding that high, I know a crash is coming. It seems that whenever I get too big for my egotistical britches, the Universe will take me down a peg and put me in my place... No matter how grateful I am for my gifts, the crash always comes.
Yet I was so full of ideas as I eagerly hit the torch last night and everything went awry. Every color test I ran was a complete failure. The color of glass I really "need" for that project in my head...isn't even made! I turned the torch off after an hour, hung my head and came into the house. I need to rethink that project.
And just as certain as I am about this crash, I am equally as certain that I will go on. I will baby myself. I will have a torch session where I only make things I've made over and over...success guaranteed. Then I will expand and feel my oats with new color combos or play with size and scale. And soon, this crash will be behind me - just one more low in the rhythm of life - and I will keeping working at a medium I love.
Here are the rules, so please pass this award along…. The rules for accepting the Sunshine Award are: - Put the logo on your blog or within your post. - Pass the award onto 12 bloggers. - Link the nominees within your post. - Let the nominees know they have received this award by commenting on their blog. - Share the love and link to the person from whom you received this award.
(Can I just say??? I HATE this part!)
1) Janel of Janel Dudley Beads - Janel is a fellow Fire Diva and she is PURE sunshine to that group. Always thinking, doing, plugging (other's work more often than her own!). I love her sunny disposition and both her blogs!
2) Ema of Ema K Designs - Another Diva. Ema posts on Mondays and her posts always make me think and stretch a bit. She is an inspiration always!
3) Donna of I'm No Prima Donna - Yes, another Diva but, I've known Donna personally for years and she is single handedly responsible for bringing TOP NOTCH beadmakers to Southern California to teach! Her shop rocks and so do the teachers she attracts! And I've been nagging her to blog on a more public forum and she leapt right in. I'm so proud of her because I think she has a lot to say (and having cute dogs for blog fodder never hurts!)
4) Lauren of Maybeads - OK...just one more Diva (what can I say? I find ALL the Divas inspiring! I love Lauren's shiny view of the world and especially all things murrini! Her beads make me smile!
5) Keiara of Keiara's Keep - Her photo always makes me smile - I always longed for purple hair! And her beads ROCK!
6) Lezlie of Lezlie B's Beady Reflections - a/k/a Cankeep - Lezlie is on of the first beadmakers I followed religiously when I even before I became aware of what lampwork was! My pal, Becky Meverden had been given a Sock Monkey glass bead from Lezlie to give to Carol Duvall. It was a stunner. Lezlie is to this day one of my favorites. I adore her work for the simple reason she seems to follow her muse whether her muse is cute one day or organic the next. As someone who has a fickle muse myself, I love that about her. I love that she keeps me guessing! I treasure the pieces of hers I own.
7) Becky of The Constant Crafter- Becky is a long time friend from my Carol days. She's a talent polymer clay designer and jewelry designer and has been known to make beads on occaision! Watching her grow from a rather shy lady into a media savvy pro has been one fun trip!
8) Lori of Pretty Things- A very inspiring blog by renown jewelry designer Lori Anderson. She reviews books, post bits of inspiration and shares her design journey.
9) The Art Bead Scene - This is a group blog and I just love it. Devoted entirely to the use of artist made beads, there is always something exciting to see and the contests just wow me every month. They also make me stretch as an artist! And they are SO on top of the latest trends!
10) Sylvie of Sylvie Bead Journal- Sylvie is an amazing teacher and has such an eye for whimsy. I love to see what she's up to. Her coffee addiction is a thing of wonder as much as her beads!
11) Lx (Louis) from Powder French - Lou was one of the art directors on Carol Duvall. He's one of those guys that not only thinks outside the box, he recycles the box and uses something else entirely. He works in many artistic media and his take on the world is always thought provoking and exciting.
12) Twinkie from Twinkie Tiny Dog- Please overlook the fact that she's my "God-dog-ther," her blogs are so funny and always make me smile. If you've never explored the world of dog blogs.... Twinkie is a fine place to start!
So... check out some new blogs and see what you are missing! And to all of the above: Thanks SO much for bringing a little sunshine into my life!
This tutorial was written for the bead group I work with, The Fire Divas. When I was writing, it became obvious that photos would be necessary. I hope everyone finds this useful.
Note to the bead makers: These are not my beads. They are Glassbaker's from my jewelry making days.
Open your photo in photoshop.
Make any corrections.
Size it down for web viewing - 72 dpi - making sure you have one corner of the photo vacant to work in. The Divas need all photos to be the same size because we turn our bead photos into a gif that everyone can use to promote the Jewelry Challenge. That size is 390 px x 390 px.
Now we'll use the tool palette to make a corner banner (or see my notes below to make other shapes). Your tools palette is on the left side of the screen in photoshop. We will be using five tools in this order (photo below):
Eyedropper - allows you to select colors from your photo.
Color palette - another way to choose color. In this tut, we are really just looking at this tool.
Pen - Creates anchor points for the banner.
Move tool - moves objects around. You must be on the same layer as the object you are moving. Your layers palette is to the right. But if you work in the order listed here, you will always be on the "right" layer and shouldn't have to worry about that.
Text tool - allows you to type on your photo.
Selecting the Corner: Choose the eyedropper tool and go to your photo. Click on the predominate color and you will see this color appear in the color palette (see red arrow). You may have to click around a few times to find just the right shade.
Choose your pen tool and the vacant corner. You will click three times to draw a triangle. You can see where I clicked in the photo.
Try to stay as close to the border of the photo as possible. In three clicks the lines will join and fill with that color you just selected.
Move the Selection: If you don't like exactly where you placed this, choose your move tool (arrow, upper right of tools palette) and move it a little.
Typing your Message: Choose the Type tool (The big letter T on the tools palette). Chose your font up top and click into the picture. Start typing your message. Chose the move tool again when you are done typing.
Mine is a little small but you can see what I wrote over in the layers palette to the right. Move the text over your colored banner.
Sizing / Rotating the Words: Now I need my type a little bigger. On the keyboard, hold down your control key and hit the letter T. This is to access the transform tool (also found under the Edit Menu: Free Transform). This allows you to move the text to the colored corner, spin it around and stretch it to fit.
Choose File: Save for Web. Make any last sizing adjustments and save the file.
The final image.
*To make other shapes: See the little dotted square in the upper left of the tool palette photo above? That's a rectangular selection tool. It's only purpose is to select something. If you click on the darkened lower right corner of that tool, you'll find other shapes: Ellipse, vertical and horizontal lines. The last two only select one pixel wide or tall and we won't be using those.
To make a rectangle or ellipse, select the appropriate tool and draw with the mouse. Try not to cover your bead. If you mess up, do it again - the first selection will disappear.
Once the area you want is selected, select the color you want to fill it with as described above. Go to image fill, foreground color and OK. Then type your message.
To make a square or circle, again select the rectangle or ellipse but HOLD THE SHIFT KEY while selecting and it keeps your width and height proportional.
Other fun shapes: You can add to a shape by holding the control key and drawing another shape that intersects the first. You can subtract from a shape by holding the alt key and drawing an intersecting shape. The overlapping area will be deleted!
This cone is nothing more than a round bead on an inverted cone with some swirly connector bits.
I'm always amazed that many beadmakers sigh with envy when they see sculptural beads. "I wish I could make sculptural beads."
And I always answer right back, "You CAN!"
First of all, they need to realize ALL beads are sculptural. Round IS a shape. Perfecting round is whole mastery unto itself.
But let's not get side tracked. The second most important skill in tackling a sculptural bead is dissecting the shapes. Everything in the universe is made up of a handful of shapes: square, rectangular, round, ellipse. Sure you can get fancy: cones, triangles, octagons... but... even an octagon is simply two squares on axis. Keep it simple.
This vase - a design taught by Leah Fairbanks - is two inverted cones with a cylinder on top, a disk on each end and a handle.
Look at the objects around you. You will see variation after variation of those four shapes. Look at your own body. The human form is nothing more than a series of ovals. Once you start looking at objects as nothing more than shapes it's rather simple to start thinking in terms of a bead.
Two cones with some razor marks and some swirly bits.
If the piece is complicated, you need to address what to do when. You generally always start with a base bead but sometimes you need to start with a weird part... like when making ice cream sundaes. Start with a core of red and that cherry on top will always be perfect. Add it at the end and you can mess the whole piece up.
But you don't want to put on any parts that can't take the heat... save those for the end. Same with pieces that might pop off.
Once you've thought the bead through, choose your colors and pull your stringers, take a deep breath and you're off! It can be exhilarating, especially if you like large beads like I do. Just breathe. And if it falls apart? "Oh Sh!t, flat fish!" That always works for me! Some of my coolest fish were sculptures that fell apart.
Don't let those fins break or let those eye's pop off! (He actually was meant to be a fish!)
So we come to THE most important part of sculptural work... KEEP TRYING. Try one every day. You'll be amazed where the glass takes you!
Can you see it??? Cone with some added glass for the head shape + sideways cone + disk = Witch hat.
The idea was a simple reunion trip - just a quick weekend away... But then reality hit.
Reality begins with me losing my cellphone on the way to LAX and not realizing it until I was in the air. Throw in a few reminders that "it was a quarter century ago" when my sorority sisters and I founded our chapter; seeing the nicest mansion I've ever seen (and that's saying A LOT!) and realizing it was built by my college roommate's LITTLE sister, and realizing I will NEVER get to live that well; a fabulous family pizza night that turned into a surprise birthday party for me....those are the good highlights.
And then there is the bad part of reality... TWO rounds of iv antibiotics after my doctor tracked me down to tell me the nasty spider bite I had lanced before leaving has a nastier staph infection! And... two missed flights home: one for medical reasons, one for snow!
So, I'm still in Baton Rouge for a few more hours.
I'm out of town for a few days celebrating the 25th year of the my sorority chapter which I helped found on my college campus. I will return in a day or two but posting may be a bit erratic this week as it's also birthday week and I like to hide from the world on my birthday!
But I should be posting again by March 4th so come back and visit!
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I wanted to put a bug in your ear about the upcoming Fire Divas Jewelry Challenge. The Deadline is April 1st and this time, only jewelry designed with Fire Diva Beads is eligible. The theme and prize details are still being worked out but I do know lots of Diva Gift Certificates will be up for grabs as prizes! The theme will most likely be Spring related... so put your thinking caps on and Join our Flickr group - That's where the entries will be hosted.
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