Were You An Early Or Late Bloomer?

Whether you were an early or late bloomer, hopefully you'll love these sculptural flower beads that I created.

They're a rather fun little experiment that I've entitled, "Early Bloomers" due to the fact that they have budded and bloomed while it is still quite wintery outside.

Each little bud sports a small stem piece on the top of the bead, and a lovely two-color flower on the bottom.  Inside each flower is a yellow stamen to give them a bit more realism.

The lovely reflective properties of the flowers is due to the natural lines the glass created while wrapping and shaping the flowers into their final designs.

Usually, beads like this have the holes running from the top of the bead out through the flower end, but the holes in these actually run horizontally through the flower's base.

As usual, I'll be posting this unique set of beads into my Etsy shop tomorrow morning.  I hope you can drop by for a visit once they're on full display.

A Night At The Theater

Fortunately, the weather didn't get nearly as bad as they had predicted earlier and we were able to attend the show last night.  While getting there was a bit sketchy with the trucks slopping snow and ice onto our windshield, we made it the play without incident.

This performance was an invited dress rehearsal, since Robert has worked with the theater many times, we were invited for a preview and to give the actors an audience to play to.  There were just a few of us, but we had a great time.

The "Jeeves Intervenes"  is a fun romp with a cast of characters including the reluctant playboy, the pushy aunt trying to marry him off, the ne'er do well best friend, the overly anxious love interest with a penchant for Nietzsche, and, of course, Jeeves, the faithful Valet without whom no one in the play would not have had a happy ending.

If you're in the Chicagoland area, take a trip out to Oakbrook and see the play.  

Tonight they started performing previews and their big opening weekend is this weekend.  The show runs through March 2nd.

Well, it's getting late and I really need to be off to bed.  It's been a very nice day (my birthday, actually), but now I must get to sleep. 

Tomorrow I'll be re-listing an item in my Etsy shop, but I have something very special for Friday's listing, so be sure to check back tomorrow night and see what it is!

Good Night, All.

Are You Ready For Cosmic Drift?

My doctor's appointment this morning went just fine and the blizzard that they've been predicting to hit us tonight has apparently fizzled out, so we do not have to cancel our theater plans for tonight.  

This should be a lot of fun, and I'll be sure to let you know how "Jeeves Intervenes" turns out (not then ending, just how I liked it).

Cosmic Drift Coming To Etsy

A new set of medium Lentils is on its way to my Etsy shop in the morning.  The name of the set, "Cosmic Drift" really sums up the way this organic set of beads looks.

Using Ivory, Pink and Leaky Pen colors in the beads and working the glass with gravity for the unique patterns and swirls, this set is really timeless.  

Rich transparent blues are interspersed with clouds of pale pink and ivory, much like the nebula and nova in the cosmos.   

This set is not endorsed by the scientific community, and any resemblance to actual galactic phenomenon, past, present or future, is purely coincident.  

An Early Morning Tomorrow - Time For A Relist

Good Evening, Everyone.

I've got an appointment in the morning with my dermatologist, so I won't be posting a new item up in the shop.  I will, however, be re-listing one or two of the items that have expired lately.  

Which one you ask?  Well, I really haven't decided yet.  You'll just have to check out my Etsy shop tomorrow morning and see what has been listed.  You never know, it just might something that you've been waiting all your life for!

Tomorrow night, we're going to the theater.  I'm not referring to the movies, but to actual live theater by First Folio.  Be sure to check out their web site for more info on their shows and upcoming schedule.  They're a group that Robert has worked with many times and they have a new comedy that they are previewing tomorrow night.

If the weather holds out, which looks like we've got more snow coming, we'll be enjoying a fun evening.  If the snow comes as they're anticipating, we may not be able to get to the show.   Winter is really a buzz-kill.

Have  great night everyone!

Class Dismissed! - Something Chunky For Dessert?

The class on Saturday went very well although we were off to a bit of rocky start with the torches.

For whatever reason, the oxygen concentrators, a machine the pulls oxygen from the air for use in a torch, are cursed in that store, and we just can't figure out why.  Maybe they're intimidated by the two large tanks of oxygen sitting next to them, or they're frustrated that they don't get used that often.  Whatever the case, it does seem that every time I need one for a class, they refuse to work.

Refuse to work, that is, until the class is over.  Then they run like a champs.  Go figure.

Once we got the torches running, which really only delayed us a few minutes but it seemed longer when you've got two anxious students waiting to start playing on the torch, we were off and running.

We practiced a number of techniques like stringer pulling, basic cane making, encasing using two different methods, and glass sculpting and shaping.  Beads were plentiful from these two students, more than I was expecting.  

I've taught this class before and while it's always different depending on the students' experience levels and interests, but I've had students that made 5 beads during the entire class and others that make a dozen.  This time around, there must have been close 30 beads in the kiln by the time we were done.  It was quite crowded, and we ran out of room in it!

They liked trying out the various techniques, many they had not tried before, and really seemed to enjoy themselves, which is always great to hear.  I'll be anxious to see some pictures of their beads after the class (hint hint) very soon.

Looking For A Decadent Dessert?

How about this chunky rendition of "Bananas Foster"?  Rich bananas drizzled in carmel and chocolate never looked this wearable (unless you've been out to dinner with me when  I've ordered it).

Using the delicious desert as my inspiration (I actually did have the title before making the beads, I swear), I coupled rich transparent ambers, dark brown and banana yellow to create this fun and funky bead set.

All of the beads in this set are hollow, whether they look like it or not.  Each decorated with a unique design, the set is punctuated with five transparent amber hollows to separate the many patterns and textures.

I hope you enjoy this set as much I did when I made it.  The hollow sets really seem to set me free from design preconceptions which is quite freeing.

This large set will be in my Etsy shop starting tomorrow morning.  Don't let this dessert go waste (or waist), dig in!

Good Morning, Class!

Tomorrow is a very big day for me since I'm going to be teaching a lampworking class at O'Reilly's Stained Glass.  I'm really looking forward to it since these are usually a lot of fun for me as well as (I hope) for the students.

This one is an intermediate class, and I'll have two students.  Usually, these classes are one-on-one, so this will be my first class with two students.  

Usually, this class focuses on pulling stringers (think rods of glass), making canes (long, multi-colored, sometimes twisted rods of glass), encasing (covering beads in a clear layer of glass) and making one of my favorite beads--Tiger print.

I'll be teaching on a minor torch--remember from my second post?

At any rate, one of my students is a customer of mine and good friend; she's bringing her digital camera for pictures and is willing to let me use some on this blog and web site.  Hopefully, I'll have some updated pictures of myself (which I never take) as well as me working on the torch (which are very hard for me to take when I've got a hand full of hot glass).

Until next time, have  a great weekend and stay safe!

P.S.  Bananas Foster is coming!

Great New Stuff Coming--Thanks Starbucks!

Last Sunday's torching session was really fun and I just made whatever I wanted to make, played music I wanted to listen to, and just let the glass lead me in whatever direction.

Grooves like this do not come around every time I sit down to the flame, so I really enjoy them when they come.  I came with some really cool and unusual creations that I'll be unveiling for your viewing pleasure over the next few postings.  

But first, a word from our sponsor:  CAFFEINE!

Inspiration is a very funny thing, but that's not what this is about.   

It's great to be inspired and all that jazz, but unless you have the energy, the song in your heart that just wants to be heard, the vision of the elusive future that you must conjure through your own hard work and perseverance, that iron will that will not let you get up until you have achieved your goal, all this inspiration in the world is not going to help.

That's what Starbucks and their elixirs of life do for me.  Thank you, and be sure to tune in tomorrow night when our sponsor will be ADDICTION.  Now back to our regularly scheduled program.

Tonight's picture is one of those beads from Sunday's torching session.  It's a large organic bicone in one of my favorite color palettes.  These colors never let me down when I work them together in an organic focal, and they certainly worked out nicely this time too.

The rich shades of carmel and brown contrast so nicely with the rich shades of cool, cobalt blue and light ivory highlights.  I first made a bead using these colors during my class with Kim Fields.  I wasn't supposed to use any blue, but I added some in the final step to see what would happen along with some purple.  When the beads came out, she really like it and wanted to know what I'd done to create it.   I thought that was very flattering.

This is the second bead I've made using these techniques and nearly the same colors, and while it's very different from my first, I think you'll really like it too.  

I'm only posting one picture here, but there will three pictures when it gets listed into my Etsy store.

I hope you'll check it out!