Bead and Button - I can't wait to see you again.

I wasn’t able to attend B&B last year – what a bummer. This year though I’ll be going for a couple of days with lots of friends. Since we are all enrolled in different classes it should be interesting to see what everyone creates. I’m signed up for a pewter casting class and a Photoshop class. I wanted the photography class but it was full – drats!

Since I already cast in silver and I think it will be an excellent transition class to iron out any kinks between the two. Silver is expensive. Gone are the days of major casting pours and it’s difficult for customers to be able to afford to purchase a batch of custom silver designs. Who can afford to load up a necklace or bracelet with it? It’s a lot like a builder building a spec house these days, the market isn’t there. Brass, bronze, and shibushi, are an option I will be exploring sooner or later but for now I think pewter might be a very viable alternative.

I’m excited about the prospects. How has the rise in metals affected your choices? What kind of class would you enjoy taking?

While the Soup is Simmering...

While the soup for the Bead Soup Blog Hop is still simmering I've been working on some new clay pieces.

I saw a cover shot on a recent magazine of a half flower clay piece and decided to make one for myself. Flowers are always fun and a half of a sun or flower is a great visual to play with. Certainly mine isn't much like the original artist - everyone has different skills but it was fun to try one.

Now the Raven pendant - that's all my style. Gosh they are powerful looking birds. I'm pretty happy with the sculpting on this one.

I've been working on several talisman type objects and thought I'd try some spirit beads too. In this photo (and an awful one I might add) I pulled out the red clay I've been reconstituting and made one that will rattle when it's shaken. It would be nice on a long necklace.

Fun stuff, don't you think? I'm not quite sure about the glaze for the Raven. This is still where my inexperience with that aspect is holding me back. Maybe I'll do some test tiles before I ruin a very nice piece. I suppose I could do a mold of it first - too many decisions when all I really want to do is play in the mud.

Ready, Set, Plop!

I was ready, and then I asked my husband what he thought of the necklace I'm working on. He said, "which part?" When will I learn - and for that fact - when will he! When I want a critique I ask my girlfriends. When I want support ( more like a rubber stamp, for example, "You look great.") I ask my husband. What was I thinking? I knew he'd ask something like that. ACK!

He's a trend setter alright. Yup! He has fifteen T-shirts he can match to his pj bottoms and jeans. What would this man know about recycled sari silk, Irish linen, and that when I say, "How's it hanging?" I'm referring to balance of the necklace I'm working on and not......well, you know.

Soup's Cooking

It’s the big count down for Bead Soup Blog Hop – One week to go – I’m working like mad on my pieces. Since I don’t do much finished work anymore it’s been a challenge to put my ducks in a row. So what can you expect me to put with Rebecca’s great soup she sent me?

The photo is of waxed linen I used in addition to my bead soup stash…..if you want to know what I did with it you will have to tune in to this blog next Saturday, March 3rd for the big Blog Hop. It’s going to include some awesome eye candy.

Starting on next Saturday I’m going to make it a Bead Soup Week. After the initial hop post I’m going to spend the rest of week talking tutorials, close-ups, design reasoning behind the necklace I created, new internet resources, and some of my blog hop favorites. It’s going to be a whopper of a week to start off March!

Barb Lewis is Having an E Course Giveaway

I'm posting this right from Barb's blog:

Wednesday, February 22, 2012
eCourse Introduction: Studio Walkthrough

"Over the past year, I've received requests to teach Painting with Fire Workshops from so many nice people across the country. I wish I could have accepted them all because I love to teach AND have a serious case of wanderlust! So, I did the next best thing! I've created a ning group for an Online Painting with Fire Workshop where you can view the videos when you want and how often you want! You say you live in Latvia? No problem! Ah, the beauty of the internet! "

You see Barb is giving away one free e-course and you just have to go to her blog and sign up!
Incredible, HUH
Well hurry along and sign up and be sure to go to that video of her new studio - it's to die for!

Click Below-

Painting With Fire Art Wear

I Love Me Some Words

Sorry for the absense! I've been busy photographing and reworking some of my Bead Soup pieces. Just a little to much on my plate right now.

Thinking in Technicolor

What a Wonderful Day

We spent today doing something that we've done once a year for thirty years now - relaxing on our anniversary. Thirty Years! On the very first one we went to the movie. I didn't feel very well that day - oh, ecstatic at marrying the man I love but physically not well. As I've said - small town and not huge options for entertainment. We did dinner and a movie. We have a wonderful theatre with one screen...and what was playing. Halloween. What a way to celebrate such an auspicious occasion, LOL. We loved it.

Tomorrow - back to art!

Here's the Rejects Jean

I told Jean Wells I’d do a post of the flub ups I mentioned in the last post. I’ve included a kiln photo in the batch at the top. It wasn’t the placement of the pieces – it was the choice and application of the glazes. I know what I did wrong, at least I THINK I know.


The huge round hollow bead of green (uh, supposed to be Dragonfly Green). I layered the colors – several – but mostly the Dragonfly. It was stippled with a darker color (Espresso), which doesn’t show up anywhere. I thought I had it thick with glaze – uh, could have been a whole lot thicker. This is the bead I’m going to torture either by sandblasting, etching, or re-glazing. It’s out of round – not a huge deal to me compared to glaze debacle.

Here’s a yuck – what happened to the hearts in the two pendants? Problem – too much underglazing of the hearts. So, when they were glazed with clear they ran and blurred. They’ll become experiments to see how etch will look – especially if I block out some of the areas before I etch.

This was the large cone bail in the kiln. Problem – the glaze (Autumn Mist) should have run. It was another one of those that was duel coated with another glaze (Espresso again). It didn’t run – it kind of crawled here and there. Solution – should have used the Autumn Mist with out anything else and hung like a bell, not on its side. Another solution – I made netting for the huge bail and a cap. I hammered a copper bead cap into a domed copper ring. It all needs to be heavily antiqued and assembled. And how am I going to use it. I haven’t a clue. Any ideas?

Word pendants and disc – sloppiness does not become me. Problem here – Trying to block in an area with glaze and paint central portion with a clear glaze. I’m guessing it was just all on too thick and ran together in a rather unsightly pattern. Solution – stick to underglazes on these pieces. If I want a matt look – purchase a matt clear glaze for the final application

There were successes in that kiln load…plenty of them. And, by the way, if you guys see something you are interested in let me know. I don’t list everything on Etsy – it costs too much but I won’t run the kiln half empty so I have piles of goodies here.

This is a piece I consider a success. It was the Autumn Mist glaze used alone and hung down in the kiln. It was designed with the African series in mind and for a twig wrap at the top – maybe a thin willow branch. I left holes along the edge to accommodate the wrapping with waxed linen and a hole at the bottom to make something dangly that includes that disc (ah, an espresso + something else I can’t remember that turned out – LOL). I’ll be making more of these small clay spirit cases. I was thinking too they might be good as wish boxes. Make them hollow except a small slot on the top to put your paper wishes into and something to hang them from. HHmmmmm…now I’m thinking about Spirit boxes…..stop me!

No, not Snow!

Today's kiln was a bit of a surprise. Some good and some totally yucky. I had purchased some new glazes and couldn't wait to see how they worked. This is where my inexperience with clay really sucks! Things I wanted to run didn't - things I didn't think would drip - well, you get the idea. I layered different glazes - looks good on pots, right? On beads - not so good.

It's not the glazes fault - (I could use a blinkie here)- USER ERROR! On, the bright side, most of the kiln load turned out and the pieces that aren't exactly my favorites were a learning experience. Besides, they're now subject to torture.

Torture you say? Absolutely. I can now etch them - see what sandblasting does to them and who knows what else can be conjured up. Any ideas?

Of the beads that turned out I thought I'd post this set I made for a friend. It's a collaboration and she requested the color and theme (Snowflakes). If I didn't love her to pieces I'd scream.