Calla Lilly Blooms
Calla Lillies are one of my favorite flowers. Watch this bead “bloom” with Calla Lillies. It is a fun and simple tutorial.
Posts Tagged ‘bead’
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Creativity Explodes with Autumn
The inevitable is upon us, fall, which will lead to cold, snowy winters . . .but wait, let’s just focus on fall for now. Every morning when I walk my greyhound, Goldie, the air is starting to get crisp. A layer of cold dew lingering just a little bit longer on the grass, and the trees and bushes are slowly starting to explode with gorgeous color sort of like a Bob Ross painting gone wild. As fall ignites trees to produce their best colors of the year, it also ignites my creative juices to bust out the glass colors that maybe I haven’t looked at since last fall. Crazy colors that you might not normally put together, orange and purple and yellow, red, burgundy and green, brown and yellow and red, all are acceptable in fall.
As you enjoy the beginning of autumn, take time to be a kid, lay on the ground looking up into a tree sharing it’s final gift of the year. It’s the fireworks of nature! It will surely stimulate your artistic juices to create something beautiful.
What is igniting your creativity right now? Please share
Photo by Darren Brooker and Flickr
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To Market, To Market
Leslie (Horse Spa Products) with Cindy and Abby in showroom
I just got home from my first trip to market, Denver Market! Wow! What a place! I had the pleasure of accompanying Leslie Roarke from Horse Spa Products to her showroom. We redesigned her showroom and made it look spectacular. I was able to network and meet lots of people, including potential reps for my jewelry. I also was well received and sold samples directly to buyers looking for my unique jewelry.
Thank you Leslie for taking me to Denver and showing me the ropes of market. It truly was an awesome experience!
What is your favorite thing about market? Which ones do you attend? Please share.
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Remember Your Roots
Ed Sharr making marbles
I recently went to the Atherton House in Adel, IA. A mentor of mine, Ed Sharr, was doing his glass marble demonstration for the public. I was warmly greeted by his wife, Nancy, who I also respect for her own lampworking skills. Ed and Nancy Sharr are the couple who originally taught me how to lampwork. I sat there, watching Ed demo his marble making talents to the crowd, who oohed and aahed with every marble. I watched Nancy so proudly showing off his collection of marbles displayed for sale to all who were interested.
The day I spent with them in their glass studio about 10 years ago changed the course of my life forever. I was absolutely mesmerized from the moment I saw Ed and Nancy working the hot glass at their torches and knew I had to do this. The three of us spent a whole day together way back then, them teaching me the basics of bead making and then showing me a few advanced techniques as a bonus:
- round beads with nice tucked ends
- flowers
- plunging stringers
- simple encasing
Ed even showed me some of his early marble skills which he has honed quite well in the last 10 years. I went home at the end of that long day not tired, but hungry to learn everything I could about lampworking and melting glass.
I loved chatting and catching up with the Sharrs because they love glass like I do. Nancy has moved on now and has a very successful quilting business. She admits she doesn’t get much time for lampworking anymore like she’d like to, she’s quilting 7 days a week. Ed also has multiple talents but does have time to still play with his “marbles”. They are an inspiring couple with many talents and I thank them because, I wouldn’t be doing what I love if they hadn’t taken the time to teach me and light my fire to learn more about melting glass.
Who were the mentors in your early career? I would love to hear your story.
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Cracked Glass Takes on New life
broken beads give flower pot new look
As a glass artist, I try never to have a crack in my project. But, reality is, cracked glass can happen, it’s just the beast of the medium. So, the question is, what do you do when you collect a handful of cracked beads? You still love how they turned out if it just didn’t have that crack! So, don’t throw them away, re purpose them.
Here are 5 ways you can salvage cracked glass:
- Glue broken beads onto flower pots for a unique look and texture. The sun really picks up the color of the bead.
- Decorate a mirror with your favorite beads that broke apart evenly.
- Fill a vase with cracked beads and flowers.
- Surround a candle sitting in a container, the light from the candle dances off of the beads
- Scatter cracked beads in clusters in your flower garden, or, on the surface around potted plants for a little surprise when you water.
Beads aren’t the only thing that can be re purposed. Look around, create your own individual style with things you already have.
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