Little funky

A little of this and a little of that...love this piece. There are 8 Lizard Breath Beads in this piece and they are funky, fun and mixed in with wood, stone and antiqued copper. Should have been doing a wide variety of other things when I put this togehter..but now I am so glad I made it! Have a great holiday weekend!

Cascading

When I am making a piece I can't help but imagine where it might end up. Maybe it would lay beautifully on a neck for a  romantic night out or  dangle at a summer party with friends where there is laughter and good company.

Torch Time!

I spent some much needed time at the torch tonight and it felt so great. I  can't wait until the morning to see the end results from the kiln.  I did a half  dozen beads in simple clear glass, some with texture and frit, while others were just plain clear glass. 
Warm weather firings bring the sounds of peepers into my music while I work, as well as a few bird sized moths that can't resist the light of the torch. Open flames, swatting and outrageously large bugs....quite the combination:)

Projects and Wishes

So apparently yesterday was supposed to be a the end of the world. I found out about it in the afternoon and it made me feel a little weird. I had just finished a great run with some great people for a wonderful local cause and I was able to shrug it off. But later I put some thought into it.   So they say we are supposed to live each day as if it our last but that is just too much to bare.  I have projects, wishes and hopes and I work on them each day and it keeps me motivated.  I think we are such amazing and resilient creatures in the way we continuous work, play, produce and care for one another.  To live each day like there are millions more and I can build on these projects of life sits a bit better.   Just to do the best I can with what's in progress and focus on improving my self and working hard. Whoa..so heavy duty for so early in the morning...but I am glad we are all still here with one another.

Beautiful morning!

                               "Spring is nature's way of saying, LET'S PARTY"

                                                                                     -Robin Williams

Spring has given me a little party in my mind.  It is amazing outside at this time of year and I feel very inspired by it all. I had to just get out there and be in it this morning and it felt amazing.   It makes me kick up a notch on my goals and think.."Why not?...Let's do it! What am I waiting for?" 

...out of the blue.

 Like many, I am always picking up treasures when and wherever I can. I found these oval black lava stone beads at your everyday craft store and have held on to them for so long with no true knowing for where they would end up.  They are textured and rough and called on the spools of steel I have been keeping.  I made the two focal lampwork beads within the same firing and always imagined them together but have since tucked them away.  The tiny lampwork beads are from my supply. All of a sudden, they surfaced on my work bench and it seemed like nothing but meant to be.  Do we do this because we seem to gravitate towards like products, colors and designs or do things just fit to us at the right time and we make it work.  Who knows?! but it was fun to have an out of the blue piece.  

Check this out!

Thank you, thank you, thank you Love my art jewelry blog! I did a quick interview and giveaway on this site and it is up today. Such an honor and really fun giveaway!

http://lovemyartjewelry.blogspot.com/

Working with gravity

I am always working on the shape of my beads.  I have to spin my mandrels while decorating the bead in order to work with gravity while the glass is in liquid like form.  I am a big fan of symmetry and a certain level of calculation with each piece.  It is one thing to create a nice design on the face of the bead but sometimes it is a challenge to keep it all symmetrical in the flame while it is moving and rolling and hot. ..and then sometimes I just let it go.  This focal bead was a perfect bead in shape but I kept it in the flame longer and let gravity pull it and drip the glass.  I then babysat it in the cooler parts of my flame and forever froze the glass in the misshapen-mind of its own kind of swirl. I love it!  It is currently in a bracelet and a work in progress.Whoa! Imperfect and a work in progress..I love it even more:)

Oh the possibilities...

So as I wake up and gather myself for the day...all that is on my mind are possibilities..also known as hope, desire, chance...The smell of freshly moved grass is coming through the window and my apple tree has bright pink buds that I know are going to smell amazing so soon. It resembles the same feeling I have when I open my kiln and see what I made last night. oh..the possibilities!
I made these late last night and took them off the mandrels and washed them this morning.  I love the simple black and white combination ..I will make many many more of these for sure.

So here's a tid bit for the locals..There is an amazing group of women that have created a craft center in Clarence. It is a walk in or scheduled class set up with many choices just oozing with creativity. I am invigorated  when I am in their company and can't wait for their creation to take flight.  The grand opening is just around the corner and I will post the details as they roll in.  They are going to have a shop for all kinds of amazing art goodies (insert Lizard Breath Beads plug here ..wink wink). 

Handmade

My hands are not manicured or delicate. They are in no way attractive but I would like to think they may be my best feature. I am always roughing them up with dirt, tools, glass and twisted metal. They help me transfer a vision or idea into a tangible product. Yet my finest work comes in a more gentle and soft form. They wipe tears and steady steps.  They tuck in blankets and bubble up toes...and they hold smaller hands during sweet and soft moments that I treasure every day and will dream about when they are grown. I have my Mother's hands and I'm thankful for that....more so in the way she taught me how to use them.  Happy Mother's Day!

Starting the day with a Giveaway!

Congrats to Bruce G. for winning the giveaway this week!  I will be shipping this great piece your way by the end of the week.  I know a very lovely lady in your life that may want in on the winnings too:)  Thank you to everyone who joined in on the blog.  I am so thankful and appreciative! More to come and have a great day!

Friends are the flowers in the garden of life....I'm not sure who this is by but I feel it everyday!

Deep blues make it so easy...

This color is so beautiful. I love working with it because it makes it so easy to create a beautiful piece. The color just does all the work for the eyes.  I wanted to create a minor level of depth within the bead so I added clear glass stripes in the flame and then allowed gravity to pull on them while molten. It creates a swirl and a slight hint of dimension within.  The rich browns and antiqued copper findings feel so right with this color as well.  So what is better than keeping this piece for myself...is having made it for someone special and I looking forward to giving it to then tomorrow. 

I'll take a cliche any day...

So, we all have the best intentions when we wake up in the morning...especially when we wake up and say "Today, I am going to get this..this and this done!. It is going to be productive. It is going to be great!". But before you know it the cat threw up on your 3 loads of clean laundry, you crashed your computer because you went to download a cute image from google images for a power point presentation and you drove over half of the weeks groceries with your car.  (These are only the major highlights).  I wish I had some nice images to show you of these events....but the computer has been wiped clean due to the aforementioned crashing. So, here is when the cliche comes in for me. I proceed to take a brisk walk to one of  my favorite spots in the world. It is at a pond where the red winged black birds nest every year. Their call is my favorite...so I sit and think.."Whatever doesn't kill me makes me stronger." (with a side bar of get off your butt and stop moping) - and I really feel it and then I'm back on track...and in fact I laugh about the whole thing (just a little).  Sooooo, in other words I love a great over used expression as a swift nudge nudge. 
I have some great pieces in the works for this week and an awesome giveaway for Thursday..(see the details on my facebook page).