It has been a few months since I made a video. Come watch me make a little blue heart pendant.
Showing posts with label borosilicate glass. Show all posts
Showing posts with label borosilicate glass. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Sweet Satisfaction
I made a video of me making a boro implosion pendant a few weeks ago. It was actually my second video but I couldn't upload it to BlipTV because it is 38 minutes long! I finally figured out how to get it up there. Buy a pro account! lol. Well that should inspire me to make frequent videos. Here I am, and if you hang in there with me, 3/4 of the way through you will hear my daughter explaining her paper shoes to my internet audience.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
and so it is....
The pretty pouch in my previous post was made by one of my customers Lisa of lsa1sew. She sent me that beautiful hand-sewn gift with some skeleton keys she picked up at yard sales. Two of the keys were earmarked for special necklaces for Lisa. Yesterday I videotaped (more like digitally captured... what is the current term?) Anyway, yesterday I made a bead on one of the keys for Lisa and here is that footage. It's actually my third video but the second one was 38 minutes long and bliptv won't accept a file that large. Anyone know of any good free editing software? Let me know.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Into Spring
Check out this beautiful collaboration piece created by Poppy Adams of Groovy Glass Girl and me, Paula McDonough of The Venerable Bead.
The completed project is called Into Spring and is available in Poppy's shop.
We did an interview for the Esty Glass Artist's blog:
Please tell us a little about yourselves and what kind of art you make.
The completed project is called Into Spring and is available in Poppy's shop.
We did an interview for the Esty Glass Artist's blog:
Please tell us a little about yourselves and what kind of art you make.
Paula: I am borosilicate glass lampworker. I melt glass rods in the flame of a torch to create beads and pendants.
Poppy: I work mainly using stained glass techniques and wire work. I started fusing last year when I got my own kiln, so now I incorporate my fused glass into the pieces I make. For the most part my work is jewelry, only because with a busy family life I find that I can complete small projects much easier.
Can you tell us how you got started on this project and how it has evolved.
Paula: The team has been collaborating on a series of projects to be featured here on our blog. I did several collaborative necklaces with another team member a while back and I must admit it's very addicting to make collaborative pieces. I have always wanted to make a cabochon that could be incorporated into a dark metal necklace but I am not a metalsmith so it's only been a dream until I saw Poppy's work.
Poppy: Paula contacted me about doing a collaboration and of course I was thrilled to work with her. The whole process came together quite quickly.....her work combined really well with my techniques.
What inspired you about your partner's art?
Paula: I have such a weakness for oxidized metals you have no idea. I saw Poppy's Twig Series and I though "Oh man, wouldn't a flower implosion look cool in a necklace like that?" So I approached her about it.
Poppy: I have always loved borosilicate glass and Paula has some great steampunk inspired pieces that I admired.
How did you ultimately decide to make what you did?
Paula: Well I decided to make a flower in subtle cool colors. I chose blues and greens to work well with the dark silver metal. I wanted the necklace to flow and work together... like something you'd find in nature. Once my cab was done I sent it off to Poppy and she worked her magic on it.
Poppy: Paula mentioned a "Twig" series necklace that I'd just listed in my Etsy shop that she really liked when she contacted me about doing a piece together. I wasn't sure I'd be able to work a large cab into a piece like that but I have another line called "Urban Artifacts" that features really large chunks of glass so the resulting necklace is kind of a combination of the hammered swirls found in a lot of my work, the lines of a "twig" series necklace and glass and solder detail of the "Urban Artifact" series.
Did you find this to be a rewarding experience and why?
Paula: I am so beyond pleased with the finished project. I love it so much I want to marry it! lol, ok well maybe not marry but definitely go steady! Seriously, it was so much fun to plant a seed and watch it grow in the hands of another artist.
Poppy: I found this experience to be so rewarding that I can't wait to do another one! Trying to incorporate another artist's work into your own and still maintain a unified style that flows can be difficult. I have to admit this time it was easy....right from the initial sketch that I did with her cab to adding the metalwork. I kept the beautiful floral implosion cab the focal point of the necklace which was my main concern. The hardest part was knowing when to stop.
Poppy: I work mainly using stained glass techniques and wire work. I started fusing last year when I got my own kiln, so now I incorporate my fused glass into the pieces I make. For the most part my work is jewelry, only because with a busy family life I find that I can complete small projects much easier.
Can you tell us how you got started on this project and how it has evolved.
Paula: The team has been collaborating on a series of projects to be featured here on our blog. I did several collaborative necklaces with another team member a while back and I must admit it's very addicting to make collaborative pieces. I have always wanted to make a cabochon that could be incorporated into a dark metal necklace but I am not a metalsmith so it's only been a dream until I saw Poppy's work.
Poppy: Paula contacted me about doing a collaboration and of course I was thrilled to work with her. The whole process came together quite quickly.....her work combined really well with my techniques.
What inspired you about your partner's art?
Paula: I have such a weakness for oxidized metals you have no idea. I saw Poppy's Twig Series and I though "Oh man, wouldn't a flower implosion look cool in a necklace like that?" So I approached her about it.
Poppy: I have always loved borosilicate glass and Paula has some great steampunk inspired pieces that I admired.
How did you ultimately decide to make what you did?
Paula: Well I decided to make a flower in subtle cool colors. I chose blues and greens to work well with the dark silver metal. I wanted the necklace to flow and work together... like something you'd find in nature. Once my cab was done I sent it off to Poppy and she worked her magic on it.
Poppy: Paula mentioned a "Twig" series necklace that I'd just listed in my Etsy shop that she really liked when she contacted me about doing a piece together. I wasn't sure I'd be able to work a large cab into a piece like that but I have another line called "Urban Artifacts" that features really large chunks of glass so the resulting necklace is kind of a combination of the hammered swirls found in a lot of my work, the lines of a "twig" series necklace and glass and solder detail of the "Urban Artifact" series.
Did you find this to be a rewarding experience and why?
Paula: I am so beyond pleased with the finished project. I love it so much I want to marry it! lol, ok well maybe not marry but definitely go steady! Seriously, it was so much fun to plant a seed and watch it grow in the hands of another artist.
Poppy: I found this experience to be so rewarding that I can't wait to do another one! Trying to incorporate another artist's work into your own and still maintain a unified style that flows can be difficult. I have to admit this time it was easy....right from the initial sketch that I did with her cab to adding the metalwork. I kept the beautiful floral implosion cab the focal point of the necklace which was my main concern. The hardest part was knowing when to stop.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Covergirl
I had one of my key necklaces featured on the cover of Stringing magazine in the 2008 Fall issue! A dear customer of mine Heather of Humble Beads used one of my boro beaded skeleton keys in a necklace that she submitted to a design contest for one of Stringing Magazine’s sister publications Bead Star. This caught the attention of Stringing Magazine’s editor Danielle Fox who contacted Heather to find out where she got the key. Danielle then contacted me and asked if I would submit one of my beaded keys for the next issue. In the Beads to Buy section of the magazine they were doing a feature on key beads, pendants and charms. I happily agreed. Then Danielle noticed that in my Etsy shop, my necklaces featuring the beaded keys used alot of vintage components and lockets. On one week’s notice she asked me if I would consider submitting a project featuring a key necklace that used a vintage locket. She said they would pay me $85 and I would get my necklace back after they photographed it. I needed to write up very specific directions for making the necklace complete with sources. I’ll admit at first I panicked. I had to weigh the incredible exposure I would receive against the risk of revealing my sources and basically inviting other designers to copy my design. Then I thought of a way everyone could win. I quickly ordered some vintage components from some favorite suppliers on ETSY, Tulle and Gems Jems and even a few lampwork boro beads from my friend Kim of Kim V Glass . I put together a beautiful necklace using as many Etsy sources as possible and I listed my shop as the source for th
e key and the chain figuring that even designers need to come to me for the beaded key. I already sell to a lot of designers why not more? In the end, the realization that being published in a magazine as fine as Stringing far outweighed any worry about the copiers and I submitted “I Love You More” as a locket project as well as a single beaded key for the beads to buy section. I remember sitting at one of my daughter’s softball practices writing out the project directions trying to figure out: “ Now is that a 6 mm bead cap I used? A 1 ½ or 2 inch head pin?” It had to be so detailed! That was in late June. Stringing sent me a contract and the editorial copy for me to approve and then I had to wait until the Fall to see the magazine. I received my copy when the subscriber’s copies went out at the end of September. I knew I would be featured in two spots in the magazine but I nearly died when I spotted my necklace on the cover. I started squealing and jumping up and down in front of Chris my mailman. Even he was happy for me. Danielle was cute and included a little note telling me I was a “covergirl”. What a wonderful surprise! It was probably the biggest highlight of my bead-making career short of setting up my own home studio of course. The magazine came out on newsstands on October 8th and it has been a big kick to see the magazine in Border’s Books and Walmart with my husband and kids. My husband was skeptical that it was a publication sold in those mainstream locations. I think he thinks there are like 5 other people out there making glass beads. LOL. He’s impressed as are my family and friends. It has been very rewarding getting convos from customers and potential customers who have seen the magazine and are excited for me or complimentary of my work. My sales have definitely improved because of the exposure and like anything else that produces an adrenaline rush, I think I might be addicted. I have already contacted Danielle about working with them again and she is thrilled. So, you might not have seen the last of me on newsstands near you….
e key and the chain figuring that even designers need to come to me for the beaded key. I already sell to a lot of designers why not more? In the end, the realization that being published in a magazine as fine as Stringing far outweighed any worry about the copiers and I submitted “I Love You More” as a locket project as well as a single beaded key for the beads to buy section. I remember sitting at one of my daughter’s softball practices writing out the project directions trying to figure out: “ Now is that a 6 mm bead cap I used? A 1 ½ or 2 inch head pin?” It had to be so detailed! That was in late June. Stringing sent me a contract and the editorial copy for me to approve and then I had to wait until the Fall to see the magazine. I received my copy when the subscriber’s copies went out at the end of September. I knew I would be featured in two spots in the magazine but I nearly died when I spotted my necklace on the cover. I started squealing and jumping up and down in front of Chris my mailman. Even he was happy for me. Danielle was cute and included a little note telling me I was a “covergirl”. What a wonderful surprise! It was probably the biggest highlight of my bead-making career short of setting up my own home studio of course. The magazine came out on newsstands on October 8th and it has been a big kick to see the magazine in Border’s Books and Walmart with my husband and kids. My husband was skeptical that it was a publication sold in those mainstream locations. I think he thinks there are like 5 other people out there making glass beads. LOL. He’s impressed as are my family and friends. It has been very rewarding getting convos from customers and potential customers who have seen the magazine and are excited for me or complimentary of my work. My sales have definitely improved because of the exposure and like anything else that produces an adrenaline rush, I think I might be addicted. I have already contacted Danielle about working with them again and she is thrilled. So, you might not have seen the last of me on newsstands near you….Thursday, October 23, 2008
Earth and Sea: An Artist Collaboration
Tracy Prince of Seafind Designs and Stepping Stones and I collaborated on a series of necklaces call
ed Earth and Sea. I have one set of necklaces in my shop here and here and Tracy has another set in her shops here and here.Tracy and I had so much fun creating these pieces for our Arts In RI Etsy Street Team Collaboration Challenge. We hope you enjoy them. Since Tracy is a seaglass artist and she drills and carves beautiful sea stones it made perfect sense that we would use both of these
materials and incorporate one of my boro glass beaded keys. The mix of found objects, stones and glass tumbled by the sea with the shiny new glass and the various metals is an earthy organic fluid wave of pleasure.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Collaboration Challenge
Kristy Kempinger of Chickadeebeads and I have challenged our fellow EGA members to collaborate with one another to create a joint glass project. I have been using Kristy's gorgeous vessels in my skeleton key necklaces. It's hard to believe soft glass and borosilicate glass can look so great together! This is the second Titanic themed necklace I have created that encorporates her vessles and my keys. This one is just in time for Mother's Day. You can find it here
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
I'm Back
Well I'm back from Disney with a head full of ideas. A week off the torch and the total sensory overload that only four theme parks in 7 days can provide and you have one artistically refreshed beadmaker on your hands! I have 5 new frit blends coming out soon for my lampworker friends and lots of new jewelry ideas involving keys. OH and the electroforming kit I ordered before my vacation arrived while I was away so I need to have my friend KimV teach me how to use it. OMG so much to do and so little time. Meanwhile my house looks like a laundromat explosion and there is not one scrap of edible food in my pantry or fridge if we don't count the canned brussel sprouts I bought six months ago in a feverish attempt to find something green (other than peppermint gumdrops) that my 6 year old will eat. So I will try to keep you all up to date as these projects come rolling out over the next few months. Stay tuned and enjoy the rare family portrait... this one is in Epcot with Donald in Mexico (who by the way is a lefty...I knew I always liked Donald)
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