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.

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.

Watch Me Torch

I started a blogging course yesterday which inspired me to run down to my studio and video a very inpromptu torching session. My face is cut off, there's no zoom and it cuts off in the middle of making something but I'm sharing it anyway. They can only get better. So here I am in my infinite imperfection

Click To Play

Spring Has Sprung

I fall off the blogging bandwagon and I don't know how to get back on. You are only as good as your last post so here I am. I am going to let a picture my 11 year old son took today speak for me. I cannot find the words. I vow to try and do better. I am taking an online blogging course with Holly Becker of Decor8 in April and I am hoping I can learn how to stay on track. For now I give you this photo called Spring by Thomas D. McDonough who, by the way, came in second in an art contest for the RI Tree Council's Arbor Day Poster Contest. You can see his poster here.

Guess How Much I Love You

On the last few pages of Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney, Big Nut Brown Hare settles Little Nut Brown Hare into his bed of leaves and whispers "I love you right up to the moon - and back". I swear I never got through that last page without tearing up when my kids were babies. I tore through the house looking for that book this morning. Maybe I'm feeling a bit melancholy because my baby boy is 11 tomorrow. I literally felt myself having panic at the thought this book had been put in the Goodwill bin. In front of 6 sleepover guests I'm begging my son to help me find the book. He looked at me like he might just kill me right there in front of 6 witnesses. "Whew never mind I found it in your sister's room" I said a few minutes later. I heard him say to one of his guests that he had no idea why I would think a baby book was anywhere but. I made this necklace as a tribute to unconditional love that spans a thousands oceans, a million miles...to the moon...and back.

A Valentine's To Love

My Arts In RI team members decided to creatively challenge one another to embrace the season of love with Valentine themed products. Between now and Valentine's Day we will share some of these "lovely" designs with you on our blog. Let us know how you feel about our art by leaving a comment. Everyone who leaves a comment will be entered into a random drawing for an Arts In RI gift basket featuring goodies from many of our shops. (one entry per person per post. In other words you can enter once every time we post a new product!!!) Be sure to check back on the blog on Valentine's Day as we will announce the winner that day. Entries will be accepted until midnight February 13th.Have you ever fallen in love with something at first sight? That's how I felt when I saw this classy Valentine themed clutch made by Linda of Alamodestuff. The fabric is velvet flocked red taffeta. Linda said of the fabric: "When I saw it, I simply had to have it. I wasn't sure what I was going to make, but I bought it anyway. After staring at it for days, I decided that it would make the perfect clutch for a little black dress. The shape was inspired by the purses of the 1940s. It reminds me of a time when women wore evening gloves with their fancy little bags." Check out Linda's shop for this item as well as other wonderful items with urban appeal.

The Rhinestone Heroine

The year was 1973. I was in the second grade at Carl T. Thompson Elementary school in Rumford, RI. In the school yard at recess I was never asked to play jump rope with the girls. Neither was Diane Drake. She was tall girl, probably taller than most of the kids several grades ahead of us. I was small. We were on opposite ends of the growth chart and equally uncoordinated. Jump rope would have provided a mortifying experience for both of us and we were just as happy not to be asked.
David Farias was a little boy that never seemed to fit in with the boys. Instead he sought our companionship in the corners of the playground. Diane and I both liked David. He was a cute little dark haired boy who seemed to enjoy having competing love interests. Batman was the game we played. David, of course, got the starring role. Diane and I argued about who would play his Batgirl and who would have to be the villianess Catwoman. I usually won when I remembered to bring this rhinestone ring to school. My mother had some really mod jewelry from the 60's and this awesome treasure had become mine. David thought it made the best laser weapon! Ha, I had her with the bling. Occasionally I'd let her be Batgirl but then the enemy (me) would have the weapon. By the end of the year I knew David liked me best. He gave me a Linus pin that he had made with a button making kit.
I found this ring recently in my daughter's jewelry box. She is in the second grade so I told her the story of Diane and David and our little triangle. My daughter is one of the girls who would be playing jump rope although now the game is ball. She definitely seems to "fit in" alot better than her mother. She thought it was odd I'd have any interest in playing a boy's game like Batman but she definitely likes the bling. She's thinking of bringing the ring to school to show the girls. She thinks it looks like a ring Hannah Montana would wear. I still happen to think it makes the best laser weapon.

Artsinri Holiday Party

I hosted the Artsinri post holiday party last night at my house and we had a great time. Thanks ladies for all the great food and drink. It was so much fun and a pleasure having you all. It's so nice that we can market together but we all still know how to play too. I got to know a few of you a little better and that was really nice. We may be very unique among local street teams in that, because our state is so small, we can meet face to face so frequently. Now we need to add party together to the list too because last night makes me want to do this again soon. lol.