New Jewelry

Here are a few photos of recently finished jewelry. My kiln has been broken for the last week so I have not been able to make beads. I am hoping that the part will be delivered today; then I have to figure out how to replace it myself. I will keep you posted on that saga.

Come by and visit next Saturday at the Market Street Art Show. It is supposed to be a beautiful day if the weather forecast holds true. I have several friends that will be exhibiting their art too so there will be quite a variety. Have a good week!

The Blue Bead

There is a specific technique that I have tried before and I never was able to get the color that I wanted. This time it worked! I hope I can repeat it but you never know when it comes to glass. Sometimes it has a mind of its own.

Frankie

We have been cat-sitting for most of the week. He is a sweetie but it is like having a toddler in the house. He likes to butt-heads with you instead of gently nuzzling. I found him in the top of the pantry this morning and he has no problem opening every cabinet and drawer in the house. I thought I would take a picture of him because he is going home tonight.

New necklace

I am still practicing making bent beads and these are shaped by hand without any tools. I have one new set and the necklace is made with the first ones that I made. I had to buy heavy rubber cording to balance out the weight of the beads. I like the way this turned out and plan to make a few more in this style. It is a challenge to make 2 bent beads that match.

It was raining buckets this morning and we were going to work in the yard today. It is Spring Break and time to do all those things around the house that I have been avoiding. I even cleaned my studio!

I managed to make a few beads so here are some new photos. The very round ones go with the bent bead that I showed earlier. Those are fun to make and I have ideas for more in different colors. Thanks for looking!

I had a good day at the torch yesterday. This is one of them. More later.

I love this bracelet! I am going to have a hard time letting this one go because it goes with almost anything neutral. The reaction between the Dark Ivory, the silver leaf and Intense Black glass is one of my favorites. The extra pure silver wire swirled and melted to the surface just adds the right shine.

My studio pet

This little tree frog has been in the box that holds my Propane tank outside my studio window. He has not moved even when I lifted the lid to turn the tank valve on. It is so tiny - only a little over an inch. There was another tree frog last summer that was larger but I have not seen him again. Maybe this one is it's baby.

Spring is almost here!

I noticed that the Chinese Fringe Flowers were blooming in our back yard and this is the first full bloom after they had to be cut back last fall. They have grown as high as the fence and are very pretty.

March

March is here already. I entered my first juried art show last Saturday with my leaf necklace and came home with a second place ribbon. The judge was very complimentary and encouraging. I put so many hours into a piece like that, it helps to hear an encouraging word from a professional artist.
Here are a few new things that I photographed recently. I am on a bending bead kick but I can only make 2 in a day because they won't fit in the kiln with the other beads and they take forever. I have a necklace design in the works using the first ones so look for that soon.
If you see anything that you like, please feel free to contact me.

I am so excited!

Bent beads: This is a new technique for me that only another beadmaker can really appreciate. It is difficult to do because you don't have the stability of the steel rod inside the bead, you only have a fiberglass fabric sleeving. It is a balancing act trying to bend the bead, keep it from cracking, maintain its shape and get it into the kiln all at the same time. I have lots of ideas to incorporate these into jewelry. This is one that I like and photographs well.

New Items

I am getting ready for the Market Street Show wih lots of jewelry. I still have a month to prepare but I know how fast that will go so I am trying to plan ahead. More soon!

New Necklace

I have had this design in mind for a while and finally got around to putting it together. It is a rainy day so I took the photo on the front porch on white paper. I probably need more light but I also need a new photo cube that is large enough to hold finished necklaces.

I don't know where the time goes but we have all been sick so I am behind as usual. I was accepted into the Market Street Fine Art Show on March 31 so I need to get busy making more jewelry and beads. I will post more photos soon.

New Camera and Photos

I finally decided on a camera but still have to learn the settings in order to get the best images. Here are some new beads shot with the new camera. Thanks for looking!

Experiments with another camera

What kind of camera do you have? I am asking everyone at the moment because I need a new one. These are photos that I took playing with a camera that belongs to a friend. There is always a learning curve when experimenting with something new. Let's see how these look.

For my daughter

A necklace that I made for my daughter out of beads that she had admired. It is very simple but elegant and goes with almost everthing.

It's 2007!

Wow, does time fly. The holidays are over and time to get back to the torch. I really like this set and will post more soon.
Happy New Year!

I love this bead!

Our show Friday was so much fun. The crowd was light but it was very relaxed and we had a great time. Thanks Janet!

I finally got back to the torch. Between shows and getting ready for Christmas, I have not had much time to experiment. This is not what I started out making, but I let the glass just "tell" me what it wanted to be. The silver leaf and the ivory must have liked each other because there is more variation in color than normal. It is a fairly large bead - 42mm. long.
Thanks for looking!

Last Show

A friend of mine, Janet Robinson, has graciously offered to have a show in her North Houston home on December 14th, where some of the Houston Hotties(our local chapter of the International Society of Glass Beadmakers) can show our jewelry. Most of us are finished with our shows for the year so this is a casual way to end our season. If you interested in attending, the show is from 2:00 - 7:00 pm, Thursday, December 14th at 16126 Lafone, Spring, TX 77379. Please email for more details. Janet's house is located in Wimbledon Forest between Kuykendahl and Steubner-Airline, South of Louetta and North of Cypresswood.
I do have some new items made for this show and will try to get photos up soon.