April 10, 2008 at 2:42 am (PMC Silver)
So, surgery over and successful. Two weeks ago today, I was one sleepy girl, having just had a big ol’ tumor and one ovary removed (unilateral salpingo-oopherectomy). I have been off work, taking it easy and such, but also really started moving around and walking and having days out about a week ago. Really! This past Saturday, took a PMC class with a local artist, Kathy Corby.
I purchased a kit on Saturday, and a bunch of rubber stamps yesterday, so all set to go! This will complement my glasswork considerably, I believe.
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March 19, 2008 at 5:57 am (fusing, glass, surgery)
Well, it’s been an interesting few weeks. I’ve been diagnosed with a 15cm tumor growing on one of my ovaries. Okay, ick. I am scheduled for surgery 26 March at 8 AM. Whoa. I am preparing for 6 weeks recupertion time. Triple whoa. I’ve not been making too many beads of late, but the ones I’ve made I like a lot. I’ll post pix soon. I’ve also been working on a fused glass suncatcher with hand-made beaded chain for my ex-husband and wonderful friend Jon. I hope to have time to finish up a few beadsets this weekend, but it’s Easter and sort of a busy time for me because of my church/singing activities.
I don’t know when I’ll be able to sit at my torch. Since I lean rather than sit, it could be as soon as 3 or 4 weeks. I’m working on making my homespace as inviting and comfy as possible, since I’ll be there a lot. I planted lots of purple, yellow and red flowers in pots on the deck yesterday, so that will be my next round of bead colors.
I’ll post at least one more time before Day of the Knife.
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March 7, 2008 at 5:35 am (Uncategorized)
I am taking a wire wrapping class Saturday and needed a set of beads. Still have a few more to do. I’m going to try and re-create the large center bead, and make a couple or three more gloppy ones. Just in case these don’t work in the class, I have a couple of sets of random beads that happen to match, because I use the same colors in quite a few sessions at the torch. Accidental sets, I guess.
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March 6, 2008 at 7:48 pm (lampwork)
Tags: creativity, process
My wise partner pointed out something very important to me. Sometimes we substitute buying for doing.
I am first to admit, I become very caught up in my catalogs and web sites offering fabulous glass and tools and books and beautiful ideas and incredible glass art. I have a marked habit for acquiring many more glass rods than I possibly have time to use at this point. I get mesmerized by the pretty colors and possibilities. And yes, I have made some nice beads of late.
But but but
I need to remind myself that acquiring pretty things to make pretty things with is not the same as making the pretty things. It is not productive. It is consumptive.
The only glass I should need to purchase over the coming 6 months is black, white, clear and ivories. I have hundreds of rods waiting to be transformed, by me, into beautiful things. Setting goals and creating projects are necessary parts of the process, but I must remember that the only proof of creativity is the bead on the mandrel.
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February 23, 2008 at 4:39 am (Uncategorized)
Tags: no beading during surgery recuperation
I haven’t been making many beads this past couple of weeks due to preparation for a Wild Party at Chez Omino. I just made a few dot beads with some pretty vetrofond colors, I need to keep up the dot thing and do some more experimentation with stacking. I still don’t have as much control as I’d like, actually, in any category.
I have a potentially very frustrating time ahead, recuperating from a surgery that will make it virtually impossible to sit at my torch. I think I’ll hit a lamwork forum and see if any of my fellows have had this problem, and what (if anything) they were able to do about it. The thought of not making a bead for 2-3 weeks is very sad-making. I could purchase a couple of kits from Rachel, for something creative to do with my hands…but it’s not the same.
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February 11, 2008 at 3:50 am (glass, handforged metal, jewelry, lampwork)
Tags: handforged metal jewelry, lampwork beads, copper wire
My awesome friend Rachel is a bead and wire jewelry maker extraordinaire. She gave a private class to me and my friend Catharine Saturday on hand-forged metal jewelry. Everything is handmade, even the earring wire and bracelet toggle and jump rings. I’m very excited to do this using silver wire. It’s very cool to watch something round go flat under one’s persistent, er, ministrations.
BANG BANG BANG
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February 11, 2008 at 3:45 am (bubbles, fusing, glass)
Tags: lampwork, Vetrifond, glass, dots, accidental beauty, stacking, freeform
I’ve been cruising lots of lampwork bead artists’ work of late. I will say I am inspired now to find my own language with glass. This is a beginning. I thought these Vetrifond colors would stack well, so I started the bead on top. The glass started bubbling (I guess my flame was too hot), so I grabbed an ivory stringer and filled in the hole with a big ol’ dot, added a strawberry dot and poked it topping off with a dot of clear on top to make a bubble (not visible in foto). The ends weren’t dimpling very nicely, so I added the green disks at top and bottom, and then just grabbed an clear-encased aventurine stringer. I decided not to worry that the shape was not “perfect.” I was so pleased with the result, I decided to make a set.
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February 6, 2008 at 6:04 am (glass, jewelry, lampwork)
Tags: encased, glass bead, lampwork, planet, swirlie
I just did something that I think will make some gorgeous beads. Nothing terribly new, just stacking lots of colors in a disk and letting them flow all over each other. Very planetoid-looking beads. The possibilities for color and design are, I think, pretty exciting.
This one is pretty large, barrel-shaped, and very 3D. I shaped the swirly on a marver to get indentations, the encased the whole thing in Lauscha clear. I hadn’t realized that the bead would turn into a great ocean-waves-crashing-against-cliffs scene. I’d love to be able to capture it on film!
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January 31, 2008 at 6:04 pm (fusing, glass, kaleidoscope)
Tags: Bullseye, kaleidoscope, fused glass, Edward Gorey
I had much success in the assembly and running of my VLK (Very Large Kaleidoscope) for the Edwardian World’s Faire and Ball last weekend.
I knew weekend before last that the major components would work fine, i.e., the moving parts moved and the reflecty parts reflected. When I went to do the aesthetics the night before the event (!), I found that it was very visually — unstunning. In fact, it didn’t really do much of anything. My lovely partner pointed out to me that what I needed was large objects rotating in and out of the line of sight. It seemed that the lovely fused glass disc I had made might do nothing but obscure the effect I wanted. But alas! We found a way to make it work, and it was lovely.
Pix to come.
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January 23, 2008 at 5:53 am (bubbles, glass, into the drink, lampwork)
Glass that bubbles. I mean, grrrr. I didn’t have my flame that high, really, and there goes a big ol’ bloopy spot.
You never can fill them in. Usually just gotta throw the bead into the drink. And it was a nice one, too.
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