Experimenting with Color via GlassTribal Whale & Stand

There are so many things that intrigue me.  Always on top of the list is color.  I've been making traditional whales and was looking at images and thinking about how color influences what we typically think.  So I picked up two complimentary colors and made a whale using a more tribal or tattoo type simple design.  It was fun experimenting with a different style.

Then I wanted to make a glass stand for it using the yellow and turquoise theme (layered turquoise transparent over the yellow for the green look.) and formed one side that was mostly deep turquoise and the other side primarily yellow, to see whether my assumption that I'd prefer the blue side with the contrast, over the yellow side.  My answer is "yes", but I like the yellow side more than I thought.  Surprised me a bit.

So now I'm asking your opinion.  Do you have a preference? Yellow or blue side? If you were picking two colors that aren't typical whale colors, what would you choose?

James Corbett's Cool Steampunk Sculptures

There is something about the Steampunk style that entrances me.  I don't know if it's the combination of odd pieces that make up the whole, or whether it's trying to figure out, whether I could make something cool out of some of our odd pieces of garage fragments that would fit the style.  It's been around for awhile and I keep thinking this phase should be over.  But I guess others enjoy it still too.

This owl sculpture is amazing.  James Corbett is the artist and you can find more wonderful pieces here.

Spring-apalooza Bead Class in NC!

We're all waiting for Spring to hurry up and get here!  And that's the theme of my fun glass sculpting class at Marilyn Peraza's N.C.  studio- March 12-13th.  If you're an advanced beginner or higher, you'll have fun learning bunnies, off mandrel flowers that we'll make into rings, birds and of course gnomes- which helps you learn simple faces, a little body movement and.... hair!  There will also be one special project that you will design with my help.  woot!  Lots of smiles,  good times and personal attention.  Come join the fun!  Class is limited to 6 students.  Hope to see you there.

Graceful Hands in Glass

One of the many items that my teacher, Lucio Bubacco demonstrated, (or as he said, "do a performance"), were tiny little graceful hands made from glass.

The size of the hand itself, is about the same as the first joint of my pinky finger.

So you can imagine my awe in watching him not only sculpt this marvelous little treasure, but to do it with a large rod of glass. For you glass folks, this isn't our usual size that we buy in the States, but the thicker ones that are more available in Italy. Geesh!

Needless to say, practicing this was high on my agenda, and to be honest, high on my "not yet achieved" list too. My glass hands looked more like they were from some Zombie B Movie, than one owned by a prima ballerina. But they will remain on my list until I am more satisfied with how they turn out. I know the age old "practice, practice, practice, will bring my desired results....eventually.

Pismo Glass..Exquisite Artists & Offerings

Top photo:  Small Frog Bowl by Charles Miner 

Lower photo: Green/Ivory/Brown Bird Bead w/Turquoise Dots by Terri Caspary Schmidt

Do you have some favorite websites where you go just to drool?  One of mine is Pismo Glass in Colorado.

When I lived in Colorado, (pre Glass Beadmaking and obsession), I was aware of it.  And now I regret that I hadn't visited at least one of their four locations.

The website has a variety of categories, including separate ones for Glass and Beads.  The quality and variety is superb.

Stop by to visit and learn.  Study what the artists have done and I'm sure you'll discover some glass artists who are new to you.

And if you have enough spare bucks, buy a piece and support our art form.

I own one of Terri's beads and love looking at it.  She demonstrated a few years ago at the ISGB Gathering.  It gives me cause to wonder which of our group will be next represented there.

Have a happy weekend.  See you tomorrow.

Big Day for Lucky Winners...One World One Heart Giveaway

And the winner of this year's One World, One Heart Giveaway is........ (drumroll please).......Bella Modiste.

She was chosen fairly by the "FaceBook" method. Let me describe this uber unscientific, yet very fair method...
1. Sign into facebook
2. Ask your friends for a number between the range needed, but don't tell them why
3. Take the first number and use it.

It works for me. And beadmaker extraordinaire, Nancy Tobey was the first to answer.

So congratulations to Naomi, who also has Etsy shop, "She Sews by the Seashore", and I'll be contacting you.

By the way, if you're on Facebook and want to friend me, just let me know that you're one of my blog readers. I'm there under my name, Marcy Lamberson. And if you'd like to follow me on Twitter.com, I'm there under StudioMarcy. (I forgot that italics can be so much fun!)

Remember to Adjust: Your Flame, Your Torch & Your Mandrel Position

This is my very first bead that I ever made. I thought it was going to be a turquoise donut. I burned it pretty badly which makes sense, because that's the way I cook too.
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One of my beadmaking friends wrote to me and said that she was having problems with her new torch. She has recently changed from a Hothead to an oxy/propane mix and is concerned that maybe she didn't choose the right torch for sculptural beads.

I remember the learning curve from changing from a Hothead to a Minor. My first bead just oozed onto my tabletop. Whoa...that was scary. Then I burned a few- a little too close to the cones. It all takes time, and lots of practice, doesn't it?

So here are a few tips that I sent her for changing torches and at the same time working with sculptural beads and for some of you they are just a refresher course and for others, perhaps an idea or two to consider adopting. And if you're doing all of them already, pat yourself on the back and add some more tips in the comment section, please.

We'll call this "Consider these Adjustments"

1.Reheat & Read The Heat: After you do anything to your bead...anything....reheat your entire bead. That includes adding a single spot to your dog's body, reheat, adding an eyeball, reheat. I'm sure you get the idea. (and when I say reheat, I mean looking and "reading" the heat color of the glass that it is warm.) Sometimes people have let their bead get a little cool and just seem to wave it around in the flame and think it's warm. Watch the color of the glass to be sure and double check the farthest ends of the bead.

2. Adjust your Flame Often: I think beadmakers forget that those knobs are for adjusting while you're making your bead. Sometimes you need a bushier flame or more of a pinpoint...that torch is there to help you. Remember to use the knobs to enhance what you're doing.

3. Adjust Your Mandrel Position: Move your mandrel to get the flame to hit the bead exactly where you want it while keeping it warm. Sometimes we learn the horizontal way of holding our mandrel and keeping it parallel to the table top for making donuts, tabs, and bicones and stick with that style for making sculptural beads. Nope, not the way to do it. All rules are off when sculpting. Twist, turn and move that mandrel to get the flame exactly where it needs to be to heat the right spot. (don't forget to adjust your flame too.) Watch your heat of your bead, so the glass doesn't move in the wrong direction. But this is a very free-ing feeling once you start do this.

I'm guessing that everyone knows these adjustments already, but can use the reminder. We get intent on a bead and the focus turns to "how do I place this limb or can I keep that eye from totally melting in?" instead of "did I remember to reheat every time I placed some glass on my bead?" So kudos to all of you who already do this. And to those of you like me, who need a gentle reminder, here it is. I wish you happy beading and a good memory.

See you tomorrow!

Keely the Peacock & Her Reason For Being

Meet Keely the Peacock. Now before I get emails reminding me that female peacocks are generally called peahens and they don't have the same plumage, please read further first.

Keely is a fashion forward pea-chick and she is wearing feather extensions. She feels it's unfair that in her world, the guys get all the attention and she wants to bring it back to where it belongs...the girls, of course.

I made Keely for a couple of reasons.
1. I had an assignment for my creativity class to make something that would work like a talisman or remind me of something special. Keely was made to remind me to toot my own horn a bit when I'm around people. I tend to downplay what I do when I'm in public and she reminds
me to speak up a bit more.

2. I had some new silver glass to try and I wondered how it would look used as stripes on her and then I added the peacock "eyes" over the top. Because of the colors that I got from the silver glass, I muted the rest of the colors, so she isn't quite as "jewel toned" as most peacock interpretations go.

3. I wanted to try making something I've never made before. I'm not sure what part of my personality makes me like this, but I love trying new shapes and designs all the time. (the Gemini in me?) Repetition is much harder for me. It's the googling for references, thinking about the shapes, and then choosing the colors. Sometimes it works out better than other times.
By the way, the white spots are just photography reflections.

Keely and all her feather extensions are available in my Etsy shop. If you need a reminder to speak up about your art work, then perhaps she's right for you.

See you tomorrow,
Marcy

Cool Tools: Fingernails or Smiles

Yesterday I was asked which tool I used from Etsy, for my angel's smile.

I'd like to introduce you to AMCreatures of etsy. Alexander is a sculptor who has developed his own tools for his art, but I found these and use them for glass too.

(Note: they have a wood base, so be careful, please.)

I use these for mouths, but I'm sure you'll find more uses. Please send me photos of what you do with them. I'd love to post some of their other uses.
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=vl_other_1&listing_id=12740211

Visit my blog tomorrow to see which of my beads I chose for my "pump up this bead" make over. And as always, please feel free to visit my shop, http://www.StudioMarcy.etsy.com

Getting Out the Vote by September 30th (Halloween Vote)

I belong to a wonderfully supportive Lampwork Etc. Street Team which is made up of Etsy lampwork sellers. (LEST)

We are having our monthly challenge and surprise, it's a Halloween theme. (October's challenge relates to a more important topic: Breast Cancer Awareness). So we're celebrating early. Come join us.

Participating members have added a photo of their Halloween beads, (<----that's my Vlad to the left ), and we'd like you to come vote for your favorite.
Just look through the photos and then scroll down to the bottom of the page to vote. There is no prize involved, but the fun part is that you can discover more glass beadmakers .

Here's the link: http://www.webjam.com/lest/halloween_challenge_coming_soon
Voting ends September 30th, so hopefully you'll have a chance to stop by before then. Of course I'd be remiss if I didn't say, "Please vote for me". (I'm working on learning how to ask for what I want.)

And while you're there, look at the red bar on the top of the page. It has a list of our members' etsy shops. I bet there are hours of fun just in visiting them.

See you on Monday. I'm taking the weekend off.

Tool Time Drawing For One of My Beads

And the winner is...... (drum roll please).... Melanie! Melanie, I haven't had the pleasure of meeting you before, so thank you for visiting and commenting on my blog. I really appreciate it and thanks to all the other people who commented. I will contact you for your address, so I can send you a bead.

What a fun combination of answers for my video blog's question about my new brass tool. From beadmaker prod, to belly button pusher, to a hat maker and petal pusher. Each one had their own merit.

The tool turned into quite a question mark to me. first I tried to see whether I could get an exterior bead shape from it. I used a light pastel opaque for its pliability, and it wouldn't hold that shape. The bead kept wanting to round up. so it ended up looking more like a modified egg shape. So the shaping aspect didn't work...yet. (You know me, I'm going to give it another try sometime.)

That leaves me with using the to indent this blue glass bead. First I tried a simple indentation and with the shape of the original bead, it reminded me of a sugared Easter egg that has the little flowers, bunnies and chicks in frosting on the inside. I tried a simple one with a sculptural blackbird on the inside and a tree on the outside. I'd like to take this concept a step further at another time and get more intricate. It would be fun to try it like a silhouette and do people faces and decorate the edges of the circle like a picture frame. And of course, I'll need to try an Easter theme at some point too. Lots of possibilities.

My second bead, I call "Singing Tommy", which is pictured above. I decided that tool would be able to make a large and wide open mouth. To make the depth more apparent, I first melted in a black dot and then pressed it in. I used a #420 Effetre coral for the tongue which was to accent the hole. If I had wanted to draw more attention to it, I'd maybe have tried a brighter or lighter pink that would show up even more against the black.

If you've read the comments, they were varied and lots of fun. I might try some of the other ideas in the future, but unless I get really frustrated, I might skip burning it.

Both of these beads are available in my etsy shop, http://www.StudioMarcy.etsy.com .
And please come back for more online coaching, tips, tricks and who knows what else!

Ode to American Gothic

Are there some famous paintings that make you smile? American Gothic by Grant Wood is one of those for me. It touches me as it shows the seriousness of survival and yet at the same time makes me smile and wonder if I ever could have survived in the era.

One of the joys of being a glass artist, is following one's whims at times. This is one of them. I thought it would be a blast to interpret this dour couple's portrait in my whimsical style and as bobbleheads. The incongruity of the subject matter and the bobblehead style totally amuses me.

So keep watching for more odes to famous art pieces or people. I just love melting glass and forming it into pieces to make both you and me grin.

Marcy
ps You can see the listing here... http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=14682790

Dreaming of Spring...Already

I know we have quite a bit of winter to go, but it doesn't hurt to dream of spring, just a little. I know I've already committed to my spring jewelry shows, and need to start stocking up on my inventory as soon as possible.

Thinking that others will be going through the same thing, I'm stocking Spring Lampwork Beads in my etsy shop already. ( http://www.studiomarcy.etsy.com ) I think it's easier on the budget to go in measured amounts.

So stop by. And be sure to read my shop notes which will tell you if I'm having one of my "Spur of the Moment Sales". I love seeing who finds me on odd days and at weird times. It's better than sudoku!

Stop by...I'll miss you if you don't,
Marcy