Still Loving Sea Shells

I love making seashells in glass.  I think most artists have their "go-to" pieces.  Whether it's just to relax for a few minutes or something that isn't so frustrating and always makes them smile.  Well shells fit that bill for me.

Here is one of my favorites.  I have etched it so it has the well worn, velvety feel, as if it has washed up on the beach recently. And I can assure you that there is no living organism inside. ;)

See you tomorrow!

Sculptural Beach Shells Glass Class

Well folks, there still is room in my 2 hour Saturday class at FlameTree Glass in Roswell, GA from noon until 2 pm.  I'd love for you to come join me in making seashells and starfish.  If there's time, we'll dive into something else oceanic as well...the class members will decide.  

Just give Lance and Maureen a call...1-888-FLAMETREE  or stop by their website...www.FlameTreeGlass.com

Size Does Matter

Yesterday I received a convo, (that's Etsy talk for conversation or private email), from a customer who had seen this bracelet in Bead Dreams Magazine January 2009 issue and wanted to make her own version of it.

Could I make her a mermaid and a seahorse that are .5" tall? That's just under 13mm. I measured the mermaids on this bracelet and they are about .7" or 18mm and remembered how hard it was to make the wee complicated beads.

She explained that she wanted a more delicate bracelet and the smaller charms would better fit into her design.
Needless to say, the seashells, sea glass and other less detailed and rounder beads would be so much easier to reduce and she did choose a starfish and palm tree in the diminutive size too. So today, part of my studio schedule includes attempting a half inch mermaid.

Charm sized beads are a great way to use up stringer and other little bits that are hanging around your bench. I love making sculptural miniatures which make great charms, earrings or dangles. I keep a small section, (ha, ha) in my Etsy shop.

If anyone else wants to join me in trying this, I'd love to see your efforts. The colors of her hair and tail have been left up to me. I'm smiling thinking that yellow could be interesting. That way I could make her wearing an itsy bitsy teensy weensy yellow polka dot bikini, that she wore for the first time today. (Please note, the last line is only amusing if you are about my age and know this song. But if you do, it will probably be stuck in your head for the rest of the day. My apologies.)

Tagged, But Quick Save- What About Promotions?

I was tagged by soccer mom and jewelry maker extraordinaire,  Sue of Signature-Sterling on Etsy. It's a different style of tag that is intriguing.  Here are the rules:

Show Me Your Picture 6x6x6

1. Post the 6th picture from the 6th folder in your computer's "picture" file, ("my pictures").

2. Write (blog) about the picture.

3. Tag 6 new people- be sure to go to their blog, make the "tag" by leaving a comment and direct them to your blog to get the instructions.

4. Copy the permalink for your 6x6x6 entry and post it as a comment to your original tagger's 6x6x6x entry. Be sure to post the permalink, not just the link to your blog.  Get the permalink by clicking on the blog entry title and then copying that http address.

 So I went to my iPhoto to find the 6th folder down there.  The photo that I should have posted is my husband in a swimsuit on the beach in Costa Rica.  As handsome as he is, he would be VERY unhappy with me, if I showed it.  So  I went down to my Projects Section and found the 6th project and 6th photo.  Here you go. It's a  a rough draft of a calendar that I was toying with months ago.  Let's hear it for August- beach time.

Let's chat a bit about making calendars.  I have a plethora (cool word, isn't it?), of photos of my work.  I bet a lot of you who sell online do also.  Have you thought about making a calendar from your images and selling it?  It was an eye opener for me when I started playing with the concept.  Looking at the beads, the scale in which I would show them, the quality of the photos, the color combinations, etc.  Suffice it to say, the project got scrapped.  If I ever sell a calendar, you can bet it will have been planned out and beads made and photographed specifically for it.

If you make non-sculptural beads, (I call them traditionally shaped, but there's probably a better term for it), it might be different for you as you don't have real objects that you're making art from.  But I found it bothers me having a seashell larger than a mermaid, but I just didn't have any mermaids laying down and beckoning to the closest sailor that would fit that larger rectangular shape.  

So there's my tagging as well as my calendar project all rolled into this post.  And perhaps I should have just made a husband in a swimsuit holding beads calendar.  Hmmm, maybe 2010.