Bead & Button

I've been "getting ready" for Bead & Button for months but now is crunch time. Yep, like Sunday night 9pm with a book report due the next day, I'm a torchin' fool. The countdown on their website says 54 days until the show and my bounty of inventory is feeling a little light. I know I'm short on vessels and weessels and I have no buttons for this year. I've had a plan that was supposed to put me right by the end of April so I could enjoy the chaos that is the month of May in my family. In addition to Mother's Day, there is Mom's birthday and my Niece's birthday. We are also Memorial Day traditionalists which means visiting the family graves around Terre Haute and decorating them with flowers. Virtually every weekend has something big all over it and I will have to be careful not to slack off on my "work" days. That's a big temptation when you work for yourself. Afterall, if you slack off, you can fire yourself but eventually you will just re-hire yourself when you do get out of bed or up from your nap. On the other hand, with no health insurance, a nap might count as an alternative therapy.

I will be at the Bead and Button Bead Bazaar in booth #2 and for those who are interested in a sneak peek, the pictures above show some of what I will have. I look forward to seeing you there!!

Indiana Art Fair

Photo property of Valerie Jean Schafer

Hello! I just returned from my two day show at the Indiana State Museum. No, no pictures from the show the one above is from their website (no credit given or I'd give it here) but it's a lovely photo of a lovely building.

I have to admit I was a bit curious about how sales would be this year given the state of things right now. Suprise, I did a little bit better than last year; go figure! I tried to say it to every customer and I will say it again here, Thank you for supporting artists!! Whether it's me or another Indiana artist or one of the many talented people on Etsy, thank you for helping us keep the lights on, the supplies in hand, and the cats in kibble!

I was in good company this year. I was next to some ISLAGA buddies Fran Carrico and Jen Cameron. It's always nice to do a show with friends and I think the three of us represent a pretty broad spectrum of the lampwork range.

There were some very talented artists around us and I would like to give a shout out to them now: Andy Chen (nature photography), Teri Barnett (paintings) and Valerie Jean Schafer (bronze sculpture). Please click on their names to visit these very talented and nice folks.

I hope Valerie won't mind if I "borrow" an image from her site but I love cats and cats on art work is the best.

Chain Maille II - The Sequel

Hello and Happy New Year!!

I have been reflecting on everything I've done in the past year and what I want to focus on this year. I realize it's the middle of January but I'm a little slow that way.

One of the things I dabbled with last year was chain maille embellishment for my vessel necks. I liked how they turned out and wanted to do more. I have no education in chain maille and have done very few maille projects so frankly doing these collars is like a puzzle, a very frustrating puzzle where you can't use a hammer to make certain pieces fit no matter how much of a good idea it seems. Of course, completing one is immensly satisfying. The latest one, the sky blue featured above, came together as an accident. This was not the pattern I intended but the chain flipped over on itself and like a happy accident I decided to go with it.

I will be doing more of these in the future especially since I bought myself a belated Christmas present; a Pepe jumpring maker. I received it and put it together and see that now I AM going to have to break down and buy a flex shaft to cut the rings correctly. I was resisting this idea because I'm stubborn that way and overly attached to my Dremel Stylus.

The sky blue vessel above is available on Etsy and I will be making more especially for Bead and Button in June this year. Until then, below are the two I made last year.

Thanks for stopping by!

Caps are Back!

Awhile back, I made caps with wire daubers and fitted each to the vessel to ensure a proper fit both at the vessel opening and within the body. I took these to a show and more than a few ended up being switched out by customers. The result was that some had daubers that were too long for the vessel body and left the cork unable to fit securely. They were popular and I have been trying to find a way to offer them again but to ensure a correct fit. As a result, I will be offering these as a part of the ala cart process in which customers choose a vessel and then a cap and or neck cord. This will allow me to double check the fit of each cap to the selected vessel and ensure that there is a good, secure fit.

I have a few up on Etsy now and will be adding more this week. I'm still not happy with the photos but I think the close ups are necessary to show the detail.

I also have some new chain maille offerings to post soon.

Thanks for stopping by!

Viking Knit

Last week I had the opportunity to take a viking knit class from my friend Robin Koza of Posh Elements. Given that I am not very coordinated and sometimes have difficulty tying my shoes, Robin made it very easy. I didn't prepare for the class very well, I used beads from my orphan box (slate gray and copper green do kinda go together) but I was pleased with the results. I rarely make anything in a class worth keeping much less wearing but the pace of the class was perfect for me to take my time and make something I would be proud to wear.

Robin teaches a variety of classes and I have inside information about a new business she will be launching soon so keep an eye out for more cool stuff from her!

Ken Bailey - Photographer/Darkroom Wizard

"Arbor Dream" Photo by Ken Bailey

I did a last minute show this past weekend and, well, I had a lot of time to talk with the other artists and admire their work. Ken Bailey is an amazing photographer but only half of his gift is photographing images. I think is real talent is the photomontages he creates in is darkroom. Surreal is, I suppose, the term for his work and he has a lovely website gallery that I highly recommend veiwing. The images seem to draw in the viewer. As you look at his work, you can't help but picture yourself in the image or following the trails to their magical conclusion. Sometimes that conclusion is made by the viewer. I guess that is what I admire most about his work, the viewer isn't made to feel like a bystander but a part of the fairy tale.

I think another reason I admire Ken's work is because I took a black and white photography/darkroom techniques class in high school. I loved it and dreamed of being a photographer someday. Darkroom technique seems to be a dying art as more and more photos are outsourced to developing companies or manipulated with Photoshop. I know I'm guilty of the latter. Anyway, it was a dream for me and I think the passion I feel for glass was stronger and won out.

Please visit Ken's website and if you have a chance to see his work in person, please do so.

NEW - Marquis Hollows

If you haven't guessed by now, I love hollows and transparent glass. I love the way the light catches the glass and makes the colors come alive. I have a hard time decorating them because I feel like any stringer doodlings would be almost an abomination. So, I play with shape and I am really loving this shape. Keep in mind that the beads in the above photo are the first test batch. I played with shaping with little concern about size or consistency which I focus on for sets an pairs. This shape allows even more surfaces for the light to reflect and refract making them sparkle like diamonds.

Sets will be up on Etsy this week as well as some etched weessels. Custom orders welcome as always.

Thanks!!