A Published Work

The December 2014 issue of The Soda Lime Times(link), an "In-Box Magazine about and for Lampwork Bead Makers", was published yesterday.  It features interesting articles, tutorials, and photos of beautiful glass work by lampwork artists.

This month features an article about a Facebook group I'm involved in, Lampwork Beads For Sale. Our membership consists of artists who sell their handmade beads, and buyers or designers who make jewelry.  The SLT article contains photos from our group, and

I am honored to be included among them...

with this picture of one of my blown conch shells!

Diane Woodall, the managing editor and an accomplished lamp-worker herself, says:
"Folks can can come to www.sodalimetimes.com for a free issue and to subscribe - or just to learn more about the magazine."

The monthly issues are available on an individual basis for immediate download, so you're not committed to receiving for a period of time, unless you desire.

My thanks to Diane and her staff for a quality publication and support of the lampwork community. I look forward to it every month!

Bead Soup Blog Party Reveal

I'm unfashionably late to the Party and offer my apologies to all, especially my partner,  

Cindy Ritchie of moonriverglass. 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Let's recap the beautiful soup ingredients sent to me by my partner:

Although Cindy and I are both lampwork bead makers, we have different styles.  Having no immediate vision for design, I took off the strings, laid it all out, and played with arrangements off and on until some ideas began to come together.


I've never worked with waxed linen to string beads, so this was a BIG stretch for me.  After much trial and error, knotting and unknotting, this is the first piece I managed to connect the beads to create this necklace.

Here's another perspective, showing the clasp provided:

Next, I made some earrings to match.

 

Of course, I HAD to make use of the darling angel, so a 2nd necklace was in order:

I designed it by adding some cobalt faceted beads I had on hand.

And the little owl was so cute, I thought he needed to stand alone, so I made a hair stick!

This was such a fun and challenging soup for me, and I'm grateful to Cindy for her lampwork creativity, and her patience.  I also appreciate Lori's huge undertaking in making BSBP's doable and fun!

 

Tutorial Experimentation

I've been studying some new designs from a tutorial I purchased from Gems in Bloom, and for the most part, am delighted with the results of my trial run.  Here's one of my gems, measuring 1 inch across:

Going to light the torch again!

Special Bulletin

(Bead soup I sent to Cindy Ritchie)

This just in...NC bead soup delivered
in New York today. 

Upon opening the box, the above and below were found within:

Funny how we both chose beach and ocean themes!

 

Hard to photo the true shimmer of silver leaf in the glass.

 I can't wait to see what Cindy creates with them!

{Thanks for stopping by, and I'd love to know that you were here!  Feel free to leave a comment}

BSBP Teaser

Bead Soup for my partner, Cindy Ritchie, is on its way, and scheduled for delivery on Monday.  So since the rules state that we can not post photos of the soup we sent until the partner receives it, here's a teaser.

Reading other blogs about the Bead Soup Party, I learned of a (new to me) photo app. to skew pics, and I adore how this app treats photos!

Check out Tuxpi, but fair warning...it eats time ;-)

Visit again soon for the reveal!

Soup Delivery!

I received soup goodies from my Bead Soup Blog Party partner yesterday!  

This cute lil guy was attached to the drawstring....sweet!

Just looky at all this fun!  Sand and sea, just for me!

 

  Plenty of flameworked head pins, discs, and a shape I've never seen or made:

Little white and blue flower petals or hats (bottom center).

Somehow, she knows what color this girl is fond of:  Blue! 

And now, I get to oogle at and play with all the lovely pieces that 

glass artist Cindy Ritchie of mooseriverglass sent.

 Love the little faces she puts on some of her beads.

This little angel is ready for her closeup.  Isn't she adorable?!

Time to get my creative thinking cap on and stir these beauties into something wearable.

Thank you Cindy!

Partner - 8th Annual Bead Soup Blog Party!

It's ON!

Been a couple of years since I participated in the Bead Soup Blog Party, so I decided to sign up for this one.

Thanks to Lori Anderson for hosting it, and doing ALL of the work to make it happen.  This year, there are 490 participants from all over the world!  Amazing lady.

Partners will exchange beads and clasps, and other findings, then each will create one or several pieces.  The "reveal" day is May 3rd, when we post photos of finished work, and spend hours perusing blogs for our viewing pleasure of eye candy!

Partners have been announced, and I couldn't be more delighted to be paired with Cindy Ritchie of 

Moose River Glass

Cindy is a fellow glass bead maker, and I noticed she also works with metals.  

Here's an example of her work:  I chose a favorite to show from her etsy shop.

Beautiful!

If you want to see more of her unique offerings, click the bracelet.

Stay tuned for the soup exchange arrivals!

FALL VACA Part Dos

While at Arenal (Volcano) Resort, we decided to take in the Butterfly Garden and tour on our own.  The trail leading to it had some exotic fruit tree.

 The inside smelled citrusy.  We didn't eat any and never found out what it was.

Central American bulls have funny ears.

Along the trail...unusual plants.

Another strange fruit, inside something like a walnut shell.  And these 2 are a bit different.

Mr. T read this to me while I shot the pic, which brought more than a chuckle...in part, it says:

GREGADO RAIN FOREST AND RESERVE

"This trail you are about to walk is a loop about 1500 meters (1 mile long) passing over 

mildly undulating terrain. "  

(Oh, it was MORE than mild!  Hee-hee...Our newest favorite phrase now).

We made our way to the enclosed Butterfly Garden, aptly named, as we only saw a single butterfly.  And, he mostly stood.

This wild Blue and Gold Macaw visited the porch twice a day.

The workers there feed him almonds.

The Torch Ginger was large, abundant, and brilliant.

The limes are orange inside!

This guy rustled the leaves, surprising me on the way to breakfast.

Luckily, I had my camera ready, just as he struck a pose. 

 Looks as if he's ready to stick out his tongue at me!

MORE TO COME....

FALL VACA Part Uno

14 days ago, we landed in the tropical paradise of

The beautiful Arenal Lodge is located in the northern region, several hours from the airport in San Jose, found ONLY with the use of the GPS. 
 

Check those switchback roads...oh, it was quite the adventure!

 

The Lodge is named for the Volcano visible from our bed.

The room was very spacious and dark with the beautiful native wood.

After the clouds cleared, from our balcony.

 We rode up and down steep mountains on horseback

with the expertise of our new friend and guide, Miguel.

And every day fresh towels were folded on the bed to portray an animal.

Don't cha just love those cute lil eyebrows, made from fern leaves!?

More to come in Part 2 ~ real native plants and wildlife.

The Yaupon Tree

Back in the spring I was invited to showcase my glass art in another nearby beach town:

 

It was easy enough to locate...just a right turn after crossing the high-rise bridge.

It's a standalone retail shop...

 

 and studio where owner Brian Evans creates his pottery. 

Let's go inside:

The muraled walls are tastefully done, making it a delight to shop.

The Yaupon Tree 

has offerings by local and regional artists in pottery, painting,

photography, sculpture,

metalwork

and glass.

Notice another beautiful wall in the background!

If you're in the Southport/Oak Island area, be sure to stop in and chat with Brian and Diane Evans, the friendly owners.  You're sure to find some treasure there!

The Yaupon Tree

8501 East Oak Island Drive

Oak Island, NC  28465

(910) 278-5991