Hard Candy!!

More about the ArtBliss retreat.....

So, when we last left me, I had attended the Meet and Greet reception for instructors and students. After the reception, in which a glass of Chardonnay and a huge brownie was consumed, I retreated to the utter silence and calm of my hotel room. (side note: if you have not stayed in a Hampton Inn recently, you should. Beautiful!) I poked around on the internet for a while, submitted a piece of jewelry to another magazine, and watched some of a Will Smith movie. It was a bit of heaven for me.

When the alarm went off early the next morning, I was ready and SO looking forward to my class.

Melissa Manley is a fantastic instructor. I can't say enough great things about her, so you're just going to have to listen to me gush about it all for a while. I was lucky to find Melissa Meman was in my class, too, so we grabbed a table together and bemoaned the fact that we did not bring all of the tools we wish we had!

Note to all you who may attend a retreat or other jewelry class like this: BRING YOUR TOOLS, even the ones not officially on the 'required tools and supplies' list!!! I was so clueless, and I didn't realize I should have just loaded the darn entire toolbox up instead of paring down to the bare minimum, especially since I drove to the event! I wasn't without the necessary tools, but having mine would have helped, since we shared a lot of stuff.

But I digress...

So, here we are, all ready to start metalsmithing in a hotel conference room...


(That's my friend, Melissa Meman on the left!)

We listened to Melissa Manley talk about metals and her background and a bit about what we were going to learn, and then we just got on with it!

One of the things I like best about her classes is that she is a very epxeriential learner and teacher -- always ready to try stuff out and not get caught up in "what you're supposed to do".

So, we annealed metal, and cut it, dapped it into domes, enameled it, and then learned how to tube rivet it into beads. Along the way, we learned annealing, pickling, torch-fired enameling, sawing, filing, hole-punching, decorative techniques, tube riveting, and probably a zillion other things! It was amazing! Here are a few action shots compiled together in a collage....


From left to right, top to bottom: Melissa demonstrates sanding the discs; Using the disc cutter (note the hydraulic press and rolling mill!); Dapping; Pickled and halfway finished; Enameling; Assembling; More tools!; So very happy!; Finished work!


And here are my finished beads! I can hardly believe *I* made these! I mean, really. I am on a creative bender now, desperately searching for and ordering all kinds of tools so I can do MORE of these! And the jewelry and wearable art possibilities are amazing! I cannot stop sketching all the fabulous ideas I have that pop into my head pretty much all day (and probably all night, too). My sketching skills are....well....sketchy, at best, so I hope that what I've been drawing still means something to me when I finally get around to making everything.

My actual life keeps getting in the way, though. Very annoying.

Well, not my kids. Or my husband. They aren't annoying (ok, maybe sometimes...).

By lunchtime on Saturday, I was so completely full of adrenaline and creative energy...being there in that workshop and meeting and talking with so many creative souls was like feeding every appetite I have. Well, almost all of them. I felt like I was hyperventilating all during lunch, trying to take everything in, process it, learn, watch, listen, talk, dream, think... talking to people about what we were doing and what *they* were doing, seeing everyone's work from the morning, and dying to get back into the room to do MORE! It was overwhelming, but it a really, really good way. That kind of energy comes from a pure place in my soul. It's exhausting, and I can't live there every day, but when I can get to that place...oh! It feeds me and fills me, and makes me more ME.

I sound slightly insane, don't I?

I wish for a long, uninterrupted stretch of time over several days to get some of this banged out (pun TOTALLY intended!). That's not going to happen, so I really, really, really need to sharpen my focus and hone in on what needs to be done step by step so I can actually make progress on this work, and not just flounder around in a sea of creative angst.

And Barbara Lewis has re-ignited the fire about a book idea I have had for a long time....I need to make that proposal and get it out to someone who can actually help me make that a reality.

And the copper....the metals are just calling me. I have SO MANY ideas.

Thank you, Melissa, and thank you Cindy and Jeanette, for facilitating a wonderful experience!

(and I haven't even talked about the evening class, 'Roll Playing'....but I will. Soon.)

ETA: Most of these pictures were taken by the wonderful Cindy Wimmer, of Sweet Bead Studio and the cofounder of ArtBLISS! Thanks for the great shots!

My Whirlwind Weekend

I spent the weekend at the first ArtBliss event, learning metalsmithing and enameling techniques from one of the very best teachers I have ever had, Melissa Manley. The event was extremely well-organized, the workshops were fantastic, and I even won a couple prizes! Oh, and the brownies? To. DIE. For. OMG!

I have MUCH more to say about this event.....but you're gonna have to wait a bit til I recover.

Because the ArtBliss retreat coincided with my first-ever appearance in a nice local juried show, I couldn't stay all weekend, but drove home laaaaate on Saturday night. The show was....not great, but not horrible...and right now, I am so completely exhausted I am not sure how I am remaining conscious. My knees and ankles are killing me!

I promise to tell you all about my adventures in metals and how I am completely in need of more tools.....but I have to ask you to wait a bit, til I can organize my thoughts and not feel like I am scraping the bottom of the energy barrel.

More to come, I promise.

Soup's On!

Here is the list of the first round of chefs in the Bead Soup Blog Party....go check out the goodness!

1. Lori, Pretty Things

2. Lorelei, Lorelei1141

3. Norma, Moonlit Fantaseas

4. Beth, EB Bead and Metalworks

5. Katie, KatieBead

6. Kimberly, Bahama Dawn

7. Debbie, Prairie Emporium

8. Lisa, Joolz by Lisa

9. Kate, Tropical Blonde

10. Janet, Singing Woods

11. Julianna, Juls Beads

12. Erin, Treasures Found

Everyone has got some simply STUNNING work...definitely drool-worthy!

My partner is in the first group -- Beth and Evie McCord of EB Bead and Metal Works. They are number 4 on the above list, and you MUST go there NOW to see the amazing thing they did with the bead soup I sent them. OMG, I can't believe my beads could look so good!

I'll be posting my work with their beads and a cool focal piece on Monday, so definitely be back here then to see what I made!

A birthday

Ok, so I turned forty yesterday.....yep, I was born on the original Earth Day, back in 1970. It's a distinction I have always enjoyed, honestly. I've never had a birthday that I can remember that wasn't sunny and gorgeous, which is perfect for getting into the spirit of celebrating the planet AND a birthday. Yesterday was no different. :)

I think I had mentioned a while back about creating a necklace for myself that would be somewhat commemorative of my milestone birthday. As with most projects, I didn't get it done *exactly* on time, but it is finished now, and I love it.

Here is "The Road Less Traveled":

It's a difficult necklace to photograph, because it's long (about 21"). I wanted something that was busy and full of my favorite things....and I wanted to include beads that represented some of the best or most life-altering things that have happened in the last forty years. The overall necklace shape is a Y, or rosary shape, which for me, says much more about devotion and faith than anything else I came up with.

There is a closer look at the pendant portion:
The pendant itself is polymer clay. In making it, I thought of my favorite poem, Robert Frost's "The Road Less Traveled", from which I usually take a quote to sum up some of my approach to my life:

Two roads diverged in the wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by and that has made all the difference.

The beads above the heart pendant represent, from left to right, my middle daughter Wren (she loves pink), my oldest daughter Kira (she loves the beach), my husband Travis (his 'colors' are black, white and green), and my son, Noah (he just loves).

I made the white dove bead at the top to signify the peace in family life -- having a family, knowing your family is complete, having everyone safe and together.

On one side of the necklace, I hung beads that represent achievement of one of my most important things...education:

Here, the blue and white bead is for my undergraduate degree (SUNY-Geneseo!) and the purple and white, for my high school (Go Southwest Eagles!).
It's not a great picture, but the purple and yellow bead is for my graduate degree (James Madison University).

On the other side of the necklace, are the beads representing other life choices, some that worked out and some that...didn't:
My favorites have to be the BIG hollow beads....there are four of them, one for each decade. In the rosary, there are larger beads interspersed at intervals with the smaller beads. these are called 'decade' beads, and while they don't necessarily represent actual decades in years, the larger beads serve that purpose here. In all my favorite colors, of course. :)

I used hammered copper rings and copper links as the metals in this piece, because the copper is warm and takes on a beautiful patina all by itself as the piece is worn. Circles for the cyclical nature of life, and randomly-wrapped copper links because of the messiness and unpredictability of life.

I didn't get the piece done in time to wear it yesterday, and that's okay. I'm planning to wear it some today and maybe this weekend. I'm just happy I finished it, and was able to put it together the way I want. Even if I don't wear it that much, I have it as a labor of love and to remind me of all the good things in my life.

Happy birthday to me. :)

Still working.....

The weather here in Virginia has been truly sublime the past few days. After a much harder, snowier, and colder winter than we have had in years, spring is welcome relief. I gathered all my metalworking tools, wire, beads and everything I thought I might need and went out on the deck in my bare feet to bask in the warm sunshine and do some creating.

I'd like to thank the glorious sunshine for these new creations:


In other news, the show I did yesterday wasn't so terrific. Boo! The saving grace was the beautiful weather, though, and some cool fellow vendors. I'm gearing up for the summer market season, which opens around here on May 1.

Until then, I will be listing at least one new item every other day or so in my Etsy shop. Go and check out the new things I am making! Everyone needs something new and colorful for spring!

Don't forget to become a fan of A Hot Piece of Glass on Facebook, too!

Working....

This is part of my workspace. In our house with five people in it, space is always limited. My glassworking stuff is in the laundry room, next to the washer and dryer. My kiln for batch annealing is in the garage, next to my husband's workbench, on which my metalworking tools and equipment now live. The office (really part of our garage converted into a room) is home to not only our home office, but also my sewing machines and other textile fun and games. And in the corner of the kitchen, next to the fridge and near my laptop on its stand, is my jewelry-making stuff. I call this corner of the room my Command Center, because I do spend a fair amount of time here, either on the computer, cooking in the kitchen, or making jewelry.

I can't really complain, though. I am lucky to have the space that I do. We won't discuss the ginormous sewing and craft room I had a few years ago in this house...it's now my eldest daughter's bedroom, because her room was given over to Wren, and Wren gave up her room for Noah. All the bedrooms are taken now, so I have spread out all over the house. I think the only thing that is slightly difficult is that I can't put hot beads right into the kiln as I work them, because my husband, as supportive and wonderful as he is, put his foot down about my running even my teeny kiln inside the house. :)

Anyway, I keep saying we need a 5 bedroom house, or at least one with a basement, but I do not want to move. Nope. I love this house, even as I peruse the real estate ads on Sunday mornings (it's a habit I think I acquired from my dad, who's always looking). Someday, maybe, we'll have a big house in the country on ten acres of land, but for now, I still make pretty things all over the place. And I'm fine with that.

New series!

I've been working diligently on a new series of pieces for my collection. Here are the first pieces in "Industrial Revolution"....a collection created using copper and mixed metals, glass beads, and found objects, with a steampunk/clockwork/turn-of-the-last-century feel.

"Fortune's Amulet"


and the matching bracelet..."Springs Wash"


Both will be available on Etsy as soon as I get them posted later today. More pieces are forthcoming, too, I just have to get the photos taken!

Hey, don't forget I have a page for A Hot Piece of Glass on Facebook, so if you are an addicted Facebooker like me, check out the page and become a fan!