My cats are my babies… but this is a real baby!
Cassidy Hope Flores – born 12/13/12. The proud mommy is my lovely daughter Elinor.
AKA – differences between home studio and using studio time
at a professional studio.
It is no secret that I have many hobbies and use a LOT of
the space at my house. For example:
- My fabric collection is in the basement – lots of shelves and well organized
- My thread collection is also in the basement – rolling bins, color-coded, etc.
- The embroidery machine is in the basement
- The office on the second floor has shelves – lots of them – and the shelves are full of bins of crafting items, and art supplies. There are even two cardboard literature racks which hold (one each) paper and instructional booklets
- My extensive bead collection and supplies are binned and sorted in the office as well
- If I count reading as a hobby, I have to list the library, the shelves in the living room, front porch and bedroom where all books are organized by genre and author
- My polymer clay supplies are binned and in the server in the dining room
- The findings and accoutrements for glass jewelry are binned and also in the server
- The dining room tables serves as my primary sewing locale
And so on….
BUT…..
What didn’t I list there?
Glass….
Plan was to be buying a kiln shortly and setting up a studio
in the basement.
However, I am neither ready to buy a kiln – I have so much
more to learn – nor am I sure that I want a glass studio in the house.
Why?
Glass is messy and dangerous. Yeah, I step on pins sometimes in the house,
but that is nothing compared to little glass shards everywhere. I drop pins occasionally – it is not a
pervasive action – but glass pieces go everywhere, always, when you work with
glass. There will be dangerous scraps
everywhere. Sure, when sewing there are
bits and pieces all over the place, and I am constantly pulling threads off my
clothes days and weeks later, but those do not cut you!
Therefore, my glass is all sorted by COE and color, and
binned. It is stored in the trunk of my
primary vehicle (which changes by season).
The studio I prefer for open studio time is located within 10 minutes of
my office and that alone makes it very easy.
My common routine (it is even on my Google calendar as a standing appointment)
is to leave work on Fridays and go to the studio. I work there until they close – 9 PM – and
use their kilns. I do not think her
prices are unreasonable, and it is a social time for me.
Social time…
I am social impaired; I do not have enough friends. I value my quilt group more for the camaraderie
than anything else. If I were to work
with glass at home, it would HAVE to be in the “pantry” room in the
basement. It would have to be someplace
where I have the ability to shut a door and keep some semblance of containment.
And I would be alone…. At least when I sew, it is at the
Dining room table and my hubby is usually nearby.
Only downfall I see is the need to clean up.
Glass is heavy, and true to Mary habit – I have a LOT. I need a palette to work with… who knows what
I will feel like what day?
So, I get to the studio, haul it in, make a mess, and then
have to haul it out. At some point, I
also need to clean up. I get wrapped up
in things, and often I look up, realize its 15 mins to close and that I still
have to load the kiln, clean up and pay.
Luckily, Karen who owns The Studio at Rush Creek is a wonderful and patient person.
I have pushed her time boundaries a few times…..
In contrast, at this very moment, my coffee table and the
floor space around it are covered with beading items, and there is fabric
across the dining room table…. I am so
lucky I live with a very patient and tolerant man!
I think he knows that if he complains too much about my
creative messes, I will make him organize the car parts in the garage….
Since I just mentioned the beading mess, I will start there.
Beading has been a serious hobby for about 20 years. I’m sure I strung some beads in school, but
it was about 20 years ago that I learned how to bead weave with seed beads
(Native type style) and then moved on to bead stringing, and a little wire
work. Still working on wire wrapping, but
I will get there.
I maintain a large collection of beads from seed beads to
gemstones and many other things. I am
good at beading, but not great. I tried
doing some craft shows with them many years ago, but the mass/third world
produced goods are much cheaper and better made. Also, while I am creative, I am not at artist
level with bead work so I will leave that part up to those better suited. So, I make stuff for me and for friends.
A couple times a year, I get a craving for beads and I buy a
bunch. I make some pieces for myself
and/or for others and set it aside for a while.
I have two friends who are also into beading and we have done one
beading work day and I want to plan more.
Again, the camaraderie is good.
I have also started trying to make more complex pieces out
of some of the glass pieces I have put together. I made a few beads/units (don’t know what to
call them) with the specific goal of putting them together into more of a
necklace than just a simple pendant (look at the bottom of this post for a link
to pendant pictures). I glued bails on
to a lot of the pieces the other day and started putting them together. However, I found that I need some large jump
rings and other findings. Shoot… have to
make a Joann’s trip…. Dang it anyway….
Where are my coupons?!?
Here are some of the projects I have worked on lately.
Kitty Cats
There are two “beads” that I picked up at a show. I think that they are meant to be pendants,
but I wear big earrings so I got two.
They are also PURPLE! I did make
sure to attach the ear wires opposite on each, so they’ll be one sided –
different for each ear – and the cats will face purple side out on each ear,
even though they’ll be facing opposite directions since the beads are exactly
the same (no L and R….).
Orange Beads
These are five beads that I made in my torch work open
studio time. As I have mentioned before,
I have no real abilities with torch work, but enjoy playing. I have NOT been able to create two – much
less enough for a necklace – identical beads.
So, what do I do? This is one
answer – take a bunch of the same color way and create a unique pendant
Earrings
This is another solution to lots of mismatched torch work
beads – just go with it… close enough!
Amethyst Bracelet
Ok, I cannot take a lot of credit for this. I bought this years ago in Florida, and one
of the stones fell out. My son actually
managed to find the stone in my car! I
have had it all in a baggy for years, meaning to take to the jeweler.
I haven’t gotten to it…. For years….
I have also bought a bunch of gemstones and settings in
recent months and plan on putting them together. Duh, I should be able to fix this if I intend
to do them from “scratch”!!
So I did….
Hopefully it stays together!
Enamel work #1
In this post, I discussed an enamel class that I took. I have finally put some of the pieces
together into necklaces. This is the
first. The large disc is enameled. I put a hole on top and a hole on
bottom. I put a jump ring on top to use
for the cord, and there are three beaded dangles attached with a jump ring on
the bottom. Note: there are also little pieces stuck into the
enamel on the disc and fired.
Enamel work #2
This is three enameled pieces – two discs and an
asymmetrical ring – attached via holes and jump rings and a bail on top. I chose to use a simple beaded chain for this
one.
Beads with Wire Work
This necklace and matching earrings are made from beads put
onto head pins and linked together with eye pins. I then put chain lengths on either end of the
fancy pieces. I wore this today; the
longest dangle sits into my cleavage – at about the lowest point I dare go!
Polymer Clay Piece
This is a 1½ x 2 inch piece of mixed and flattened polymer
clay. I coated it with future floor
polish after baking to make it shine. I
put a simple bail through the hole and put it on a chain. Nothing of technical quality or expertise,
but it has the funky artist look and I had fun wearing it with the mismatched
bead earrings.
There is still a huge mess in my living room and I am
working on a few more things with my torch work beads. I have got a couple enamel pieces to sort
out, some large glass necklaces to work when I get the findings, but the one
thing I want to talk about it my long necklace in process.
A few months back, I bought a long – and I mean LONG –
necklace from my favorite eBay seller.
It goes to my waist. Its 6 inches
of little beads, then a large gemstone bead, repeat. Then little beads are symmetrical, same,
organized, etc., but each large bead is vastly different in shape, size, and
color. I wear it with simple dresses and
usually loop it twice.
I've taken a huge liking to this style, and have made
several long necklaces out of craft beads from Joann’s – each themed in color. The other day at a more upscale bead shop, I
found a bunch of approximate 3 mm roundel beads in a light sea foam green on
the clearance table. They may be
gemstone; they are at least rock or crystal – not plastic. Each strand of 6 inches was 75 cents. I bought a bunch, sorted out my torch work
beads, pulling out the green based ones, and started stringing them. My plan is 20 of the roundels, then a large torch
work bead. I will post pictures when
done.
Last bead story and I will move one…
Promise!
A friend came over on Tuesday and brought a card game called
“Lunch Money” for us to play. It is
quite amusing; you have action cards on how you will beat up other
players. There are also cards to block,
dodge, etc. Upon losing an encounter,
you also lose “life points.” The last
person to lose all their life points is the winner. Each player must have 15 counters for their
life points….
Yes, I brought out my container of torch work beads and we
all used those for counters!
It was amusing to watch two fully-grown men playing with
pretty beads…
LOL….
Or should I say “Bad Artist”?
I should not blame the medium; it’s only doing what it is
designed to….
Go to this post, and search or scroll down to “millefiori
Pieces”, read the first two paragraphs, skip the bullet list, and look at the
two pictures of black and white pieces.
One cannot mix glasses with different COEs. You can get away with a little bit – some
small millefiori on a large piece, a dusting of powder or frit of a different
COE, etc., - but I pushed the envelope… big time.
I dropped two of those black and white pieces the other
night. Not very far – less than two
feet. I have dropped pendant pieces from
much higher and they have been fine.
What happened truly illustrates the weakness caused when mixing
different classes of glass.
Dramatic isn't it?
In this post......
Which was nearly a month ago!
I MISSED the studio so badly… I
Cannot let so much
time go by again….
(Ok, I was sick – twice, and holidays, and work….)
Basic Pieces
My concentration last time at studio (and this time) was to
use up a lot of the “lower class” pieces of glass I have in COE 90. These are a bunch of small sheets that were
bought at a cheap price at the store.
When bought – the purpose was to build stash and have some throwaway
piece for experimenting.
And, just like fabric – I have learned that there are some
definite different qualities to glass…. Some
of it is crap.
So, I’m trying to use a bunch of it up…making a small thing
one studio night to see if the glass is ok, then using the rest on something
bigger the next time.
Green Pendant
A simple pendant with a couple greens… success
Purple Dish
About 7 inches, a couple purples, some white. Mostly a failure… the glass is ok, but there
are gaps in color, etc. That is what happens
when you do something quickly and skimp on technique.
Purple and White Strips on Green
I think this piece is cool.
I need to name it something to belay that. It is not the highest quality of workmanship,
but it looks neat – much neater in person.
Very much a success.
Blue and White Dish
This piece has flaws, but is really cool looking. The blue base is a single layer, but it did
not scallop up (pull in) as much as I expected.
The corners got a little sharp and I sanded them. Pretty much a success.
Trivet?
This will be going to Ana.
Why?
A few months back, I played with different COEs (putting millefiori on pieces). One piece, I put way too
many millefiori on AND had it slumped into a square in square rather than a
sushi shape (sharp corners rather than gentle sloping).
It cracked….
A couple bad gaps….
Ana took it home. She
said that anything I gave her in glass would eventually be broken by the
cats. So, that way, she got to look at
and display a piece of mine, and then not feel bad when it broke.
Which it did….
There are many flaws on this one. The light turquoise colored glass melted
funny and looks gummy. It is really not
a great piece.
Therefore, it is time for a new piece for Ana.
Oh, and I rate it a failure.
Green/Purple Pendant
I used fiber paper on this to make a tunnel for a chain. I like how much it pulled in.
My other focus on the last studio day was to play with
copper. It MUST be put in-between
layers, so each of these pieces is a colored glass with clear on top. I used a thin copper sheet and cut shapes
from it. The copper was thicker than tin
foil, but not too much. Not quite as
thick as cardstock. The copper changes
color when fired – all metals do – and sometimes it looks reddish, and other
times bluish.
Amber Waves of Green
There is a little red tinge to the copper here. This piece is about five inches. I cut the waves from the copper sheet – very
carefully.
White Copper Pendant
This is just some random shapes from copper on white
glass. There is also a fiber paper
tunnel for a chain.
Hand Rolled
For this one, I used one of my last pieces of the hand
rolled very expensive glass from this post. I put some squares of copper on it, and
covered with clear.
It is hard to see in this picture (I really have not figured
out how to take good glass pictures inside), but something occurred with the
glass in firing – there is a whitish ring around all the copper pieces. I swear that is altered from the original
composition of the glass. This type of
thing does happen – glass does odd things at very high temperatures.
Hearts
Copper hearts. This
is going to be a pendant. The hearts are
quite red against the white.
Star
This is also going to be a pendant.
So, I was off work early yesterday and decided to stop at
the glass supply store. Since I am
trying to finish off my stock of 90 COE glass, I needed to get some clear and
white in 90 (base and topper).
That’s all I needed…
And that’s all I bought….
Really!
Don’t believe me?
Well, you should not!
Do you really believe that I could walk into a hobby store
for ANY of my hobbies and get ONLY what I NEEDED?
ROFLMAO….
My purchases for the day were:
- Bead release – ok I did need this for torch work
- A couple dozen 104 COE torch work rods – sort of needed. I have a lot of fancy rods, but am running short on basic colors.
- Bead wire – YES, I needed this. Was going to stop at Joann, but they had it too
- Some amethyst and green (mentioned above) spacer beads for with the torch work beads
- White, black and clear in 90 COE
- Some sale and discounted glasses in 96 COE, including a really cool green piece – swirled.
And….
Hangs head in semi shame……
A REALLY expensive piece of mauve/rose/white hand rolled
glass…
It is absolutely gorgeous!
And, did I mention it was expensive….?
I wanted a treat, and the piece just called out to me. It matches the general color of my dining
room…. Ok, that is an attempt at justification…
I am going to make pendants for the cafeteria ladies at
work…. Yea, another justification…..
I will have pictures hopefully in the next blog post, but I
put together several pieces – including another leaf bowl – featuring the hand
rolled glass, AND put together a bunch of jewelry pieces.
Most of what I have done with glass is to make
pendants. It is a good way to test
color, technique, placement, etc. I have
learned a lot about what glass does – especially in the kiln – when different
things are done to it.
A couple days ago, I pulled out all the pendant pieces I had
- including my own use ones from my jewelry box, attached bails (to those
without) and took pictures of them. They
are not the best pictures, and there are some missing – from pieces I have
already given away – so it is not a complete record.
There are a LOT…. This is already a huge post. If I put the pictures here, I’d double
it. Click here for my photobucket album
with the pictures. Keep looking – I’ll
add descriptions at a later date.
ALL of them are available!!!
I will gift and/or trade – see the rules below.
- If you are a friend reading this, and want one – send me email. It is yours. Rules – you have to take a picture wearing it for my gallery.
- If you are not someone I know, and would like one – or many – I BARTER! I love to trade for things. Pretty much anything… just ask. Handmade soap is top of my list, unique baby clothes, other artwork, handmade paper products, etc.
You are one very talented lady!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing.