Happy Hump Day!!

Whew, made it to Wednesday! Woohoo! I haven’t had time to be in the studio for a few days – okay, honestly after the whirlwind weekend I had, I chose to take Monday and Tuesday off!! I had class Monday night, so that didn’t really count, right? And last night I ended up watching the Andromeda Strain on A&E. It was kind of slow in the beginning, but picked up after a while. I don’t know why I watch those kinds of things – you know, end of the world scenario, ultimately caused by human beings, etc. At least they weren’t zombies! LOL My son had a fixation with zombies for a while. He would double check and make sure the doors were locked at night, the windows were closed, etc. He wouldn’t go outside after dark, that kind of thing. Turns out he had spent tooooo many hours playing video games and was freaking himself out! ROFL! Thank goodness he found a different game to play! I personally don’t do the video game thing – it sucks your time like a leech and what do you have to show for it? Hours of frustration and annoyance – and no pretty jewelry at the end of it? No thanks!!

Well, I’m off to my last official Wednesday night class tonight. Many of them have been with me for 16 weeks, they’re wonderful and it’s going to be hard to say goodbye. I don’t have anymore official classes until October, and I know I’ll post a few classes on my website, but as usually happens, people won’t sign up, won’t show up, etc. Then I won’t hear from them again, maybe a few years from now they’ll take another class and I’ll try to remember who they are………. well, aren’t I little Miss Suzy Sunshine tonight!? LOL! Sorry!! On a plus note, the class will be so much fun tonight. We’re having a little bit of a finale party, with goodies, coffee, etc. I know we’ll be giggling and laughing the whole time, so it’s worth it even knowing this is the end of the class!!! Cheers!

I think I need a nap!

Whew! It’s been a busy weekend! The class today was spectacular but I stayed up WAY too late last night! But I was having so much fun working at the bench til nearly midnight, oh yeah! Gotta love it! I really wanted to get two pieces done. One is a ring for one of this weekend’s students, Damaris Oakley (you can see her awesome lampwork at www.redfireart.com). She commissioned one of my sticks and stones rings back in March when she took a class with me, and it’s taken me ages to get it done. Not because I haven’t had time, it’s because it was giving me fits! LOL She had chosen a stone that was not conducive to a pleasing design – it was a large right angled triangle. So as soon as she arrived on Saturday, I asked her if she was okay with it, or would she prefer a different stone that I had picked out for her (similar to the triangle but much better shape!). Woohoo, she chose the different stone! So I wanted to get it finished before she left back to Vancouver Island. So what do you think?

I think it turned out pretty good. Of course the pictures could be better, but I was in a hurry! LOL I took her to Joye’s gallery (www.joyedesigns.ca). Joye’s been looking for a new lampwork artist to feature and I really think Damaris will do well there. She has a fabulous eye for color and design, and she’s a nice person – perfect combo if you ask me!

Speaking of Joye, the second thing I wanted to finish last night was a bracelet I’ve been working on for Joye. Her company logo is an ammonite, and I had picked up some good opalized ones at the last gems how (I think I even posted a pic here somewhere! LOL). Anyhoo, Joye’s such an awesome person to work with that I wanted her to have one of these for herself. Besides, if she wears it, it’s good advertising for my work, right? What do you think of this baby?!?

The ammonite has lots of orangy/red flashes, so I added an almandine garnet and an orange sapphire. Joye’s personal taste is monochromatic (lots of shades and variations of the same color) so I really wanted to keep it in the reddish/orange color palette. Sure enough, Joye loves it, it fits like a dream, and looks fantastic on her! She’s heading to Vegas this week, so she has some new jewelry to show off! LOL I’m hoping she finds some exciting stones for me at the Vegas gem show she’s going to!!

Well, this day has been long but fantastic and I think I’m about ready for a quiet evening in my recliner snuggling a cat or two (or three, or whatever! LOL). I’m looking forward to Wednesday’s class this week – I forgot to get pictures of Dianne and Phyllis’ textured pieces, and fortunately I get to see them then, so will bring my camera! I think I even managed to etch a couple of pieces for myself – we’ll see if they’re what I want when I have a chance to really look at them! Maybe tomorrow! LOL

Hope you all have a great Sunday evening, I’m about to get rained on so it’s time for the recliner!! Cheers!

Another week gone!

And probably forgotten! Okay, not all of it forgotten, but I’m sure I’ve forgotten lots! It’s just what I do! I had a great class on Wednesday night – super fun group of students! One of the gals even brought us some yummy brownies (no, not ’special’ ones!) and a big carafe of coffee. Another lady made us some fudge. We were certainly spoiled that night! It was ‘Melting’ night – pour casting, broom straw casting, water casting, cuttlebone casting – you know, just melting stuff! It was fun, but raining a bit, so getting the larger quantities of silver to melt got a little difficult. I must remember to bring the big tip for my torch for Monday night’s class.

This weekend, I’m hosting a Surface Texture class at my home studio. I must say we had a great time today! We prepared lots of metal for acid etching tomorrow. We played with the rolling mill (I have a feeling there are a couple of rolling mills finding new homes soon! LOL!). I’ll grab some pictures tomorrow of the stuff we’re playing with. We’re not making nay specific projects, just creating textured pieces of metal for future designs. It’s a great way to kick start your creativity.

Speaking of creativity! I made myself a hollow ring this week! As much as I LOVE the tourmaline one in my previous post, I wouldn’t wear it very often (art is lovely to look at, but not very practical for those of us who have meat hooks for hands!). So I created one similar to the amethyst ring – a little lower profile, using two bicolor stones (clear on one end, colored on the other). The one stone is a very pretty pink tourmaline, the other a lovely amethyst. Just a happy coincidence that I had bicolors of each in the same size! Who knew?! Anyway, here it is!

It looks so cool from my point of view when I’m wearing it – and I can wear it purple side towards me or pink side towards me, depending on the day! And from the top, it looks VERY industrial (happy accident! LOL!).

I love it, I wear it all the time (24/7!). It’s been a long time since I made a ring that I like this much.

Now for the gratuitous pictures of family and stuff – okay, so not the two legged family, but the four legged variety! This is George, a green iguana (one of two we have). They’re both about 3 feet long, and not exactly friendly though at least we can feed George by hand – the other one (Wong) is just plain evil! LOL).

And as spring is well upon us (and the stupid heat has backed off enough to make it really nice outside!!), my lilacs are in full bloom and their fragrance is breathtaking!

My dh (‘dear husband’ this weekend!) pressure washed the deck chairs, table and umbrella. I’m not so sure I want the umbrella on the deck as it blocks the view. No, not the view of the yard, the lilac, mock orange, and golden plum tree all do a nice job of that, but the view of the sky! When I sit in one of the chairs, lean back as far as I can and look straight up, I can see the leaves, branches and lots and lots of sky!! Here’s what it looked like the other day ….

These are the branches of the golden plum tree that grows up from under the deck. It has grown so much in the nine years we’ve been here – the perfect privacy screen between us and our next door neighbors! We love it! And the bonus is all the yummy plums later on in the summer!

Well, I am certainly chatty tonight!! Guess I had best get back down into the studio to prepare for tomorrow’s etching class. I’m also bound and determined to finish a couple of pieces of jewelry that I have in the works. I do so enjoy my ‘job’! LOL! Cheers!

It’s too HOT!!!!

Who’d have thought it would go from lovely spring, lots of rain to stinking hot in the blink of an eye?! I really hate the heat – or maybe the heat hates me? Who knows! All I know is that it’s after 11pm and still too hot to close the doors and windows! Fortunately I can go downstairs to bed eventually and be nice and cool, but my granddaughter, Freya is sleeping on the couch and had too much sun today, so she’s not feeling well. What’s a grandma to do but rub her back, give her sips of water when she wants it and make sure she stays cool despite the sweltering heat. And besides, I seem to do my best designing in the middle of the night, so I have a pen and piece of paper and am doodling a few ideas while I’m sitting here. Seems I’m not quite done with the hollow ring ideas!! Stay tuned!

Oh yeah!! I still have it!

WOOHOO!! I still got it!! I still have that sense of wonder and excitement when a new idea or design comes full circle! You have to check these out!

This ring is a hollow form (meaning that rather than being solid silver all the way through, it’s hollow on the inside. Originally I was going to use garnet cabochons on this one, however I didn’t have two that were even remotely alike! So I rooted through all my gemstones (and those that know me know I have WAY too many!), and found these amethyst teardrops that just seemed perfect. Even though this one is hollow, I used a rather thick metal for the outer shape so it is a bit heavy. Just makes it seem more rich to me! LOL!

Now this one was quite the challenge!! But it all worked out in the end, and I think I really like it! It doesn’t fit me, but I don’t think it will be one of those rings you want to wear 24/7. However, if you want to make a statement, then this one is it! Another hollow form, much lighter than the amethyst one, this was constructed completely with 24ga sterling silver sheet (I know, means nothing to those that don’t make jewelry! LOL). It’s actually quite light. The marquis shaped stone on top is a blue/green tourmaline (more green than blue) and the small stones on either side are cubic zirconias. It certainly is a fun one!

That’s not all I did! Oh no! On Tuesday, I spent a few hours making beads for a friend, and here are some of the leftovers.

This is a large (almost 2 inches long) leaf bead. There’s a loop at the top that is used to hang it with. This one is a reject. I let it get too cool before I put it in the kiln and there are some small internal fractures that are sure to break completely before much longer. The one that my friend took turned out perfect for her needs, wish I’d gotten a picture of it! LOL

The big round one with the metallic scrolls is hollow (hmmm, noticing a trend! LOL). It’s about the size of a kiwi – HUGE! The second one has dichroic in it that doesn’t photograph very well. In real life, it really sparkles. It was quite a bit smaller. Not sure why, but I was on an orange kick while making beads the other day. And I don’t even like orange! LOL But they were so much fun to make.

Since I’m on a photo roll, here’s a couple of pics of the girls, Bailey (on the left) and Jessie (on the right).

Whew!! I better get going and get some work done!! Hope you enjoyed the pictures, I sure enjoyed making the jewelry! Fingers crossed I can stay on this roll!! Cheers!

Creative Slumps

I’ve been stuck by a creative slump lately. Not a huge one, but enough to make it very difficult to sit in the studio. I go in there, I look around and notice all the stuff that still needs doing to finish it off. Then I sit at the workbench and pick things up idly. There’s always stuff on my bench, lots of stuff, sometimes so much stuff that I can’t find anything. So I pick up some stones, put them down. I pick up a partially finished pendant/pin that’s hit a brick wall for me – don’t know where to take it from here. The way I originally wanted to hang it won’t work (it’s too wide), and it’s not going to work hanging downwards (off center, triangular, not really pendant-y if that makes any sense to anyone but me! LOL!). It would make a pretty pin – but it will need some stones, some more wire, I don’t know what else! Bet I add some balls too. Don’t I always?! Anyway, back to the slump. I have a bunch of resin supplies now, but not the dyes, so all I have is clear. I don’t want clear! I want color! I don’t want opaque color or I could use hubby’s tattoo ink (I think), or spices, or whatever. I want dyes. I want them now. Yes, they’re coming, but not fast enough! LOL! So I sit at the bench, picking things up, putting them down, grab my little box of silver scraps, root through it, put it back down. Every half hour or so, I pick up the remote to the tv, change the channels a million times, try to watch something, can’t stay focused – I keep thinking I should be making something! This is not good! LOL! I’m at the point now where I just need to go down there (I’m hiding upstairs as we speak – a little distance is a good thing, right?), grab a ring shank and make a ring. They’re my comfort pieces. I have lots of ring shanks sitting on the bench with no purpose. I really should make some stuff for Etsy. And yes, maybe I will. More likely, I’ll just sit there and do nothing again! But if I’m sitting at the bench, I’m at least within reach of the tools and such, not like up here where I’m within reach of the time-sucking computer!!! Off I go ………………….. in a minute! I will make a ring, I will make a ring, I will make a ring…………………..

Time Flies!

Oh yes, time flies – wish it was all fun and games, but mostly just busy, busy, busy! This past weekend was a whirlwind. I went to the Whole Bead Show in Vancouver. I felt really bad for the vendors actually. I was there at 2pm on Saturday afternoon and there were very few shoppers there. Some vendors do well no matter how many shoppers there are as the ones that do come spend tons of money with them (like the findings or bali silver people), but other vendors only do well if there are lots of visitors. I had a good time though, I visited with the many vendors that were also my own (I’m pretty possessive, aren’t I? LOL). They really are nice people and I’m so glad I decided to get into the show promotion thing. I had a good discussion with several of them regarding the new venue for 2009, and got some good ideas. We shall see where that takes us. I figure that no matter what I do, it will work out in the end. It’s all about publicity anyway.

I did manage to spend a couple of dollars there – not sure why but furnace glass called my name! I have NO idea what I’m going to do with it, but here’s my little stash!!

I was tempted slightly by Bedrock Supply’s glass rods for lampwork but in all honesty, I have a HUGE collection of glass I don’t use anyway, why add to it! Hah hah!

I’m going to cut this short for now. I want to get some pictures of some jewelry tool things that I’ve been asked about. Back later!

Happy May Day!

Wow! May 1st already! Where has the year gone so far? Thank you to those that commented on my rail ring. I should make more of those, shouldn’t I? Today though is dedicated to lampwork beads. I have a custom order that needs tending to, and as they are easy for me to do, then I will just get on it! I’m not sure why, but when I sit down at the glass torch, time just flies by. When I sit at the silver bench, some days just drag by! Wonder why that is?

If all goes according to plan, I’m heading to the Whole Bead Show in Vancouver on Saturday (gotta check out the show competition!). Well, actually, I’ll be visiting with my vendors. Most of the Canadian vendors are also in my show, so it’s a good opportunity to see how everyone is. I’m looking for a new venue for 2009 (yup, got the final word, we’re looking for new digs!), and I want to get their input on what I should be looking for. I hate change – I really hate change! Any change upsets my world. My husband gets this horrendous urge to rearrange the living room furniture every couple of months and it really freaks me out when he does it! So moving something the size of the bead show throws my world into a spin for sure! Good thing I have a wonderful network of friends and helpers to make the transition a little easier! Now, if I could just find a place that wants us!

Have a great day, tomorrow is Friday so the weekend is very close!! Cheers!