What a Month!

Since we had a massive systems change-over at work and our home came down with what was probably the most horrible flu ever, I haven't spent much time at the torch. I did manage to finally get back to it this week and I am quite proud of my recent work. I have been working on my 'feminine guiles' so to speak (in glass...there's no hope for guiles elsewhere!)

I like colors I can cook and cook and cook until they morph into something new. Pinks, whites, and purples do not like to be cooked. Most of them don't even want to be heated past a lampworker luke-warm. I hate them. My recent excursion into girly colors is teaching me a very important lesson in general heat control.

Ok, enough babble...here's some bead porn:

New Pendant, More to Follow ;D

Back to the mix-lab!

Ok, as I wait for my next shipment of glass to mix with, I've been going back over all my shorts and scraps and playing a bit. I have also discovered a pile of Terra Nova 2 (which had been lost under a guitar) which makes a neat girl pink/blue/purple effect by itself and some even cooler effects when used with other glasses. I should probably be writing all this down, Joseph says so. He's probably right. I'll try to go back a recreate some this stuff once day and have no memory of how I did it.

Here are a few new beads:

Off the Mandrel, Pt. 1

So, I've been attempting to cut the proverbial apron strings (the mandrel) and create 'off the mandrel' pieces. Here are my first few attempts.

Far left is a mushroom patch

Next at the bottom was a bubble hedgehog implosion thing

Then a nifty boro cross

At the top is a failed flower

Bottom right is a cool boro free-form pendant thing

The end...(for now)

Not beads, unless you count the micro ferrite beads (Hardeeharhar! Geek Joke)

I do stuff like this to focus on conference calls. Something mechanical and fairly basic like this helps me block out other input that would probably completely distract me from listening.

These are broken bits from various devices that I have collected, hacked apart, sanded, etc...and then wrapped. I think they look like some device found near an Aztec dwelling, something that would confound the diggers and bring about questions regarding their long-gone technological skill levels.

Needed a break

From BHBs...decided to work small and make sure I still had the ability to create uniform beads. I also wanted to try making more than one bead at a time (thanks to the encouragement of the wonderful people on the Lampwork Etc forum). Digression: Lampwork Etc is a really great forum for all levels of glass artists and glass junkies. You can ask a stupid question and be met by kindness. Ok...back to the beads:

AHA!!! I have discovered a neat trick to make the earth and sea glass. I may be gaining more control over my little bits of mixed colors. Awesome! Here's what I pulled off:

Update: Here are the shots of the individual beads. The one on the left had a small dent in it from the vermiculite so she'll go on my bracelet as a display bead.