Twins Zelda & Imelda Witch Finally Arrive

Meet Zelda and Imelda Witch. They must be fraternal twins, because their bodies are the same, but their features are different. Each are posing with the family pet, Gerta the owl.

Zelda the first (and she swears that she's the older twin too, but who cares when they're over 600 years old?), has a little spider hanging from her hat. Her nose wart is solid green, so you can compare between the two witches, which style you prefer when making your own.

She also has two-color eyes. Instead of having whites, her base eye color is orange with a black pupil. Red berries and green leaves rest on the orange hatband. A small spider is hanging from her hat. She is attached with a small piece of 1/16th mandrel directly into the hat. I added a small dichroic glass stringer to somewhat camouflage it and add a touch of sparkle if the light hits it right.

Although her head was made on an atypical mandrel so it is concave, I still made it to look rather "bicone" shape. See how the chin looks "witchier" when pointed. Purposely, I left her mouth as a thin line which adds to the effect. Full lips would have made her look friendlier. I added a few extra lumps on her nose and an extra one on her chin which makes it more asymmetrical and bumpier.

Imelda looks closer to Pam's original witch. I wanted to try what Pam did and sure like the effect. I personally prefer the black wart on her nose over the green one on Zelda. She has a lumpy nose and black dots for eyes. Imelda has a very simple flower and two leaves on her hat.

Both witches were made in a sitting position, which I did as a challenge to myself, to see whether I could do it. Next time, I'd do it differently. I made a base bead and then starting extending her legs horizontally and then built them down at 90 degree angles. Problem was, that I didn't measure the stand first, and I made them too short. Now I need to make her a special stand, instead of using my existing commercial one.

The girls are wearing a Victoria's Secret Bustier made for witches. It laces in the front and is a sexy light grape shade. It really shows off their glowing green complexion. They are wearing striped tights from Urban Outfitters and black Baby Phat hip hop shorts. Rather eclectic, but what do you expect from these wild and crazy girls?

If you have any questions about any techniques that I employed, please ask me. You can contact me through my website, http://www.StudioMarcy.com, or you can post here too.

Thanks for stopping by. I appreciate having people read what I write.

Coaching Witch Is In the Kiln - Here's A Temporary Substitute

What is that saying about the "best laid plans"?

I finished my bobblehead witch body to show you, and there was a problem. I couldn't solve it by warming up the body and mending it in the flame. So I tried my favorite 2 part epoxy, Epoxy 330, (which I buy from RayDichroic on Etsy). That just didn't make it right either. So I said "adios" and tossed it in the you-know-what.

There's a new one in the kiln and I need awhile longer for the cycle to complete, before I can photo and post it later today.

I noticed quite a few people stopping by to look, so here's a temporary witch for you. She was in my Etsy shop, but has flown to a new home.

Look carefully at her broom handle and you'll see that I just popped one of my canes in her hands and added more of her "hand" glass to adhere it carefully. At this point, you want to be careful not to get it too warm because it will bend. You can see a slight bend in the handle on this one. BUT, you still need to be very careful about keeping it warm, because it's all out there by itself and will lose its heat very quickly.

Think about other ways that you can use pieces of interesting canes or twisties. What are they? Please post and let us know. One of the fun things about seeing my use of them, is for them to inspire you to use this technique in a different way.

So please stop by later today. I'll have Zelda ready and uploaded then. I just want her to be whole and ready for viewing. Meanwhile, feel free to visit my etsy shop and see my latest dessert- Apple Pie with a lattice crust, a la mode with caramel sauce over the top. http://www.StudioMarcy.etsy.com
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Ask Studio Marcy ~ Online Coaching: Witchy Woman Face with Pam of My Cabin Creations

Pam Dansie of My Cabin Creations/Wild Sage Lampwork has offered this wonderful witch who is ghastly green and has a lovely black wart on the end of her nose. Pam's Etsy shop can be found at http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=91518 .

To be honest, I tend to make more "cute" style beads, so this was kind of fun to look at and to see how I could answer Pam's requests to make her more like the Oz Wicked Witch

Here's what Pam wrote:
"Hi. My original vision was the Wicked Witch of the West kinda long mean face. Well obviously I ended up with the shrunken apple kinda face. I wanted a longer nose and chin but didn't want to fool with it more, worrying that I would totally mess it up. The hair is made with white and grey twisties that didn't come out right when I put them on. I wanted to put black where the eyes are and a flower on the hat. I didn't do the eyes because I should have done it before the hat and the flower was just another way to mess it up. So any help is great. I think the wart would have looked better in green maybe. Thanks Pam"

So let's take each of those comments separately.
1. How about starting out next time with a longish bicone type shape for a head? It would start you out with a longer more narrow face, and almost a blue print for adding the other features.
At the bottom, you can add some extra glass for a long chin. Where the bicone gets wider, that's where your nose and cheeks go with room for your mouth.

2 I'm not sure what the problem was with the hair? I thought you did a good job with it. If you want it to look a little more straggly, you can encase your cane with clear, before you twist it. The clear provides a little more separation between strands. I'd love for it to be more visible and stick out more around her face.

3. You figured out what to do with the eyes already. And here's one extra little pointer. If I'm making eyes with a white background and a pupil type eye, then I'll make the initial white dot and wait until almost the end of the bead to add the black pupil. Otherwise, the pupil melts in and doesn't stay where I placed it.

4. A flower on this witch's hat would have added a touch of whimsy. If you're worried about losing control, perhaps it could be done as soon as you make the brim. I'm hoping that when you're doing a sculptural bead, that you aren't rotating her in the heat like a traditional beadmaking style, but moving your hand so that the heat hits all directions of the bead all the the time.

When making a sculptural bead, often you have thinner and thicker areas. This creates problems with keeping every part warm enough, so it doesn't crack. I tend to add the thinner and more fragile parts towards the end, so they have less chance of getting too cool. And because of this, sometimes the order of feature placement doesn't seem as logical to new sculptural beadmakers. But it really is.

5. And finally, let's address the black wart on the end of her nose. I like it. If it were green, it wouldn't have stood out. And because she doesn't have other black features competing with it, this makes it more visible and add a focal point to bring the viewer's attention to her withered face.

Blog readers, what do you think? What would you do differently. Pam and I would love to hear what you have to say. Please feel free to comment.

Tomorrow, I will show my version of this witch face and discuss what I did. To add variety, I've made it as one of my bobbleheads. Stop by for another twist on this subject.

Leopold and Rudolph Blaschka- Glass Artists

Rudolph and Leopold Blaschka were a German father and son team of glass artists who were hired by Harvard University to make glass flowers for their botany department in the late 1800's. They also were known for their representations of invertabrate sea life.

You can see their story on the Corning Museum's video here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHOx5H5vNx4

Or you can read about them here: http://www.journalofantiques.com/Feb04/featurefeb04.htm

I saw their Harvard exhibit while attending the International Society of Glass Beadmaker's (ISGB) Gathering in Lowell, MA a few years ago. Their work was magnificent. And thinking back to the exhibit, and now to the changes that have been made in the glass world- tools, equipment, types and colors of glass, it makes their artistry even more astounding.

Often times, lampworkers discuss whether glass is "art" or "craft". This topic will continue to be argued long after I'm gone. To me, I don't know how you can call their glass botany and sea life anything but "Art".

Meet Artisan Beaders Street Team on Etsy

People who sell on Etsy.com, often belong to groups who band together for similar reasons. These are called Street Teams. I belong to a few of them and thought that over the next few weeks, I'd mention each one, so you could see some of the lovely items that they offer.

My Artisan Beaders Street Team, also known as abst, is made up of 19 members. We all work with beads in some way, whether it is jewelry design, bead supplies sales, or as bead makers.

Some of our team members have put together a Holiday Gift Guide, http://abstgiftguide.blogspot.com/ so you can see a few items in each of our shops, read a little bit about us, as well as have direct links to each members' etsy store. If you'd like to search by type of item, look under the top banner, and you'll find jewelry and bead categories.

If you have more time, visit our Artisan Beaders' blog, http://artisanbeaders.blogspot.com/
which features informative "color of the week" articles and shows items from our shops.

And you can always search for the street team members by typing in "absteam" when visiting Etsy.com.

Stop by and visit my friends. Tell them Marcy tipped you off. See you tomorrow!

Off To The Antarctic

Not me, but my daughter is.  I miss her already and she hasn't arrived there yet.  She's waiting for her transport plane from New Zealand.

She'll be working at the American scientific station down there and is quite excited to be going.  I'm really happy for her.  It will be summer, and the temperature will range from 40 degrees above to 40 degrees below O, while she's there.

She brought her banjo and has already mailed a box of hot sauce to herself, in case there isn't enough.  I have a feeling that there will be others who are one-of-a-kinds like she is.  I've been doing my research on her new temporary home and have learned quite a few things.  

1. There are no polar bears, but there are seals, whales and two types of penguins.

2.  Approximately 90% of the world's ice is located in Antarctica

3. There is an area called the "Dry Valleys" region which has not had any rain for at least 2 million years.  Scientists say its conditions are similar to Mars.

4. Antarctica is the best place in the world to find meteorites.

So please indulge me just for today.  I need to be a Mom and wish her the happiest adventure and how proud I am that she embraces life  with open arms.  I'll miss you for the holidays, but know that you'll be having a great time.

Come back tomorrow for more glass chat and inspiration.  Also, there will be more online coaching (Halloween!)  mid week.  

Artful Color Palettes from Nature

Aren't these photos gorgeous? I love macros of science and plants, but I also love scenery and cultural topics too. Perhaps my influences of painting watercolors years ago will always be with me.

Do you ever look at random photos that appeal to you, and as a personal challenge, make a bead that uses those particular colors or patterns?

I've included some photos that touch me in some way. Whether it's for color, texture or some other
reason. They are all available for sale through National Geographic's Print Store,
http://pictopia.com/perl/gal?process=gallery&gallery_id=S378813&provider_id=318&ptp_photo_id=284537

The top photo is a relative of a jellyfish, called a Blue Button. What I'm looking at are the different shades of blue, how they look against the very white background, and the very tight inner core pattern, which softens into the undulating lines. I think this photo has many components that could serve as a beadmaking inspirational photo.

For me, the second photo is not only pleasing to
view, but it has wonderful colors for an Autumn palette. I have a hard time working in Fall colors, because they don't speak to me, the way they speak to so many artists. So if I want to challenge myself to use colors that I'm not as comfortable with, then I'll find a photo that I can use as inspiration. I'll even look to see what percentage of each color they have in them, because I know it pleases my eyes.

This third photo intrigued me totally. It uses a variety of green in warm and cool tones with
neutrals. I am always interested in the mixture of warm and cool palettes of the same color in one piece. Watercolor landscape paintings often have the deeper cool shades in the background and the warmer brighter colors in the foreground. Here, nature exemplifies it. I think it would be a great challenge to try some beads where we actively use this criteria. If you have some beads already made, please send me a photo. I'd love to see them.
The final photo is of pigment. They seem to show up better if they have some very light or very dark color with them to help them stand out. And besides, every time I see bright colors like these together, I think of my Mom who never met a bright color she didn't like and is a wonderful artist in her own right. She's the best!

Hopefully you'll be inspired to look around at photos that please you and find some inspiration through them. There are so many online websites that can serve as references. Please be careful to respect the website, if they have rules for using their photos. Or better yet, go take some of your own and send me the photo and the bead that goes with it.

You can always email me- comments, photos, or even questions through my main website, http://www.StudioMarcy.com . There's a "contact me" button to click on, which brings up my email address. I'd love to hear from you.

Happy weekend!