CPSC Grants One Year Stay Great Valentine Gift to Glass Artists

U.S. crafters and small business owners have been given an early Valentines Day gift from the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) which is due to go into effect February 10th. Essentially, it would have shut down most small independent businesses who sell products for children 12 and under because they wouldn't be able to afford to pay for the necessary independent testing for lead. Glass artists and other crafters now have a one year stay of testing and certification requirements, while the committee reviews everything. There are certain industries that still have the law going into effect such as lead content of paint, and other higher risk areas .

This affects glass beadmakers who sell to younger people, but in a larger way, the wonderful program, Beads of Courage, (BOC). BOC uses lampwork beads donated by our beadmakers for hospitalized children who have cancer or other life threatening illnesses. Each procedure they go through has a special bead that represents it and at the end of their treatment, they have a very long "necklace" that tells the story of their medical journey. This program has been growing and is one way of lampworkers giving back to others.

To see the full press release on CPSC's web site, please go to:

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml09/09115.html

Tagged, But Quick Save- What About Promotions?

I was tagged by soccer mom and jewelry maker extraordinaire,  Sue of Signature-Sterling on Etsy. It's a different style of tag that is intriguing.  Here are the rules:

Show Me Your Picture 6x6x6

1. Post the 6th picture from the 6th folder in your computer's "picture" file, ("my pictures").

2. Write (blog) about the picture.

3. Tag 6 new people- be sure to go to their blog, make the "tag" by leaving a comment and direct them to your blog to get the instructions.

4. Copy the permalink for your 6x6x6 entry and post it as a comment to your original tagger's 6x6x6x entry. Be sure to post the permalink, not just the link to your blog.  Get the permalink by clicking on the blog entry title and then copying that http address.

 So I went to my iPhoto to find the 6th folder down there.  The photo that I should have posted is my husband in a swimsuit on the beach in Costa Rica.  As handsome as he is, he would be VERY unhappy with me, if I showed it.  So  I went down to my Projects Section and found the 6th project and 6th photo.  Here you go. It's a  a rough draft of a calendar that I was toying with months ago.  Let's hear it for August- beach time.

Let's chat a bit about making calendars.  I have a plethora (cool word, isn't it?), of photos of my work.  I bet a lot of you who sell online do also.  Have you thought about making a calendar from your images and selling it?  It was an eye opener for me when I started playing with the concept.  Looking at the beads, the scale in which I would show them, the quality of the photos, the color combinations, etc.  Suffice it to say, the project got scrapped.  If I ever sell a calendar, you can bet it will have been planned out and beads made and photographed specifically for it.

If you make non-sculptural beads, (I call them traditionally shaped, but there's probably a better term for it), it might be different for you as you don't have real objects that you're making art from.  But I found it bothers me having a seashell larger than a mermaid, but I just didn't have any mermaids laying down and beckoning to the closest sailor that would fit that larger rectangular shape.  

So there's my tagging as well as my calendar project all rolled into this post.  And perhaps I should have just made a husband in a swimsuit holding beads calendar.  Hmmm, maybe 2010.

Stretching Your Glass Rod Color Range

One of my friends had access to buying some Systems 96 COE glass at a great price, and asked me if I wanted some. But I wasn't sure what I should purchase.  So I bought a pound or so of clear, black and blush colored glass and decided that I'd add to it from there.

I've had this stash sitting in a corner, collecting dust and decided to pull it out the other night. It was time to channel my inner mad scientist.

So I picked out a few jars of frit that are or are close to the same COE and I mixed them with the blush to see what I'd get. Exhibit A- my new colored stringers.  And it felt great to actually use up some of it. Because the frit is already small, it's pretty easy to melt and mix in.

If you haven't tried this before, here's a simple way to blend new colors when using frit.  I have two rods of the same color.  The first rod, I heat and fold back on itself a couple of times so that the gather is a bit thick.  I let it cool slightly and then heat up the outside and roll in frit.  (actually, depending on the type of jar, sometimes I just dunk it in.)  Then I melt in that frit and re- roll until I have as much color on it as I want.  Then I heat up that mass and the second rod until they are mushy and start twisting and mashing.  I know that some people say that you can capture air bubbles in it, but I seem to have pretty good luck.  I keep both glasses pretty warm and gooey and twist it together until it's mixed well.  If it looks too pale, I add more frit and try to add as little of the rod glass as possible.  From there, I pull it into approximately 3mm stringers.

I found when working with these stringers that you can tell a little bit that the COE might be slightly off, so don't use a lot of it and don't encase it and you should be fine. Also, when heating it up, go slowly so it doesn't crack. It feels a little brittle. I tested this glass by making seashells and floral beads and they look just fine.

Have fun with this and join me in being a bit of a mad scientist.  See what happens when you mix multiple frits together for a different color, and make some stringer.  Play and have fun.  I mean seriously, isn't that a good part of the reason why we work with glass?  And of course, I'd love to hear about your experiments and any fabulous colors you come up with.  Just watch your COE's.

Dinner & Chat with Fellow Beadmaker Sylvie Lansdowne

My friend and beadmaker, Sylvie Elise Lansdowne was making beads long before I even knew that lampwork existed. We live close-by and get together for dinner every so often to chat. Both of us love whimsical sculptural glass and have found lots of common threads in our ways of looking at it.

The top photo is of Sylvie's "Head Over Heels" bracelet that she has sold in a kit and has taught around the country. She has an Etsy shop that carries her different kits. You can find it here.

After over 2 hours of constant chatter last night, we decided to share some of our dinner conversations through each of our blogs. There are tips and tricks as well as just two beadmakers' way of looking at life.

Remember my blog post about what artists should wear? Of course that hit the table running. Sylvie believes that when selling, we should dress like our customers. Hers wear cute and funky bright clothes and great jewelry. I have only met a few of my customers, so I'm not sure what to wear. I know that I'll need to leave my sweatshirts and flip flops at home. I tend to dress in solid colors so my jewelry shows up more, but perhaps it's time to break free and find my inner artist. Sylvie suggested Quacker Factory on QVC. I'm going to check them out. The problem is, Sylvie is very tall and can wear patterns, while I'm just 5'3" and think solids will make me look taller. (and slimmer too, won't it?) If you have style advice, please let me know. Sylvie is also a shoe lover, and I'm a Teva flip flop or Chucks type fan, so I would be open to artist shoe selections too. This could be a new feature, "dress the beadmaker".

Sylvie is still hoping to get into Bead & Button and I would love to go too. It's an uncharted territory for me, while she has lots of experience. If you are going, please look for her. I promise, you will love everything she has. If anyone knows of a booth to share or has words of advice for me for B&B, please feel free to let me know about it.

We chatted about longer length camp type classes and Sylvie told me about her week at Haystack, in Deer Isle Maine. She chatted about how observing other areas of craft and art will lead you to different ways of learning, styles, etc. For example, a cermics class had people make all the parts to a teapot and then put them in the middle and each take someone else's pieces to put a new one together. They were asked to manipulate the parts and change them. People are more willing to change other people's pieces because they don't have the same "ownership" in that handmade art. That was how Sylvie's pass the bead exercise was started which is widely used by other teachers and groups today.

I'm headed to the Appalachian Center for Craft July 5-10 this summer for an extended glass class with Shane Fero and Fred Birkhill. I'm so excited. Other than it being glass, I'm not sure what we'll be learning. But I've always admired their work and know that it will stretch me as a beadmaker and all their years in glass means there will be a lot to learn.

We also discussed the value of taking from teachers who have opposite styles of what we typically do. I know I've mentioned that concept here before. It stretches your brain to think a little differently and for your hand and eye coordination to get a work out too. Yes it's hard, but it's also like people who only hang out with others who think the same way. How do you grow, if that's all you do?

Sylvie and I are going to be roommates at the Gathering. I know she'll be a good calming effect on me as I'm scheduled to teach my first class there. She's already taught at the Gathering, so I know that last minute pointers will be available.

And one more tip, there's a magazine available at Barnes & Noble and other book stores called Artful Blogging that is a must read. I'm heading out this morning to find it. It's not technically oriented, but more artistic.

There was so much more - life, kids, more and more glass, new stuff we're working on, etc. Two hours of chatter flew by and now I'm looking forward to the next time we share a meal and lots of our lives. To read her version of our dinner, click on her name in the top paragraph.

By the way, that's my bead in the bottom photo. It was a personal exercise, (and the only kind I do), to take a simple coloring book picture and turn it into a bead. But that's another post.

Tomorrow I'm writing about how I added lots of color to my System 96 glass and I'll show you how.

The Joy Of Adding Little Details to Your Beads

One of the benefits of making whimsical sculptural beads, is that I sometimes chuckle while doing it.

I can add details that make me laugh, and hopefully my customers will have a similar sense of humor too.

This is the backside of "Kayla" my sassy hula dancing Panda bear. She's wearing her grass skirt, (made from grass green and black striped stringer), and a flowered lei.

I added some rather large dots so she would have a curvy and obvious tail end. I thought a low hanging grass skirt would be the perfect complement for those "assets".

So hopefully you'll think of an extra detail to add to your next bead that both makes you smile and enhances what you're trying to show.

Kayla is currently in my shop, if you'd like to see the other views of her, feel free to head over there.

I think tomorrow's post will be interesting to all glass artists. I have to take some photos and make some beads to go with it first. Stop by if you can.

My Sculptural Bead Packaging of Choice...Baby Socks!

I just need to clarify, no adorable chubby baby feet have been left to get chilly due to this quirky packaging idea of mine.

When you're needing to transport your sculptural glass beads, it gets quite time consuming and unwieldy, wrapping them in layers of bubble wrap and tissue to protect the protruding pieces from being bumped.

My solution is to use thick baby socks. Yes, you read this correctly. I buy them from our local Dollar Store. They come three pairs for $1.00, which means I can protect a minimum of six beads or more. I can re-use them, and just pop them in the washing machine when they get dirty. They fold and contour to each bead. Then I place them in a padded 6 pack beverage container which easily zips up. (I find those at the Dollar Store too!) It's lightweight and easy to transport. Now you have it, my quick, easy and inexpensive (as well as good for the environment) re-usable packaging and transportation system. Do you have a method that is a little offbeat too? Post it and let us know. I've included a photo of my glass lampwork Christmas ornaments all protected in baby socks.

Come Vote For My Glass Entry, Skylar the Bird

Our Lampwork Etc. Street Team is hosting our January Challenge. It's for beads that make you think positively or make you happy.

There's quite a wonderful array, and plenty to choose from. I'm hoping that you will mosey over there and vote for the bead of your choice. Of course I always love your votes, but I'd be just as thrilled if you found another favorite or even voted for someone with fewer votes to even things up a bit.

This is Skylar the technicolor bird- my entry, who is currently living in my Etsy shop. Skylar is based on a heart shape before her extra feathers are added. I think I made her body from Check Glass, and the feathers from Moretti and her cheeks of course from my favorite cheek color, CIM's Gelly Pink. Love that pink. And if you look carefully at the wings, I used various shades of transparents and then blended them together, which I do for fins too. I think Skylar is even prettier in person.

Don't forget to vote and hope your Sunday is wonderful.