The Better To See You With, My Dear

I often get asked how I can get so many little details onto my lampwork glass beads. When many of my beads average under an inch tall, I guess I can see it from that perspective. But in one of my earliest classes , Kate Fowle Meleney offered this tip.


Use the press-on magnified reader lenses inside your protective safety glasses.

This is the brand that I have found online and use. Here is a url for them. http://www.stickonbifocals.com/custom.em?pid=196896 I use higher magnification than what I would normally use. My readers are typically 1.5 magnifiers. Darn, it's hard being old!. I chose 2.5 magnification, but I see this site offers them even higher at 3.0 magnification. The pricing is very reasonable- the lens themselves are around $15 and then there's shipping on top of that. They last a long time.

Please be warned, that these take quite a bit of getting used to. It makes you a little crazy at first. I put mine at the very bottom of my protective glasses, (I wear old school rose didymiums), and then when I want to see something at a distance, I just peer over the top of them as my glasses slightly slide down my nose from being too loose. I am sure there are other ways to solve this problem, but this method works well for me. And of course my other rule of thumb is to have great lighting. My sweet husband and nephew installed some strong track lighting in my studio. That is even more important than the additional magnification.

Bringing Home the Bacon

What are some of your favorite foods?

I've been translating food into glass beads for awhile now and in a very unscientific survey, I've noticed that bacon, well... brings home the bacon.

It's one of my best sellers in that category. I know that pies and cupcakes and even fried eggs do well too. Some veggies seem to be popular as well as snack foods. And just for the record, no one has requested a custom order for stew. Go figure.

What are your favorite foods that you feel should be interpreted in glass and why? Do you have childhood memories of it, or perhaps it's something that reminds you of one of your kids?
Maybe it's just a food that you think would look cute on a necklace. Let me know.

Meet Guest Artist Ginger Black

Meet Ginger Black, lampwork artist and person whose style is "try everything! I love bright color, natural tones, sculpture, dot formations, etc. The wide variety of what is possible with glass seems endless, and every time I sit down at my torch it's a new adventure, she explained."

Ginger's lovely lampwork can be found at http://www.GingerBlack.etsy.com

When asked about her shop name, she replied, " I chose to use my real name as my shop name because people are always so kind to give me compliments on it in person. This is the closest I've got it to being up in lights! All the credit goes to my parents for the first part and to my husband for the second.

I hope the pure joy I have creating glass beads is evident when people look at my work. I love when someone sees a piece and says, "This reminds me of..." The observer completes the art by connecting with it."

I chose two items from her shop to showcase. Their title, url and a brief description are below:

Blossom http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=6851740
Bright colors, fun movelment all wrapped up into one big focal bead.

Get Happy http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=7108416
Red, yellow, orange, bright green and blue with layered dots and all around fun colors.

Stop by Ginger Black's etsy shop for fun, and diverse lampwork beads. You'll be glad you did.