How Long Does it Take to Make a Bead?

How long does it take to make a bead?
This is a question I am asked often when I am selling my work at a show. It is difficult to answer simply. It depends on the style and the amount of detail in a particular bead.

However, at a recent show I had a customer, who has just begun to learn the process of lampworking. She called her husband over and explained in detail how I make one of my bejeweled beads.

She and I began talking and she brought up the point of how people often ask how long it takes to make a bead. She informed me that this is the wrong question to ask. The question should be, "How many YEARS did it take to get to the point that you can make this bead?"

I have been thinking about that statement and have come to realize how absolutely right on topic this statement is. I have been lampworking for more than 5 years now. It took me four years to develop the stringer control necessary to place so many dots in just the right spot to create the bejeweled beads that I consider good enough to sell. I continue to work on my stringer control because I love to draw on beads, as in my OM beads, enameled hearts, or my butterfly beads. Some days the control is better than others, so the skill is still developing.

My Fire Diva friend, Lauren of Maybeads wrote a blog which inspired me to write my story. Stop by Lauren's blog to see some of her very first beads.

My Etsy shop

Beads of Courage In Space

An exciting opportunity presented itself ... to have a bead travel into space. Myself and a fellow Fire Diva, Lauren of Maybeads entered this challenge. A contest and fundraiser offered by the organization Beads of Courage.

Beads of Courage are given to children battling certain diseases. As the children reach a milestone in their treatment, they are allowed to choose a bead to mark their success. The Beads in Space Contest was an opportunity for bead artists to submit three beads of their creation for a chance to fly into space. The beads will fly out on a space shuttle, along with the astronauts, in May 2010.

Now this was a contest. Due to space and weight restrictions not all beads submitted would be able to make it into space. The beads were juried according to a point system and the beads with the highest score were chosen to go into space. The beads with the highest scores were placed on a scale until the weight limitation was met.

Unfortunately my bead submissions were not chosen. Although disappointing this is quite alright, my beads will still go to the children.

My three beads submitted.

Lauren of Maybeads three submissions.

CONGRATULATIONS are due to Lauren...ONE of her beads is going into space!!!! Her most adorable space dog was chosen as one of the beads. CONGRATULATIONS LAUREN.

The Evolution of a Butterfly

I attended a meeting for my local chapter of International Society of Glass Beadmakers (ISGB), ISGB Boston. At this meeting a call was put forth for butterflies for Beads of Courage.

As it often goes, an idea I have had rolling around in my head for some time, finally makes it to the torch. I knew exactly what I wanted to do and thought it would be easily doable. Unfortunately I was wrong. I can't believe I'm going to share this first picture with you, a pitiful outcome, not exactly the picture I saw in my head.

I think we all experience this, so this is why I am willing to share the picture of my first attempt. We see a beautiful a piece of artistry in our visions and it may take a bit of practice and experimentation before our work satisfies us and becomes a piece we can be proud of.

My first (and sad) attempt...

I quickly realized, perhaps, I was not ready for so much required detail in such a small area. So I changed my focus. I would try a butterfly wing. Hmmmm.... I was a bit more pleased with the outcome. Although not completely there.

My third attempt. My strategy was ever changing. I would try a butterfly wing, much more closely shaped to a true wing, and a slight change in color combination with acid etching of the final bead in mind.

I am pleased with the third attempt. Enough so that I will list this bead for sale in my Etsy shop. However, I still have more work to do with butterflies. I need to create some beautiful butterflies for Beads of Courage. My mind is spinning with ideas. So forward I go, ready to clarify those ideas behind the torch.

Om Inspired

I love to know where an artists inspiration comes from. It is something that I find fascinating. Back in my quilting days I knew a quilter who once told me she finds inspiration for a quilt everywhere she looks. It occurred to me at that time that I did not completely understand that. I did not feel that way about my quilts. I was more inspired by a fabric or a quilt pattern, which I thought was rather simple and boring of me.

Since my discovery of lampworking I can now say I completely understand that statement. I am inspired by everything. Every shape, color, pattern, nature in particular, gets my mind rolling with excitement and I begin to think, "how can I translate that into glass?" It is truly an exciting place to be. The only problem is that I have so many ideas sometimes it can take quite some time for these ideas to actually come to fruition and be seen in glass. I have a couple of sketch pads which I always draw out my ideas. I refer back to these images and notes when the time comes to take these ideas to the torch or if I need a kick in the inspirational pants.

My fellow Fire Diva (read the Divas blog), Janel, writes a blog for Art Bead Scene. She put out a call to other Fire Divas (Become a fan on Facebook) for OM beads. I have been wanting to make OM beads for sometime but for reasons unknown to me I simply never did. Of course when I read Janel's post my brain began to light up and excitement built. A day at the torch produced some OM beads and left me feeling satisfied. Another idea finally made it to the finished stage in glass. I'm sure I will make more of these but for the time being the artist is me is feeling satisfied. That is a happy place to be.

You can find these beads for sale in my Etsy Shop and my Artfire shop.

Revisiting My Past in Quilting and How It Ties Into Lampworking

Last week my kids were on break from school, February school vacation week. My kids aren't babies but I still find they occupy my time and getting to my torch, in a creative frame of mind, isn't always easy for me when everyone is around. You know how it goes.....Mom, mom, MOM, Mom....and on and on it goes.

I was feeling a need to do something with my hands. For the past month I had been thinking about this gorgeous quilt top I created a number of years of ago. It has been sitting in my attic in a box of unfinished projects. I decided this week would be a good time to dig it out and see what I needed to do to finish it.

Quilting is great because it can travel easily, it doesn't require a lot of space or tools, and it can be picked up or put down at a moments notice. The perfect project to occupy my mind and my hands with a house of full of kids who may (or may not) require something from me at any moment.

I used to belong to a quilt group, the Tewksbury Piecemakers, and one year I was in charge of the block of the month. This is the quilt, each individual who participated in the monthly block, created. The pattern arrived with a picture of the finished quilt made of 1930's inspired fabric.

Although this fabric is beautiful, it is not my style. I chose to create my quilt using my absolute favorite fabrics, Bali batiks. Oh I can not tell you how much I love the batik fabrics. The colors inspire me so. In fact I often make beads based on the batik line of fabrics. So here is the quilt I am working on right now.

The flower petals are sewn as individual pieces, each one stitched by hand. A technique referred to as applique. The variety of solid colors with subtle variations I find to be pleasantly appealing.

By now you may be asking yourself and just how does all this tie in with lampworking? I am inspired by the batik fabrics and more often than not I translate a fabric I love into a glass beads.

Here is an example of some beads for sale in my Etsy shop:

A close up shot. I find it difficult to capture in a photograph the beautiful depth within these beads. And thus...quilting and lampworking combined.

And the Winner Is

AND THE WINNER IS......

Terri Kahrs of Pringle Hill Studio. Terri has won my One World One Heart giveaway, pictured below. Congratulations Terri.

Many thanks to Lisa Swifka for organizing this fantastic blogging event. I should think it is no small effort on her part to manage all the blogs involved. This was my first year participating in OWOH and I had a fabulous time going through many of the (I couldn't get to all of the nearly 1000) participants. I am new to blogging and this was a perfect way for me to experiment a bit with my own blog and find many talented artists out there. What a great variety of talent!

I appreciate everyone's effort and am thrilled that I was able to be a part of this event.

Peace.

Ema

The Fire Divas are having a sale to celebrate our new team status on Etsy. Individual team members will be offering a variety of discounts or free shipping from their shops. Search "Fire Divas Sale" to find items on sale in participating shops from February 11- 17. After the sale, we hope you will continue to search "Fire Divas Team" for quality lampwork beads, jewelry and accessories.

Let's go shopping!

1. LA Jewelry Designs - 20% off all items in Etsy and ArtFire
2. Lutrick - 20% off all items in Etsy and ArtFire
3. Hollys Folly Glass - 20% all items in my Etsy shop
4. Tease Beads - 15% off all lampwork in my Etsy and artfire shops (artfire shop discount will be given as a refund)
5. Janel Dudley Beads - 15% off all items on Etsy, additional 10% off to returning customers
6. Something New 4 U - 20% off all items in my Etsy shop
7. Rivers Edge Glass - 15% off beads in my Etsy and ArtFire shops
8. Vedas Beads - 15% off in my Etsy shop (excluding squares)
9. MayBeads - Free Shipping on everything in my Etsy shop
10. Giapet - 20% off loose beads in my Etsy shop (jewelry,supplies not incl.)
11. Glasstastic Treasures - 15% off all items in my Etsy shop
12. Ema Kaye - 15% off all items in my Etsy shop
13. Dorset Hill Beads - Free shipping on everything in my Etsy shop