Adventures with Glass and Fire

Before Christmas, I made a lampwork set of the 12 Days of Christmas with a whimsical, almost cartoonish touch. I hadn’t done much sculptural work previously; that style hadn’t really appealed to me and I didn’t feel that I could do it much justice. But the holiday project really got my moving in a different direction and I’ve cranked out a number of very odd little creatures. Here are the first in the Fracture Labs series. The first one is up for auction now, so go get it!

Anyway, there will be more and different Fracture Labs residents soon - look for the label.

For those of you who used to read this site, it’s been a while since I updated. That’s going to change, though, and you can expect to see a lot more content in this little corner of the web. I’ve also made some changes, take a look after the jump. Keep reading →

While I was on vacation, I decided to spend some time experimenting with techniques that I had not previously explored in much detail. Hollows were the technique of choice this time out, and I have to say that I am very pleased with the results. Over the next few days I’ll be posting images of the work I did on hollows. We’ll start with the first of a completely new style from me.

Grimley was built around two hollows, one for the body and one for the head. The horns were simple dot and stretch bits of aqua, while the feet were smashed dots with other dots for toes. The eyes are bits of Olympia Rain reduced, poked, and sealed in with dots of palest aqua to retain the color.

I like the feel and look of hollows, and there will be a lot more of them in the coming days. Of course, Grimley is up for auction.

It’s been a while since I updated the site, but that’s going to be rectified pronto. I’m currently in the process of updating my web presence (see my beadartists.org gallery here) and hope to add some tutorials and such to the site soon.

I’ve also decided to add a little more ‘art’ discussion to the site, exploring a bit more of how I feel about lampworking, where I find my inspiration, and what my next steps are going to be. I’ll still be announcing new auctions as they go up, but most likely will not continue as I did in the past. Expect a text-only blurb and a link to the auction going forward - moving the pictures around all over the place wasn’t a lot of fun and I haven’t found a Wordpress script that will make it any easier.

You can always see what I have up on eBay here.

Just one new auction today, Maelstrom.

I really like this set, the colors turned out quite nice and the flowing swirls worked very well with the depth of the transparent glass. These are the first round round beads I’ve made, they’re almost marble-like in their roundness and it is a shape I really find myself enjoying.

A couple of new auctions today, one an old style I’m revisiting and another goddess.

Horizon

This bead is based on a set I did a year or so ago. The ivory glass provides a great background for the intense black webbing, and highlight streams of pale amethyst and deep amber provide interesting contrast. Hard to photograph, the picture really doesn’t do justice to these beads.

Sea Goddess

I really like this goddess; based on the neiads, it has a dark ivory base and is wrapped with sea-green stringer. The serpent on this one is a little bigger than normal, and wraps around her back instead of coming across the front.

Dotastic

Jaded

Tidal Pools

One cool auction ending today:
Arachne

Couple of new auctions today, both continuing trends from previous auctions.

Biorchanic IV

The fourth in my biorchanic series, this one with a heavy metallic sheen around its center and more elaborate use of the twisted cane. I love these beads, and I hope to keep making them for some time.

Fey Paths

One of my new favorite types of bead, the fey paths set really creates some nice organic patterns between the detailed scroll and dotwork. This set would go quite nicel with the Fey Paths focal.

Heart Pools

Birth Goddess