Adventures with Glass and Fire

Here are the two new auctions posted a few hours ago. Each of these auctions contains beads that are a little different from my normal work.

Valentine

This set is one of the few ‘traditional’ sets that I’ll probably ever make. The use of ‘burnt’ hearts and this color-shifting coral glass on an ivory background just seemed perfect. It already has a bid so I must be doing something right, but it’s hard for me to identify just how I feel about this set.

On the one hand, it really is a nice set with a sense of romance and style, without being overly cutesy or saccharine. On the other hand, I don’t typically do this style and it seemed a little odd coming out of the little red kiln. Still, I like them and hope they do well out in the perilous waters of the great eBay.

Hourglass

Hourglass is a new thing for me, it’s a bead with a sort of symmetry and minimalistic style. The one nod I included to my typical organic bead is the use of the barnacle ‘eyes’ around the edges and center of the bead. With this bead, I wanted to really explore the possibilities of using such a rich transparent color and molding it carefully to give it a sense of space and purpose.

I think, based on this experiment, I’m going to create a series of hourglasses, each filled with a different sort of ’sand’ made out of different glasses. They won’t really be hollows, but they will probably LOOK a lot like hollows filled with different materials. We shall see.

Anyway, thanks to those of you who are bidding on my auctions, it’s really a boost to see these little works getting picked up by those who enjoy them.