Mystery guest in the studio

Today, I had a visit from a lovely guest, whom quite a few people will know by name, and a fair few personally. If you're out and about online, this won't be much of a secret, so if you spotted her posting that she was coming, *sh* :o)



Otherwise.........who might it be? :o)

Poppy time

I'm always quite late when it comes to beading ahead of the season, but recently, I've had the poppy fever - and all ahead of Remembrance Day. I've also found that a bit of sparkle has started to find its way into my beads, but I shan't mention the C-word just yet. Anyway, it's a funny old thing, isn't it? As a lampworker, I'm inspired by the seasons....in spring, the shoots and buds inspire me to get the frit out, do blossoms and vines....but jewellery makers need to get their beads ahead of the season, not when it's already in full flow. Right now, everybody is busy preparing for Christmas (oops, I said it!) markets, while at the same time trying to hold on to the last rays of sunshine. So, just out of interest, how do others deal with tis? The hell with it, and bead whatever, put things aside for ten months ;o)? Or enjoying being ahead of the times?

Anyway.....time to share some poppies!

Leave it to the professionals!

Recently, pieces of the Alcazar range travelled up to Chester to be part o a professional photo shoot. Expertly modelled by Tabitha Courtney Smith, hair and make-up by Clare Ardern of Harryjon, and photos by Claire Penn of Claire Penn Photography. It's amazing what a difference it makes when the professionals get a chance to play with my humble roses, isn't it? The two shots below are my favourites. The photos will be used for banners and advertising - one of them was already sent somewhere to hopefully go into print, but I'm not allowed to say where ;o)

The rest of the festival

It hardly does the International Festival of Glass justice to lump the rest of it into one post - there were other masterclasses, in engraving, Ghanaian bead making, casting, blowing - if I ever thought I was aware of the versatility of this lovely medium, I am now even more aware of it - I just wish I could use them all :o)

The Biennale private preview meeting was rather posh, with press and artists mingling, I now can put more faces to names. During the course of the week, I also met the lovely Carrie Fertig, who has work both in the Biennale and the exhibition at Plowden and Thompson's - I covet one of her feathers :o)

Selling over the week-end was great, because it turned into a 'saying hello to lots of old friends'. On Saturday afternoon, I was back at the Ruskin, presenting my work as part of a quick-fire pecha kucha. That was interesting, and again getting an opportunity to listen to others' inspiration behind their work.

I had to leave on Sunday night, and missed all of the lectures and demos - on Friday, I had a go at glassblowing, and I was absolutely thrilled with the results...now, just where could I get the money and space for a glassblowing studio??

So much to say, so little time!

Where shall I start?! Since I last posted, I have begun my full-time beadmaking adventure, attended the most amazing Masterclass with Gianni Toso, sold at the International Festival of Glass in Stourbridge, sent stock to new gallery, met one of the Dragons from Dragons' Den, and launched my new jewellery range. And that' just beadie stuff! So, let's take things slowly, and let me tell you about the masterclass!

Gianni Toso has a history in glass that goes back 700 years on his father's and 650 years on his monther's side (on one branch of my family, I can get back to the late 18th century, farmers and shepherds, mostly, as far as I can tell.....hmmmmm! Not sure what that tells you.)

I had the honour of spending a week with Gianni, both as his student, and, together with the other class members, as part of the evening entertainment. The week has left me dazzled - by Gianni's skill, and warmed - by his generosity with his knowledge and friendship. Since he won't mince his words (the best free-standing butterfly I made was called 'arthritic'), every 'brava' from Gianni felt fantastic. But even more so, I could feel myself growing - I daren't say 'as an artist', that sounds rather poncy. But I think I left the week being more brave than I started it, with ideas for experimentation. I will always be making beads, but I am finding myself getting frustrated by the vulnerability of them, the idea that they have to be 'wearable'. Gianni's creations are so fragile you wouldn't subject hem to daily wear and tear - they are made to be admired, and seem so delicate that they are removed from the day-to-day world. I'd love to develop further in that direction.

I'll tell you more about the rest of the festival later!

London Glassblowing

Yesterday, I went to London to meet up with the lovely Becky, and together, we visited London Glassblowing, where my rose rings have been on show for nearly a month now. Originally, the exhibition was for London Jewellery Week only, but got extended until the 4th of July - now, it has been extended until the start of Art in Action next week. What a great place it is, round the corner from London Bridge Station, with the workshop in full view (they've even put chairs out!) It was fabulous seeing other artists' work (both jewellery and other). I enjoyed seeing more of Julie Anne Denton's jewellery, and loved seeing Peter Layton's various designs (my favourite being a very grown-up version of 'lace') - but what stood out most was Anthony Scala's absolutely gobsmackingly beautiful frozen rapier. It's a full-sized sword, with a hand guard that looks like it's made out of crushed ice crystals, with a beautiful, precise blade.....yum!!! I met Anthony as well, and so managed to convey my drooling admiration :o) And I had a chat with Peter Layton, too - all in all, a most fantastically spent hour or so.

As well as doing all that, I dropped some more roses off, and took a photo - I'm afraid my SD card broke first thing in the morning when I tried to document Marjorie Moo racing a snail, so the photo is only from my mobile. Still, I thoroughly enjoyed seeing them there!

Respect your fuglies!

How many fugly beads have you got sitting somewhere? I don't mean the ones that are okay, if it weren't for the sharp edge, or the crack - I mean the bona fide butt-ugly beads that you start with high hopes, realise half way through that they're 'a dead duck', keep playing with in the hope to rescue them, and finally pop them in the kiln in the hope that the kiln fairies will - magically and overnight - turn it into a thing of beauty?

Well, I have several. And I can tell you - I respect my fuglies. Sure, I'm upset when I waste precious torching time to create something not even a mother could love. But you never know where things might lead.

So let me introduce 'Pumpkin in a Tutu' (and thank you to the fabulous George Harper for naming it so appropriately)! You know, a couple of years ago when I made this bead, I was actually proud of it.....for about 20 seconds. Then I was embarrassed, and then, after it got named, it made me giggle.

I hardly invented 'ruffles-on-beads'. But for me, the Pumpkin in a Tutu started a journey...which...well, probably hasn't ended yet, but the last stop was here:

I made the bead above about twelve months after the first one, then took it to my class with Claudia Trimbur-Pagel to decorate. As I said, I'm sure it's but one more stop on a long journey, but sometimes it's nice to look back to see where we came from :o)