Watch Me Create Asks YOU!

One of the great things about blogging is that it is interactive.  As a blog reader you might not realize it, but that is one of the benefits of blogging.  We, as bloggers, love it when you comment and we get to chit chat back and forth.

Another great thing about blogging is that it can get you some recognition…especially if you do it well.  Write an interesting comment and other readers will click through to your site, if you have one.

So, to get the ball rolling…Watch Me Create wants to know about YOUR creative process.  Write about it on your own blog or about me page and then come here and leave a link to it in the comments section.

Old landscape painting glaze glass habbits

I am up to my old habits.

This bead is etched, creating a matte finish. When I was practicing ceramic glaze mixing, I would always use the matte transparent batch. The colors were matte right out of the kiln. When I was painting landscapes I would paint matte varnish on top of it. Just like this glass bead dipped in acid etching solution.

I am combining two series together into one design. This bead is one of my latticino landscapes with some boogie down bead stick people slapped on there for fun. A landscape that looks like an impressionistic painting to me. The etching created the contrast in the colors. The etching also removed the reduction from the surface of the copper glass, and enhanced the colors of those copper red and green figures.

The “soul gestures” are dancing around celebrating life.

What is it all about? Today? Right now?

Using the old habits together, creating a new series; inspired by experiences of life… Each one is a true one of a kind sculptural Lampwork bead; designed to inspire, adore, a symbol of a passionate thought…a joyful aesthetic; not just a bead.

Sheila Morley is an artist living in Southeast, Michigan. She has an art blog, and her work can be purchased at her website, ebay, Etsy, and various shows and shops.

Breaking Blocks with the Back Catalog

Every beadmaker gets bead block once in a while. Many times, I will sit down at the torch and just draw a blank. Sometimes making a few spacers is enough to spur my imagination into action but other times, the ideas refuse to come.

When suffering from a particularly stubborn case of bead block, I will often leaf through the pages of my back catalog. I have obsessively photographed nearly everything I’ve ever produced at the torch so I have a complete record of all my past beads. I find it inspiring to go back and revisit a design I did a couple years back and apply my current skills to it. I am usually thrilled with how much better the beads look and how much easier they were for me to make.

In the process of copying myself, I often find myself spring-boarded in a new direction and excited by the process of making beads again.

Sometimes, I will take an idea from one set, a color scheme from another and the bead shapes from a third to combine and make a whole new set of beads. Those sets will inevitably be so different from the originals that it would be difficult to see how they are derivatives of them.

Ideas come from all over and when your brain is inundated with too many of them, creativity gets blocked. Copying myself allows me a place to start. It eliminates the dreaded “blank paper” syndrome that artists fear. One bead leads to another and another and suddenly a new pathway is revealed and a new voyage begins.

Assembly Part 2 - Just Do It!

The comments and a couple private emails on my first entry about my assembly style made me realize how intimidating some people find the process of design and assembly. This is a shame because the comments/emails were all sent by people I know for a fact are tremendously creative. Therefore, part 2 is going to be a bit of a pep talk along with a few ‘rules’ I have come up with along the way.

1 - Don’t be afraid, beads don’t bite.

You can do pretty much anything you want with beads. You may be the only person who likes it but as long as you are happy who cares what anyone else thinks of it? Jewelry is so subjective that no one can ever tell what will or will not sell.

2 - Stringing or other Assembly techniques are not permanent.

If you make a piece of jewelry and don’t like it, redo it. Stringing a bead is not a permanent commitment. Nothing says that you cannot take your piece apart and redo it if you don’t like it. The necklace in this picture was taken apart about 10 times before I came up with a design I liked.

3 - Symmetry, Take it or Leave it.

Symmetrical or pattern based pieces can be quite lovely, but don’t be caught up in the trap that says all pieces must be symmetrical. As long as a piece you are working on is properly weighted so that it hangs properly the rules of symmetry can be tossed out the window. Try using a pretty clasp as a focal point, group a few focal beads together in one section but don’t have an identical cluster on the other side. Here is a picture of a necklace I made where I decided the clasp shouldn’t stay in back.

In this picture you can see the cluster of lampwork with no corresponding cluster on the other side.

4 - Experiment with different sized beads and uses for the beads.

Just because your focal bead or the bead set you are using in your piece is a certain size don’t be afraid to use other beads that are wildly different in size from your focal pieces. Seed Beads can be great with lampwork despite the vast difference in size.

5 - Experiment with wild colors.

Just because your focal bead is one color doesn’t mean the accent beads have to be shades of that color. The necklace I posted in the first Assembly entry had a teal focal, and yes, some of the seed beads were teal, but I also had cobalt, light blue, and emerald green in the necklace. The colors didn’t match, but they did coordinate into a harmonious whole. If you missed that post you can see it here, complete with the picture of the necklace.

6 - Experiment with fibers.

This is one I haven’t used yet but I plan to. There are so many cute eyelash yarns, silk ribbons, and other fibers available now there is no reason not to add them to your work. These fibers will add not only an interesting visual component but a textural one as well.

And last but not least, the most important rule of all.

7 - THERE ARE NO RULES!!!

What I just typed is what works for ME. If you find that you wildly disagree with one of my rules, or it just doesn’t work for you then toss it out the window. Not only is jewelry making subjective for the buyer but it is also subjective for the maker. If you take nothing else from this post I want you to take away one thing. Just Do It! As long as when you complete the piece it doesn’t fall apart and you are happy about it then you have done it right. There is really no wrong way to create jewelry.

Now get up from your computer and go make something. Don’t forget to let me see what you have done.

Heather blogs from her studio in Wisconsin. If you would like to see more of her work check out her site at www.squareonebeads.com.

Tis the season to create a blushing pink lampwork bracelet!

It isn’t often that I have the pleasure of sitting down to create pieces of jewelry. This time of year is an exception to the normalcy of my routine, as I get to enjoy more than my share of creating gifts for family and friends. It’s a true pleasure because I explore the personalities of each individual as I try and design something special just for them. It comes with struggle however, as I tend to think of jewelry as being an extremely personal thing.Recently, I filled a custom order for a lovely set of pink and gray beads. I really loved how they turned out and my first thought as I strung them, was “Ah!! My mom would LOVE these!!” I made another large set for her to be used in a bracelet, necklace and earrings. Her style tends to be somewhat simple. Making things with her in mind leaves me with a craving to create something a bit more complex and detailed. Luckily, I had several of the lampwork beads that I used in her jewelry set left over. In fact, it was just enough for an additional bracelet.

As I sifted through one of my many coveted boxes of gemstones, I came across some pink Peruvian opal rondelles that I picked up at show last year. Their blushing color seemed to be a perfect accent to the pink and gray lampwork beads. Still, I thought, “Yes, there IS such a thing as TOO much Pink!” This idea paved way for a seeking mission that kept me digging through ten boxes of semi precious gemstones, only to find the beautifully faceted, steel blue-gray labradorite that I had purchased just one week ago.

With components chosen and scattered about my workspace, I began to think about what I really wanted the bracelet to look like. I knew that I wanted to do a double strand design, but at the same time, I wanted the design to also have a sort of flowing movement. Normally I can only achieve this idea in a piece that has a great deal of wire wrapping. Since I was bored of that idea, I chose to try and creatively string the design that I saw in my mind’s eye. I must admit that I am very pleased with this piece. Were I a wearer of the pinks, I’d have likely kept this one for myself.

Lydia Muell is a glass bead maker who blogs in her studio from Lexington, NC. For more information please visit here website at ashtonjewels.com