My Struggles With the Concept of a “Fresh New Year”.

“2008″. . .I still cringe when I say it. I have been struck with that same state of melancholy that blankets my soul immediately after the Christmas holiday has passed. Partly, that is because I tend to reflect on the collection of the 365 days that just passed me by while trying to figure out how I can improve the next round of 365 days that are ahead of me.

I have always heard that women handle change much better than men. I wish that I were one of those women. If I am going to change, it has to be SO drastic that it spins me off of my axis and into a whole new universe. Drastic change seems to create a mental numbness that puts me into survival mode. As the numbness begins to wear off, I am left wondering if I need to spin off of my axis again to find yet another universe to blindly explore.

The reason that I use this analogy is because I was very recently presented with a job opportunity that would not only provide the benefits that I so desperately need, but also a handsome salary and rather large office. Initially, I thought that this so called “opportunity” couldn’t have arrived at a better time as I have been ramping up for a that proverbial big spin that would launch me right off of my current path and into something shockingly new.

I attended the formal job interview yesterday, dressed in that same stuffy business attire that I so happily pushed to the back of my closet a year and a half ago. The suit that I wore is still in fashion but fit a bit more snug than I remember, which reminded me of yet another thing that I need to change in 2008.

As my would-be boss explained his expectations of my would-be job performance, all I could think about was my journey as a glass artist. It was a layoff from a job much like this one that launched my career as a lampworker. The journey has been like a roller coaster. . .So many ups, downs, loops, and curves. You never really know what might be around the bend. . .All you can do is hold your breath and hope that the track doesn’t fall out from under you as your round the next corner.

I barely remember the moments as I departed the stuffy office building, wearing my snug and stuffy suit. My mind’s mental flash player presented slide shows of the beads that I had made over the past year as I made the drive home. They served as a reminder of what I would be leaving behind if I went back to the cold corporate world that I at one time wanted so badly to get away from.

The first three photos above are of some of the beads that I thought about on my ride home from the interview. They were created in early 2007 and were sort of a launching pad for the work that would follow over the next year.

This next grouping of photos are of beads that I made in late 2007/early 2008. They remind me of my progress over the past year. They also help me to know that my happiness and peace can only be found within the four walls of my basement studio.

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.

Bead Designs as Personal Expression.

Help! I have ideas in my head and kids home from school! I can’t get to the torch and I’m going bonkers!

Last I left you I was showing pictures that hang over my work space for inspiration. After that post I went a little nuts. Usually my creative process is pretty methodical…one step leads to another and before I know it I have a new style that I like.

Not this time.

I don’t know what happened. I went big and I went bold. It was the first time I let myself spend an hour (or more) on a bead. Just playing.

I’ve been interested in, what would you call it? Abstract art that celebrates the female form? Ok. Yes. That is what I will call it. One source of inspiration in this area are the paintings of Amy Fraser. Her paintings as well as her polymer clay medallions series’ amaze me.

These beads came about after following a link from her blog to her Book: Dissecting the Western Woman Artist; An Artist’s Dialogue. While they may not look like Amy’s work, her subject matter (both written and otherwise) has opened a door in my soul.

It is interesting to me how inspiration strikes and how we change as we get older. Or I should say, how I have changed as I’ve gotten older.

I have learned to be more appreciative of many things…my own self included. The female form. Other women. Etc. It also amazes me how long it has taken to get to this point. Things that feel so natural to others (like being social and having good girlfriends that I actually want to spend time with) are only starting to come to me in my forties. Not that I haven’t had that before but the difference now is that it feels good.

I am also enjoying the fact that my ’self’, my inner workings, are beginning to express themselves through my work. Whereas once my work was just color and form, now it has deeper meaning. I am starting to understand what it means to leave behind a piece of me in my work…I never understood that. I never felt attached to my work in that way but now I can look back on my pieces and see where I was when they were created. Or be reminded of something that was happening in my life at the time.

Since I have spent a lot of time experimenting with color and what different glass colors do next to each other and on top of each other, my design process is changing. One could study a lifetime on the different reactions between glass colors however I am moving more towards expressing abstract ideas in glass and using the knowledge I’ve gained thus far.

Jeez. I better stop there. But let me just say…if you are starting out in any art, build a good foundation. Master the basics. It may seem tedious but in the end it is liberating!

Lori Greenberg blogs about beads and the business of beads from her studio in Cave Creek, Arizona. You can see more of her beads at her web site: www.lorigreenberg.com.

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.

Dabbling In Pottery: My Glass Style Morphs Into Clay

I just finished a beginning ceramics class at the local college and I loved it! My mother taught ceramics and pottery at the Region II Community Action Agency when I was around…5? I can remember mom bringing clay home and we’d sit at the table with newspaper spread out and make things. They just never turned out how I pictured them in my mind and I became frustrated quickly. Why weren’t mine looking as good as hers?

So I decided I didn’t like sculpting or clay and stuck with my drawings. Did I mention I was a bit of a temperamental child? But I had fun helping her pour molds down in the basement, the giant rubber bands going around the 2 halves and pouring the slip down into the mold. I think I was most entertained with the potter’s wheel at the Agency, sitting in the seat and kicking the wheel to make the top spin. The one I used at the college seemed very tiny in comparison and they’re electric, no kicking allowed.

The past few years I’ve had this urge to try ceramics again. I seem to be ok at sculpting hot glass so maybe it was time to give clay another try. Our first assignment was to make pinch pot shakers. You take a ball of clay and pinch your thumb down inside and gradually enlarge the shape by pinching. I made tiny little shapes in clay, wrapped them in newspaper and sealed them inside the pinch pots (don’t forget the hole!). After they’re fired in the kiln you end up with tiny pieces of hard clay inside and sprinkles of ash when you first shake it. We had to make 3 things that were related somehow and I chose a totem style setting. I wrote “balance” in kanji on the bottom shaker, then what was supposed to be a clay version of one of my sumo beads, topped by an Asian woman in a kimono. They do fit together when stacked in their little zen garden, just don’t sneeze.

Since this was our first assignment, we didn’t use glazes. I resisted painting these at first, I’ve always thought regular paints on pottery ruined the look. Finally (night before the last day of class) I decoupaged golden tissue paper on the bottom piece and patterned tissue paper on the girl’s kimono, ceramicoat paints on their heads. The heads are shakers too, 4 seperate pieces and they each have a different sound. I made a horizontal hole in the girl’s hair ribbon before it was fired, I’m going to place silver wire hair sticks with flowers and beads hanging from them… I was in a bit of a rush towards the end of class and didn’t have time to add that finishing touch.

Oh and my slab assignment was to make a box with a lid. I made a castle with gargoyles and layered different glazes to create an ancient, weathered look. I cut a window into the side and also into the top lid so I can place a candle inside. I really didn’t want to make non-functional pieces, I don’t want a bunch of clutter in my home. Sound awful? No, I’m not saying art is clutter but when it comes to ceramics or pottery sitting in my place and taking up counter space, they need to have some useful purpose. When the power goes out, I’ll have my little castle casting shadows on the wall, the gargoyles chasing away evil.

I’d like to take another pottery class this coming Spring. I really liked my instructor, Tom McMillen-Oakley. He gave me the idea of using tissue paper instead of paint on my shakers. Very patient man and not once did I hear him yell or throw anything… always good traits in a teacher.

Tracy Jerrell Akhtar blogs from her home studio in Southern Michigan. To see her webpage and more of her creations, click on TracyBeads.