Bead and button inspired Sculpting Glass and a side job…

In my last post, I showed you my last murrini, “The running man” bead. Yes, that is me, hurry hurry, busy, busy, 24 hours…7 days…365 days a year….

In the back of my mind, I keep telling myself, when I get back from Bead and Button I will slow things down a bit.

SO, I get back from Bead and button, and the electricity is out. (The house smells like mold, and my husband is suffering from severe sciatic nerve pain; so he takes the kids to his mom and dads and leaves the house to suffer. Unplugging nothing, waisting hundreds of dollars in food, and my kiln box took a hit! ) (THANK YOU to Michael Crowly from the Glasshive for sending me a FREE part to fix it. He is such a great kiln builder.) The power remained out for 4 days! NOTHING slowed down!

And! MY MIND is RACING!!!

So, did I do good selling my beads at bead and button? I came out ahead. If I had gone solo and paid my way ANY more, it would have been a loss. I sold beads with 16 artists. The beads were beautiful. Your chances of selling with a group like that were decreased. Lots to look at… and the trays were stacked. it is a lot of work to see it all. And, just the fact that it is a “bead show”, people are there to buy beads. PRODUCT LINE stuff. Not really what I do. I do consider it, we’ll see. I am addicted to one of a kinders. My pieces look best when they are not smashed together too(I think).

I will do it again. And, next time I will do it different. I would like one or two partners; not 16. I will put my “jewelry” beads at the guilds table, and put my one of a kinders on my table, spread out like little sculptures. And, I will have many little sculptures created by then.

I aquired two collaboration projects I am really looking forward to. I definetly made some good contacts.

I am still making beads, but I am adventuring to sculptures (glass paper weights too) this summer. Wood,glass,concrete stuff…

And! No. I will not slow things down. I am taking a job doing shop drawings for an institutional casework company. Fumehoods, canopy hoods, stainless steel furniture, cabinets….The stress of NEEDING money can go away. I need to sculpt! I may just have to join my cyber sister program at Etsy; THE SCULPTURE PROJECT! The need to sculpt is strong!

You will see my beads at Etsy, or Ebay all summer.

And! I promise WMC a photo of a sculpture with glass SOON!

Real life Inspires RUNNING man glass murrini

I joined the Watch Me Create team Blog to share inspiration, and to help myself. It is very important that I take time to be objective about my work. The team blog helps me do that.

Lately, I am tired, overworked, and my muse is not always around these days. (EVERY Artist goes through this more than one time!)

As I start another side job creating Autocad drawings for a family Institutional casework business, while I still raise two kids, and manage my art, do laundry, save money for shows (bead shows, and music shows), and all the other real life stuff I have to take care of (I am sure many can relate to the chaos!) ….

This is what I have created, the “running man” murrini. This is my third attempt, and I am happy with the result. (I also created a walkng man that you can see at my personal blog.)

I am always in a hurry, and this bead (believe it or not) has encouraged me to slow down.

I combined some reactive Kronos glass with cobalt, and applied the murrini in a patchwork looking fashon.

I am looking forward to attending the bead and button show in Milwakee and I am excited to see the response these beads get. When I return I will let you know what happens. Will I sell enough to keep keepin’ on? Or, will this journey slow down for a while; while I side job, and work on my Sculptures?? Hm….

Pets and Portraits in Glass

I get a lot of requests from people asking me to create a bead that looks like their favorite pet or grandchild. Nothing makes me happier than when I really “nail it” with a favorite pet. Kidlets are pretty generic, of course. Blond hair, check. Blue shirt, got it. Strangely enough, people are way more particular about getting a puppy bead that actually looks like their dog. Maybe this says something about human nature? LOL.

I love getting photos of pets from my customers. It makes it easy to pick features that really define a breed or even an individual pet’s personality. I especially like tongues, for example. They’re fun! Lots of times, however, I’m just told the breed and then I let the muse do the rest of the guiding. I usually sketch out the bead before making it in the flame, especially if I’ve never done that particular breed before. Sketching helps my brain figure out proportions and it also helps me figure out the order in which I need to add the features. I learned that in a Sharon Peters class I took long ago.

Most dog beads start with a lentil bead base, believe it or not. I find the somewhat flattened shape to be good for pendants and the face features can be easily added to the base lentil. The bead pictured above is a Westie. I built up the features as large dots - two for the ears and three for the muzzle. Then I covered the whole bead with ‘furry cane’ which is a stringer containing white and grey, encased in clear. Next, I shape the ears with tweezers. Lastly, I add the nose, eyes and tongue before popping it into the kiln.

As for my muse, that would have to be my dog, Puppy. She’s a wonderful 8 year old dachshund that has very recently developed a back problem. We are waiting a few weeks to see if the problem gets better or worse since we don’t want to put her through a risky surgery unnecessarily. She still walks pretty good but her climbing and jumping skills have suffered. Keep good thoughts for her, if you can.

Keeping a spirit alive with art glass beads

Beads can be little keep sakes. Years ago I enjoyed making neck pieces with seed beads that would tell stories. Little pictures of landscapes and stick people, would go around a 1/2″ tube of seed beads. I used a geometric square stitch. The stitch only had so many possibilities; I had limitations. Unless I made the piece huge, I could not really get the detail I was looking for, so I lost interest.

One of the things I LOVE about lampworking glass beads, is that I am not limited at all when it comes to detail. The only thing that has held me back in the last few years is my experience, and skills. At this point I feel my skills have come along way, and I am much more confident with the custom orders I take. In the last couple years I have been making family beads, and keep sake beads with animals or people.

My most recent commissions were gifts made for a mom and daughter that lost their family in a car accident. I was asked to create two beads. One for the mother who lost her daughter and husband, the other for the mother’s other daughter that is getting married this weekend. The flower girl was the little girl killed in the car accident. Sad.

The bead for the mother, with the family of three was created as a keep sake, created to remember her family by. A family of three Soul gestures with a rainbow horizon. On the back of the bead is three hearts, symbolising that someday they will be together in heaven.

The bead for the step daughter is a gift for her Wedding. On one side, we have two soul gestures, representing the couple to be married, and a horizon with a rainbow. The back of the bead is two murrini hearts in the sky. This is symbolizing her step sister, and Dad in heaven looking over them.

Traditionally Art has been used to depict historical figures. Usually to show our appreciation for the people that come before us, and to remember what they stood for. Seeing a piece of art, custom made, that is about your family, is priceless. It is awesome, and exciting.

Creating something that has a strong meaning, and can make someone have feelings, is inspiring to me. A keep sake like this can keep the spirit of those two souls alive for years to come. This bead will tell a family story that may be sad, but in the end, that family will enjoy the memory of those two people forever; keeping their spirit alive.

You can visit my website (www.sheilamorley.com) if you are interested in seeing more of my work.

Pleasant Surprises Don’t Happen to Me Often.

After my recent show I crashed, as I usually do. This wasn’t a particularly hard show…it was local and the hours were not too early nor too late. And there was a Starbucks. Regardless, I slept for two days afterwards. I’m such a wimp. Upon returning after a show I always feel like I should be at the torch but I really don’t have a purpose. What the heck would I make? My next show isn’t until September. I guess I could work on orders.

As I sat down I wondered what would happen. I didn’t have designs in mind. I didn’t even have color ideas. I dreaded the thought of just sitting down and playing because that never turns out well for me. But, I sat my butt down anyway. And this is what happened:

More large, flat-backed medallions that more than stand alone. But wouldn’t a whole string of them, choker-style, be cool too?

Somehow the bright colors called to me…which they usually don’t. Simple forms on a grand scale.

They’ve already morphed into something else and I better get out to the studio to see how they turned out!

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.