What Have I Been Up To??

Well, I obviously haven't been beading or blogging - lol.  I have closed up my torching studio for a few weeks, and have broken out my totes of paint, brushes, canvas etc.  I set up a little painting studio in the basement and have been painting away to my heart's content.  Well, I must admit that it is a lot harder than it looks - those professionals on You Tube make it look so easy.  Just standing in front of a blank canvas - heck, even a partially finished one,  I "freeze up", and have no idea where to go next.  As a consequence, a lot of my paintings are starting to look alike - I get a formulae and keep repeating it in different colours!

Anyway, here is a sampling of what I have been up to.  The paintings are hard to photograph, and some are on paper in a book, so that has it's own set of photographic problems.

One of the first ones I did.  A collage titled "Art Is . . . "
8" x 10" on canvas panel.

"Letting Go" is another collage on an
8" x 10" canvas panel.

"Memories", a collage on an 8" x 10" canvas panel.
This is one of my favourites.

"Climbing" is an abstract acrylic on 9" x 12" paper (still in the book).
I think it still needs some work - just not sure what yet.

This one and the next 2 are the ones that are all starting to look alike.
Perhaps I can say they are a "series" - some sort of industrial look.
I will have to think of a suitable name for them.
Untitled 1 is acrylic on a 9" x 12" paper (still in the book).

Untitled 2, acrylic on 9" x 12" paper (still in the book).

Untitled 3, acrylic on 9" x 12" paper - torn out of the book.
This was just a paper to blot my excess paint on, and I realized that
it was starting to have it's own merits, so I worked on it, and I
think it is my favourite of these series.  Not sure if it needs any
more work, or if I should leave it alone.

Thanks so much for looking at my paint splashes.  I hope to be back in the studio (glass) in early January, and will work on stocking my Etsy shop.

If I am true to form, I probably won't be blogging again until well after Christmas, so I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas, or a Happy Holiday, whatever your beliefs.

Show Review

This last weekend was the annual Cedar Yellow Point Christmas Studio Tour.  As usual, we decorated up our barn/my workshop, and the short walk up to it.  It looked very "fairyland" like, with a path and lights through the trees.  I didn't get any pics of the outside, but you can probably see some from a year ago here on the blog.  We had 418 people come through the studio, and our driveway definitely looks like it!  Thankfully the weather held up, and there was no rain or snow as there was in previous years.

Here are a few pics of the inside, with the various vendors I had there.  I apologize for the poor quality of the photos - the lighting is not great for taking pics.  I tried to get out the yellow with my "paintshop" program, but I'm just not very proficient with it.

An overall view taken with my back to my torch area.

Herb Garden Pottery by Vicki Forkin.

My daughters soap - people came back for more.

Lampwork and vintage cutlery bracelets/jewellery by Judy Baun.

A portion of my set up.

Another portion of my set up.

Yet another portion of my set up.

Closer view of my new "antiqued brass" pieces.

The above three photos are some of the new "Regaliz" bracelets I
made for the show.  I was pleased that they sold very well, and will
definitely be making more.

That is the only Christmas craft fair/show I am doing this year - so now I can enjoy the rest of the year.  Yay!!

Thanks for stopping in.

I'm in trouble . . . again!

This morning I received a phone call from my sister - she wished me happy birthday, and then proceeded to give me "what for"!  "Do you know how long it has been since you posted on your blog?"

 Yep - it was Sept 21st when I last blogged - I'm a bad blogger!!

Enough said - here are some pictures of new beads.

Guardians - now in my Etsy shop.

Guardians - sold.

Under the Boardwalk (2) - customer ordered, but never returned
my email, so this one and the one below are looking for a new home.

Under the Boardwalk - similar to above.



Thanks for looking!

So very sad and disappointed!

Right about now I am supposed to be in the middle of a class with Astrid Riedel from South Africa - however I am still in my jammies (I have been in them since Thursday morning and it is now Saturday afternoon)!!!

I was packing for the trip to Edmonton on Thursday morning, and wham!!!! I put my back out - again -  the 2nd time in 3 weeks.  I just don't know what to do about this "on going" problem of my back - 13 years and counting.

I had to let my trip companion know that she was going to travel alone, and let the airlines and the class know that I wouldn't be coming - $800.00 down the tube!  Some say there is a silver lining to every cloud - just can't figure out where it is in this case.  Am I feeling sorry for myself?  You betcha!

Anyway, that is my whine for the weekend - and here is a picture of what I am missing.  The class is being held at Bedrock supplies in Edmonton.  There are more classes all week long with Astrid - those lucky people.

Latest lampwork challenge

The latest challenge put to our lampwork group - the Vancouver Island Fireflies, was to make a set of 16 square beads.  I made 4 sets of 4. Two Guardian sets and two Tree Tops sets.  They are all now listed on my Etsy shop.

Guardians

Guardians

Tree Tops

Tree Tops

Thanks for stopping in!

Metal Allergies and New Beads

I have metal allergies - you know how the button on your jeans bugs your stomach and gives you a rash (well, except for you skinny gals).  I find that metal necklace closures sometimes bug the back of my neck too.  So I have been searching for an alternative, and came up with this idea.  I use either mouse tail or rat tail cord, and twist it just so, and add one of my own glass spacer beads (a large one) for the closure.  I have been wearing one all summer, and it works just great.  I decided to see if anyone else is interested in these, so I have added a few to my Etsy shop at a great price!  Other colours are available, but I just started off with the basics.

Non metal necklace/pendant cords.

The Guardian, pendant.

Raven Feather, pendant.

Tree Tops, pendant.

I hope you are all having a great week!

Lots of new beads!

Now that I am back from the show, I can list some of the pendants in my Etsy shop.  These are already made up into pendants - ready to wear! Here are just a few for you to look at.

Etched Cherry Blossom Bonsai

Etched Cherry Blossom Bonsai

I love this shape!  The Guardian.

Raven Feather

Thanks for looking!
Hope you have a great weekend.

Fall show review

I didn't manage to get many pictures at all this time at the Fall show - Kitty Coleman Woodland Gardens.  It is a beautiful place, even if it is a little out of the way.  However, I had hurt my back (again!) just prior to the show, so getting around was slow and steady.  Thankfully, my booth partner, Judy, was able to set up by herself on the Friday, which gave me an extra day to recover. 

We changed our booth somewhat - took away a few things, and added a few others.  We raised our tables up on bed risers, and took away anything that was too tall on the table.  We had a couple of incidents of theft, so we wanted to make sure we could see all the table all the time.

See our new black shallow risers?  I just love those - we built them ourselves (they fit inside each other for easy packing), painted them black, antiqued them and waxed them - they look so great.  We plan on adding to the set for the Spring show.

I would like to get rid of the white riser on the right, however that is where we
"hide" our cash box, extra bags,  receipt books etc.  Perhaps we could re-cover it with
a black or brown fabric - we'll have to think about that.

The sales were marginally better than in the Spring - just enough to keep me going back - lol!
Starting tomorrow it is back into the studio as I have lots of orders to complete.

End of Summer Sale!

I have discounted all my "summer" beads in my Etsy shop by 30% - you don't have to remember to input a code or anything like that.  Now would be a good time to stock up for next spring.

The above pics are some of the beads that have been discounted by 30% - Happy Shopping!

New Beads - feathers!

Have you ever noticed how sometimes there seems to be a "theme" running through an artist community?  Lately I have seen all kinds of glass feathers made by various bead makers.  I don't think it is a question of anyone copying anyone else, but is just that we are all open to various influences, and perhaps have been influenced by the same things.

Anyway, here are my feathers.  I got a little carried away with them, and they are really long - perhaps the next ones will be a little shorter.

These feathers are ready to have the bails attached and a satin cord added.
Their lengths are from left to right  3 1/4"; 3 1/2"; 2 1/2" (not including the
bead and hoop).

These ones measure from left to right 2 3/4"; 3"; 3".

Hope you are having a great weekend.

LOTS of New Beads!

However they are not for my shop - sorry.  They are for the upcoming show on the Labour Day weekend at Kitty Coleman Gardens in Comox.

I just love the look of the big holed beads/hoops.  The mandrels for
these guys are really heavy and my arms were aching after making them.
I also made the cord to hang them from, so there is no metal at all in
this design - perfect for those people who have metal allergies.

As I said in a previous post, I have been working on a new way to make
my tree beads - and I am REALLY pleased with this lot.  I have decided
to keep the top left hand side one for myself (black and ivory) - I think it has a very
oriental look about it.  I very rarely keep any of my own work; I'm not sure why.

This lot of beads turned out better than I hoped.  They were an
experiment.  The one on the left I made with light ivory and Double
Helix murrine,  the middle bead I used hair fine stringer and dots with Double
Helix Terra for the colour.  The bead on the right is similar to the
left one, but has been pressed flat and I have added some gold leaf.
I am calling this general style of beads "Orient Express".

I have been trying to figure out a way to display my pendants that I put on
my hand made cords.  I didn't want to just hang them, and putting them in a
box just looked messy.  So, thanks to Pinterest (got to love that place)
I have come up with a way to package them.  I write the length of the cord
on the price tag, so people will know how long the necklace is.  My only concern
is that some customers are going to want to try them on.  However the pendants
 are "sewn" onto the cardboard backing, and I do not want to have to undo the tape,
pull them out of the cello package, cut the thread, etc.
 I will have to see how it goes at the show, and see if it is a viable way to display them.

Well, I hope you enjoyed your little tour around my new show beads.  My booth partner and I have made some changes to our display - I will try to remember to take photos at the show.
Have a good week!