Rainy Days, Sunny Days

We've had a LOT of rain. And storms. And the occasional outburst of sun. Today is beautiful - sunny and temps in the 70s. Here's a few photos of our place and some things I've been working on this week.

Stormy skies yesterday.

 I stayed indoors, using the rainy time to get studio work done - like last night.

Today I woke up to beautiful crystal blue skies...

...so I opened up all the windows! 

Casey keeping watch (sleepily) from the loft above.

Outside the front door - the big green tarp is covering my slab roller. 

Gotta put that into gear today and get some pendants and connectors made.

Stuff I've been working on...

A new WoolyWire order for Lima Beads - with new packaging!

Coming soon to our WoolyWireEtc etsy shop: Beads for WoolyWire - 

Tube beads to wrap WoolyWire onto to add beautiful color and texture to jewelry designs.

Here's some samples with WoolyWire - I love how these look!

 I spent some time earlier this week photographing beads I made just before moving. Many of these are styles I will be taking to Bead Fest Philly this August, where I will be vending (yay!).

I also made some new things, including OWLS!!! Plus more whales and other goodies...

Little Owlie Beads!

Urchin Blossoms - a new set of beads I'm working on.

 

That's it in a nutshell - I'm really enjoying being here, even the rainy days. :)

Whales Ahead!

Out of a life-long fascination for the life of and on the sea, a couple of years ago I created the Whale Cup. I used a salt white glaze on the outside, Hell Fire Red on the inside, then storied it with antique illustrations. This inspired a series of beads based on the sea, in particular, WHALES!

So far these have been created in limited editions and by special requests. I'm currently at the cabin working on making more - I'll be introducing these and other ocean-themed beads in my shop in a few weeks...

You may ask, what is the source of the fascination for the sea, in particular, for the history of sea-faring navigation? Easy - my father. My dad was a navigator in the air force (from the pre-computer days when they literally "shot" stars through a tiny astrodome in the top of the plane). He has always loved the water, sailing, and tales of the sea. I include here a photo of my dad teaching my daughter Audrey to pilot a sailboat.

Spring Bead Collection

Did I mention how much I LOVE making color palettes? Here's a few with beads... I'll be posting these and more over the coming days... enjoy!

Secret Fairy Garden

April Showers

High Desert

Spring Garden Mix

Sand Dollar Bay

English Meadow

Mango Orange Mix

Mountain Meadow Flowers

Whale Bead Meets Suburban Girl Studio

... and finds a home in a lovely bracelet. 

I have recently been making little whale beads and my friend Diana of Suburban Girl Studio bought one. She made it up into this fabulous little bracelet as a present for a friend who needed a little cheering up. I am SO in love with this bracelet!

Here's a picture of the completed bracelet...

Little Whaley, handmade by me from porcelain, and high fired with in aqua crackle...

Included in the design are Diana's own porcelain beads, a glass bead from SueBeads, a ceramic swirl from Jubilee... 

Glass beads from Molten Mayhem and another of my aqua crackle porcelain beads.

The Hare

A pendant I created nearly a year ago made it's way into a gorgeous necklace by Denise Yezbak Moore, featured in the current issue of Stringing Magazine. I love using vintage illustrations in my work - I plan to make more of these for some Spring offerings.

Art Heart Beads - Sneak Preview

I have a smattering of new heart beads from my latest firing in my shop for your viewing pleasure (one of my new favs is that delicious aqua crackle glaze!). Look for more of these in the coming weeks, in other yummy spring and summer colors.

And if you want to try a cool project with an Art Heart Bead, check out Shannon LeVart's blog post: Art Heart Bangle.

Enjoy!

Friday Night Kiln Unloading

Lots of hoops, links and beads, including tube beads, heart beads, whales, fishes and birds... all in spring / summer palette.

Early Explorations in Copper Clay

Well I finally got to try copper clay. Took 3 firings in my little Paragon Caldera Kiln to produce reasonable results. Still some bugs to work out (mainly in areas where cracking occurred), but for the most part its pretty easy to handle: works much like porcelain only spongier and stickier. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that it is MUCH easier to work in the leather-hard stage than traditional clay. You can sand it, drill it, etc. - it's very sturdy and tough, unlike traditional clay which is much more likely to crumble or break.

Gifty Stuff...

This was my first time participating in the Oh Hello gift swap and omigosh, when I learned that my gift partner was Lorelei Eurto, I could hardly wait to see what would arrive in the mail! I received her package late in the day on Tuesday - too late (dark) to photograph (and I PROMISED myself that I would take pictures)....

...holy cow I could barely contain myself but I managed to resist busting open the package until the next day...

Then.... what is that expression I see everyone using these days (?) ... oh yeah:  "SQUEEE!!!"   

I always thought that was so silly (I'm way too mature for that) ... until I opened the box...

I instantly fell in love - palette, textures, everything - just beautiful! I am thrilled to pieces!!!!

Every detail exquisite - I truly feel like this necklace was made for me (oh yeah, it WAS!): my love of owls, the woodland-mixed-with-shoreline theme (missy L was aware that that I really liked owls, but how on earth did she know of my love for beach pebbles ?! - that was NOT in the mini bio I submitted for the gift swap!)... 

These stones remind me of my girlhood days along the shores of Lake Superior - where I would often collect little smooth stones very much like these...

....so, in addition to being a brilliant jewelry designer, missy L is also a mind-reader!

In every respect, this suits me to a "T" and I cannot wait to show it off! 

Thank you Lorelei!

Hmm...it occurred to me (after I opened my gift) that maybe we were supposed to wait until Christmas day (oops) - but since I will be traveling over the holiday weekend, I figured I SHOULD open it ahead of our departure. Yup - I'm going with that.