Teaching at Art and Soul, Hampton, VA

I feel very honored to be teaching at Art and Soul, Hampton ... which happens to be only 3 hours from my home! In the workshop we will enamel over 50 beads and several pendants. Students will learn the nuances of the torch, how to embed watch gears into the enamel, play with over 35 different colors of enamel! How much fun is that!

I had fun last night stringing these beads as a display of some you'll enamel at the workshop. Every time I walked in the office last night, I couldn't help but smile when I saw these beads. How can you not feel lighthearted when you see a blast of color like this!

I hope to meet some of you there. It would be a lot of fun for me ... and you'll leave with over $300 in beads and the knowledge to recreate the workshop experience from home. The site is live tomorrow, but registration will begin on August 15.

July Art Bead Scene Challenge

The ABS challenge this month was Calder's mobile, "Blue Feather." I couldn't resist this challenge because the design had a stranglehold on my consciousness. It was compelled to be created.

As you can see, the piece consists of an orange pendant with an off-center hole ... as in the inspiration piece. I have left the lower edge unenameled because of the fragile nature of enamel and it's tendency to chip if used in a high-friction area. The remaining formed rectangles dangle playfully from the chain. This is what I call a toggle necklace ... there is no clasp. The necklace wears as a choker with the chain cascading down to about 5 inches below the bottom of the circle pendant.

This was fun ... and now back to the studio!

Advanced Workshop

Yesterday I had a great Advanced Workshop at my home with three ladies who had taken the Painting with Fire Workshop before. One of them drove 3.5 hours! I don't know how she did it. I'm sure Patricia was exhausted going home because we packed so much into the day.

Air conditioning was to have been already installed in my studio, but with the heat wave we've had, it's been all the crews could do to keep up with failed units. The a/c comes Tuesday, of course. So, we started off in my studio to do some of the metal work. We etched, we punched discs with the Swanstrom disc cutter, we dapped, we hydraulic die pressed, we roll milled ... We Were Hot! ... Physically!

Back to the air conditioning ... ahhh! Here are two of the ladies, whom I interrupted from their work for a photo.

Throughout the day, we worked with liquid enamel, millefiori, graphite on top of previously fired enamel, sgraffito, fused silver onto copper, stencils, painting with ceramic overglazes (china paints), and clear liquid enamel that had been tinted with ceramic pigments.

Here's some of the work!

A big thanks to the ladies for coming to play in my sandbox ... and there were very "few" injuries!

Lots of Thank You's!

So, yesterday I got a really nice convo from Blushie at etsy that my Lighter Shade of Pale beads were in her treasury. I am thrilled! And what's really interesting is that Sea Urchin, who makes beautiful porcelain beads, is in the same treasury. Sea Urchin just ordered beads from me and they're on their way to her in England!

I want to thank everyone who has been shopping at Painting with Fire. When I started selling Thompson Enamels in late February, I ordered 17 enamel colors. The $1,700 order put a serious dent in our family's checkbook ... no way I had that much money in mine. What gave me the idea to become a Thompson distributor was that I had recently taught a workshop at the Morean Arts Center in St. Pete. At the end of the workshop, I had torches, bead pulling stations, and beads for sale. The students said, "What? No Enamels?" I took my cue from the students so that when I taught the Reston workshop for Jeanette Blix and Cindy Wimmer, I was prepared.

When I learned how to torch fire enamel, I was given 3 different enamel colors: white, red, and a red and white color mix. But I want students to experience the different colors in the workshop so that they have an idea of what they like. I bring every color we have in inventory to the workshop. It's like opening your crayon box!

I've continued to add more enamel colors so that we now carry 35 different enamels ... and liquid enamels, cat whiskers. I have some tripods that I'll be listing, too, and some great copper beads. Nice round, simple copper beads. They are the best price that I've seen anywhere, including at Trash City.

We will continue to expand selections to meet the needs of our customers. It's my commitment to you. Plus I pride myself on fast shipping and on giving advice ... whether you want it or not! :-) Actually, a lot of people just starting out have no idea what to choose. We all start at this point. I'm happy to make color recommendations based upon my experience with the different enamels.

The Painting with Fire Ning continues to thrive with excited members who are posting pictures of some of the most beautiful work. If you're interested in torch firing enamel but haven't quite made the commitment yet, join us at www.paintingwithfire.ning.com. It's a way to check out what torch firing is all about and when you're ready to get started, it is the technical and moral support part of the equation.

Painting with Fire beads will be in the Bead Beat of the upcoming issue of Stringing Magazine (August 17). On October 24, Handcrafted Jewelry magazine will feature a photo how-to on torch firing. I'll take you through the process of enameling beads and making a necklace with the beads. Over 9 different enamel colors are used in the making of the beads, with lots of overlapping of colors. My sincere thanks to Danielle Fox for her interest in my work. It has been a pleasure working with the team at Interweave. I have appreciated their thoroughness and dedication to verifying the details of the article.

I have been blessed in so many ways ...

Great Enamel Supplements to do Special Things!

Do you want to broaden your enamel horizons to a more painterly approach ... or how about just dots and lines? These are the items that will do it for you and are at my etsy shop:

Cat Whiskers, Multi-Colored

Cat Whiskers, Black

Created with Clear Liquid Enamel and White Liquid Enamel.

Beads Are Up!

These are some of the most beautiful beads that have come out of my studio and are for sale at my shop with SPECIAL PRICING! Please stop by, these are only a few of the unique beads on sale!

This little piggy went to market ....

And, that's where these babies are going ... to market ... as soon as I have the time to list them ... hopefully tonight.

I couldn't help but think of Lily Pulitzer when I saw these beads together. All of these beads are gorgeous, but if you could see the electric teal bead in the back left ... you'd drool! It's a new color combination ... I sure hope I can remember what it is! :-)

Having fun with the etched and enameled pendants and the filigree flowers. They all came out as I had hoped ... which doesn't always happen. In school I used to joke with the painters, I'd say, "You paint a painting, it doesn't change when you walk away! We put a pot in the kiln, it's your guess how it comes out!" Such is the life of an artist fixated on fire!

All of my babies together!

New Jewelry Components in Luscious Colors ...

Couldn't wait to share these with you. Happy accidents from the torch! Etched metal on one side and beautiful patinas on the other. Each side has been sprayed with an acrylic matte polymer to protect the heat patina or to prevent tarnish. And then there's the beautiful Rusty Lace link ... love it! Please check these out in my etsy shop to see the details of each piece.