Baby, It's Cold Outside!

It is friggin' freezing in Tucson!  Apparently, it hasn't been this cold since 1918!  There's no heat in David's part of the suite. And, our pipes are frozen... And, I'm teaching a workshop in our suite ... And use your imagination ....!  Okay, the maintenance staff brought two 5 gallon buckets of water, one for each bathroom.  No showers ... but I'm still smelling as fresh as a rose!  My hair is pouffy so that's good ... it isn't stuck to my head.

So, my first act of business for the workshop will be to explain the old Girl Scout motto:  "If it's yellow, let me mellow; if it's brown, flush it down."  Actually, that isn't the Girl Scout motto ... but it sounds like something I heard in the Girl Scouts.

I promise to bring more inviting news later.  I'm taking my camera with me to the exhibitors hall ... lots of goodies to follow!

News Flash:  The maintenance guy just brought us keys to a new room ... for us to use for showering, etc.  We can't move in there permanently because I'm teaching in the suite!  But, it's all good!

News Flash Flash:  They're using a hair dryer to defrost the pipes.  Any of us who live in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Mid-West, and Alaska know how successful that is!  It's kinda like camping! LOL!

Hey, they did it!  Yay, Doubletree staff!

I promised you a preview ...

I promised you a preview of enamel artworks for the To Bead True Blue and Tucson Bead Shows that will be looking for a new home.  I know there's somebody out there who will take them in ... they don't take up much space and eat very little!

This is a decal fired onto an enamel pendant.  It has a clear coat of enamel over the surface which means the imagery is permanent ... which is always a good thing!

"Your House or Mine"

More decals ... I really like this ... the chintz one is a project in the book.  Clear enamel on top protects the decal. 

  These are fun and the colors can be wild and crazy ... only limited by your imagination! 

Fused and reticulated sterling on top of an etched copper pendant.  The white is liquid enamel that has been etched to a soft matte surface.  

"Grunge" is what I should call this series.  I love this organic, natural look.   Adjusting the flame and controlled overfiring is how we get this look. 

"Grunge," detail

Look at the difference a reduced flame makes.  One is bright and clear, the other is muted and soft. 

Little sayings from a 1935 Montgomery Ward catalog. 

This one's for Nancy Schindler, my Bead Soup Blog Party Partner ... that's a lot of words ... if I don't have them in the right order, forgive me!

Love this one ... it's sweet, but not tooo sweet!

Detail of Sweet!

The Queen and Eye

That's it for now ...  I have to get back to work in the studio.  Enough playing on the computer ... for now!  See you later ...

Be Prepared!

I was trying to come up with something catchy for my booth in Tucson to advertise the torch firing kits when I had this "eureka" moment. I think it's because I've been working with a 1935 Montgomery Ward catalog to make decals for enamel pendants and charms.  Those vintage images have sunk into my noodle.  The kit that we're offering in Tucson is a little different from the one we offer at our website because we won't have vermiculite and brackets with it. I had to draw the line with what I could bring to Tucson.  I just couldn't see myself checking in a bale of vermiculite as baggage!

Last week I shipped off bunches of enamel. I'll be teaching the Painting with Fire technique to 37 students ... I can't wait.  I love teaching! I'll get a chance to meet Andrew Thornton ... he's going to be in next Monday's class.  I've had some wholesale inquiries about my work, there are parties to attend, people to meet.  My booth is right next to the booth of Karen Ovington.  She makes the most extraordinary glass beads.  The ones I love most of hers are those that look as though they've been dug up from an archaeological site!  I've been eyeballing her work for yearrrrs.  Unfortunately there has never been a convenient time to take one of the few workshops she offers a year. Julie Picarello will be right across the aisle.  She makes absolutely awesome polymer clay pendants and beads.  Come hell or high water I'm meeting Patty Lakinsmith.  She's a member of Love My Art Jewelry with me.  Ohhh so talented she is! She's at a different location but I'm sure there'll be a lot of cabs in Tucson over the next three weeks. :-)  

I know I'll come back tired ... but really inspired by being with such talented people. But, I have to tell you, one of the really good things about preparing for this show has been the things that are coming out of the studio.  I'll be posting them in a few days. I can't wait to show them to you.  I hope you like them!

Bead Fest Wire

Calling all torch-bearing artists!  Oh, you say you're not working with fire yet?  OMG, get with the program!  If you are east of the Mississippi, you MUST join me at Bead Fest Wire in April.  I'll be teaching a Painting with Fire Workshop where we'll enamel over 50 beads and several pendants in an afternoon.  We'll work with millefiori, cat whiskers, and learn to embed metal shapes into the enamel.

Learn how to adjust your torch to get crispy edges, enamel flows, bubbles breaking through the surface.  You'll leave with over $300 (retail) in beads and pendants ... not bad for an afternoon's work.  Plus, you'll have the knowledge to continue your exploration of torch-firing from the comfort of your own home.  

Registration is now open.  Let's make a date for April 10, 2011 from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.!

But you say you live west of the Mississippi, well then ... join me in Tucson during To Bead True Blue and the Gem Show in end January/early February.   I know y'all are so anxious to shop that I kept the workshops shorter in length. You'll learn the same things ... make fewer beads ... but go home with a new skill. This small group setting will be ideal for lots of individual attention. Workshop details are available at my website ... and you can sign up there too!  You can also click on the button in the right sidebar that says, you got it, "Tucson Workshops!"