"The Brass Section" Breaking A Creative Block

Wow, it's been a long week for me. I have had the flu for two weeks and am just getting over it. Not only did it seem to suck the energy from my physical body, it also seemed to bruise my ability to be creative at the torch. Normally, I bounce on the balls of my toes as I make my way to my studio. . . My mind filled with excitement and ideas. Lately, it has felt more like I am walking the green mile or something. It's cold in my studio basement. . .Dark, dusty, musky and creepy. NOT a place one wants to be when they don't feel well.

After days of working at my torch, feeling lower than low due to the substandard beads that I had been making, I finally had an inspiration. . .It was my husband's old trumpet. It sat quietly in the corner of our bedroom on an antique chair that I had reupholstered with an Italian sage damask fabric, and deep indigo and antique gold fringe. It is a beautiful arrangement, but not one that I had ever paid much attention to.

On Tuesday, I carried the idea down the torch with me and my latest set, "The Brass Section" was born.

A pressing situation. . .

Over the holidays I received four new presses from Cattwalk designs. . .The graduated lentil, one inch lentil, chunky lentil and the new elongated crystal press. When I received them, I thought, "Humph! This will be a breeze!" WRONG! While the presses are absolutely wonderful, you really do have to be patient in learning to work with them. This is one of the reasons that my offerings of work have been few and far between lately. I have been trying to teach myself to work with these new tools.

One of the struggles that I am having with the presses is in trying to incorporate the techniques that I use in my current body of work. I need to stop doing tyring to emulate my current style on this new pallet and allow a new style to emerge from the learning process. The idea sounds very easy when I say it, but for some reason I'm finding extremely difficult.

Yesterday I worked with the elongated crystal press and I LOVE this new shape! I made some encased florals and even though the press kind of squished them out of form a bit. Still yet, I think they turned out beautifully so I can't wait to get back into the studio this afternoon to get a bit more familiar with what this press has to offer!

For anyone that actually reads this blog, I will be listing some beads and focals this afternoon.

Have a WONDERFUL weekend!!

Special Order Bead Category

First, I want to thank those of you that utilized the "special order bead" option that was offered in my online catalog. Expanding this category to offer more options for ordering was one of my goals. I have since changed my mind and I would like to explain why. . .

Like many other lampworkers, I tend to use a lot of silvered and reactive glasses in my work. That can make the recreation of certain pieces very difficult. Sometimes a reorder may take me 2 or 3 attempts at the torch in order to create one bead that looks like the original. It's unfortunately NOT a practical way for me to do business.

Doing the same work over and over again also keeps me from having the freedom to evolve my style and it hinders my discovery of the techniques that grow my skill as an artist.

I do want to stress though, that if you see something that you missed out on, you can still get it via custom order. Just shoot me an email for further info.

Current orders that are in house for special order beads will be filled and shipped this week.

If you have questions, please send me an email.

Auction for Just Vonna

"Prayer for Peace"

A dear friend unexpectedly lost her young adult son over the Thanksgiving holiday. Most of you may already know her. . .Her name is Vonna Maslanka. It's my understanding that her son, Jonathan, did not have life insurance so Vonna and her family had to cover those expenses on their own.

Marilyn Peraza is hosting the auction and several very talented bead makers gave their beads in hopes to help Vonna. In the past, Vonna has been one to bend over backwards to help others within our community so I hope that her auction does very well. She deserves no less.

Here is a link to the auction on Ebay. http://cgi.ebay.com/JONATHAN-lampwork-beads-more-Peraza-SRA_W0QQitemZ290193768164QQihZ019QQcategoryZ34070QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Wishing you and yours a happy holiday season!

This year, my husband and I are staying home for the holidays. We had planned to spend Christmas in CA with my husband's family but couldn't work it out so we will hope to get there next year.

Normally, since we couldn't go to CA, I would choose to make the trip home to my mom's ranch for the holiday. However, my daughter has to work on Christmas Eve, as well as the day after Christmas. Rather than hustle and bustle, a nice Christmas dinner at home seemed like a beautiful idea so that is how we are going to spend our holiday.

I have been thinking lately about how lucky I am to be a full time bead artisan. Many of those thanks go out to you . . . Thank you for the encouragement, kind words, and of course, thank you for purchasing my beads because without you, I would be sitting behind some desk in a cold office building, wondering if I would ever find my place in this world.

From my family to yours, have a very happy holiday and prosperous new year!

Thinking of Cheri Blum

Just recently, I was thinking of one of artists that I always found to be so incredibly inspiring. As a muralist, and lover of Italian frescoes I simply adored her work. . .The seemingly time washed background textures that she created on her canvases was only one of the elements of her work that I so appreciated. She was truly gifted and her work continues to inspire me even though she is no longer with us. When I read about her untimely passing in 2003, I broke down in tears. To this day, I miss looking forward to seeing new work from her, but will always treasure the inspiration that she left behind.

Her hydrangea paintings were my favorite. I have tried time and time again to create something as beautiful but Cheri was no doubt, in a class of her own. I am sure she is greatly missed by all that adored her. Hopefully I'm not violating any copyright laws by linking to this photo.

No more excuses. . .I HAVE to walk now.

So, there I was. . . Walking through Walmart with Mr. Muell, pushing a cart full of stuff that I didn't really need, when suddenly I saw it. At first, I thought it must be bathed in the white light of the Holy spirit because it just seemed to beacon me toward it. . . As I approached the seemingly blessed object, I realized that the white light was nothing more than ultra strength florescent lighting. Still yet, I decided that it must be a sign. For I HAD to buy that treadmill. It was on clearance, which further drove the point home.

Mark and I checked out the treadmill and it seemed to be a fabulous model at a more than reasonable price. We looked beneath the pedestal that it sat upon but to our disappointment, Walmart had sold out of that particular model. With heavy hearts, we began to walk away in pursuit of other unnecessary sundries. (For example, I later purchased a whiteboard for my office. Did I REALLY need that? NOPE but it sure looks cool hanging in here, just in case I get the sudden urge to doodle, erase and doodle some more.)

Just as we were about to walk away, we began to scan the attire of stander's by in hopes that one of them would be wearing a blue "Walmart" apron. No such luck. . . It seems that you only see them when they have the isle blocked with something and they need for YOU to move so that they can get by. lol Anyway, after playing the Walmart version of "Where's Waldo", we finally found someone that could help us. To my delight, she offered us the display model while cautioning that the manual had gone missing at some point. HUH!!! I didn't care. I didn't even ask for a bigger discount. I just want to be able to take a brisk walk while I watch Judge Judy.

Later in the afternoon, we finally arrived home with the object that would help us to recover from our couch potatoasitis. Mark positioned it perfectly in the corner of our living room, plugged it, turned it on and . . .NOTHING!! NOTHING!! It did not work. Oh, but he was determined to NOT return this big piece of equipment to Walmart for a refund. He's too smart for that and he doesn't give up without a fight. He took it a part and looked at the onboard computer so that he could be sure that everything was plugged in where it should be.

Yep, according to him everything looked fine. A little red light was on and that told him that the unit was getting power. . . "SO what's the problem? Why isn't the motor turning? Why won't the computer display come on?!!!" He shouted. After an hour of frustration in trying to figure our what was wrong with the seemingly cursed treadmill, he decided that it time to consult Google. After much research on the model number, he found out that there is a key that has to be plugged into a slot in the treadmill in order for it to work. It's this little do-hicky thingamabob that exists as a safety feature. I think it keeps people from being flung off of the belt incase they decide to step onto it when it's moving at break-neck speed.

I bet the little key thing was in the packet of paperwork that was lost, that I coincidentally said I didn't think I needed. Actually, my statement to the Walmart employee that sold us the treadmill was, "No paperwork? Who cares. . .I'll take it!!" Luckily I have a pretty smart husband. He rewired the panel so that it works without the key.

After all of that drama, here I am writing about it instead of getting my morning exercise. lol

Careful what you wish for. . .

Ah. . Rain and cool weather. Our severe drought has been quenched quite a bit over the past few days. That's a beautiful thing. . . We needed it very badly, as most of the counties in our region had put forth mandatory water restrictions. I hear this morning that some of those restrictions have been lifted. Having said all of this, it's been 5 days since I've been able to go for my morning jog. I can feel it too. . .I think I might need to save my pennies to buy a treadmill or maybe I could use that elliptical that sits in my basement collecting layers of dust?

October? Nuh uh.

As I stepped out this morning to go on my daily walk/jog, I couldn't believe how damp and warm the air felt. Is it really October? This is my most favorite month of the year. . . I look forward to the crisp-feeling, clean-smelling air that Fall has to offer. The nostalgia can be almost overwhelming on a 68 degree day in mid October. . .The cool air licking the back of your neck as sweatshirt cuffed wrists reach up to rub down the chill before it crawls down your back. The humidity that you loath has packed it's bags and retreated south, leaving only clear blue skies and puffy white clouds with sparkling silver linings. Falling leaves are a welcome distraction from the almost infinite skyline as they float slowly to the ground. The fact that they will need to raked is of little importance on a day such as this. . . Where the heck is this day? It's October 9th, yet it still feels that we are in the midst of the "Dog Days of Summer".

The would-be Autumn leaves even seem to be a bit confused. The Fall season is predicted to be exceptionally beautiful due the relentless drought that our region is suffering. It seems that the Maples and Oaks have not received the memo because they are still green. Not a fantastic green either but more of a sad, "Please give me water" green. Oh how I yearn for the vibrant yellows, reds and magentas! Today we are expecting to receive another record breaking day in terms of temperature. High of 93 degrees and NO rain in sight. On the upside, the bins at the Farmer's Market continue to flow over with homegrown tomatoes and yellow squash. :-)

Hi All!!!

Hi all!! This past month has been a bit crazy. Recently my daughter moved back home. As a mom, I couldn't be more thrilled but it has taken a bit to get used to since I've been an "empty-nester" for a year now. She still kicks her shoes off in the middle of the floor and doesn't put them away unless I tell her to so I guess some things never change. Remembering to add junk food to the grocery list is also something that I am trying to get used to. BLECH. . .Real Pepsi with sugar and I can't seem to keep enough ketchup these days. Still yet, it is wonderful to hear the laughter again and her presence brings me great joy.

Now for a little "bead" talk. . . For awhile now, I have been thinking of switching over to 96 coe glasses. I've been playing with Reichenbach a bit and I have to admit that I am simply in awe of some of the colors they have to offer. The color density is so rich that it seduced me into placing an order for a bunch of it this morning. I can't wait till it gets here so that I can enjoy playing "get to know ya".

Lately I have been struggling with inspiration so I've been revisiting and updating old designs. Sometimes, I can find a really awesome new idea when I do that because I will have learned something along the way that will make the old designs look fresh and new. The silhouette style of beads that feature the black classic motif is one that I never wanted to let go of. I still felt that there was much that I could do to enhance the look but couldn't figure out just how to do it. I don't want the beads to look as though I piled as much as possible on them in efforts to make them look flashy. No, that wouldn't do. The balance of color and form within bead design is too important to me. The chosen elements must make sense and whenever possible, a motif (if used) must flow across the surface almost as though it has a life of it's own. I don't pretend to always nail it. I make more than my share of flops but in a perfect world, every bead that I make would have the perfect balance of form, movement and color. To bad our world is not perfect, huh?

The set that I'm working on now is called "Ruler of the Republic". I am not sure what people will think of them but they most certainly speak to my soul. . . I have had a fascination with Rome since I was child and this set was made with ancient Rome in mind. The color is absolutely striking. . .Hand mixed rich garnet and goldstone. . .pale trans brown and amber with black silhouettes inspired by the diadem of fresh laurel that adorned the head of Gaius Julius Caesar. I'll should be finished with the set later this afternoon and I hate that I must sell these beads BUT making beads is my living so I'll suck it up. . . :-) .

Now, off to ship some stuff. . .Have a wonderful week!!

Coming out of my funk. . .

Sorry for my long silence. Blogging for me can sometimes be difficult. I'm not sure why that is.

I've been in rare form for the past week or so. I've not felt well and my emotions have surged to straight jacket levels. I am happy to say that I'm feeling much better this week. Normally I try to have my auctions end in prime time hours on Sundays, so listings go up on Tuesdays and Thursdays. This week, I won't have anything to list until Thursday. I've had other projects to work on and I'm a bit behind the eight ball.

Over the weekend I made a few small beads and focals that I plan to use for jewelry. I'm excited about that because I don't get to design very often. I plan to use them for tassels. Last week when I made the New Dawn Rose tassel, I realized that I am really at slim pickings on the Bali findings. . .I had to place an order for more and I can't wait to get them!! I'll be stalking the postman for the next few days. Maybe if I leave him some home baked treats, he'll deliver my silver faster. (LOL!! Like I bake or something.)

Edwin McCain

I have been a huge fan of this guys music since the day I purchased his "Messenger" CD several years ago. He writes his own music, as well as his lyrics. To me, there's just so much truth in his words and the music is brilliant. A true talent. . . I love this guy!!

I hadn't listened to in quite awhile and yesterday when I was cleaning, I came across his CD... covered in a bit of dust in my CD cabinet.

With recent passing of Memorial Day and Independence Day, the depth of the lyrics in "Prayer to Saint Peter" actually made me cry. I don't think I'd ever paid close attention to the song. I more so just kind of hummed along to it because the music was so beautiful and sweet.

So, I wanted to put the lyrics here for people to read. They remind me of those lost in battle as they fought our freedoms. So many of the lives lost were of youthful men who hadn't even had a chance to find out what life was all about and they are truly celebrated in this song.

"Prayer to Saint Peter"

Let them in Peter, for they are very tired.

Give them couches where the angels sleep and light those fires.

Let them wake whole again, to brand new dawns. . .

Fired by the sun, not war-times bloody guns.

May their peace be deep.

Remember where their broken bodies lie.

God knows how young they were to have to die.

Give them things they like.

Let them make some noise.

Give dance hall bands, not golden harps, to these our boys.

Let them love, Peter, for they've had no time.

Thy should have bird songs and trees, and hills to climb.

The taste of summer, and a ripened pear. . . And girls sweet as meadow wind and flowing hair.

And tell them how they are missed, but say not to fear.

It's gonna be alright, with us down here.

Roman Bath House Beads

The picture posted on the left is of the ancient bath house that my mother in law visited while vacationing in Rome. I love the colors . . . They inspired the "Roman Bath House" set that I have up for auction on Ebay. . This is probably one of my personal favorite sets, to date. I really enjoy working with copper green, especially when encased.

Using copper green for this application proposed a bit of challenge. I needed a textured background in order to emulate a feel of ancient architecture. Translucent pink glass works very well for that look, when silver is incorporated but using it with copper green creates a potential problem if worked too long in the flame. Trans pink turns copper green to an olive color, so heavy layers of crystal vetrofond had to be used in order to protect the dots of copper green while keeping them fresh and vibrant looking. It took me about two days to get the exact look that I was after and I am very proud of this set of beads. I am going hate to ship them when the auction is over, BUT that's okay. . .I'll just have to make some more later. Maybe a small set for Marilyn's auction!!

James Allen Workman 1948 - 1989

Yesterday I had written about my father's life and posted it here. I decided to take the original post down. . .It's too much info and really, I wrote it because I felt that I needed to in order to really connect with his memory. It was therapy for me I guess. I kept it up overnight and that's enough.



Most of his life was filled with pain due to his illness. He was a good father and a loving man. He taught me many things and I am thankful for having him for the first 19 years of my life and now, I am thankful for the GOOD memories that he left with me.



He died in 1989. . .A year after receiving his transplanted heart his body continued to reject the new tissue and he passed away. The first few years were very difficult for me to get through. I grieved so hard and I felt so much guilt. . .Wishing that I'd done more for him while he was still living. . .Kicking myself for missed opportunities of spending time with him. I had to let him go for awhile in order to get past the grief. For years, I wouldn't allow myself to think of him much. When I did, I'd push his memory away. Now, his memory is back in the front of my mind again and the grief is as nearly as fresh as if he'd only been gone for a little while. I wish I had the strength to deal with losing him when I was younger so that I wouldn't have to revisit it again. Or, maybe what I am going through is normal. Maybe you never really get over losing a loved one.







The first picture is of my dad at age 12. . . He's the guy on the left in the next pic, my uncle is on the right. We were vacationing in Nags Head NC, which was my father's favorite place in the world. I'm the little girl in the background that didn't notice the camera. Looks like I just suffered a wipeout on my raft or something. I remember that day . .. It was a very good one.



The 3rd pic is of my dad at my Grandmother's house. It was taken years before he became so ill. He used to be a coach. . .He loved the children as much as he loved sports.

The last pic is my father in his last year of life. Obviously he is very ill in this one. My daughter Ashley is the baby that he is holding. I am so thrilled that two could meet before his passing.

Happy Father's Day Daddy. . .I miss you.

Ebay Error. . Roman Bath House

Last night when I listed this auction I was high on Pizza carbs. . .lol
This auction is actually for 24 beads, not 20. By the time I realized the error, I already had a bid so now I can't revise the auction. Sorry for the error!

Tribal art

I admire those artist who can find a style and stick with it for awhile. I try to do that but I get so incredibly bored that I have to constantly change direction. Lately, I haven't felt very challenged at the torch because I seem to have run out of ideas. The round beads that I have been doing lately are a great deal of fun to make but I think I need a little change, even if only for a minute.

Last night I received a spam email that had something to do with tribal art tattoos. While I don't have one, I have always admired them. The graphic nature of their design never fails to make me think. I like their dramatic look. While they tend to be whimsical, many still maintain a symmetrical balance that harmonizes with the overall design concept.

The email drew me in, hook, line and sinker and I had to visit the site to look at the art. As I sat there clicking through each photo, I couldn't help but to wonder what they would look like on a bead.

I think I found my next challenge, now I can only hope that I don't pull my hair out trying to figure out how to do it. lol

Newsletter

My newsletter list is really growing! Thank you to all that I have joined. I haven't sent one out in quite awhile but I do intend to do so very soon.

One of the reasons that I don't do it very often is because I don't want to feel like I'm spamming you guys with a bunch of emails. I also want to put something of interest in my newsletters and while I think my life is a wonderful one, it's not full of action.

Here's what I am thinking I'd like to do. . . Since many of you are jewelry makers by hobby, I think that I would like to start doing some tutorials on some of the jewelry that you see in my webstore. I am NOT at all guarded with my designs because I enjoy making the jewelry and I want to see more and more people enjoy the craft.

Beading and wire wrapping is a very soothing thing for me. As I've said before, I do it in my down time. I've created my share of "crap" in the past in efforts of finding my own personal style and what techniques create the most durable finished piece. I guess that's all a part of learning to make jewelry. So, if I can pass some of this along to some of you, it might save you a little time in trial and error.

Although I am no expert, I am pretty good at designing finished pieces. I've also been silver smithing for about two years. I'm fairly well versed in working with silver via cold connection too. I think that I want to start blogging a bit more about jewelry making. I would enjoy it and I hope that you will too. I also encourage you to ask as many questions here as you are comfortable in asking and I invite your comments if you have something special that YOU would like to share.

Recently I have been toying with some of my beads while they are up for auction. This is because I want to give a good illustration of what can be done with lampwork beads. You really don't need a ton of them in order to make a fantastic statement. . .

The picture above is a prime example of what I mean. While Egyptian Divinity was up for auction, I used the beads for this illustration. This design couldn't be more simple. Even if you are a beginner at wire wrapping, it's EASY. The design used 22 gauge half hard silver, domed disk bead caps, some large hammered jump rings (I made these but you can buy them in a lot of jewelry catalogs, if you do not do like to solder), 4 mm full hard jump rings, a lobster clasp and Thai silver charm. Not much of a materials list really and I think the design turned out great. I chose to use the hammered silver because I think it compliments the old world influence that inspired me to make the beads.

I didn't really want to go with a lot of "bling" for this one or even additional beads. I really wanted the lampwork to stand out and not be overstated by a bunch other stuff. I hated taking it apart but that's nothing new. I don't get the privilege of designing and selling finished pieces very often because my first love is in the making of the glass beads. Many of the sets that I list take a day to make. By that standard with the amount of time that I spend in my studio I should be able to produce at least 7 sets each week but it doesn't work that way for me. I am lucky to turn out 4 in a week. The rest of my time in the studio is spent screwing up. lol

Featured Artist for June, Annealer Mag

I am so excited to have been chosen for this month's featured artisan at the Annealer Magazine. Marilyn Peraza really has a way with words, the article is beautifully written and the layout is very nice. Thank you for the honor Marilyn & Staff!!

Cheesy bead set names . . .

I know the names come across a bit cheesy at times. If I could get by with it I would name them "Black and Ginger" beads or "Pink and Gray" beads. I suppose that would not be as much fun though. . .

I named this set "Egyptian Divinity" as a result of the influence that inspired the design. As a former muralist, I have done several Egyptian Tomb paintings. One of my favorites was of King Ramses tomb and it featured a life size depiction of "Isis". Her collar was turquoise, jade, gold and ivory and I thought it was just beautiful. I had always been intrigued by the headdresses, collars and jewelry worn by the Egyptian Deities as expressed in the tomb paintings. Anyway, that's a little info on the inspiration for this set of beads as well as a pretty good excuse for the cheesy name.

Guess I'd better go hit the torch. . . See ya again soon!!

Fairytales, Beads and Princesses

My inspiration comes mostly from memories of being a kid. Just like many before me, and after me, I aspired to be a princess when I grew up. I drew little pictures of princesses. . .They almost always had blond hair that fell around their feet and tall cone shaped Renaissance style hats with long flowing strings of silk that trailed behind her, gracefully blowing in the wind as she walked across the ballroom floor. (Don't know where the wind came from. I mean, she was in a ballroom during the Renaissance period and I am pretty sure that ventilation fans didn't exist in those days.)

The princess almost always had one single tear that fell from her eye, like Demi Moore in "Ghost". When asked by others as to why this single tear existed in the pictures, I always failed to offer a reason. I wasn't being stubborn, I quite simply did NOT know the answer.

Perhaps even as a child, I knew that with nobility came loneliness and sadness. . . A longing for something that their hearts were missing.

Living in a world where her dining room table is as long as a football field, she will never know what it's like to be arm's distance from the prince as he gazes into her eyes, holding her chin in his hand as he lovingly feeds her a chocolate dipped strawberry by candle light. She will never know what it's like to run barefoot through dew misted grass, or jump in mud puddles as the wet soil squishes up between her dainty little toes. Sadly, I am quite sure she'll never know what it's like to have several children pulling at her skirts as she kneads bread in her tiny kitchen on a warm Spring afternoon.

As a child, I envied her beautiful attire, perfectly groomed hair and sparkling jewelry. As an adult, I have decided to pay homage to her by making some beads that are well suited to be worn by her grace. . .