Inactive.. until some inspiration flies by.

It's Monday.. again! The weekends just aren't long enough! I got in some torching time tonite but as far as I could tell it was all kak!! pretty fugly stuff. I'll have to go check when they get cool. I batch anneal so it only takes about 1/2 hour before it's safe to have a peek at them.

I've got this kitten. well, he's like a teenager now. Such a crazy bad boy! When he "found" us he was not more than 3-4 weeks old and was a sick little thing. The vet doctor said to be sure and keep him warm and hold him up by my chest. well.... was that a mistake! now he's big and he still thinks he can sleep there! furthermore, he hooks his paw inside my blouse and hangs on if I try to put him down!!

Ok..I'm off to see the beads. Maybe I'll share them with you if they're presentable!

and now... a year later

Well it took a few days (!) to get back! I've now been melting glass for just over a year. I'm starting to feel a bit more confident, but I can see it's an on-going life-long learning process. I am totally enjoying myself and am amazed at the colors that come out of every bead. Even the fugly ones are an amazing learning process. (and some are made just to see how really fugly I can make 'em!)

I've decided to try to make this a daily thing, she said.. LOL! Yesterday I hung my hose up, which is connected to my hothead torch. The darn thing was sputtering and smelling like garlic from the additive in the propane. So, everything got put back together today. I'm anxious to try it out. I hope it's going to be a smoother flame. And if it isn't I'll be contacting the folks at http://www.hotheadsource.com which I probably should have done in the beginning. ok.. we'll see how it all goes. So, enjoy the pics on the right in the slide show. I'm off to try the torch.

See you tomorrow! Oh yea, it's President's Day. but we're all working at the print shop.

Another beautiful day in Paradise!

Good Morning!!! Another (ho, hum) Beautiful day in Maui!! The sun, the sea, the birds singing, the cat making trouble next door...
It's been awhile and thought it was time for an update. Took a few more creations down to the shop.
The set at left includes Sodalite and Picture Jasper with sterling findings. Bracelets have magnetic clasps.

I decided to start my new venture of lampworking on November 24! I'm so excited and thought long and hard about setting up my "studio"!! I got some starter glass rods and to begin with. Sat down to the table and anxiously (but really scared) cranked on the gas and lit the torch! woohoo!!! geez, my heart was beating a mile a minute! But I did it!! Just dove right in and haven't looked back since! Had a great time "burning" in the practice sessions, so to speak! I won't show you those beads!

For the past couple months I've been working hard at practicing my lampworking. In the very beginning I got so frustrated trying to get the "round" bead... I had to take a couple weeks off. It was good and came back with a fresh outlook. I'm still working at it, but I've also decided that it's ok to have a different look, a "freeform" look!! (will show & tell those at a later date!)

So... here's a few samplings
Off to town. Have a great day!!!

More new earrings!

It's almost Christmas and I'm frazzled just thinking there's only 1 WEEK left!! yikes!... I decided to get a few more earrings down to the shop just before the big day… hoping someone needs that last-minute gift!  ALL ITEMS ARE SOLD.

New bracelets and earrings!

The jewelry I've been making has been going in a store in Pa‘ia — Sand & Sea. Paia is a little surf town on the windward side of Maui, on the way to the famous surf spot, Ho‘okipa. It's a great shop full of island crafts and amazing wood carvings from Indonesia ranging in size from a few inches up to feet wide and tall. The owner, Kathy Irwin, is a friend and fellow co-worker at the print shop. She helps out a few days a week! She's graciously accepted to display and sell my wares at her shop. All items are sold.

Fused pendants

Last year I took an introductory kiln-formed glass class, taught by Joshua Cox, at Hui Noeau in Makawao. Here are my results from the 2-day class. I decided to scan them on different backgrounds to show the different colors. Some are dichroic which only shows on a dark background. While everyone else was making tiles and dishes, I was busy tinkering with scraps! Well, I did make an attempt at a bowl... the poor thing is just too embarassed to be shown in public!



I had such a great time and it was so interesting to see that the results were not always as expected! (nor really pleasant!) ugh! but that's the way melting glass flows... or something like that :-)

Anyway... I'm really excited to get going with my new-to-me kiln! Thank you Ellen Vinson! She also turned me on to a bunch of scrap glass and a great amount of lampworking equipment. (live fire was not her thing!) In her "donation" of goodies was a Fireworks torch head, mandrels, pick/rake, bead release, stainless table protector with a torch mount connector thingy!, and cool nerdy safety glasses(!). Woohoo!!! Wow.. I am so grateful Ellen! THANK YOU!

And... I just got an order of glass rods I ordered off the internet! They are soooo purdy!!! Can't wait to melt those buggars! So, now... the assignment is.. and I eagerly accept it… to create SPACE!! and get moving. Soon! I'm starting to go nuts studying everyone's lampworking on the net! I'm beginning to feel like a stalker!
ok, then...
A hui ho! Until we meet again!