Wednesday, August 17, 2011

BHBs - what are BHBs?

BHBs = Big Hole Beads. 

Please, no puns.

These beads will fit on any Pandora style charm bracelet.  They are made on a 5/32" mandrel, blanketed then batch annealed for durability (like all my other beads), then cleaned with a diamond reamer.  Want to see some?

The majority of the above beads are made with silvered glass - this gives them the streaky, multi-coloured effect. 

I enjoy making these beads.  No, really!  They're small, take a short amount of time to make, and sets are SO much easier to do with these little ones than larger beads.

Monday, August 15, 2011

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

It's coming together!

My website is actually coming together nicely.  I've added a FAQ page that I have asked people for their input on, an 'About the Artist' page with a few details about how I got into the lampworking scene, and a 'Lampwork 101' page that goes over some of the basic tools of the trade and what they can be used for.

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Saturday, July 9, 2011

Been a while...

It HAS been a while since I last updated, and I apologize for that.  After I finished the SFU's PDP last year, I went into over-drive in trying to find employment in one of the local school districts.  No excuse, I know, for not doing anything creative.  However, my hard work paid off and I was hired on by Langley as a TOC (Teacher On Call) and actually lucked out enough to land a part-time continuing position as a Computer Explorations teacher at one of the nearby schools.  

 

What does any of this have to do with doing glass work?

 

Nothing.

 

It does, however, have a lot to do with NOT doing glass work.  Teaching, please remember, has been a passion of mine LONG before glass was.

 

That being said, it's also SUMMER!  Summer means that I am out of work (though I did get picked up for another contract in September), and chomping at the bit for creativity!

 

Nathan and I have been working on the outside of our place when the weather is good and we are able to sock away some time together to get stuff done around here.  We have already put up a new gate (the old one was falling apart).  We are putting in a garden area just inside the front gate, put up new fencing around the area the llamas and donkey will be most likely to get their lips around something from the garden, new steps to the sliding glass door, planters, planters, planters...you get the picture, right?  I snapped a couple quick pictures of the first two planters I put together.  I'm pretty happy with the results.  I'm a big fan of colour - bright and bold, if possible. 

I've also been able to get some torching done recently.  Are these all the beads that I've done?  Heck no!  I haven't had a chance (or the enthusiasm) to get outside and take a bunch of glamour shots of my glass work since I got back into the swing of things.  No worries, gentle readers, I will be posting more and more pictures as the summer months progress.  For now, please enjoy some eye candy...

I've found a great affection for Double Helix's silvered glass.  It's expensive, but it does the NEATEST things, especially if used sparingly.