I had made several beads of this kind in yellow, purple and blue. All were hopelesly stuck to the mandrels. This owl was the only survivor.
Note to self: Do not dip mandrels in overly watered down bead release.
I’ll have to give it a go again, my how I loved these beads. At least this little blue one made it safely off the mandrel.
Available for sale at my Etsy Shop or you may inquire at francesca@francescadecaire.com.
Available for sale in my Etsy shop or you may inquire via email.
I’ve always had a bit of trouble staying focused. When I’m lampworking I tend to jump from one design idea to the next. Sometimes wonderful creative beads are born. Working without a plan is my true nature. Experimenting is part of the process. On the downside, most beads made during one of my whirl wind brainstorms don’t make it to my online shops. They go straight to my misfit pile for First Friday or the Flea. Mainly because they are beads I consider to be under developed, not fully mature in their concept. Therefor I choose not to photograph them. This is both a good and bad thing. Lately I feel I need more structure.
My temporary solution is to stick with a consistent shape. Out of my 4 Zoozii presses, the nugget trio is my favorite. I seldom get frustrated when making pressed beads with my nugget trio. I’m going to work with this press daily for two weeks. With the exception of a few large hole beads here and there to practice using my Impress Bead Liner.
Oh, I almost forgot. Let me introduce you to a new pair of my smallest tapered square/nugget beads. They are decorated with colorful twist cane. This is the style I have committed to make for two weeks.
Color:
• White, red, blue, & yellow
Approximate dimensions:
• 13mm × 7mm
• 2.5mm hole
Color:
• Purple, Periwinkle, & white
Approximate dimensions:
• 15mm × 9mm
• 2.5mm hole
Quantity:
• 1 bead
Color:
• translucent blue
Approximate dimensions:
• 26mm × 22mm (widest points)
• 9mm thick
• 2.5mm hole
Quantity:
• 12 Beads
Color:
• Translucent blue and green
Approximate dimensions:
• 13mm × 13mm
• 7mm thick, tapers to edge.
• 2.5mm holes
Just dug up another old photo of the widow bead prototypes. I really hope I return to the lapidary workshop someday to make more beads of this nature.
Not being able to make beads is KILLING me… I need better ventilation before I can return to working on the torch. Being pregnant is a real good wake up call. I need to avoid those harmful fumes.
Set of six Moretti glass beads.
Dimensions:
• About 11mm × 13mm
• The beads in the center are a bit larger, 12mm × 14mm
• 2mm hole
Here is a series of beads that are inspired by the herb wormwood, a fragrant plant with an intriguing history. Used as an ingredient of green absinth which Van Gogh drank nightly at local taverns in France, it induced visions that inspired his vivid, swirling paintings.
1.
As the glass begins to melt my mind wanders again. Vincent’s letters have made a deep impression upon my mind and I can’t stop thinking about his genius and what inspired him. Wormwood grows in my mother’s garden. She told me that it was the hallucinatory ingredient in absinth. I wonder, how much did it come into play in Vincents art? I turn the mandrill as the hot green glass flows like liquid down my throat.
2.
Gazing through the green part of the torch flame, absinth colored glass melts on the mandrel and a shadowy, dark figure appears. Perhaps, as the story goes, Gauguin is stalking Van Gogh as he walks to the tavern in Arles.
3.
With the help of absinth Van Gogh overcomes all inhibitions. He sets up his easel under the hot Provence sun. He is finally going to use red the way he really wants. Scarlet paint is applied in a bold swath, right in the center of the canvas. It bleeds behind roiling cumulus clouds only to swim through and reappear under transparent layers of umber and lavender.
4.
“Why do you have to outline everything in black like a child’s drawing?” Gauguin is screaming again. Vincent was excited at first, when his friend from Paris joined him, but they are having yet another heated argument over technique. For Vincent painting is all passion flowing straight from his heart, but Gauguin is all intellect. Vincent sets down his palette knife and huddles in a patch of the strange silvery weed growing in the rock cliffs.
My mother was photographing crocuses in salt shakers and asked if I would make a small vessel for her. Here she is wearing experimental green glass. I’m very happy with the results. It’s a shame I don’t make these more often – and yes, I do refer to my glass items as a he or she.