I need to give myself a kick to move back to my painting a little bit. I've been so immersed in learning and loving the intricacies of molten glass that I have virtually ignored any painting projects I had going. One of them is a painting of my son's friend Sara. I got as far as the sketch and there it sits, collecting dust and looking forlorn. So just to add a little pressure I thought I would post it here as a WIP (work in progress) so that I HAVE! to work on it.
The next step with this drawing is to paint the shadows with a mix or ultramarine blue and rose madder. That will mold the features of the face. I think I would be safe to make this a monthly post with the WIP, but I'm going to be optimistic and say weekly and see how it goes.

I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way...things I had no words for.
~Georgia O'Keefe

Read about Georgia O'Keefe

I finally got my tabs press from Zoozii's
today...Just about missed it too. Was just headed out the door and my buddy, the postman arrived. Don't you love getting parcels in the mail? Anyway, it's a very fun tool that I can use to make tabular shaped beads. I'm a little torn about using these presses. To me it takes away, to some extent, the artistic earthy hand crafted touch. They look a little too cookie cutter for my taste. However....they are FUN to use, and the beads just look yummy, delectable glossy little orbs.. like you should put them in your mouth. I'll post something tomorrow of what I made today...they are in the kiln right this moment.
This is a pic of a tabular that I pressed between my marver ( a paddle made of graphite) and a tile left over from a bathroom re-do.

It's a bluesy day here today and I am unsure whether or not I feel like firing the kiln up and torching some more or working on my website...which brought me to this spot. Blogging ...hmmm. Is it dying out or gaining speed? I think my concern with it is the comment section..we'll see how it goes. Not something I HAVE to continue. It's all about getting the work out there and moving my links around!
I spent very little time on the torch this morning before I burnt myself..stupidly, I might add. (Is there an intelligent way to burn yourself??) A little side note for anyone wanting to learn to lampwork~Hot glass looks just like cold glass.
I put together an awesome little necklace which I packaged up and am sending to my niece. It's made of tiny glass leaves and seed beads. The leaves are maybe an inch or so in length..I was very happy with how they came out. I mixed some colors..some amber and reds, so they have an autumn look. I'm a little stuck on amethest lately..that would've looked very hot in there as well. I'm going to have to make another one.
The auction on eBay is disappointingly static...one of the reasons I thought of blogging. So much work goes into those things and you end up with MAYBE 20 views. I do plan on getting a business card into circulation though, that may help as well...it's just a bluesy day like I said. I'll be in a better mood tomorrow!