BTW - Switching Gears

Bead Table Wednesday and this time without a lot of words. I have an awful cold and I can't write without talking to myself and this cold is making it oh so difficult to speak. And yes, I was that kid in primary school who got in trouble for reading books out loud during quiet reading. Mrs Peterson, I still read out loud, usually at home, mostly recipes, and never in airports.

I've switched to bronze this week. That's a little pile of new, mostly autumn inspired, bronze pieces. That's what they look like after the clay is dry and I've gone in and cleaned them up. Looks a little like ginger snaps to me. I have no idea why every thing in my studio reminds me of food. But it does and I think it best not to probe too deeply into the deep recesses of my mind.

Here's a few of those same pieces fresh out the kiln. Ugly. They come out all crusty and quite unappetizing.

Wire brush, tumbler, patina bath, buffing, sealing, and Voila! Finished pieces. Now I am off to find a box of tissues and listen to the kiln click on and off as the next batch fires. Sniff Sniff Snuffle

And maybe I will click this picture to go check out what's happening in other peoples beady worlds this week.

On a wing and a prayer and the big C

Finally, I feel satisfied with these little bronze pieces. I've been working on them for a while.  I love these little birdies.  I saw these plump little beauties out my back door all summer and fall. They were feasting on the bird feeder just outside my studio window. They looked wren like but so big compared to the house wrens I am familiar with. They have the most beautiful song. A little internet search and there they were. The mystery of the large plump wren. I present the Carolina wren, at least my version of one. My new studio friend.

The nest with a single egg fairly flew off my pen to paper when I first heard the fantastic news that I will have a new grand baby at the end of June. It's a celebration of the gift of life that babies bring. By the way, it is a boy that we will be greeting and loving into this world.

A 'wing and a prayer' is a phrase that I often turn to in times when I am having a hard time navigating life.  But I never really knew where it came from. A little research and I find that it comes from a British song/poem about a WWII fighter plane coming home after a mission on a single engine, ..'we are coming in on a wing and a prayer...' It means essentially that I may not be operating at my optimum but I'm getting the job done.

In fact, I haven't been operating on all my engines lately. You know, I'm pretty much getting there. I'm making it home.  But the results of all of those medical tests that came about after this year's physical are not all that fantastic. Yep, it is the big C. I have breast cancer. It will require surgery soon and most likely chemo and radiation therapy. I so debated whether or not to share that on this blog. But then this blog is about the intersection of my studio with my life and .... well this one is a biggy that is going to spill over into most everything I do.

But I do feel a little like that bunny. For me bunnies are a symbol of spring, of the beginning of summer. I remember watching them as a child hopping through the back garden at dusk. I loved going out there and quietly watching them being busy foraging for their dinner. Usually that was my mothers vegetable garden. She did not share the same affection I had for the little fellows.

Spring is just around the corner.....Spring is a new beginning and I'm ready for a new beginning.

New Stuff, An Invitation, and Thank You

There haven't been nearly enough beads on this blog lately. Well, really since we moved to North Carolina there haven't been enough beads. Settling in and all has distracted me.  I've been working away on some new things. Like the little bronze acorn and pine cone. The oak leaf is a re-work of an old design. It's modeled on the pin oak that line the street I live in. They are protected in my street because I live in a historic preservation neighborhood and these pin oaks were part of the original landscape design. Thank goodness! Pin oaks are one of the most beautiful of all the oaks, at least I've always thought so. I'm so happy you can't chop them down willy nilly.

I've been working on setting little gemstones into some of my bronze pieces. A bit fiddly, but I love the sparkle that these add to designs that feel so comfortable and familiar to me.

Since we moved here, I've changed the porcelain that I use. I'm using one by High Water Clay which is in Asheville. It's almost local. Well it's only a couple hours away and it's oh so nice to have an excuse to go to Asheville.  I'm quite smitten with the glaze on these pieces. It's a formerly poopy glaze on the old porcelain. Unfortuntely,  two really spectacular glazes on the old porcelain are now poopy. But I'm working on it.

Now for the invitation. I've thought about this for some time and am just now getting around to doing it. I've opened up a Facebook page to let you all know when I've got new things available. Because I recognize that I am frankly quite dreadful about letting anyone know when things become available. Some of you have even asked if I have an email list or some such thing so that you could know about shop updates. No email list (yet). So here's a link to my Facebook Page, Summers Studio Beads.

There are even some previews of work that's going to be available this week. I'll let you know when I list things in my shop. There's a bunch of stuff ready to go and I like being able to just list it all at once. Sometime this week, at an undisclosed time, I will be listing a bunch of stuff. Undisclosed because not even I know when that will be. I'm still working on getting things ready.

And thank you all for your very generous support regarding my mother's passing. It's been an emotional upheaval but we are all coping in our own ways. I haven't been able to get back to each of you. But please know that I feel deep gratitude to each of you for your warmth and oh, so generous caring.

The Art of Happiness

" I believe that the very purpose of our life is to seek happiness. That is clear. Whether one believes in religion or not, whether one believes in this religion or that religion, we all are seeking something better in life. So, I think, the very motion of our life is towards happiness…" the Dalai Lama

One of the things I do each day, and often several times, is to give gratitude for the things in my life that bring me happiness. Sometimes those are large things but quite often they are small things. Little things that might go unnoticed if I let them pass me by.

I finished this necklace as part of the LMAJ Art Spark this month. I started it quite a while ago. The challenge this month is to create something that expresses what makes you happy. As I thought about it, I realized that at the core of my happiness are these small pauses I take in my day to acknowledge those things around that I am grateful to have in my life.

This bead has been sitting on my work table for months. I've always loved this bead and just could never commit to putting in any one piece. It was a gift from Kelley several years ago.  I've never met Kelley except through our blogs but I've shared friendship with Kelley through our blogs just as I've shared friendship with you. This bead has found a home as a reminder of the gratitude I feel for friendship and its place in my own happiness.

I'm not sure why, but lately the small details in life are the things that give me the most happiness. Itty bitty things like noticing a finch at my feeder or the look on my old dog Bob's face when I give him a deep rub on his stiff neck, the song of the cicada, the taste of fresh figs. All small things that might pass me by.

The focal for this necklace is a bronze medalion with the mantra "om mani padme hum." I often chant this mantra as it centers me. Lord, knows, there are lots of times when I need to center myself. I don't actually do a formal meditation each day. The truth is that I'm actually rather bad at that. I do sort of spread my meditation out through the day in small pauses. I'm not sure that it matters if you call it prayer, meditation, or sauntering through the woods like Thoreau, but pausing to give gratitude has been the greatest source of happiness in my life.

This necklace is a gift to myself, it' a reminder to pause, to experience, to feel the source of my own happiness.

And speaking of happiness, we are making some progress on resolving the kiln issue.  In fact that makes me enourmously happy. Thank you all for the support you've given me when I had my little rant the other day. I've heard from lots of you and I'll give you an update soon. I've also had quite a few inquiries about selecting a kiln and avoiding this problem. I'll write something up soon, promise. Meanwhile feel free to contact me.

Slaying Dragons

It's been a long, tough week. But looking up at those bronze pieces all ready to get polished up makes me happy. Makes me feel like something good got done besides dealing with dragons.

I made myself another bracelet this week. The bronze button on it was one I made a while ago for no particular reason. I'm really liking leather these days. I think it's bringing out the Xena Warrior Princess in me but minus the leather corset. I really don't have the figure for it and besides it seems much too hot a garment for the summer weather.

It's a pretty simple bracelet. Just a double strand of leather, button, lampwork bead, wrapped three times.It's a simple piece.  I think I needed a little simple.

Did you ever wonder if I might make any cermaic pieces again? Me too. That's where the slaying dragons comes in. I have this wonderful new stoneware clay. It's quite a departure from what I might normally use in my designs. I've been wanting to try out some new ideas and a few months ago decided to buy a new small kiln. A smaller kiln would allow me to do some testing and have a quicker turn around on results. I could do special orders more easily. Lots of reasons really why I wanted this.

I carefully researched kilns, firing specifications, wiring specifications, even did testing on the wiring in my studio to be sure that it met the specifications of the kiln. I decided on a model from a manufacturer who has a very good reputation. I have one of their kilns and it's been a good kiln. One that I like very much. I bought from a ceramics supplier that I use much of the time. I trusted these people.


I've lost most of two loads in my brand new kiln. It works but it does not actually fire to the temperatures that are specified by the manufacturer and the supplier. It comes close but not close enough. It's been a week of back and forth between the supplier, manufacturer, and myself. It's been pretty awful with both the manufacturer and the supplier indicating that the problem is mine. That I do not have the optimum electrical supply that this kiln would require. By the way, no one else in the US does either. It's summer, voltage drops, etc, I won't get into the specifics. The kiln does not reliably operate in the range that it should and even the manufacturer sort of admits this.

We may or may not be making some progress on this. It's been exhausting. There's been this niggling feeling that being a woman is not helping out here. Ceramics for many years was dominated by men, especially when it came to the technical side of thing like kilns. I thought we'd gone past that. But no, only when I put my husband on the phone did we begin to take even a tiny shuffle in any direction like progress. That's quite depressing. But the problem has still not been resolved. I feel like I am slaying dragons and desperately wishing that Xena might show up to give me a hand.

I could go on at length in this mini rant of mine. I don't usually rant on this blog. But just this once it feels quite good let some of this out. So thank you for taking the time to listen just a little bit.

Do you see that little bird up there on our feeder? It's a cardinal. They visit me every day. Today I'll be in my studio getting out some clay and watching for these little fellows to come by and pay a visit. They make me happy. They help me to keep life in perspective.

Easy Peasy

Erin Siegel recently shared a tutorial on bracelets made with a bead closure, waxed linen, and a link. You can find it here. I loved the idea. So simple and fun and really quite elegant in its simplicity.

And easy, except for the part where I tied knots in two strands of leather and had to force the leather through the beautiful glass beads by Julianna, and I didn't have a bead that was right for the closure. But really all together too easy once I worked things out.

After several minutes (maybe 30 or so) of frustration trying to fit the round peg in the square hole, a light bulb went on. Probably all of you have had this particular light bulb on for several years. So you can go ahead and snicker if you like. But do it quietly OK :-) Yep, that's it. A pair of sissors and a couple of deft clips and that leather slid right through the bead holes.  My knotting technique still needs some serious improvement.

I'm feeling pretty pleased with the closure on this. It's one of my bronze bead caps that I dapped a little too vigorously and bad things happened to the hole in it and the edges went a little wonky. I love when I can save something that was destined for the rubbish bin. I really like how the leather loop kind snugs up under the bead cap. I've had this bracelet on all day. I am never taking it off. Well maybe I'll take it off to shower. But otherwise, never ever.

Thanks, Erin for this great idea. I'm making another one for a special person. Mostly because when that special person comes to visit this fall, I know for sure that if I don't, she will be wearing this one on her way home.

My Bronze Garden

A little while ago I talked about how the garden and all the green and growing things has rather captured my soul since we moved here to North Carolina. I've had little bits and bobs of drawings and doodles of those garden things that take my fancy. Things like new leaves on plants, tomato blossoms, and coreopsis seed heads. Just this last week some of those ideas have taken root and come out in the studio work. I'm rather pleased :-). I like it a lot when things come together in my little world.

Head pins and bead caps in bronze. Small things. Until very recently I wouldn't have thought to venture down this path. But it seemed right and a perfect way to express the tiny little wonders growing out there.

Some things won't make the cut. Others will stay. The head pins all have fired in bronze wire. I'm used to working with brass. Brass is  kind of a stiff and sometimes challenging metal to work with in wire wrapping. Bronze wire is all together different. Much softer and a much softer colour. I made really long wires because I really hate when you are working with a head pin and you have to work so hard to get that last bit of wrapping done. Oh and I love the size of the ball ends. I can't draw a bead with a torch that size and they stay bronze colour rather than coppery red.

Totally unrelated and very important is the happy dance we are doing about our old boy Bob. We just got news this evening that his congestive heart failure has been resolved. No evidence at all on his Xrays that he's got heart problems. This is the vey best news!

That look on his face is ecstacy. Peter is giving him a bit of a neck and shoulder massage. He's still got terrible arthritis down his spine but manages pretty well. Now please someone, nearly anyone, come give me a massage.

Alice is a naughty girl

These bronze pieces have nothing to do with naughty Alice. She begged to have a cameo on my blog and we'll get to that later.

I've been working with bronze nearly everyday this week and decided that I might just make myself something. It started with the pendant which has the first mantra I learned on it. Om Mani Padme Hum in Tibetan script. I've taken some liberties with the script and placed the parts vertically.

Sometimes this mantra gets translated as Behold the Jewel in the Lotus. But when I learned it, it wasn't translated at all. It's just a beautiful set of sounds that I find very centering. I can hear it in my head and it is amazing when chanted as a group.

It will be a necklace someday. But I keep adding parts to it. I've found this really soft but strong goat skin leather that I think I'll use in it. I've got more beads for it in the kiln right now. Who knows what will get added next. This necklace seems something like meditation for me. It's a process, it's where ever I am at the moment. It's become quite centering all by itself.

Even though the heat has kept me mostly inside this week, I've still been making a few forays into the garden. The one and only tomato plant is making me smile. I can almost taste the fruit that is still weeks away from ripening. There are 16 tomatoes on this plant in various stages.

I know this because Peter has been out there counting them. Amazing. I've never experienced him being this interested in what's happening out there in the garden. But when you've only got one tomato plant it's pretty easy to indulge yourself in monitoring it with the vigilence of a parent and a new born baby.

Just a few short weeks ago this tomato plant was a tiny little thing. It's grown about a foot a week. Makes me wonder what's in the soil. Or makes me think of this story I heard in primary school, only it's kind of a hazy memory. Something about atomic seeds and plants that grow into the sky. Maybe I'm making that up. I just asked Peter and he has no clue what I'm talking about. He thinks I'm maybe embellishing on Jack in the Bean Stalk. Anyway, maybe I have atomic soil?

This is Alice. Does she look naughty? Some of you may recall the Mystery of the Missing Glove in which she played a star role. Well she is once again on my bad list. This morning she took a romp through my tiny little garden and wiped out half of the carrots and all of the rutabaga. Naughty, naughty girl, and I was even going to share carrots with her. She loves carrots. How could she do this. BAD DOG!

Have a lovely weekend everyone!

I'm going to get up early tomorrow and plant more carrots.

BTW- bead cheater episode

I'm having a minor (umm, major) obsession with making bronze beads these days. And I really never get tired of dragonflies.

So what about that cheating thing? Well, I made these beads thinking about the bracelet that I made with a bronze flower bead.  Only when I got them done I thought oh my, wouldn't they look nice as pendants? That tube shaped one on the upper left especially. I just wanted it to be a very simple pendant with a heavy bail. I can make ball end head pins but I really didn't want to see a little knobby thing at the bottom. I could have made a flat end head pin sort of rivet style out of heavy gauge wire. But all of that tedious working it out with my hammer was not meeting the needs of my miss imapatient, gotta do it now self.

So here's my cheater solution to a heavy gauge flat end head pin.

With an 18 gauge piece of wire, I made a very gentle little bend in about a quarter of the way from the end. The wire is probably about 8 inches long. I started a little spiral of wire with the shorter end of the wire.

On the flip side, longer wire section, I went back in with a round nose pliers and centered up the piece of wire that will go up through the bead.  In the second photo you can see the top side of the head pin.

 

I put the whole thing into my cheapo vise from Harbor Freight and and hammered the spiral flat.

The bottom of the bead.

Notice how I actually cheated twice? You didn't really get to see much of my bead table at all. It's very messy. Lots of little snippets of wire lying about.

I'd love to see what's on your bead table. Even if it is piled high and even if you cheat too and just show me the pretties :-)

BTW

Yeah! I cleared a little spot off on my very messy bead table!!!! And I made some bronze things.

In fact I made a couple of kiln loads of bronze things. I even have some new ideas. To tell the honest truth, I was starting to feel like I might never have a creative impulse again.

What's on your bead table? I'll be around shortly to have a look. But first I've got to get some of these goodies into the kiln.

BTW - A nearly clean slate!

Heather Powers of Humble Beads, created this wonderful idea of showing what's on your bead table on Wednesdays.  These are bronze pieces I just pulled out of the kiln late last night. They've been tumbled and are patiently waiting for me to come in and put patina and other goodness on them to make them all shiny and pretty.

Often late to the party, this is my first time posting my bead table. But I have a very good excuse. Until Sunday night I couldn't actually see my bead table because it was shockingly buried in piles of things that the chaos creator in me refused to acknowledge as an unsightly disgraceful mess.

I spent much of Saturday and all day Sunday sorting, organizing, cleaning and generally grumbling to myself that I should do this more often. Like clean up after myself every day. Look at that would you. Vast expanses of useable space! A virtual paradise of tidiness. It's a clean slate and I vow to keep it this way. I've even picked up after myself 2 days in a row. Mum would be so proud.

This is the piece that came out of the kiln that I am most pleased about. (Never mind the carbon buried under my thumb nail) It's a bead that did not collapse. Yeah! Now if I could just get the shot from the tumbler out of it so it's more of bead than a rattle, life would be nearly complete.

Happy Wednesday!

What's on your bead table?