Sunday, December 18, 2005

Happy Holidays!





'Tis the season for holiday parties, crowded shopping centers and ELECTROFORMING! I've been experiencing all three to the excess lately. Hey, I'm not complaining. Here is a festive Holly leaf electroform I made for a fellow beadmaker - Larry Scott. It's in his "non-collection" now.

I am very excited for the new year - no, really! I am taking a silversmithing class from Barrie Edwards in Victoria, Canada (it's only a couple of hours away from Seattle), another trip to Italy is on the horizon in May. This one will include both glass (with Larry Brickman) and jewelrymaking (with Kendra Bruno of Trovataonline.com). I've been wanting to learn metalsmithing and jewelry making. Sometimes the opportunities are just there if you look for them! I will definitely be offering more beads and finished jewelry on my site.

I have some other exciting news - one or more of my beads was accepted into Deanna Griffin-Dove and Brad Pearson's upcoming book called "Art of Beadmaking". It's a look back at some of the best beads of 2005. There will be such talent showcased in this book and I'm proud to be included. I think the book is going to be a definite "must have".

I got a new torch this week - the Carlisle Mini CC. Gotta hook it up and play. It's a bit nippy in the garage studio these days. Yesterday morning, it was 41 degrees when I turned on the heater, kiln and oxygen concentrator. It warmed up to 58 degrees by the end of my torching session - brrrr! With happy-birthday-to-me money, I also got some new presses and other tools. Look for new shapes that will go well on necklaces and bracelets soon!

Off for a day of last minute shopping - which is an annual occurance no matter how early I start. Have a great day! (Ivy electroform - silver blacked on a pendant form - reminds me of Lord of the Rings for some reason.)