Pat from Canvey's blog

Another tree bead

Here's my new tree now that I've got the camera sorted again. 4 "sides" of the same cylindrical bead about 21 x 15 mm. I was trying for a winter and autumn tree on each "side" of the cylinder.Winter treeWinter tree
First sideFirst side
Autumn treeAutumn tree
Second sideSecond side

One of Those Days

Ok, it's going to be another of those days. We've had 2 days of rain and the car wouldn't start this morning because the plugs are damp. I've used up all the battery trying to get it to start because I knew that if it didn't, I'd have to cycle to the doctors to put in a repeat prescription before the end of the week. Car still didn't start so the better news is that I didn't fall of my bicycle this time and managed the journey there and back in half an hour, including getting off the bike at every sharp turn so that I wouldn't fall off. The ride along the lake was really quite pleasant as the sun was shining.

Yellow Flower

Here it is, out of the vermiculite and it hasn't cracked. One petal in the centre has a small v in it but that's because the petal split when I picked it up but managed to put both halves on the flower. I used a cold tweezer instead of a warm one to grasp the petal which caused the split. This is my first flower but I've made flowers before using a type of bread dough and glue.
Yellow FlowerYellow Flower

Trying Different Things

I love to try different bead shapes and search for tutorials online. This bear is from Jim Kervin's book outlining the work of Sharon Peters. Wearing protective glasses to keep my eyes from deteriorating further, I find it difficult to distinguish colours sometimes so the bear has a dark brown head and a light brown body. Oh well, the next one I make will have to have a light brown head and dark brown body.
Cartoon Bear: Looking heavenwardsCartoon Bear: Looking heavenwards
The next two pictures are the same bead, different sides to prove that it is not symetrical.

Animal Beads

At the end of October, I posted a picture of my first pig bead. Since then, I've been impatiently waiting for my copy of Jim Kervin's book" The Wild and Wonderful World of Sharon Peters and her Silly Sculptural Shapes". I'd orderd it from Arrow Springs with another book but when the order arrived, Jim's Book wasn't in it. Anyway, now that I have it I've been inspired to work on some sculptural shapes, especially as someone ordered a pig shaped bead from me. I've now made another two so that she can choose which one she wants and here are their pictures.Piggy EvolvesPiggy Evolves

Another goddess

I had a hair appointment today at 9.00am and got back about 10.00. The house was quiet and the cats had been fed. There was no washing as Matt had been away for a few days so I decided to try another goddess. I'd already cut up some brown glass strips yesterday. I took my courage in both hands and lit the torch. Here's the front view,
Brown goddess frontBrown goddess front

and the back one
Brown goddess backBrown goddess back

and lastly the right side view
Brown goddess right sideBrown goddess right side

Goddess Bead

I found a goddess bead tutorial by Sarah J Schalken and wanted to try it out. I was very nervous knowing my previous experiences with the fish fins breaking off, but went ahead when the house was free from distractions so I could concentrate on trying to remember all the steps needed to create the Goddess. Here are some pictures of my first try.She's a little twisted, but knowing this, I can try to rectify this at the next try.Goddess Bead: Front viewGoddess Bead: Front view
I ran out of space on the mandrel to put on a head so had to create a seperate bead for this and take a guess at the correct size so that it would be in proportion with the head. The body at that time was immersed in vermiculite to slow down the rate at which the glass cooled and prevent cracking, so I couldn't compare the two together.

Fishes

I've got fed up with looking at that bunny and pig so here are two fish.
Green FishGreen Fish
I'm still having problems with them, keeping all of them hot while working on another part of the fish.

Blue FishBlue Fish
Consequently both fish lost their side fins, these being the thinnest and therefore the most difficult parts to keep hot without melting them in the torch. Both side fins are glued on with E6000 glue which is a high viscosity, clear glue for both glass and metal.

Is it a bad day

I threatened the stained glass bead bunny and here it is.Bunny?: Hung over bunnyBunny?: Hung over bunny

Here's a pig's head, made for John for obvious reasons. Surname Piggott.Pig: John's favourite.Pig: John's favourite.
I tried anyway and you don't learn if you don't try.

New Oxygen Concentrator

My oxycon I bought at the Essex Bead Fair last year was only delivering 2 litres of oxygen to my torch per minute so some of the paler colours were getting smoke damage and the torch was not throwing out enough heat to melt the glass quickly. So many of the different types require a constant flow of molten glass to achieve a smooth appearance without over cooking the bead. So I took the plunge and ordered a new concentrator from Creative Glass in Rochester, Kent. I had to wait a while as they only get deliveries every month from their parent company in Switzerland. They phoned Monday afternoon to say the concentrator had arrived so I drove across the Queen Elizabeth Bridge and the A2 to the Medway Industrial Estate where they are based.

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