I should really blog more often.
Because when I don't, I end up with too many things to say, and I don't know what to say first, so I procrastinate some more, and then I end up with even more things to say. So, I guess this is gonna be a really long post. Brace yourself.
Where do I begin? I've been torching obsessively lately. I know I say that all the time, but these past few weeks I've been sort of hyper-productive. I'm spending so much time on the torch, I don't even know if it can be called "a healthy obsession" anymore. I can't go for a whole day without making beads! I'm making so many that I put some "buy-it-nows" on some of my e-Bay auctions, for the first time - just to make room for more auctions. Do I need to see a shrink?
A few weeks ago, I sort of lost interest in Satake. The colors are great and all, BUT... I was beginning to feel too limited in what I can do with it. One day I tried adding some metal foils to the beads to spice things up, but when I opened the kiln the next morning, I discovered all the beads had cracked for some reason. Yep, ALL of them. Argh. But what was really starting to annoy me, is that while the colors are so beautiful, very few of them are truly opaque. Most of the colors in the "opaque" category are translucent to one degree or another. So when you layer them on top of eachother, they all blend into eachother - as you may have noticed if you've seen my Satake beads. It's a cool effect, for variation once in a while, but I was really missing a little thing called contrast. Obviously, there are ways of getting the contrast - the Japanese beadmakers sure manage to do it somehow. I feel like I still have a lot to learn about this glass - and I really hope to do that someday. But in the meantime, I had to put it aside and move on to other things.
So I was making lots more of my long tube beads, playing around with different materials and effects, trying to see how long I could go without the bead exploding or something - fun! And then one day, just a couple of weeks ago I guess, I came up with my new "liquid" design. It started out as an ordinary tube bead - I make them by layering on different colors of glass, then swishing everything around, and then rolling it into a tube. At one point I had a bead on my mandrel that was only half-rolled, with the top part left... ummm... swishy? And I thought it looked kinda cool, so I decided to keep it that way. Then I made about a million more of them.
One good thing that came from my work with the Satake, is a major improvement in my murrini-making skills. So this style incorporates lots of those.
I'm really happy with them!
Okay. So I made a million of those. Then, last weekend, I went with Orr (AKA Orrza) to visit Amnon and Robyn in Jerusalem, at their house which I call Elbazland. (Yes, I actually went outside!) Elbazland is sort of like Disneyland for glass enthusiasts - they've got it all. And they are also some of the nicest people I know. So, it was a really fun day. I got to play with boro for the first time! That was quite an experience... I don't know how boro-people can stand to work with this stuff. The results can be breathtakingly beautiful, but it just takes so much patience - which I really don't have, sigh. Boro is the exact opposite of Satake; it is 'hard glass' and melts VERRRY slowly. I made my first boro pendant, and it took a million years. Yes, a million. When I started working on it, I swear I could see dinosaurs walking around just outside the window.
And then a million years later, the stupid thing cracked.
See kids, this is what happens when you think you can get away with not annealing your glass properly. Even if it is boro.
Here's a funny shot of me working on the monster torch, taken by Orr. I wish I'd got a shot of those dinosaurs. They were really something. I don't think the camera was invented yet back then though.
Once again, I have a lot to learn about this glass. I hope I will someday. I've heard rumors that really cool stuff can be done with it, once you learn how to work it properly. Someday.
But anyway, I came home all inspired, and the next day I decided to try something new - wig-wag cane! What the hell is a wig-wag, you ask? Don't worry, I was also unfamilliar with the term until I saw one in a magazine a few weeks ago. A wig-wag is like a twistie, but instead of twisting the glass quickly in one direction, you twist it back and forth in both directions, letting it cool between twists, to make a sort of wavy zig-zag pattern. Then I realized wig-wags were everywhere, and I had just never noticed them before - well, mainly in boro pendants and marbles and pipes and stuff. For a while there, I thought making them with soft glass on a torch would be impossible, so I didn't bother trying... until I finally built up the courage. Turns out, with a little patience, practice and persistence (are those the official PPPs, or did I just make that up?) - it can be done! Woohoo!
How cool are these?
*pats herself on the back*
Then, of course, I made some beads with them.
And then I made some more wig-wags, and then I made some more beads with those.
And that's pretty much what I did all week.
For the past couple of days, I've been working on yet another new design. This one also incorporates something I was doing with Satake - building up the bead as lengthwise strips of color, and then melting and twirling and melting and twirling until they all twist around eachother. Here's a little sneak preview.
This one cracked, sadly - but many more are on the way. These are a lot of fun. I've been using lots of sparkly stuff in them - dichro and silver mesh - and loving the results.
And I guess that just about sums it up. If you've read this far, you're probably sick of hearing about me, so here is some other stuff you should see:
Orr, boro artist and apparently, renaissance man (who knew?) has a new website: http://www.orrza.com
My friend Gila has one too, and it's about time! Check out her awesome illustration portfolio at http://www.gilakaplan.com.
Anakin, marble maker extraordinaire, has a new Etsy shop - and if you like marbles, or if you like glass, or if you just like round stuff - trust me, you need one of these. I have three now, and they are the best marbles ever.
Oh, and if you haven't seen the gorgeous jewelry I got as a gift from the talented and generous Christine, please do check it out.
Okay. Stop complaining, I told you this was going to be long.
I gotta go get the sleeping thing out of the way, so I can make more beads.
So good night, thanks for reading - and I will see you again soon. I promise.
(I think I may have said that last time. Shhh, don't tell anyone.)
Hi Sarah,
I'm so glad you blogged. I immediately bid on one of your beads...the red/orange and was outbid! I bid on another tho, so I'm hopeful!! I love the long irregularly shaped ones and the darker jewel tones. Yum. I'll keep trying if I don't get this one. Thanks for your comments on my flickr...I'm pcbysusan.
Keep blogging...it's so fun to read about all of your processes and how you come up with your gorgeous work!
Susan
Reply to this
Hey Susan, Thanks so much!
So glad you like my work.
Thank you for the bids!
Reply to this
Wow!
Some amazing work Sarah - as always. I love the murrini, and the wigwags, and... and... all of it! If I ever get the chance to visit Tel Aviv (I have always wanted to) I'm definately calling in!! it would be fantastic to see you in action - for real.
Some time ago I bought some fabulous boro (I love boro as well!!)pendants from Orr, and vaguely wondered if you may know him as you are both in Israel!! I thought I was being daft and that it is a huge place so the chances of that were slim - and hey presto!! you are friends!!
Thanku for the lovely comments again!! and link to my (pathetic!!) website, which is still under construction (I think I will leave that there for ever as it excuses my lack of webby skills HaHa!! - if anyone does check it out
I'm just off to check out Gila and Anakin-(already checked Orr's photos and music - very talented indeed!!)
take care
Reply to this
Thanks Chris!
Yep, Israel is a pretty small country with a pretty small lampworking community... everyone pretty much knows everyone. I met Orr online - he's the admin and founder of one of the Israeli glass forums (which I don't really like anymore, but that's a different story).
You should come to TA sometime! That would be fun!
So glad you like the new stuff.
Reply to this