My door

Little Blue Bird

Little Blue Bird bead in my etsy!

What I am dreaming of

Make Lists

My stash

The Jewelry Artisan Community blog hop August topic is "Your Stash". Being a bead maker and metal smith I have a lot of stashes so which one to pick was a hard decision for me. I decided to show my glass stash, since I started and still focus most of my work around glass. Above is a photo of my glass rod storage, a wedding gift believe it or not. One of my favourite wedding gifts too! Glass has an endless colour palette and if you cannot locate the colour you need you can certainly mix colours to get what you want. The bulk of my glass is 104 COE but I'm slowly adding more and more borosilicate as I'm really enjoying working with it. I have a large collection of odd lot glass, Sedona, Candy (DK) Pink, Key Lime ummmm the colours.

Below is how I'd dream my ultimate glass stash to be if I had to have it another way. This photo was taken at the 2012 Gathering and one of the hot shops. Isn't it pretty?

Here's a few of the other blogs on our hop.

Ponder The Cat

Island Girl

Jewelry By Dawn

Violet Moon

Cats Wire

Be Yourself

New birds!

I had a lot of fun with these birds! There are four new ones in my etsy shop!

2x3 Exhibit at Facere (The Gathering)

I got a chance to attend the opening of the 2x3 Exhibit at the Facere gallery in Seattle during the Gathering.

I absolutely loved this exhibit and the idea behind it. I saw some amazing finished pieces and it was really interesting to see what a metal smith who may not normally work with glass or beads did with some of the pieces. Very unique and stunning work.

I was paired with Micki Lippe of Loosely Hinged and what a gorgeous piece she put together. I got to see the piece in person at the show and it took my breath away. The piece sold opening night too!

I'd love to try something like this locally. Possibly pairing different artist up who work in different mediums to do a collaborative piece. 

More of the Gathering

The ISGB provided us with a bus tour one night of the Gathering. One of the places we went was Hot Glass Color in Seattle.

They had hosted one of the bead exhibits and what an amazing place it was! I loved the wall of hot shop cane, I could have sat and drooled at it all day.

The hot shop pieces in the top photo really caught my eye. I am hoping I can learn tubing and maybe get a class so I could try them on a smaller scale.

A bus tour was a really relaxing way to see the sights, no worries about traffic or driving!

The Gathering

I spent a week in Bellvue (Seattle area) at the ISGB Gathering. I'll have to cover this trip in several blog posts, too much happened to write it all in one!

I flew into Seattle on monday afternoon, took the shuttle to Bellvue and spent the first two days in a class with Ronit Dagan. What a gifted instructor, she really had a knack for keeping the class on pace we had a lot to cover and many different skill ranges in the class. The first day we spent working on soft glass rings. Were they ever fun! Her techniques made things a little less frustrating for me, I've always found rings a struggle. Day two was boro cage work and I think it'll change a lot about how I work. We worked on free form cages then tackled a big (BIG!) caged cuff. I didn't complete my cuff it was hard to focus for me in a room with other classes and other students working. I work alone a lot so focus can be a struggle in a crowd. I did really enjoy the work though and have an idea for a caged wearable piece maybe incorporating some felt!

Stinking Fish Studio Tour Starts Tomorrow!

Stinking Fish Studio Tour starts tomorrow!

August 3-12th 10-5 every day at 4420 Happy Valley RD. I've got many new pieces, stop in and see!

Metchosin and East Sooke are located in a beautiful coastal area of Vancouver Island near Victoria, BC. Many artists and artisans have chosen to live and work here, finding inspiration amidst the rolling landscape and lush rain forests near the sea. The Stinking Fish Studio Tour features the best of fine art and fine craft on the southern island, surrounded by its natural beauty.

Come explore one of the richest “art trails” on the island – meet the artists, see their work and take some home with you! Admission is free. All are welcome. Artworks are for sale.

Make the choice