Red Deer Here I Come!

I  am teaching at Red Deer College this coming week (July 18-22, 2011).  It is a five day class - five days of straight lampworking, six hours a day!  I think I will be in heaven!

I am hoping to find some personal torch time too!  The studio is open in the evenings, so we shall see if there is some time for me to play too!

I have been having such fun with the newest beads.  The Bakbuks are still lots of fun and I am branching out with colours.

This is the latest bunch - from the last couple weeks of June 2011.  These beads still remain challenging, the third one from the left is unsellable as there are two small cracks near the bottom where it got too cold.  I was experimenting with twirling the lines - I was really liking the fact that the look like wee little flowers but are not quite so predictable.  Anyhow, my attention was focused there and you know what that means - I forgot the rest of the bead for just a little too long.  Ah, well - I will wear it myself.

Birdies are still fun to make.  I have consistently been putting hats on their little heads.  They now look somehow naked without the hat!

This is Grannie Bea.  I think she is staying with me too.  I don't know - something about her is too cute for me to say goodbye just yet.  I had been focusing on brighter colours for the birds - those of you who know me know that I would just use ivory glass in everything - so I was trying to stay away from ivory birdies!  But I think I like this colour for a birdie!  The dots are a fancy tag glass - I am lousy at getting the fantastic colours out of all those silver glass, but some of these dots are a really cool purple.  Of course, they are the dots on the bottom of the bird!

It is nice to be travelling in Canada for a change.  Cell phones being what they are, it is much easier for me to post and keep in touch while I remain in Canada.  I am packing the camera for Red Deer and have every intention of posting pictures in a timely manner.

Where does the time go?

I guess I am not really a very good blogger.  My last post was in February and now it is early July!

Spring was busy with the Oasis Bead Show and then my beloved Toronto Bead Society - Bead and Jewellery Fair in May. 

I am still playing with my new style of beads.  They do have a name - Bakbuk beads - Bakbuk is the hebrew word for bottle.  I was making one and thinking about things that it reminded me of and I thought of that old TV show "I Dream of Genie" and the wonderful bottle she lived in.  I think if I were a genie I would like to live in a fancy bottle. 

Here is one of the latest of these beads: I am trying to branch out and play with more colours.  This can be difficult for me.  Each of these beads takes at least an hour, sometimes two, to create.  What if I don't like the colour combination? 

This one is a really pretty bead.  In real life it is very difficult to see the colour differences between the red and the brown.  Though in the photos I could more readily see the two colours.  Sometimes red glass is too brown and other times it is too orange.  Fussy, fussy me is never quite happy with our selections of reds.

I am gearing up to teach at Red Deer College in just under two weeks (I leave in 11 days to be exact!).  I have an almosst full class and a five day plan of beads to make.  It should be tons of fun.  I google-walked around the campus just yesterday and the place looks lovely!  I hope the weather is nice when I am out there.  I am getting really excited.