Janet's New Etsy Shop

Look what I see in Janet McDonald's new Etsy Shop. She has debuted her selection with a necklace she made from one of my wild harvest heart pendants!! What a beauty. You can see more of what she has here. I love the way she used the chain and glass beads. Wonderful textures and colors. You are making me look good Janet. Thank you so much. You can see more of the lovely necklaces in her shop here.

Beads of Clay Swap

Here is a short video I made of the pieces I received from the Beads of Clay swap. I apologize for the lack of sound but I had some technical problems. Hope you enjoy this. I want to thank all of you who sent me such lovely pieces. And an especial thanks to Marti Conrad who set this up.
It takes a few minutes for the pictures to come up, please be patient. Thanks.



A list of the swappers in my Group. There were so many there was another group as well.
Marti Conrad
Yolanda
Gerry Lee Cruthird
Vera Romoda
Lynn Barnett
Shaterra Clay Studio
Mossy Hill Studio
Laughing Lion Products
Melinda Orr
Vanessa Gilkes
LadyBrook Beads
Captain's Clay
Gail Barnett
Summers Studio
Susan Rouleau
Mary Harding

Beads of Clay Bead Swap Goodies

At last I have time to share with you some of the goodies from our Beads-of-Clay Bead Swap. Are they ever wonderful!! I am including some pics here. I hope you will check back tomorrow here or on the Beads-of-Clay Blog and see my video of all of the pieces I received.

Valentine's Day Sale NOW

I am having a 40% off sale in my Etsy Shop to celebrate Valentine's Day and the Presidents' Day Weekend. The sale prices are already marked down in my shop. The sale runs from now until Midnight Tuesday February 16. I also have a special on shipping charges for the US: $2.0o for the first item and no charge for others. I hope you will stop by and see all the hearts I have made. They are hand painted in one of a kind color combos. I enjoyed just letting it happen and didn't keep any notes. Every piece in the Etsy shop is ready to ship.

Bead Soup Now Being Served

Today is the DAY. Below are photos of the piece I made with Lisa Oram's beads. She sent me those lovely deep burgundy red hand made glass beads, the fabulous pink, burgundy and black button and all those delicate tiny purple, pink and black disk beads, as well as the purple flowers. I have enjoyed working with these lovelies and making the free form peyote stitch necklace below. It has been a pleasure to work the beads you sent me. Thanks you so much. Be sure to visit Lisa Oram and see what she made with the beads I sent her. And click on this link, Bead Soup Party to see all of the other 83 participants in this fabulous event organized by Lori Anderson. Thank you Lori for all your work and wonderful posts about this event. It has been a great experience.

Here are the beads Lisa Oram sent to me.

Here is the necklace I made with them.

Close up of a ceramic bead I made and the beading around it.

Close up photo of the clasp that I made with one of Lisa's handmade glass beads.

Close up of two of Lisa's handmade glass beads ( the deep rust red and white and the deep burgundy red on the strand above. The deep red rounds are beach glass type beads from the Beadin' Path. I also used some Tourmaline chips, similar to one that I sent Lisa, so that we would have a bead in common.

Another close up of Lisa's handmade glass bead. You can also see the lavender purple disks and some of the pink disks.

Bead Soup Blog Party Sneak Peak

Tomorrow, Feb. 10th is day every one's bead soup will be served. Here is a sneak peak of what I am serving with Lisa Oram's bead soup ingredients. This is the clasp of the necklace I made featuring one of her lovely handmade glass beads. I just love that color and shape. Fits in well as you will see tomorrow. And don't forget to visit Lisa's blog to see what she made with my beads and to visit all the other Bead Soup Chef's. I am looking forward to the party. Hope to see you there.

Making Ceramic Pendants: Naming

I made this video on my cell phone, a Droid. This is a first for me. Went very smoothly. Lots of fun to do.

Beginnings: Hands at work

Beginnings: hands at work

I recently volunteered to be part of the ArtBeadScene new adventure called Carnival Bloggers. The theme that we are using for this month is Beginnings. I have been thinking about this a lot and decided to use the idea of hands as a source of beginnings. Currently I am part of a photo exhibition called Hands at Work in the North Country. The photographer, Hanna Stevens, chose 8 artists/craftsmen in the North Country and photographed their hands at work. I was photographed doing beading. This later turned out to be a wonderful necklace, but at the time I was just beading along.

Those ceramic flower beads are some that I made.

In any case, since I attended that opening exhibit on Saturday, I have been thinking about how hands are a common thread, a beginning, in the making of art beads.

I make beads out of clay, and my hands are there first, wedging the clay, forming the bead or pendant, smoothing out the pendant, staining the pendant and finally handpainiting and glazing the pendant. This is the case in most handmade ceramic pendants.

Ceramic pendants by Mary Harding


Ceramic Raku heart beads by Maku Studio

Ceramic Pendant by Barbara Lewis

Although I don't make flameworked beads, I have tried it on occasion, and here the hands are doing something different. These beads have their beginnings on a steel rod that the artists has to skillfully manipulate until the bead is finished. These hands are very different from what clay hands do. But in the beginning the hands are what make it happen.

My friend Kim Klatt demonstrating how to start a bead

Beads by Radiant Mind
Working in polymer clay, hands do many things that ceramic bead artists' hands do, but I think that it isn't so messy. The beginnings of many polymer clay beads involves mixing and cutting the clay. Something that is slightly different. Here is an incredible set of polymer clay hand beads by SaraJaneHelm. You can see more of her work on her website and in her Etsy shop.

Polymer clay beads by SaraJaneHelm

Beginnings of art beads start with hands but it is what the mind and the heart do with these fabulous materials that makes them art. Often my hands tell me that it is time to create. They seem restless and ill at ease until I let them put me to work making. I have learned over the years to trust my hands and let them bring me inspiration.

Posted by Mary Harding

More fun with soldered shapes

These are the sterling silver shapes connected to my ceramic hearts. Images on the hearts are different but are from the same flowering plant.

Another pair of slightly unmatched earrings from Queen Ann's lace connected to the sterling silver soldered flower shapes.

Both are available on my Etsy Shop.

How they turned out

Before they were tumbled

Here are the photos of the copper flowers that I showed you yesterday. I also showed you a some silver ones. They were not part of this firing. Sterling doesn't fare as well in the kiln.

Tumbled

Charm

Charm

Earrings

The two charms and the earrings are available on my Etsy store.

Soldering Class

Picture of the soldered shapes after they were tumbled.

Yesterday, my friend Sally Hartman and I attended a class at Raw Treasures, the best little bead store in our Northern County, and learned how to solder. We used one of those fantastic Little Torches and made a fairly simple bracelet using a jig. Although a rather plain and simple project, I see so much potential in being able to form these shapes on a jig and solder them together. I actually liked our practice pieces in copper better than the finished ones in silver. I can see wonderful earrings, links and bracelets using the copper with other fun components. I know that today when I go to my studio that I will be experimenting with our practice copper pieces to see what I can do to jazz them up. The other cool thing about the class is that the little butane torch I have can be used to do these simple solders, as well. So I am all set. I have the wire, the copper solder and the torch. Can't wait to do some more of these.

These are the copper practice shapes soldered. I am going to play with them before they are tumbled.

I'll post some pics when I have some ready.

Bead Soup Delicious

My Delicious package of Bead Soup has arrived from Lisa Oram. Aren't these a wonderful set of beads to get the imagination going. I absolutely love the colors and the different shapes. Since I have been emailing with Lisa, I have learned that she likes to do beadwork, especially bead crochet. She also makes her own flameworked beads. Here is a close up pic of some of her artists beads that she made and included in the stash she sent me.

You may be wondering where the clasp is. I requested that I be able to make a clasp with one of her beads so you will be seeing it when the piece is finished.

Now the challenge begins. I do not yet have a plan for how I will work with these pretties but will keep you posted.

Thank you Lisa for such a wonderful serving of Bead Soup.

You can see pics, and read about the beads, pendant and clasp that I sent to Lisa here.

Opening the Kilns

A video I made this morning when I opened up my kilns for the first time since they were fired yesterday. Join me as I am surprised and pleased with the results.

New Beads and more on A Work In Progress

Look at these gorgeous orange coral beads I snagged at Cindy Gimbrone's Clearance sale last week. I just had gotten home from the HD performance in our area of Der RosenKavalier and checked out my blogs and found out I had 5 minutes left to get a chance at some of Cindy's wonderful beads. And there they were just waiting for me. One of my fovorite colors.

Below is an update on my work in progress that I showed earlier when I was wishing you all Happy New Year. It has been coming along. But I am not sure where it will end up taking me since I make it up as I go along. So here's hoping it turns out all right. I will show you other photos as the piece develops. It will be nice for me to document the making of this necklace. I hope you enjoy the process as well.

Packing up hearts for the BOC Swap

Today I photographed some of the pendants that I am sending out for the Beads-of-Clay bead swap. I made lots of hearts and some I will be saving for my Etsy shop. The ones for the swap. I will be shipping out tomorrow, just in time for the Jan. 15 deadline. I love the way these pale colors came out. And while I was making hearts, I made some little tiny heart charms. All of these will be going into my Etsy shop for a Valentine's Day sale I am planning for later on this month.

Bead Soup Party

I just found out about this creative way of having some blog fun and there is still time for you to join in.
Lori Anderson is hosting it.

You can sign up here. Lori tells how it will play out:

Here's how it will work --First, you must have a blog!Next, email me (Lori Anderson) by clicking here or using the address in the above photo to let me know you want to go to the Bead Soup Party.On January 11th, I'll contact everyone with your Party Partner and list all the Party Blogs. You'll then send that person a Party Pack:~ A focal~ Some coordinating spacers or beads~ A special clasp (not just a lobster claw)When you get your package of beads, you make something with it, take a picture, and post it on your blog on February 1st. Then everyone hops around to all the Party Blogs to see what you made!

Doesn't this sound great!! I hope you will join me.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to all. This is going to be a good one. I have been away for a week with my son and daughter-in-law and their 2 boys, my grandsons. Had a wonderful time at the zoo, sledding, ice skating, learning the Wii Mario Bros. and Olympic Sports. Not one thought on beads until the last day when I began a peyote stitch necklace which is still in progress. ( I think being a work in progress is going to be my focus for 2010--lots of ways to interpret the idea into wonderful beads and jewelry.) It is always an act of faith to begin one and steer it on a successful course. So far so good. I am loving using my ceramic beads, some of which I created just for the December Challenge. I will be shipping out the set designated for the lucky winner Monday.On the way home I picked up a copy of the House at Riverton, since Lorelei had recommended it. And now I see that Round Rabbit is having a book club with it. How great. I had hardly read any blogs while I was away so I didn't catch on until now. A most pleasant surprise.

St. Lawrence County Arts Council

Taylor by Sue Thomas Free Motion Quilting

Cows! by Linda Nowak

Suzy McBroom and Hanna Stevens at the front Desk

Buddha Figures by Becky Harblin

Reconstructed Lamp Shade by Sue Thomas

I went this week to the St. Lawrence Arts Council to deliver new work for their shop. I had a wonderful time sharing enthusiasm and exchanging ideas with board member Sue Thomas, seeing new work by my former student, John Beamer (he certainly learns fast and well, of course) and viewing the new show in the gallery, called Fiber Arts Showcase. Most of the pictures here are from that show.

There is still time to shop at the St. Lawrence County Arts Council Gallery and Shop. They have some extended hours to accommodate shoppers who work and have been hampered by our wicked cold and snowy weather. They will be open every day now from Thursday, Dec. 17 through Thursday Dec. 24th. Late hours on Tuesday Dec. 22 ( 10-8PM). Other days open 10-6PM and Saturday and Sunday 10-4PM. They will be closing at 4PM on Christmas Eve. and back open again Dec. 26.

Hope you find your way over there so you can shop Handmade this season.

Indigo Found and Collaboration Complete

Once I found Indigo, as I said yesterday, I was good to go.

Here are the pictures of the beads that Cindy Gimbrone and I collaborated on for the ArtBeadScene December Challenge prize. Cindy has written a wonderful post about our inspiration for these beads. She calls it Untitled, Mary and Me .You can read it here.

And please enter the challenge so you can get a chance to win these beauties. Click this link and you will get all of the how to's.

Looking for Indigo Part 2

When Cindy Gimbrone and I began our collaboration on beads for part of the ArtBeadScene December Monthly challenge prize, we first picked the colors we would work with. She in glass and I in ceramics.

After picking a color palette, I made a number of samples with round beads to get the colors we were looking for. Cindy wrote about this part of the collaboration in one of her Studio Saturdays for ArtBeadScene. I had no problem with the bright lime green and the deep purple. When I made a sample bead using these colors and my conceptualized idea of how I would combine colors and the white/ivory linear feel of the painting, I was pretty disappointed in how it turned out. See pic above.

After a few days and considerable agonizing, I realized what was wrong, I needed a non glaze background color to work from. And that is when I began thinking about how to make Indigo. I hadn't been able to find a commercial glaze in indigo that was really indigo. So I tried mixing some stains together. I ended up using black and cobalt. First the black and then the cobalt added on top of it.

Once that happened I was on my way and the beads below are what resulted.

I have just listed some of these beads on my Etsy shop.