Toggle Jewelry

                                                                        Unchain My Heart by Chatty Cat

Here are a couple of pieces made by jewelry designer Chatty Cat using my toggle clasps and a pendant.  I love the way she combines colors and textures.  I think her work enhances the toggles and sets off  their decorative style.  Thanks so much Cat for sharing these pics with me.

  You can see more of Chatty Cat's work on ArtFire here.  You can read her blog here.  And I just read that she is having a sale on her ArtFire site.

New Toggles and a Toggle Clasp bracelet

These are some of my new toggle clasps and a bracelet that are on my website made to order.  The are hand built so that they do not come out just exactly like the picture.  But they will be the same size and almost the same.

All of these Toggle clasps are made from ceramic clay.  This first one has an  image on the bar and the clasp of Dill seeds in flower.

The next one is from a spruce tree.  I like the way the toggle bar completes the bough.  This one is quite large: about 1 1/2 inches square. 

This is a bracelet with a large toggle clasp.  The bright green beads are also handmade from ceramic clay. The darker glass beads are Sea Glass beads from the Beadin' Path.

Russian Spiral My Style

I love the Russian Spriral bracelet I made in the class I took at Market Beads a few weeks ago, but it just wasn't quite my style.  So I played around with the components and added my own ceramic beads and came up with this design.  I really like it.  Do you think it looks more like me?

I have a few more ideas on how to personalize this kind of bead work which I will post later when they are finished.  Hope you had a sunny Happy Easter weekend.

Anticipation

Summer Fun bracelet by Mary Harding with handmade ceramic charms by Earthenwood Studio

This month's topic for the ArtBeadScene Carnival Bloggers is Anticipation.  I have been keeping my ears open to hear this word and it isn't one that comes up too often.  Anticipation is more of an idea than a word we use a lot.  For ceramic bead artists, anticipation is a frequent experience: every kiln firing is about anticipation:  the good kind and the bad kind. 

Seasons are about  anticipation:  this time of year is about the ground opening up to let new plants start growing, Just this afternoon, I spent some time filming my chive plants and I am anticipating a great plate of cream cheese and chives to spread on some home made bread. 

And I saw a few spears of green garlic coming through the straw.  Yum.

I think I am going to make my blog post about anticipating my favorite season --and what I enjoy about it--all through the eyes of Art Beads.

I love Summer best.  My bracelet with charms from Earthenwood Studio is about some of the pleasures of Summer: picnics, cook outs, pizza, and cold beverages.  And don't Hot dogs on a bun really taste best when it is sunny and warm?

I look forward to my veggie garden that I plant every summer.  Here are some ceramic veggies from Earthenwood Studio and a charming pea pod from Green Girl Studio.

I look forward to heat and the sound of Summer insects. This charming ceramic pendant by Lisa Boucher and the finely detailed pewter toggle clasp by Green Girl Studios anticipate these for me.

I love the bright light of Summer and how it makes the world so colorful.
Melinda Orr's gorgeous ceramic butterfly pendant whets my appetite for bright Summer colors in flowers and flying critters.

As I think about anticipation, a misquoted line from Percy Bysshe Shelley comes to mind:

Now that Spring is here, Can Summer be far behind? 

 Anticipation is what keeps me looking forward to the good things to come.

 As I write this blog tonight, I am excitedly anticipating that little bit of summer the weather man has predicted for this weekend.  I hope you have some of it too.

My Earrings in Stringing Magazine

These are one of the 2 pairs of earrings that I have in the current (Spring) issue of Stringing Magazine.  These are made from my ceramic leaves.  They are not exactly matched which I like.  The color, shape and the silver plated pewter leaves are all the same, the floral pattern on the leaves is different.  Not so easy to notice when someone is wearing them. Those sweet  leaf charms are from Fusion Beads. 

The other pair of earringsI have in Stringing Magazine  feature lampwork beads handmade by Cindy Gimbrone.  I purchased these from her a while back.  I have quite a few of her glass beads.  They are beautiful and the craftmanship

is top notch.                       

Those cool brass findings are from Michaels.  I combined several kinds of findings to make the earrings.  The beads are wire wrapped with ball end  head pins that I made.  They call those large loops jump rings and they are very easy to open and close.  In fact,they close tightly enough that not much can slip out of them.  Those little cups that cradle Cindy's glass beads could also be used for resin, I am thinking.  The brand of these findings at Michaels is called Forged and they are made by Plaid.

New Leaves on Etsy

These are some of my new leaves that I have put in my Etsy shop.  The one on the center left is part of the new Beads-of-Clay group of prizes for the tetradic color challenge. You have until April 1 to enter this challenge.  You can read about all of the details of this BOC challenge here.  Check out all 3 of my prize donations for that challenge.  These leaves are made from earthenware ceramic clay. They are stained and hand painted.  As you can see from the picture they are slightly curled to give them a three dimensional look.
I hope they give you a nice hopeful Spring feeling.

Class Project

Here is a picture of the bracelet I made in the Russian Spiral class I attended yesterday at Market Beads. It was a lot of fun to learn a new stitch. Stacy Murphy, the owner of Market Beads is such a nice and friendly person, and a great teacher. I also got to try out some new threads, like the one I used for this bracelet: Fire Line Smoke 6 lb. I am such a fan of Nymo D thread that I never try new ones. But this worked out well once I conditioned it with some Beeswax. But I admit it took some getting used to. Stacy thinks it is a good one for this bracelet because it helps the spiral stay round instead of collapsing. Mine is a good sturdy tube.
Those lovely galvanized light raspberry beads are from her shop.(she has a super good variety of colors) The others I had, and are from ShipWreck Beads.
The other new thread that Stacy introduced me to is from Japan and called SoNo.( It is touted to be tenacious, strong - yet pliable, superior in fray resistance and workability.) I didn't try it yesterday but brought home a spool. Have any of you used it?
Got the clay as planned and some colored pencils for bisque as well. Once I try them out I will let you know how they work. Supposed to work well on Earthenware clay.
Sun again today. Hopefully I fit in some snowshoeing in the woods after I do my glazing. I hope you have sunshine today too.

New Class

I am going to this Russian Spiral bracelet class at Market Beads in Syracuse tomorrow. Hopefully I can find a way to incorporate my toggle clasps into this bracelet. And perhaps a bead or two as well. I will also be visiting my clay supply store, Clayscapes and picking up some new clay. And going to Wegman's for great cheese and veggies. And just having a wonderful day in the sun. I hope you have a fun Saturday planned too.

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.