Glazing Beads

I've been glazing in the spare time I've had.  These beads to your left have been dipped in a watery black underglaze, left to dry, then wiped off with a sponge.

I love this effect, though it is very time consuming. 

Here are some rounds in which I combined two glazes of green. One is a sage green and the other is an apple green.  I don't know how they will turn out. You are in as much suspense as I am.

I love how the beads look on the skewers, kinda like a bouquet of flowers.

Here are some beads that I added a sprig of clay on top of a texture, then textured the sprig.

The blue-green glaze had some blue crystals in it and they melted nicely in the firing.

It's been a fun year experimenting with beads: glazes, textures, iron oxide decals, etc ....











I didn't expect to be diagnosed with cancer earlier this year but it is nice to be past cancer treatments and getting my strength back.  In case you are wondering, the cancer is in remission and my doctor's don't expect it to reoccur. I'm having regular tests and biopsies the next few years to make certain of all this, though.   

Thank you to everyone who wished me well and prayed for me.  That touched my heart greatly.  It's been a wonderful year and this next year my daughter and her husband are making me a grandma. I'm so looking forward to meeting little Ruby Makayla who will be born near the end of April, perhaps May.

But most of all I'm thankful to God who got me through some very tough months, and my mother who sacrificed her time and energy and took care of me. My husband was incredible too, as he always is and has been.  Thank you to my friends who stuck with me and by me ... May God bless you everyone!  See you next year!

Popsicle Stick Bead Textures

I went searching around my studio for simple geometrical textures and stumbled across this Popsicle stick (or is it a coffee stirrer?) which caught my interest.

There are not many of these beads in my stash because I was experimenting.  I do like how the glaze turned out.  This particular celadon glaze below is one that was discontinued by the manufacturer last year. I had about 1/4 of a jar left and these are some that I did glaze.

I used this glaze on a few other beads made from different clay bodies and on each one, the glaze performs differently. 

 I like this texture and will probably end up using it again.  I hope to find another glaze that does as nicely as this one does. 

I have some of these beads in my shop for sale. Click Here and Here to check them out.

Bossy Bead Necklace by Jean A. Wells

I created this bead in a whimsical fashion, adding texture and sprigs of clay to the stringing holes to form this very fun 'bossy' buttery yellow nugget bead.

Jean took this bead and fashioned it into a most gorgeous necklace.  She hung it from a hand formed bail made from square copper wire and added faceted yellow and purple Czech beads for emphasis.

The whole effect works wonderfully.  The necklace is 20" long but if you prefer it shorter, she'll be happy to change the length just for you.

 Definitely take a moment to check out Jean's blog, her store, and also a more detailed description of this necklace.