Studio Updates

Do you like my jack bead?  I tried to make more of these but for some reason or another only ended up with this one.  It is a brown stoneware clay to which I applied a purple underglaze.  I sponged off the excess glaze so it only peeked out from the recesses before coating it with (my favorite) Victoria Red mayco glaze.  I rather like the effect. I've been using blacks or greens for underglazes and now I'm utilizing some dark purples.

I sat down yesterday with a lump of clay in my hands and made some new bead styles, variations of things I've already done actually.  As I look at them I wonder when I will glaze and fire them. I have so many beads I have not glazed and many more that are sitting around glazed but not fired.  They sit on paper plates on my studio shelves with cone numbers written on them:  cone 1, cone 04, cone 6, otherwise I will forget and fire them at the wrong temperature.

Yesterday I cleaned out my studio closet and threw out boxes that I have saved (hoarded) and suddenly my closet was navigable.

The day before I hand built some saucers for myself using my small tabletop portable slab roller.  I bought this several years ago and have hardly used it.  It is so easy to use I'm ashamed I haven't played with it before now. It's is absolutely darling to work with.  My husband has requested all new dishes and so I have begun doing that.  I tried to fire the big kiln the day before that and the relay blew. I am awaiting a new relay.  I don't know why my relays blow so often. At least this time I didn't automatically replace all the coils before figuring out the real problem.  I've done that the last two times the relay has blown.  I'm actually afraid to load beads into my smaller kiln for fear I will find that something is wrong with that kiln too! They tend to all break down about the same time.

I have been also photographing beads and trying to put as many online in a single listing as possible (you know, batches) but I'm finding I really do only have a few of each kind, except for a particular green bead which I am finding in all sorts of places in my bead stashes. 

I was thinking about that yesterday when I was creating some beads and so I tried to make at least 24 beads per style but I must have forgotten all about that because by the time I put the tray away I had 10 beads with only 1 style per 2 beads.  It is almost painful to make the same bead more than twice.  Some days I am more disciplined than others.

I went hopping through my already sold beads which is now totaling about 60 etsy pages and I found several styles of beads I want to remake but I can't remember which glazes I used.  On one particular bead I will never get that color of brown ever again because I've tried ... several times.

In one of my past bead sales I used this photo above with the piggies standing all around it. I confess I was in an odd mood that day.  I had gone to the dollar store and found this package of piggies and thought they would be good models to look at pigs while I tried to sculpt a pig. Come to think of it, I haven't tried to hand sculpt a piggie in quite a long time.  I love their little ears and snouts.  Too cute.   Maybe I'll try to create a couple today. What are you going to be doing?

Thanks for stopping by!  -- Natalie

How Does She Do That?

https://www.etsy.com/listing/106840639/sky-blue-ceramic-lentil-bead

I'm going through all my beads and checking them twice.  I have had two listings that have been in my Etsy store that were not in my stash. One I caught before it sold. The other I did not.

Both of the listings were relisted under the new Quantity functions.  I caught the first 'already sold out' listings in my expired area.  One day I renewed it and immediately realized, "Hey, I don't have any of those left" and promptly deleted the listing. I should have send Etsy an email about it, but I didn't think too much about it until a day or so later when I sold something else that I had renewed which had sold out completely.  Unfortunately I didn't notice that I had renewed it like I had the other.  Since them I've been looking at all my multiple quantity listings and (finger crossed and many prayers) all seems to be in order.

That brings me to the subject of today: How Do I Store My Beads that I have listed. Well, I have them in their individual tiny jewelry bags stored in large Ziplock bags.  I have the bags labeled "2" "3" "4".  So if a listing has 2 beads, it goes into the large Ziplock bag labeled "2" and if the listing has 3 beads, it goes into the large Ziplock bag labeled "3" and so on.

All the single focal beads (packaged in tiny jewelry bags) go into large Ziplock bags according to type (handpainted, nugget, decal, sprig, etc ...).

About a year ago I decided that it was much too easy to accidentally send the wrong bead to a customer (um .... don't ask .... lol) ...

Now I take the listing number (or copy number) of each listing and add it to the bottom of each listing.  It looks something like this:  "#594830292"

And I write that same number on a slip of paper and add it to the small jewelry plastic bag with the bead.  And I double-check the number on each listing.  Now instead of 1 focal bead in a certain glaze, I can offer many more at a single time. 

https://www.etsy.com/listing/104087346/sky-blue-ceramic-bead

It's not foolproof but it helps.  If anybody has some other great ideas to improve my system, feel free to share.

Thanks for stopping by!

Shop Sections Changes

Howdy!  Today I waded through all my listings.  I haven't been happy with my sections the last few months. 

I have eliminated the Sprig Beads section. 

It was fine when I first started making them and didn't have very many, but I have just way too many and in all different shapes.  I have round ones, lentil shape ones, nugget shaped ones ... blah blah blah, you get the idea. 

I also got rid of the 'handpainted' 'decals' and 'iron oxides', for the same reason. I'm doing them all in different shapes and it is just too much.

There are so many decisions to make sometimes when listing and why add to the confusion?  I hope this has simplified things, and not just for me.

The bead above is a nugget bead, with textures, with sprigs AND it's green!  Here's where I put it: In the Nugget section!  Woo hoo! Go eat some cake or ice cream or something to celebrate! :) 

Elephant Safari with Jean A Wells and Stringing Magazine

The long awaited event is here. I've been waiting all summer for this fall issue of Stringing magazine because Jean A. Wells had a necklace accepted for publication with one of my hand sculptured elephant beads as the focal bead.

It should already be in stores and I expect you should go out and get yours today because they won't be on the shelves long and you definitely want to see Jean's other two pieces of fabulous jewelry which are also in this magazine. Or you could click over to her blog and check it out there first.

I really enjoyed making this elephant that Jean eventually included in this necklace.  When she told me that it was accepted for publication she asked if I would be sculpting any more. I immediately said yes and then sat down and tried to remember how I had created one.

It took me a couple of tries and I did make a few.  However, the glaze didn't come out the same on these as they did in the magazine. I realized after I had fired all of them that I had used a soldate 60 clay and not a white stoneware clay.  I remade some and had them fired in the gas kiln at the college and brought them home for glazing.

At the moment they are on my glaze shelf waiting to be fired. Hopefully by next week they will be finished. Until then, check these out:  Click Here for Elephants .

A Very Merry Shark Festival

...and so this blog title may be a bit mystifying .... last weekend my husband and I traveled to Houston and ended up in our kayaks in the Galveston ocean.  The waves were much bigger than last time we went and I wasn't in the most adventuresome mood, either.

The waves were breaking a farther distance than they normally do, or at seemed that way to me.  I did good, keeping the nose facing forward to get past most of the breakers.  I remember I decided to push the paddle  down to see how deep the water was but it didn't touch the bottom.  That was when a breaker seemed to come out of nowhere and I capsized.  I saw the bottom of the yellow kayak above me.  I was wearing a life jacket, even though I am a good swimmer, because I'm kinda cautious about doing dangerous stuff ... stuff like paddling out in the middle of the ocean where the sharks hunt.

I know there really aren't any sharks out there in the gulf of Mexico. They are currently all in the Atlantic northeast, up near Massachusetts, but that didn't stop the fear that ran through me when I was trying to turn the kayak over so I could climb back in.  I kept imagining that a chunk was going to be taken out of my leg.

So where was my husband? He was paddling near me grabbing my water bottle and my paddle.  He watched me finally climb into the kayak, face down, only to watch me go over again as a wave hit me from the side.

By the time I was back in the kayak I paddled with my hands to turn it toward shore. The next wave that hit did not topple me and hubby handed me the paddle and I went to shore. And I got in the truck.  And I wasn't going back into that ocean again.

From now on we are sticking to slow moving streams and lakes, where the only thing we have to worry about is the occasional alligator.

Now .... back to the pottery and the beads.  :)  Thanks for stopping by!  -- Natalie

A Necklace For Me

I have tried to take the ceramic beads in this picture and put them online for at least a week, but every time I do, I catch some small imperfection.  I enjoyed making these, but I didn't glaze nearly nicely enough near the stringing holes. 

Today I was going to snap their picture again and I whispered to myself, "Just make yourself a pretty necklace out of them."  So I did!  Yes, it is a simple design. I do not fancy myself a good jewelry designer, but I do enjoy making myself a piece every now and then.

Thanks for stopping by!

Online Fundraiser Auction of Mugs

And this mug to the left is also being auctioned.  It is available until noon today. However, there are lots more to come.  Here is a webpage of the upcoming mugs:
http://nkpdesigns.com/philipsfundraiser/index.htm

Here's where to go to view the auction:
https://www.facebook.com/events/494458393901659/

Here is the previous article I wrote about why we are holding the auction:
http://blog.nkpdesigns.com/2012/07/why-mug-fundraiser.html

Do you want to place a bid?  Simply leave a comment with the price you want to bid under its photo.  If you win I will send you a Facebook message asking for your name and address and I will ask you at that time whether you prefer paypal or if you want to send me a check.   I hope that makes sense. If it doesn't, please ask.


There are still 17 more mugs waiting to be fired at the local college where I take ceramic classes.  I went by there yesterday to see if they were finished and they haven't had a firing yet. They have a small class and are still trying to fill up the kiln. 

I guess that's all for now ....thanks for stopping by!  -- Natalie

Philip Pappas Fundraiser Update

 The fundraiser Saturday night was so much fun!  I brought 60 mugs and 42 of them have new homes now.  $2443 was raised (over $300 in flat out gifts) Philip only has $3431 to go. 

The mug to the left had quite the bidding war going!  I think it went for around $75, but it wasn't the highest bidded-up mug, two of them went for $100, and I'm sorry to say I don't remember which ones those were!

So much of the evening was a blur. 

I used one of those Squares on my Ipad to accept credit cards and I was so surprised at how easy that was to use.  I was also surprised at how much people enjoyed signing their name with their fingertips.

Oh, and the music was fabulous!  Is there anything better than coffee house musicians?

For those who missed the fundraiser, I still have 17 mugs that have not yet been fired.  And I also have the 18 that did not go to new homes. I plan on making them available, hopefully by the end of the week.  Never fear, I will update this blog and on my facebook page as well.

Why The Mug Fundraiser?

Tonight is the fundraiser that my son, Philip, is holding for himself. Yes, himself.

Backstory:  About a year ago, about the time I was going through my own cancer treatment (I am in remission, cancer free, btw) , my son, Philip, showed me a mole that was growing on his back, up near his neck.  I told him at the time that it didn't look good and he ought to go to the doctor. I think he didn't go because of what I was going through. 

Finally his girlfriend (now his fiance) urged him to go. He did and the doctor said it was moderate melanoma.  He also told Philip that the thickness of it meant that it had already spread into his lymph nodes and he would need to undergo surgery, to remove the mole, the surrounding skin, and that he would have to be injected with a certain kind of dye to determine which lymph nodes were affected. Oh, and he'd probably have to have chemotherapy on top of all that, afterward.

I relay all this because I have the hope that if anyone reading this has a suspicious mole that he/she would have it checked out and not wait. The doctor said that if Philip had gotten it looked at a year earlier that it could have just been cut off for about $300, all done, no problem.

Since Philip doesn't have insurance he came to his father and myself and asked if we would pay his medical bill.  So we did. The bill totaled:  12,212.

Right before the surgery was the procedure to inject his back with the dye to see where it would spread, specifically to see which lymph nodes were affected.  Because his mole was between his neck and shoulder, both the lymph nodes in his neck and under his arm pits should have showed cancer growth.  They wanted to pinpoint to see which ones should be removed, and apparently there are quite a few in each place, 20 or 30 or some crazy number like that.

However, when they injected the dye, the dye didn't move toward any particular lymph node. So he was taken into surgery and the doctor removed the skin and inside the operating room they kept trying to see where that dye was headed and you know what? It wasn't headed anywhere.  The cancer had NOT spread. 

The doctor came out and in a long rambling fashion explained that he didn't take any lymph nodes and that this sort of thing is very rare.  The surgery instead of taking hours took only about 45 minutes.

My son, after he recovered wanted to hold a fundraiser to pay his parents (us) back.  Here's the link to the facebook page if you live in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and you want to attend:  Fundraiser Tonight: 

But wait ... there's more to this story!

A few weeks ago, something amazing happened ... we received a check from the hospital for $5700.  There was no reason given as to why there was a refund.  We can only surmise that it was because the surgery did not take as long as expected.  Also, some money has been donated already in the amount of $570.  So Philip only is going to only have to raise a bit less than $6000.  This is a far cry from the original $12,000.

His original plan was simply to play his guitar and play music and hope for donations but I told him I would handcraft some original mugs and he could hold a silent auction.  I took 6 weeks and made these mugs which are showcased on my flickr site .

After I put the mugs on the flickr site, there was a lot of interest from those who don't live in this area who wanted to participate.  I have 17 more mugs that have not actually been fired yet.  However, when they are finished, I plan to hold one more auction on EBAY.  If you follow the FB page link above I will be posting more about this part of the fundraiser once the mugs are ready.

Thanks for stopping by --
Natalie

P.S.  I included my son's picture to show how much skin had to be removed around the mole.  This is what happens when moles are ignored. Do NOT ignore suspicious moles! 

Wedding Set Plates

I thought I'd take pictures of this plate making process which I've been doing all week.  

The picture to the left is the clay in the gloppy state.  It was completely dry and I added water and over a period of days scraped outer layers of clay off.  

I started off with about 50 pounds of dry clay.  There are easier ways to hydrate clay and next time I'm gonna do it the easy way! 

I placed the gloppy clay onto my plaster wedging table on the right.  After it sucked up the excess water, I wedged it and pressed it flat.

I placed the flattened clay between two pieces of linen fabric and ran them through my rolling machine until they were a little less than 3/8ths of an inch thick.

This process reminded me a lot of running a pizza dough machine back in my teenage years, except that one was electric.  Who knew rolling all that pizza dough would be a skill I used as a potter?

I sprayed cooking spray onto paper plates, and regular bigger plates, for the different sizes.  The spray keeps the clay from sticking to the form.  It also helps the edges not dry out so quickly.  In the beginning of this process I had some problems with cracked edges. 

I cut out circles and on the back placed my potter mark, which is my three initials all run together (nkp).

The linen pattern on this clay is subtle.  I plan to glaze these plates with a clear glaze.  The clay is a mid-fire porcelain. 

The smallest plate has a small wave to it. I placed round bisque beads under the edges as it dried to create that effect.

All together I made 8 sets of these.  Now I will be waiting for them to dry out so they can be bisque fired.  I hope they will all make it through to the final glaze firing or I'll be dragging out the rolling machine all over again.  

Great Plates!

This is one of the beads I listed today and I particularly liked the way the glaze sunk into the recesses. 

I have a few more with this glaze color that I'll be listing tomorrow and the next day.  If you search my store for the phrase Sea Green with Blues you can see them all.

In other news ... the dinnerware project is going well, albeit after a rough start.  I checked the two plates I had made yesterday and there were cracks on the edge, so into the scrap bucket they went.    If I had not taken them out of the forms and turned them upside down to dry I don't think they would have cracked.  However, when I got to looking at their shape I decided I didn't like them anyway. They were too flat.  There was absolutely no visual interest. 

I thought about how to make these plates most of the day and finally after 5 pm I got to work.  I made them a bit bigger and used a different form to lay them inside.  I ended up making four.

The 50 pounds of clay that I began slaking down last weekend is finally all broken down into good bits and pieces of slop.  I am taking about 10 pounds a day and slapping that on my big plaster wedging board to dry out overnight.  I have another 25 pounds to break up but I think I'm going to take that outside and wrap it in plastic and a towel and go after it with a sledgehammer until it is in little tiny chunks.  I'll have to wear a mask when I dump it into water but it will be better than waiting days and days for it to soak up water.

Ach! Plates!

I'm attempting to make a dinnerware set of porcelain plates, bowls, cups, saucers, etc ... for my upcoming son's and soon to be daughter-in-law's wedding present.  It took the clay all weekend to go from a completely dry state to a state that could be manipulated.  After I scraped all the sides down I ended up with about 8 pounds.  Over the next several days hopefully the rest of the clay will soften up.


I've thrown small saucers before but as far as plates go (thhhewwwwwpppptthhh).  I haven't had much luck and that luck definitely held up today.  I got the plate the right size and then I scratched my head about getting it off the throwing bat. I scraped that idea, literally throwing the scraps into the recycle pile and decided to give hand building a try.


I have a small roller system from Northstar and I dragged it out and set it up, no easy task since it was sitting at the back of the closet.  I rolled out the clay as wide as it would go and it was not wide enough.  If I had taken the bat I was going to be using as a template and held it up to the rollers I would have quickly seen that wasn't going to work.  So I dragged out my massive huge rolling pin and a large piece of sheet rock and placing bats beside the strip of clay for height (about 1/4" thick is what I was going for), rolled out the first plate, except when I finished and put it into the bowl (I have lots of oil on it so the clay won't stick) it looks more like a huge pie plate.  Therefore I decorated the edges with a small heart stamp and set it to dry.  Here I go to try again. Maybe they will get a set of four pie plates?

*Update #1 -- two plates (a bit smaller), finished, drying. :)

An Interview with Sharyl of Sharyl's Jewelry

What is the earliest age you remember noticing jewelry? Was it jewelry you wore or someone else?

At least by age 3 I insisted on wearing jewelry.  In fact, I insisted on wearing jewelry before I could properly say the words for what they were.  I had a set of 3 silver bracelets some friends of my parents had given to me.   A heart necklace. Pearls.  And a  gold baby ring.  I insisted on dressing very “grown up.”   (Sounds like I did a lot of “insisting” at age 3!)   This photo is on my Facebook page, but there are even earlier ones of me in my “jewels!”

Can you remember how you got bitten by the bead bug?

I’ve long loved buying unique jewelry, but got especially into it in graduate school.  I had very little money, but each month when I got my paycheck I allowed myself to buy one little nice thing for that month.   It was usually either a Celtic music album or a pair of earrings from one of the international shops downtown or the museum stores on campus.  

One day I was looking at a pair of earrings I had bought and thought that my dad had some brass pieces in his tackle box that looked very similar.  So I started looking for “new/unused” bits I could use to make jewelry, and then found stores that sold unique beads from other countries.   I was a goner!


Do you wear lots of jewelry when you're out and about?

Until just recently, you wouldn’t see me without at least earrings and bracelets.  Usually a necklace too.   Just in the last year as I’ve been working intensely with making jewelry and being at home more, I’ve worn less of it myself and occasionally dash out the door for an errand without.   If I’m going out to eat or something, I’ll have it all on!

What do you do when you're not making jewelry?

My lifetime career has been as a librarian.   I still work a part-time contract job doing virtual reference—answering reference questions and assisting people from around the U.S. and U.K. use their libraries.  It is a service that runs 24/7.  I’ve been doing this work for about 6 years now.  Before that, I had library positions in university, public, and government libraries.    

I notice you use a variety of components in your jewelry, but you also seem to make some of your own components with twisted and hammered wire, as well as metals. What do you love most about that? How did you get started?

I started with the wire years ago, mostly learning through library books.   Since I started blogging last year, then joining Facebook groups, I’ve learned so many things from the wonderful jewelry artists and artisans I come into contact with daily!  Lori Anderson knew I wanted to learn more about making wire components, such as clasps, and headed me in the right direction with tools and reading material last year.  A few months ago, I started working with copper and brass through the help of Melinda Orr.   She’s been a tremendous help to me, as have so many others I’ve met through the Creative Bead Chat group. 

Have you ever made a piece of jewelry that you have had a hard time parting with? If so, what did you like best about it?

Oh goodness!  I’ve made several like that.   They typically all go up for sale eventually though, and in the end, I’m so pleased when someone purchases one of these and gives it a good home!  The most difficult seem to be the ones I create for the monthly Art Bead Scene challenges.  I spend a good solid month studying the inspiration art piece we are given, planning the design, selecting the art beads I want to purchase, and then putting it all together.   I often wait a month or two before I list those to give myself some distance!  

I certainly had this problem with a piece I designed using beads you had made for the March 2012 ABS challenge.  Those were such terrific beads and each so perfectly fit the theme!   I remember being amazed I had found every bead I needed in one place for that necklace!   (And thank you very much!)

I have a piece right now I haven’t listed yet, but likely will soon.   It’s all about the beautiful lampwork that became part of the pendant of the necklace.   I don’t mean to play favorites, I have so many lampwork artists whose work I use and so admire.   But this particular piece just spoke to me.   I saved it for ages, then finally used it for my design for the April 2012 Art Bead Scene Challenge    Please don’t feel obliged to read the whole page, but if you would go to the bottom and take a look at the bead by Jennifer Cameron of “Jen Cameron Designs.”     It’s just an amazing piece!


What current design of your own are you most excited about?

These are not so much specific designs, but I’m working on several special projects at the moment, and those excite me a great deal.   I have my “Hope” project trying to raise awareness and funds for people with Rare Disorders.  (http://www.artfire.com/ext/shop/studio/SharylsJewelry/1/1/37644//)   So many people suffer greatly at the hands of rare disorders, my sister being just one, but unless you combine rare disorders as a group, they are often overlooked.  I also have a project I expect to do this summer using my jewelry at a cancer fundraiser in my hometown.

Regarding making jewelry, I’m anxious to keep learning more about design and more about metalworking!   For someone who loves peace and quiet, I find it oddly comforting work with metals, even when it involves loud noises.  Something soothing about hammering, I guess!

When you sit down to bead, do you prefer silence? Music? TV?

Absolute silence.   No kidding!

Share with us your website links (store, blog, twitter, FB, etc ...).

Gladly, thank you, Natalie!
Sharyl’s Jewelry online studio:     http://www.sharylsjewelry.artfire.com
Sharyl’s Jewelry & Reflections blog:  http://www.sharylsjewelry.blogspot.com
Sharyl’s Jewelry on Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sharyls-Jewelry/139920432784411


If you were in a bead store and there were only three beads for sale (all about the same size and shape) which would you choose: Lime, Orange, or Aqua?

I love all three colors, but I’d mostly likely choose Aqua--without even thinking.   It’s a habit of mine! 

Thank you so much for inviting me to chat with you and friends today!   I’m honored by the opportunity!    And thank you again for the wonderful beads you provide.  It’s always a great pleasure to design with them!

And thank you Sharyl for such a fun interview!  Happy Beading!

Elephant Beads

Elephant Beads

I have these ready to go into the kiln.  This week has been crazy busy with the ceramic class I'm taking and Hubby is doing some renovation on this old house.  First of all, we are interviewing contractors to have some energy efficient windows installed.  Also, Hubby decided since we are getting new windows that we ought to get a brand new look to the front of our house as well.  So he is planning to knock out this brick wall the elephant beads are positioned against and put up columns instead. I guess he's getting back to his Greek roots.

Speaking of getting back, let me get back to these beads. I hand sculpted each one of them.  They are fun to make and I have tried to make them before without any luck. The first time I made an elephant bead, it was just a fluke.  After that I tried several more times and failed, epically.  This time I went to the dollar store and bought a little plastic elephant and looked at that for several days and tried again.  So these are what I ended up making.  Some are bigger than the others and I do plan to make more. 

I have used a white stoneware and a brown iron stoneware and glazed them in a cone 6 shino glaze. They will go into the electric kiln and be fired to cone 6.

I also wanted to show off this mug I made in ceramics class last week.  I have done this type of sprigging techniques on beads and so I wanted to try this on something functional.  This is going to be a fun mug.  I'm not sure how I want to glaze it yet but I do want to use a glaze that will emphasize the round recessed circles.  I may use a red underglaze that goes to cone 10 inside each circle and then glaze with a transparent cobalt blue (we call it celedon blue in class, but it's really just a transparent cobalt blue). 

On the other hand, I think that I could use a dark cobalt blue underglaze in those circles with the celedon blue and that would be lovely. 

... and this is why I usually just dip my functional ware in clear glaze, it's hard to make glazing decisions!  lol!

What's She Doing?

I'm taking a ceramics class at the local college again. Yay.  This week I made 13 mugs and none of them look alike.  This is my favorite so far. 

It is wheel thrown, the foot trimmed by hand, stamped with all sorts of textures and shapes, and then I applied a handle.

I am going to rub underglaze into this after it is bisque fired and apply a transparent glaze over it. No, I'm not sure what colors it will be.

I'm doing these mugs for a fundraiser my son is doing for himself. He had $12,000 in doctor bills because of a cancerous mole. If he had it checked a year ago it wouldn't have cost more than about $300. 

This is to urge anyone who has a suspicious mole to get it checked out before it A. Spreads or B. You have to have minor surgery and get your lymphnodes checked -- especially if you don't have insurance. 

My son is fine by the way. The cancer didn't spread into his lymphnodes.