Green Beads and a Whistle

These are what came out of the kiln a few days ago.  I have more, but these were the few I grabbed to photograph.  This is outside on top of a kiln.  It sits in the shade which makes it perfect to pose beads on, except on sunny days.  Today is very shady, but usually here in Texas it is very sunny.  That makes it hard to take pictures, even during early morning or late evening hours.  The cast shadows are just impossible to deal with. I probably could figure out how to work around this problem eventually, but for now I'll continue shooting inside.

However .......

When I put these same beads under the 'natural sunlight' bulbs indoors to snap their picture, they come out radically different. See this second photo? They are a different color value, more of a yellowish green.  The first photo is more accurate as to the beads' natural color.   My job is to adjust the indoor lighting so that the beads in the second photo match the beads same color values as in the first photo.  This is how I'll be spending the rest of the afternoon, figuring out the lighting. It is also one of the times I'd love to be in a photography class.

Sprig Wrapped and Pierced Beads

I am in a quandary because I don't know what to call these types of beads I've been making.  I roll them in my hands. I apply a sprig of clay. Sometimes I use stoneware clay. Othertimes I use porcelain. Sometimes I combine the two.  I pierce them. It's fun. It's relaxing. I have to use 'granny glasses' to see what I'm doing. 

The applying of under and over glazes is done after a bisque firing.   The last batch I glazed has a transparent green instead of a transparent red.  I will post pictures of those in the next day or two.

At the moment I'm trying to get caught up with other projects.  I keep saying, "I'm almost caught up ..."

New Bead

This focal bead is made from stoneware and porcelain ceramic clays. The sprig has been pierced with a needle and a black underglaze rubbed into the recesses and glazed with a transparent red glaze that takes on a coral tone on the stoneware clay.

This type of bead is fun to make. Each one is different ... even when I try to duplicate them.

I'm Back!

Howdy!  I've been 'off' the last couple of weeks. I've updated my main website to include the Artfire bead store.  I also had a few other items to update on the main website and was able to finish everything.  Every link pertaining to my pottery, is found on the main website. Well, almost. I left out some things like Etsylove and other self-marketing sites (like Indiepublic and linkLN)  If you have never looked at my main website, the link is nkpdesigns.com.  

I also updated the banners on all the stores, making everything more uniform. I've added a small watermark with my official business name to photos, etc ... I'm trying to use the same avatar on all  the different sites. In short, my goal is to integrate, integrate, integrate!

Because yes, when I took a look around I thought, "Wow, here's a gal with a teeny inclination toward multiple personalities."  Or rather, it was quite apparent I have no attention span.  It is because I make beads AND pottery AND whistles AND whatever suits my fancy at the time that it makes it difficult to market myself.  More than one artist has told me over the years to make what I love and not to worry about the marketing.  That is what I have tried to do.  I create what I feel like making and if I don't feel like making it, I don't.  I am glad to have that freedom.

Above, in the photo, are some beads I felt like making last night.  They are not quite dry enough to bisque fire.  As you can see I am having a lot of fun poking holes in those beads (poke poke poke).  Is that a teapot bead? Why yes ... should I have made a cup to go with it? Probably. But I didn't feel like it. lol!  Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!   Make something you love today!

Unfired to Fired

Here are some glazed but unfired ceramic beads.

These beads are covered with small sprigs of clay.  Some have been textured as well. All have all been rubbed in a black underglaze which I then wiped off. This left black glaze in the small recesses of each bead.  I brushed on some Victorian Red Mayco glaze and left them to sit overnight to dry.


That day I put them on rods, fired them in the kiln, and the next morning opened up the kiln.

The great thing about the blog is that the reader gets to see the result immediately but I have to wait 24 hours. Lucky blog reader!

So these are some of the results.  I normally use my photo set up to shoot pics but the pics I shot did not show up the 'shiny' at all on these beads. They looked very matte, and they are not matte.  So I went outside and placed them on top of the kiln top.

Announcing the Winner

Congratulations to Cindy from Cindy Dolezal Designs who is the bead winner of some of my favorite beads which I created in 2010!

Cindy, just email me (nkp@nkpdesigns.com) the address you'd like me to send it and they will be on their way! Put "Bead Winner" in the subject line! I hope you love these beads worth over $20!

Merry Christmas to My Blog Readers

I was going to post a photo of the beads I am going to give away and then I thought, "Where's the surprise in THAT?" ... and then I realized that the last day before shipping would arrive for Christmas was yesterday.

Oh well .... (Shrug!) ... we are all busy busy busy this time of year so I'm going to give myself a break.  However,  I still want to share some Christmas fun with y'all!


SO ... leave a comment on this blog with a link to one of your favorite blogs (your gift to me) and I'll randomly choose a name and send that lucky winner some of my handmade ceramic beads worth $20. This contest is open through January 1, 2011 and the winner will be announced on this blog January 2, 2011, so write yourself a note and check back.

Show Beads

These are just some of the beads I will be bringing to the 2010 Open House and Christmas Sale show this weekend.  I have some loose beads that I am bringing as well as the Heart and Soul mugs I have been making. To see photos of those, jump over to my flickr page.

I am also bringing whistles, whistles that are in fancy boxes, some that are in porcelain eggs, others in little pinch pots I have made, and some that are free-hanging. I am bringing about 30 whistles in total. I haven't checked the exact figure as of yet.

I will probably bring a few pots as well. If you want more info about the show, all you need to know can be found here: click here

This is the last show I'll be doing this year. I did more shows this year than I have in years past, and enjoyed doing them very much. It is nice to meet customers, although selling online affords lots of chances to get to know customers too.

I have to say that all of my customers have been incredible to get to know, whether online or in person. It means a lot to an artist to have somebody like my work enough to say, "I want that for my very own!" Many times I make something and I am the only one who likes it. It is great though because that means I get to keep and look at it for a long time. However, eventually someone else likes it, usually about the time I'm ready to stop looking at it and look at something else. That's a good thing!

Right now in my pottery etsy store I have marked down quite a bit of merchandise to $10 and under. After December I am going to put them back to their regular prices. With this economy, especially during Christmas, I want people to own a bit of handmade, affordably! These are not pottery which I am ashamed of or do not like, these are items I felt would make great gifts.

I have quite a bit in the $20 and under category too. Go take a look if you have time.

Etsy Catalog

I feel like Oprah when I sing out, "NOW EVERYONE CAN HAVE AN ETSYYYYYYYYYYYY CATALOOOOOOOOOOOOG!"

So how cool is this?  Go to http://etsycatalog.com and set yours up today. It looks like you can add up to 100 listings.  Maybe more can be added, I don't know. It seems like it is set to about 100. You can choose in which order each item comes in, you can exclude listings, you can choose which photo(s) are included AND you can edit what the listing describes.  So if you have links inside your listing (like "Click here to visit the rest of my store http://nkpbeads.etsy.com", it is easily taken out of your catalog.

I am going to be doing a show next week and I'm going to be playing with this option. The expensive part will be printing it out, so I may only do one for my whistles.  Or focal beads. I'm not sure exactly.  It will be great to show my physical presence because after they flip through the catalog and have my business card, it will be a natural progression to my website.

Brown Sprig Beads with Beadcaps

This also is a simple sprig leaf design with a simple brown glaze.  This rich neutral color will enhance any jewelry design.

It was a bright sunshiny day and so I did not bother with lights as I took these pictures which have appeared in my blog this last week. 

In case anyone was wondering about the location, they are on top of the kiln, outside in the shade of my porch.

The sun is so shiny that I did not need a flash.  Even in the shade. 

Victorian or Venetian Red?

I have been doing a lot of serious whinning about Venetian Red being discontinued by Mayco and the othr day when I was glazing these I looked at the jar and lo and behold the glaze is actually named "VICTORIAN RED".

My bad ...

I regret I did not apply a black underglaze to these before applying the newly discontinued VICTORIAN red Mayco glaze.

Next time ...

Spiral Sprigs with Beadcaps

I had the hardest time deciding what to glaze these.  Now, if I had made 4 or 5 sets maybe it would not have been half as hard, but as it is, I only made this one set.

I glazed with a blue underglaze on top of the sprigs, and then put a Mayco Crystalites glaze (Monsoon Seas) on top of that.  I'm writing this down so I do not forget.  Because I will forget! 

Pink and Purple Sprig Wrapped Beads

These have wrapped textured sprigs and non-textured bead caps. They have been glazed with a purple underglaze, which was subsequently wiped off, and reglazed with pink.

Come Shop in Person

Click on this photo if you are having trouble reading the text.  I will be participating at a show hosted by Ron and Janel Hollister at 8304 Llano Ave., Benbrook, TX, 76116 on December 11 from 10 am to 6 pm.  Please stop by and say hi and admire at all the beautiful pottery!

There will be four artists total.  Ron Hollister, Stormie Parker, Barbara Throne, and myself.  There will be lots to eat and drink so bring lots of friends.  It's going to be a fun day!  Mark the date on your calenders!

Circles

These rounds all have round bead caps, and I impressed the circles via the help of the tip of a broken pen. I rubbed in a black underglaze and coated with pink.

One of the smaller beads has a small chip in the bead cap, so I won't be selling it.  I'll make it into a personal necklace for myself.  Eventually.