First beadmaking lesson today! Yay!

After waiting three years,.. I finally touched my first rod of glass,. and made my first bead today,..well 10 beads in fact….and wow, what a thrill it was.  I had a lesson today with Peter Minson and the day just flew,..we had lunch at 3pm because we were so caught up and I couldn’t believe it was so late.  Talk about getting lost in a creativity. I’m a little worried,.. I’m already time challenged,. and today it felt like someone snuck in and stole four hours from me.

We fast tracked through quite a few techniques for basic beads after learning some all-important safety procedures. I still have all my fingers and I didn’t sneeze in the flame and fry off my eyebrows like I imagined I would since I’ve sneezed at least 12 million times :} in the past 24hrs *cough*. 

I can’t wait to get back at the torch again. We have made arrangements for me to have another lesson, two weeks from now, so there will be no more beads from me til then *snif* as my studio is still not ready for flamework.  Hopefully,. by the time I have my next lesson,.. my studio will be ready,.. keeping my fingers and eyes crossed.

Here are my first beads.

In the order I made them, from left to right,.. beads 1, 2,3 & 4

beads 5, 6 & 7

 and beads 8, 9 & 10.

Too much fun was had in one day,… it should be illegal. :]

 

Setting up for flamework.

It’s been a long time coming,.. erm..could it already be three years since I bought my Bobcat torch (pictured above)??  *thud* . But,.. I’m finally setting up my studio so I can make glass beads.

Yep checking the date on the invoice, I ordered it on Sept 6, 03 and here it is Aug 28, 06. The poor torch and tools have been sitting patiently (unloved *snif* ) in the box they came in,…for all that time.

Many things prevented me back then, from going through with it and setting up my studio with gas tanks, kiln, glass rods and other supplies,..but as much as I desperately wanted to do it back then,. the cost and logistics of setting up were beyond my reach and I ‘threw in the towel’ for want of a better term. Thinking I would never be able to do beadmaking,. I resigned to the fact that it would be best just to sell the torch and other tools and books I had collected in vain,…and forget the whole stupid idea. 

But alas,. call me lazy ‘cos I never did get around to selling the torch and other bits,..wonder why? *snigger*….. and would you believe it?, it looks like the planets have finally all aligned correctly ;} because I got the sudden urge to pull the torch out of the box a few weeks ago and I was bitten badly by the beadmaking bug again *ouch*. 

I have kept the box of torch and goodies open on my workbench this time,. and I’ve decided,.. I’m gunna do this. Better late than never right?

I have begun making arrangements in all aspects of getting my studio setup for beadmaking with the Gas Plumber coming to inspect the job today, figuring out a suitable ventilation solution, sourcing stainless steel for the workbench,. purchased many more books,. a ‘Creation Station’(armrest/torch plate system) which I almost got today,.only I wasn’t here when posty delivered it and he left me a card for parcel pickup instead grrr.

I have a beadmaking lesson (and I expect torch/kiln/safety etc) with Peter Minson next Monday Sept 4, whooooooot! with possibly more lessons to follow depending on how I go. Aaaand I have a Warm Glass course commencing hopefully next week also (still waiting confirmation)for six weeks (3hrs each Wednesday), which will take care of many other glass related things like fusing, slumping, molds, some torchwork, safety, glass theory, enamels, frits, stringers, powders, metals in glass and a heap of other stuff I have forgotten.

So hopefully in a few weeks I will be able to show you some of my beginner glass projects, and beads (read.. glass poop on a mandrel).

All very exciting and scary at the same time. I think by the end of the six weeks of Warm Glass and my beadmaking lesson/s, I should have a reasonable foundation for working on small projects in glass and beadmaking. I can’t wait to get to the point where I can sit at my workbench (with confidence), stereo going and just play with molten globs of glass,lol. I sohhh want to paint with colour again,.. but also stay in the jewellery making field (of course phrrrrrt!),. I’m crossing my fingers,.. and hoping desperately that one day,.. glass beadmaking will satiate all of my creative cravings in a neat little package,lol. 

I will keep you posted on my progress,.. but expect to see some reeeally ugly beads,lol. laugh if you will,….. I know I’ll be laughing at them.

Remy