I started writing a post about Tom Holland’s wonderful presentation about Ancient Beads, but realised it was going to take me time and research to finish. I wanted to do a show and tell about his class as well so here goes -
I have just finished a class at The Glass Shoppe Studio in Ottawa with Tom Holland. There were nine students including myself, once I get the group shot from Grace I’ll share that too.
Tom Holland creating a Triple Fold Islamic bead
Three days in class with Tom Holland is the most amazing thing I have experienced since I started making beads!
You may think that an important aspect of class time is getting to try techniques out yourself — I think we all agreed that one of the best things about this class was that fact that we spent 90% of the time watching and learning from Tom.
I’ve come away with a notebook full of tips and techniques that I can’t wait to try — my biggest problem at the moment is deciding where to start! Just a few of things we covered included – safety, raking and feathering, stringer, pulling latticino, making a star cane, bending beads, Islamic folded beads, layering dots, placing dots, pulling ribbon cane of different types .. ah the list goes on, the bead goes on, the beat goes on!!
Raking practise
Throughout all of this Tom eloquently added descriptions to what he was doing and also must have told at least a hundred stories most of which had us laughing or gasping in awe.
I think you could have heard a pin drop when Tom demo’d the Islamic folded beads, to see his skill with these is something else!
My bead left, Tom's bead right
The only thing that could possibly have made the class any better is if it had been longer!
Again, Tom's triple folded bead and one with applied Latticino cane.
– I’ve got more pics of Tom creating, but totally forgot to ask his permission to use them, so Tom or Sage, if you happen by this post please leave me a message and let me know if I can use the pictures or not! ;o)
When I sat down to make this bead, it was going to be a Goddess standing in front of a tree. She was going to be obscuring the tree, which would be in the background behind her. Sometimes things don’t go as planned. . .
Grove Goddess
As you can see, this was one of those times. As I painted on the branches for the tree I realised there was a beautiful space and a little hill that was crying out for someone to stand upon. I decided to try and put a much smaller Goddess in the distance on the hill. I like the result! The question is – can I recreate it?? I had used a little left over stringer for the tree and I don’t know what the colours were. I’d like the branches just a little darker but not too dark – what colour to use?
I had also layered copper leaf over silver on the bead and some of the copper embers landed on the ivory glass – don’t want that! I have a vision in my mind of how this bead should look – it’s a glorious vision – I hope I can figure out how to turn it into reality!
Exciting news, I am going to have a booth at the Brockville Artisan’s Village. I have signed on for six days – here are the dates.
It’s all Sundays except one -
June 27
July 25
August 2 (the only Monday), 22 and 29
Sept 5
The Market runs from 10am to 4pm each Sunday through the summer and is located on Blockhouse Island right downtown on the St. Lawrence. I can’t think of a more beautiful location to set up a booth!
Here’s one image I found online and I hope the owner won’t mind me using to advertise this event -
Brockville Artisan's Village on Blockhouse Island
It really is a beautiful location, right on the banks of the St Lawrence River. There are picnic tables and benches to rest your weary feet as well as refreshments close by. If you haven’t been to this location before be prepared to see some mighty big ships going by on their way to and from the Great Lakes!
I’ve seen only a few of the vendors who will be here and am looking forward to see who and what all the tents will hold!
If you aren’t sure where Brockville is, it’s close to mid way between Toronto and Montreal – the 401 runs right through this very scenic city. The Historical District has many examples of beautiful architecture as well as abundant parkland.
What will I be bringing to the Market?
My Goddess pendants -
Recycled Glass beads -
Teslas?
Some naughty Monkeys!
Viking Beads!
And probably some surprises. All the beads will be available ready to wear – on cords or chains, so that you can wear your purchase right away.
My Dad could do a million things or so it seemed to me,
With his big brickbuilder hands he held me on his knee.
He built a little caravan with windows and door
that I found upon my birthday when I was maybe four.
And as a child when I was sick with a tummy bug or cold
he’d bring tomato sandwiches, sliced thin to sooth my soul.
Looking back I realise that he stood steadfast and strong
Right at my side as I grew up to teach me right from wrong.
And through those years he worked at things that I never really knew,
In the RAF with radios, and on Concorde out from Bristol flew.
I’m sure he had a secret dream that I would follow his love,
Of Wagner’s epic Operas, Mahler and Rachmaninoff
One Christmas came a record player he built from scratch himself
But Glam Rock music was my thing – Marc Bolan the sequined elf!
He turned his hands to many things as time sped up and on
He wrote, he built, he painted, he read and renovated
And all the while he was always there to put a wrong thing right
A Dad I could rely upon to help keep my goals in sight.
I think his biggest freedom came with planes he built to fly
Those giant hands of his made miniatures that soared into the sky
Each wing and turret carved with skill, the engines primed and ready
The radios on, the controls so fine - ‘Steady! Derek Steady!’
My dad could do a million things, I know today it’s true
And though he’s left our lives and travelled past our view
I know that he is still with me, at my side he’ll always stay
Because of all those million things I am who I am today.
Thank you Dad!
My Dad could do a million things or so it seemed to me. He wrote the music & lyrics for a song for my Mum before they were married, with multiple parts for different instruments. He learned many trades and specialties from Bricklayer to Technical Writer and things in between that I don’t even know.
He could play the piano and organ (after a fashion), paint beautiful watercolour birds, and later war planes from WWII, loved classical music & Wagner’s epic Ring opera. He completely renovated and rebuilt the house in Carleton Place, built and flew radio control planes and had a curious interest in unexplained archeaology, ufo’s and things not of this world.
Throughout it all he was the cornerstone of our family, a guiding light and rock that we could turn to in times of trouble.
The night my Dad passed away I had a dream that my Mum and I were standing outside a house, we were worried that the window was in really bad shape and were very upset. Dad was there and he told us that no, the window was fine, that it was a good window. There was a ringing in my dream that woke me – it was the phone and the hospital calling to let us know that Dad had passed. I believe this was my Dad’s way of letting me know that it was ok, that this was just another step in his journey that he was taking. He had used a metaphor for that had been such a big part of his life – building and construction. Dad, we all miss you!
It’s probably about as eco-friendly as glass bead making can be – and what a fun idea to be able to sport part of a reclaimed bottle around your neck — albeit a small part!
Photo courtesy of Jesse Therrien
So what to do? Where to start?
(this post assumes you are already a glass bead maker)
First things first, be aware that the coe of bottle glass usually falls somewhere between 83 and 90, so if you are used to soft glass you will find it slower to melt and thicker in consistency.
One big word COMPATIBILITY – if you don’t know the exact COE of your glass, don’t try mixing it with anything else — unless you want to experiment and don’t mind wasting a lot of work. Stick with one bottle at a time, I’ve found that being limited to one colour really makes me think more about the style and shape of the bead.
If you are desperate to add some other kind of embellishment — try silver foil, or maybe a little frit on the surface of the bead.
Here’s a link on cutting a bottle using a glass cutter (once you’ve got the top and bottom cut off you can try scoring strips with the cutter) — personally I don’t seem to have much luck using a glass cutter and usually end up wielding a hammer instead!
BE CAREFUL!! (what you learned as a child about broken glass being sharp is true!)
I place the cleaned bottle with labels removed into a plastic bag, then wrap the bag with several layers of newspaper. Take it outside onto a hard surface like a sidewalk and whack it with a hammer. Wearing safety glasses is a GOOD thing to do! Do this at your own risk!
So.. now I have a bag full of bits of broken glass and several neighbours who think I’ve lost my marbles.
How on earth do you turn a jagged piece of glass into a pretty bead? I’ve tried several methods from holding the glass with my fingers (it gets too hot), to attaching the glass to a punti (it popped off) to using an adjustable wrench to hold the glass (too big and heavy) – my favourite is actually using a pair of tweezers that can lock in place so that I don’t have to constantly apply pressure to stop the glass from slipping around.
Smaller pieces of glass are easier to melt than larger ones (and less likely to pop and shatter).
Bottle glass is more shocky than 104coe glass – heat it slowly OR preheat it before putting it into the flame.
It takes time to feel comfortable holding and melting an odd shaped piece of glass – be patient and give yourself some credit.
Introduce the thinnest, pointiest end of the glass into the flame first.
Personally I find this too big of a chunk to work with comfortably
Ahhh that's MUCH better!
At first I got no pleasure at all from this (aside from the smashing part), the melting of the glass was like torture, awkward, slow and unpleasant. But I persevered and have now reached a point where I can say I actually quite enjoy it! There is a different kind of skill that comes with working only one colour of glass, and something with a different consistency than you are used to. Shape comes much more into play, and since most bottle glass is transparent you’ll probably find that the end result can have some lovely reflective qualities under different light.
Of course, just like regular beads, the bottle glass beads should be annealed. I use my regular annealing schedule and haven’t run into any problems, but if someone knows something different please let me know.
Beads from Bottles - recycled glass
I use a Nortel Mega Minor torch and an EX-15 oxycon. I tried melting bottle glass with a hothead once, it was an excruciatingly slow process and I ended up with a very small bead ;o) If you are patient it can be done!
I’m really interested to see what other bead makers are creating with recycled glass — if you make something I’d love to see it/them!
It’s amazing what you can achieve on an unexpected day off work! I’ve been on the computer all day but have got quite a few jobs done – it feels good to have made progress!
I’ve been looking at setting up a shop right here on my website. Etsy and ArtFire are fine but folks have to click away from site to get to them, so today I set about putting that right.
You can still find me on Etsy and ArtFire for now, but I’ve set up a shop using Ecwid right here on my site!
What is Ecwid you might ask? Well it’s an online storefront. The basic storefront is free to use and can easily be integrated into websites. If you click on my ‘buy beads’ link you’ll now get taken right to my very own store!
I’ll be adding items over the coming weeks, for now I have put some of my brand new recycled glass beads in there (I’m looking for a name for these and having a Giveway – check it out here), you’ll find a section for Goddess beads as well as Monkey beads and my Historical recreations. I’m thinking it might be fun to add a surprise section where I might put beads on sale, or offer free shipping, – little surprises like that are nice now and then!
Beads from Bottles - recycled glass
My latest newsletter is out - see it here – updating the NASA/Beads of Courage space monkey story, and giving a little insight into what really happened up there on shuttle mission sts-132 – lets just say it involved UFO’s, Secret experiments and Bananas! If you want to find out more check out the newsletter link. It’s a story that might be fun to read to your children or grandchildren — awww heck, you could read it to anyone!
Last Wednesday ( I know, I’m a tad late reporting this!) Shuttle Atlantis landed safely! Space Monkeys are now getting ready for their road tour along with the other Beads of Courage beads that went along on the mission.
It was almost as exciting to see Atlantis land as it was when it lifted off. It’s amazing how far and how fast the Shuttle travels during it’s return — and what a tiny little speck of land it ends up coming to a stop on!
Rumours about that Mike Mercury, Sam Supernova and Ray Gamma are busy writing their memoirs and are currently looking for someone (read local blog owner) to publish them! Stay tuned if you want to know the REAL story about what went on behind the scenes on Atlantis’ last official mission into space!
In other news –
I now have a location for my beads in Ottawa — The Glass Shoppe Studio is a brand new venue, owned by Lauscha Lady, Grace Edwards.
Grace's studio at Collonade Rd in Ottawa
Grace has 8 torching stations available at the studio and many classes lined up! In her shop you’ll find lots of luscious glass – CIM, Lauscha, Double Helix and Vetrofond along with tools, books and magazines. Grace is showcasing the works of several local beadmakers and mine are one amongst them.
If you’ve ever wondered about Lampworking you NEED to stop by and say hello to Grace!! She’ll show you wonders you never dreamed of and you’ll be guaranteed to come away at the very least with lots of new knowledge and maybe a beautiful bead or two! Perhaps you’ll even decide to give this artform a try yourself!
Now for even more really, Really, REALLY exciting news!!
In August I am going to be taking a three day class with Tom Holland!
Tom Holland's Islamic Folded Bead process
Tom and his wife Sage have been bead making for many years – imagine taking a class about time and space with Einstein, or songwriting with Bono – well it’s a bit like that!
Tom Holland's Warring States
For me, it is especially exciting because Tom has a great interest in ancient beads and has recreated many designs from these. I think most of the folks who are taking the class would agree – none of us particularly want to turn on a torch – we all just want to watch and listen!!
This is a HUGE accomplishment for Ottawa, I think probably the first time such an Internationally known bead ‘Guru’ has come to town!
I thought it appropriate to add this message to my blog (received via Ham Radio channel last night)-
Mike Mercury to Merrickville Control EST 19:58 May 23
Space Shuttle Atlantis mission STS-132 is proceeding according to schedule. Docking and un-docking to and from the ISS (International Space Station) has occurred.
Simian Specialist experiments have er… not gone EXACTLY according to plan, more to follow on that. I will say that it’s a good job that Sam’s experiment involved ball bearings, especially as Ray’s and mine involved banana’s and the search for extra terrestrial life forms. Please contact Acme Fruit & Veg and tell them to halt all further experiments with the genetically modified fruit ASAP.
Mike Mercury, Simian Specialist on STS-132 signing off for now.
Today is the day, the final launch of the Space Shuttle Atlantis — unless something holds up the procedure or they need to use the Atlantis in an emergency in the future.
The Atlantis shown here with crew members and the specially designed patch for this mission. Did you know that each mission has it’s own patch?
Here are the crew for this special mission -
Image above: Pictured clockwise from bottom are STS-132 Commander Ken Ham, Mission Specialists Garrett Reisman and Michael Good, Pilot Tony Antonelli, and Mission Specialists Piers Sellers and Steve Bowen. Image credit: NASA
At NASA Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39A, space shuttle Atlantis is revealed Thursday evening after retraction of the pad's rotating service structure. Image credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller
You can see the walkway that the astronauts will enter by in the above photo.
As I write this the crew started their activities for the day about an hour ago (5am EST), the Atlantis is currently in the ‘tanking’ process where liquid hyrogen and oxygen are pumped in to the tanks from the bottom. It takes about three hours to fill the big external tanks.
Everything is looking good for today’s launch – set for 2:20pm EST.
It is hard to really grasp that something I have made is on board waiting for blast off! I had no idea that so much ‘STUFF’ went up with each Shuttle. Each mission has an Official FlightKit that is normally stowed in the middeck and contains all kinds of things from school’s, charities, businesses etc.
Here’s a link to the official flight kit for this mission – you might be surprised to see just what and how much is listed! The beads for Beads of Courage are number 20 and that includes my three space monkeys, who report at this time they do have a few butterflies in their tummies!!
Since this is Atlantis’ final flight there are additional containers full of flags, patches and other memorabilia. I read that these items will be given to NASA employees and dignitaries — jealous??
I’m excited for Beads of Courage, and thrilled to bits that my Space Monkeys are a part of this historic event, the final voyage of the Space Shuttle Atlantis!
If you’d like to try and spy the shuttle as it flies overhead visit this link for information — first sighting should be the space shuttle on it’s own and then later it will be docked to the International Space Station.
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