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.
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!
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!
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.
For anyone following this story the countdown is on – check out Judy Carlson’s bead that is going to be heading for space in this Beads of Courage blog post. Judy created a rocket bead with a little green frog riding it.
Also Terri Fout made the news on Wink News Now — TV no less!! Click here to see Terri’s segment. Terri’s bead has the space shuttle flying across a starry background. It’s fun to see the different designs that got chosen for this event! To see these artist’s beads click the links!
News from the Kennedy Space Centre is that Space Shuttle Atlantis is on the launch pad as preparations go ahead for it’s launch on the 14th of this month!! Details here.
I received this in an email today from Jean Baruch at Beads of Courage — what a thrill!
It’s my first ‘official’ press release ever!
*Ontario** Artist’s Work to Be Launched on NASA’s Next Space Shuttle
Mission*
* Tucson, Ariz. – (April 29, 2010)* Hand-crafted glass beads, created by
Ontario artist Louise Ingram, were selected by Beads of Courage to go to
space and back on NASA’s next Space Shuttle mission. Her inventive space
monkey beads are part of Beads of Courage and NASA’s /Beads in Space/
project. The STS-132 mission is scheduled to launch on May 14, 2010.
The Beads in Space project is the brainchild of Jamie Newton, an
employee at the Marshall Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. Newton’s
daughter has been battling cancer and is a participant in the Beads of
Courage program. He pursued this idea in hopes to raise awareness about
Beads of Courage and the work the organization does helping children
undergoing medical treatment.
Beads of Courage hosted a contest for glass bead makers around the world
to enter their artwork for consideration in the Beads in Space project.
Out of —54 beads entered, 17 were selected from nine different
artists. The 17 beads weigh precisely eight ounces, the maximum allowed
by NASA for the flight. Upon their return, the winning beads will be
returned to Beads of Courage.
Monkeys have been one of Ingram’s main inspirations since she began
making beads in 2007 because of their mischievous reputation, allowing
her endless creative possibilities. She crafted her first Space Monkey
bead in 2008 and so when she heard about /Beads in Space/, she
immediately felt connected to the project. She hopes that her three
beads will bring a smile to children’s faces.
“We are very grateful for the dedication and enthusiasm of our artists,
not just in this special programs but every day of the year. Without
their help Beads of Courage just wouldn’t exist,” said Jean Baruch,
director of Beads of Courage. “We are very fortunate to be given the
opportunity to work with NASA to send such fine artwork into space. This
mission will bring inspiration to the many children and their families
battling serious illnesses.”
Beads of Courage is a non-profit organization, based in Tucson, Ariz.,
focused on arts-in-medicine programs geared toward helping children cope
with serious illnesses. Patients are given beads to represent
significant treatment milestones during their journey. Beads of Courage
programs have helped thousands of children and their families at over 60
hospitals. More information is available at www.beadsofcourage.org.
Yes, it’s really true!! Three Space Monkeys are now part of the next Space Shuttle Mission set to soar into orbit on May 14th!
At the moment they are secluded in training for their special trip, but they did manage to sneak out a crew shot for us -
The shuttle crew looks quite happy with their new Simian Mission Specialists don’t you think? As you can see from the image, Ray Gamma, Sam Supernova and Mike Mercury will go down in history as being part of Shuttle Mission STS-132. It’s rumoured that some banana experiments are going to take place and probably a good dusting of the Canada Arm. I know the three of them are hoping for a spacewalk, and we’ll just have to cross our fingers!
So, you might be wondering ‘how on earth did all this come about?‘
These three Space Monkeys
have been selected as part of a very special payload on STS-132. The payload consists of 8 ounces of glass beads that were created especially for Beads of Courage ‘Beads In Space’. The beads will travel up in the Space Shuttle and upon return from the mission flight, the beads will be returned to Beads of Courage.
The Space Beads will then go on a traveling tour to Beads of Courage member hospitals to bring joy to the children who are members of the Beads of Courage Program. Beads of Courage will also be creating a colorful poster with the space beads featured to give to all members of Beads of Courage with words of encouragement from the mission astronauts, and the contributing bead artists..
If you are unaware of Beads of Courage, it’s a wonderful program that provides beads for Children who are hospitalised with a serious illness. Each time a milestone in the child’s treatment is passed a bead is added to the child’s string. It’s heartbreaking but also very inspiring to see just how long some of these strings of beads are that children have collected.
Each of the beads for ‘Beads In Space’ needed to be a space theme that children would recognise. Some of the other beads chosen include a space dog, a space frog, and aliens! I think I can probably speak for all of the artists who participated when I say what a total thrill and honour it is to have our beads chosen for this project.
Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that something I created would travel into space — it just goes to show that life is an amazing journey in itself where unpredictable and wonderful things can happen!
. . .The real mission of my Space Monkeys is to make people smile, and I hope that they can be successful in bringing some smiles to the Children who get to see them.
Read more about Team Beads of Courage and NASA here
Learn more about Beads of Courage and how you can help them here
