I had 2 year bout with this…during my father’s losing battle with cancer….and a year later when my business mentor faught and lost her battle in just about the same time frame.  During this period, I felt like a creative slug.  Just going through the motions day to day.

I couldn’t see it at the time…but that’s what actully helped.  I Kept going through my creativity motions.  Kept my hands and eyes working in my medium…even tho my heart was breaking.  Just kept going through the motions.  Kept going into the sewing room.   Kept surrounding myself with my “creativity stuff”.  I even took classes in a new medium (they called it lampwork..hee hee)

Do I feel that I created “art” during this time…nope. 

One day….I was done with grief.  I had a dream that night for a new direction in my felt work….creativity had re-entered the building.  sigh.

I realized after this experience…that I needed regular intervention and peer support.  We tried offering a group with an assignment based approach…it was good for a little while… but then, several of us began to feel angry and down on ourselves (I could never complete my assignments on time!)  After some time had passed…some wounds had healed…we tried again with the group we call  “Creativity Continuum”.   There are no assignments or due dates (unless they are self imposed)  We meet once a month with a “coach” to keep the meeting on task…but we always have an activity….that makes you use your hands differently….your eyes differently….different materials…different approaches.  Our main goal is to keep our creativity muscles moving so we’ll always be ready for the “work-out” when creativity returns….because you know it will be a work-out!

Tammy Deck

I haven’t been feeling very creative lately. On top of all the usual economic woes and job seeking issues, my daughter has been deployed to Iraq. In the midst of learning to deal with being an Army mom my muse seems to have become very quiet. Not altogether silent but pretty danged hard to hear.
So, to work my way around this issue I’ve taken to sitting at my torch and practicing new techniques, or trying techniques that I’ve read about but not been shown.
I haven’t been able to spend as much time as usual at the torch but the latest technique I’ve been playing with has been hollow vessels. I was gifted with a 1/4″ hollow mandrel and, since I like to work small I got some 1/8″ tubing and made 3 more hollow mandrels of that size.
I’ve made about four different vessels so far and I’m enjoying the heck out of it. It’s like I can’t believe I’m making them, you know.
They certainly aren’t ready for selling yet but I will wear the first one I made. That one’s mine and no one else gets it. LOL
No pictures, yet. I want to make a couple more and then take pictures of all of them to show my progress and improvements. All except for the one I had to break off the mandrel because I wasn’t careful enough keeping the bead release all the way to the end of the mandrel. That’s a good lesson learned.
When I’m comfortable I want to make a few Christmas ornaments and then a few hollow globe pendants. The hollow globes are because my daughter sent me 2 carats worth of teeny tiny accent diamonds and I think it would be very cool to put five or six in a globe pendant. And of course, when I mentione my idea to my daughter, she wants one too. LOL

I am asking for your help, our readers, with this as well as asking the members of the Collective.  I have a glass interview that I pretty much like and would like to keep as it is.  But we now have people who do glass but they also do PMC, Felting, wirework, jewelry making too.  I’d like to interview some of those people as the thing that they most like doing.  I can’t imagine interviewing Tammy Deck about beads.  I want to hear everything she has to say about felting because she’s awesome at it.  So help my everyone who reads this please.  Tell me what you’d like to know from people during an interview.  It can be as mundane as the kind of tacos that make them want to felt a Mexican motif.  It can be as essoteric as the art they saw over the last three weeks that all congealed in their brains and now we are going to get …this.

Please let me know what you want to know.  No question is too silly, to invasive too anything.  That’s because I have the editorial approval for them.  LOL  So wanna ask ‘that’ question…we’ll see how it can be phrased to be worked in–or we won’t.  Just give me the question, OK? 

I’d like to do an interview a week with someone.  Doesn’t have to be just glass but it does have to be with us, with outside people, with people who do other things that fit in this groups things.  If YOU’d like to be considered as the Featured Artist, let me know.  Just keep the questions coming, please. And let us know your inspiration too.  You never know what that can start!

What do you do when you have a creative block?

Me I look at fabric samples!What inspiration there is

to be gained from the bright and colorful fabrics.So many wonderful patterns

waiting to be discovered!Even the textures can be inspiring.

I also love the site colourlovers.com where you can design your own color pallettes.

I also really enjoy Kandice Seebers color addiction blog.

I really am glad that I don’t see in black and white!

Featured Artist Brent Graber

What can you say about Brent? He’s funny. He’s a wonderful teacher. He’s in love. He makes beautiful hearts. He’s a wonderfully talented glass artist. He’s a great dad. He’s just one of my favorite people. Have fun getting to know him a little better!

How did you get started in lampworking?

I had a friend in south Florida that made marbles and sculptural stuff in his garage. I saw the set up one day and asked what it was. He had a Carlisle CC and an Aim front loading kiln. I asked if it worked and if I could melt something. He handed me a clear glass rod, lit the torch and pointed to a pile of crushed colored glass he called frit. Funny name, but what the heck, I’m game… I melted the clear, rolled it around in some of that frit stuff and I was hooked!

What was the thing that made you interested?

The fire and the weird tingly feeling I got when I melted glass… it was a rush and it was definitely not easy. I knew I had to figure it out… I just had to!

How long have you been lampworking?

I’ve been lampworking for about 8 years I guess. Time really doesn’t matter when you’re doing what you love, so it may have been longer. Sure doesn’t seem like 8 years!

Is it a business for you or a hobby?

This is my sole source of income. I’m a single Dad with 3 kids. I have custody of two and this obsession feeds us all. I am very grateful for everything I’ve been able to do in this industry and look forward to a lifetime of melting glass.

What inspires you?

I am in love with glass. I love everything about it. The way it moves… the way it captures light… the way it looks while I’m working with it. It truly is awe-inspiring. Most of my inspiration comes from the glass itself. I make objects resembling other things, but it’s because the glass lends itself to the shape or design so well. Some of my best work has come from an “Awe crap” moment… like… “What am I going to do with this now?”

How do you get the inspiration/motivation back when you are in a slump?

I play. I don’t set out to make anything in particular. I sit at the torch and melt something. It will eventually become something interesting and if it doesn’t, I throw it into the woods. Some people think it’s a shame for me to launch a good portion of my work, but the truth is, most of my work wasn’t made to sell. It was the process and I learned what I needed to from it. That was it’s purpose and I am happy to set it free.

Who are your 3 favorite lampworkers? Why?

I don’t have 3 favorite… I have at least 100. There are so many talented lampworkers and wonderful human beings in this industry; I couldn’t possibly name anybody my 3 favorites.

I can name 3 people who make me weak in the knees when I see their work…

Paul Stankard… that in no mere mortal. What he does with glass makes me shake my head. He is living proof that there’s no end to what we can do in glass.

Luccio… I’d really just like to know how he gets those tiny fingers all perfectly positioned without melting the one next to it. Mine would all look like burn victims. Mutilated freaks and that’s why I don’t add arms to my human forms yet.

Robert Mickelsen… If you’ve seen his work, you know why.

What is the best thing about lampworking?

Everything!

The worst?

Running out of propane…

What is the funniest or scariest thing that ever happened to you when you were torching?

It’s the same story… funny and scary! I’ve got to give you the back-story first. My Dad used to be a welder and we live in Florida. We have bugs… big as your head… biting bugs. I used to do a lot of lathe work and I have two hand torches as well as a bench torch on my lathe. One night after a session, I came inside and told him the bugs were eating me alive. He said they used to kind of swat at the bugs with their torches when they were welding. He explained that the bug’s wings were so delicate that they would burn up and it didn’t hurt you, if you did it quick. This fascinated me…

Ok, so now fast forward a few weeks or so. I’m on my lathe and there is this yellow fly. It’s a deer fly type bug on speed. I swear these things are part psychic and part Ferrari. He was chewing on me left and right. I had about 6 bites to my legs and every attempt to smack the hellhound resulted in more humiliation. He finally pissed me off! He landed on my big toe (I wear flip flops all the time). He devoured my innocent soft flesh, just happily trying to grow a toenail. I had my Carlisle premix hand torch blazing. I knew what had to be done… I had never been so clear about an objective… I was gonna cook his little butt!!! So, in one fell swoop, I poured the full fury of my 18” blue flame of death onto his fragile little frame. His little world came crashing down and the biblical hell fire and brimstone stories came to life for him… I rejoiced… I was smiling from ear to ear, until I remembered what was under the bug… and as the flame shot sideways, deflected by my toe, I realized I hand forgotten about the most important part of my Dad’s story… “It won’t hurt you, as long as you’re quick!”

I managed to finish the piece before the throbbing set in. The toe was black for a good long while and the blister can only be described as enormous. The bug didn’t recover.

What kind of set up do you use? Torch?

I use a Bethlehem Barracuda and power it with two concentrators from Unlimited Oxygen. I love it!

What is your favorite glass?

What ever I’m melting at the time, but I do predominately work in boro.

Do you have a favorite technique?

Not really… It’s all fun!

What are your favorite color combinations?

Amber Purple over Egyptian White Sands…

What’s your favorite technique?

See the question before last… I guess you didn’t like that answer, so you’re trying to trick me. I’m on to your crafty games. LOL

What technique makes you want to bang your (or someone else’s) head against the wall?

The more challenging the better… why would I hate anything? Just because I can’t do it right yet? A real challenge gives me something to look forward to. If I could do everything, I wouldn’t be interested in doing any of it.

What is that shape that you really HATE to make?

Butt plugs. That always made me a little uncomfortable. Oh, by the way… I made sex toys out of borosilicate glass for years. So I’m being serious when I say they were not my favorite shape…

Do you have a ‘comfort’ bead?

Hearts. I figure there can never be too much love in the world and I really enjoy making them.

How do you see yourself developing as a lampworker in the future?

My goal is to explore every thing I have time for. I love doing larger sculptural work. I’ll hopefully be healthy enough to do this in some form or fashion, for a very long time. Right up until the day I die would be perfect!

What are your goals?

To be happy and raise my kids with love in their life. To never stop caring about the people around me…

What do you consider as successful? 

Look in the mirror… if you like what you see and there’s a smile more often than not, you’ve achieved it.

What is the key to getting there?

Love yourself enough to do what you need to do for you… love others and give what you can, without expecting anything in return… realize that you are unique… and you deserve to be happy… just like everybody else. Forgive others when they do you wrong, but it’s ok to avoid their evil asses if you can. You don’t have to like everybody… but you do have to like yourself. 

What would be your 3 best tips for new artists?

Don’t compare your work to anybody else’s. There will always be folks who have more skill that you and there will always be folks who can’t do what you can do. If you compare your work to your work, it’s the only fair comparison… if it’s getting better, you’re successful!

Some times the very best ideas come from a mistake you didn’t give up on… it comes from playing and trying new things. Realize that there are no limits to what you can do and you don’t have to do anything in particular… PLAY!

Don’t put too much pressure on yourself…

Do you like to take classes from other lampworkers?

Yes, it’s a lot of fun!

Do you teach? 

I do and I love it. It’s one of my passions. I absolutely love it when a student figures something out or realizes that they really can do something difficult. It’s a magical moment and I’m blessed to be a part of it.

Will you travel to teach?

“Have torch will travel!”

Wow!  Two Tammy’s here!  I’d like to welcome Tammy Deck from TLD Designs.  We’re gonna get some more fabulous fiber here now.  Glad you decided to join us Tammy.  I’m looking forward to drooling over your posts.  LOL

Jennifer is one of our own!  She makes bright, beautiful beads and then makes them into bright, beautiful pieces of jewelry.  Unfortunately, she didn’t send me any pictures yet but when she does, I’ll be very happy to show them to you!

Featured Artist–Jennifer Ross

1. How did you get started in lampworking? What was the thing that made you interested?

My mom and I love to go to fine art shows/fairs and several years running my purchases at those shows were all lampwork bead jewelry. My birthday was approaching in 2005 and my husband asked me what I wanted as a gift so I decided to take a beginning lampworking class to see if I liked it.

‘Like’ was an understatement. One four hour class with Julie Rose and I fell madly in love.

2. How long have you been lampworking? Is it a business for you or a hobby?

I’ve been at it for almost three years. It is a business for me, slowly but surely.

3. What inspires you? How do you get the inspiration/motivation back when you are in a slump?

I’m inspired by color and pattern in artwork, fabric, dishes, architecture, just about anything. I’m at the torch about 35 hours a week on average so if I find myself in a slump the best thing I can do is get away from the torch. Go out into the world and shake up my surroundings.

Then I can come back to the torch with fresh ideas.

4. Who are your 3 favorite lampworkers? Why?

It’s tough to choose just three, but in no particular order… Heather Trimlett’s work always brings a smile to my face. I love her use of color and although some of the dots and other patterns she uses my look simple, hers are perfectly executed. I was lucky enough to take a class with her last year. I learned so much about her techniques and about the importance of patience. I’m blown away by Sarah Hornik’s beads. I love the flow to her beads and she has a great eye for color too. I’m beyond amazed that she works on a hot head. Andrea Guarino’s beads have a phenomenally unique look. I admire any bead maker who gets to that point in the journey. Her beads are wonderfully organic, colorful and whimsical. Her use of enamels and textures blows me away.

5. What is the best thing about lampworking? The worst?

For me there are lots of ‘best things’ like working with a silver glass and seeing the colors develop, pulling the prior day’s batch of beads from the kiln and loving them all, discovering a new (to me) color reaction or combination… I could go on and on. The worst for me is probably when I think I really rocked a bead and when it comes out of the kiln the colors didn’t do what I wanted them to do or the bead cracked.

6. What is the funniest or scariest thing that ever happened to you when you were torching?

I’ve picked up the wrong end of a rod or two and I’ve been hit by hot flying glass more times than I can remember but nothing too serious.

7. What kind of set up do you use? Torch?

I use a MiniCC with a 5 lpm concentrator and I also use tanked oxy for boro or silver colors.

8. What is your favorite glass?

I have too many to list. I love working with the silver striking and reducing glasses, so many of those are favorites.

9. Do you have a favorite technique?

All that I’ve learned and some I don’t even know yet!

10. What are your favorite color combinations?

I love high contrast in color and pattern so black and white is a favorite. I also love purple red and carrot red together, pea green and dark periwinkle, just about any bright combination. I also love raku and black, terra and chocolate brown, khaos and … somebody stop me!

11. What’s your favorite technique? What technique makes you want to bang your (or someone else’s) head against the wall?

I love making focals with lots of colors raked, swirled and twisted. I also absolutely love twisties, black and white especially. Basic, I know, but beads with twisties make me smile! Regarding banging my head against a wall… see my answer to number 12.

12. Is there a shape that you really HATE to make?

I really don’t enjoy hollows. I even took a two day class to learn the technique but I’ve never really practiced it enough to turn them out consistently. I’ll keep trying but I’m perfectly happy admiring other bead maker’s hollow beads.

13. Do you have a ‘comfort’ bead?

Not really a comfort bead. I usually do some ‘warm up’ beads with my marble mold. When I’m not sure which direction I’m going I tend to make rounds with dots and swirls… a few of those and I’m off and running.

14. How do you see yourself developing as a lampworker in the future? What are your goals?

I’ll continue to take classes and practice to improve my skills. My main artistic goal is to develop my own look or niche in the lampworking world. I’m still searching for that signature bead/design/look that is uniquely mine.

15. What do you consider as successful? What is the key to getting there?

I suppose one measure of success is sales. I would be thrilled to make a little living making glass beads and jewelry, nothing too extravagant, just a modest and somewhat regular income. I’m working toward that by consistently applying for juried shows, and developing my sales on Etsy, eBay and my own web site, flamingheartstudio.com. On a personal level I consider myself successful in that those who know me well know that I am true to my word, I do what I say I’m going to do and I say what I mean.

16. What would be your 3 best tips for new artists?

Be Patient

Practice, practice, practice

Keep burn salve very close by

17. Do you like to take classes from other lampworkers?

I love taking classes. I have a list of bead makers I want to learn from. The list keeps growing so I know as long as I’m lampworking, I’ll be taking classes.

18. Do you teach? Will you travel to teach?

I don’t teach. I was recently asked to teach beginners classes for a local studio. I’m flattered but I don’t think I’m ready yet. I’m still trying to find my own way.

http://www.flamingheartstudio.com

Vikki’s bracelet reminded me of my favorite day of the year.  Or maybe it’s two days.  I guess it depends on the spring.  Chicago is lovely in the spring because of all the forrest preserves.  Whatever anything thinks about the city, it does have loads of green spaces.

There’s one or two days in the spring, just as the leaves are starting to come out that is my favorite time of the year ever.  If you go to a forrest preserve or are in the country and go by a large group of trees, everything seems to be covered in a green mist.  I hate that it only lasts a few days and am glad it only lasts a few days.  It wouldn’t be nearly so special if it lasted, oh, two weeks instead. 

Keep watch for it this spring.  If it doesn’t inspire you then I’m afraid nothing ever will.

Have you ever felt that way? Last week I was faced with forcing myself to be creative and it was one of the toughest things I’ve had to do.

There is an art show I have attended with my mother every year for the past 17 years. It’s always been a dream of mine to be in the show but I never really felt my work was up to the task.

This year I decided I wanted to apply. I kept rolling the ideas around in my head. The show has many jewelry artists exhibiting and a few lampworkers so competition is tough. I knew I had to really come up with some “WOW” stuff to even be considered. My slides that have gotten me into shows in the past just didn’t seem good enough.

The closer the deadline came, the less creative I felt. It was so much pressure. Like a gun to my head with myself saying “Create Dammit!”. I kept procrastinating, allowing myself to be distracted by any little thing. It was not going well.

As the midnight deadline approached (last Friday) I was sitting at my kitchen table with a huge mess of beads, fibers, cords, wire, you name it, it was in the pile. I had made and taken apart countless ideas that just didn’t work out. I was mad, in tears, frustrated. I knew whatever it was I had to finish it, then take it downstairs and photograph it, then come back to the computer to resize it, then upload it to their site and submit my application.

Finally I got an idea with potential! I’ll bet a light bulb really appeared above my head. I started furiously braiding my cord, bending wire, stringing beads… then I got an idea for a matching bracelet. I was pushing it time wise (it was 10PM) but I could do it!

At 10:30 I raced downstairs and my husband was all set with the lights on and the camera ready to go. With a few quick clicks I was back at my computer resizing… wait a minute! There’s a hair right in the middle of it. Dog hair, cat hair, someone’s hair! Down the stairs again… re shoot the pictures. I can feel I’m running out of time. I’m panicking.

I made it back to the computer to resize again and click on the ’submit’ button and the page just sits there… loading… forever it seemed. Suddenly I was kicked back to the main page and when I tried to resubmit my application I received the error message that the show was closed for entries.

I cried… and cried… and cried. I felt like I had run a marathon all day long and tripped 5 feet from the finish line. I was so frustrated, mad at myself for procrastinating, for not being more creative.

Before going to bed I decided to e-mail the show and just see if they might possibly accept any late entries. I know some will and you have to pay a higher application fee but at this point the site wasn’t even allowing any applications. So I put my whole story out there to this generic e-mail address and went to bed feeling defeated. I was hoping for the best but not expecting it.

I received an e-mail back two days later. She told me she would ‘try’ to reopen the application process later in the week, but no promises.

It’s too late to make this long story short but I’ll wrap it up… she DID reopen that section of the site and I was able to submit my application. Whether or not I’m chosen to be in the show, I’ll always remember how this set came to life and use it as a reminder. A reminder that procrastination is bad… a reminder that creativity isn’t forced, it flows… a reminder to never give up… and a reminder that if a door closes, find another one to open.

I hope reading this helps you all to remember those things too.

I named this ‘On My Horizon’…

by Joanna Mueller

As some of you may know, I don’t torch much during the winter months.  My studio is located in my garage, however, is taken down during winter months due to weather.  I depend on open torch nights at my friend’s studio to get some things done during the winter (thanks Mari!!!).  I’ve gotten bored.  Very bored.  It was time to pick up one of my old habbits…. ACEOs.  If you’re not familiar with the term, ACEO stands for Art Card, Editions, Originals.  They are specifically miniature art pieces that measure 2.5 x 3.5 and are usually created on heavy duty stock watercolor paper, small canvas, etc., and sold.  ATC is something different in that ATC is traded, not sold.   Some are drawn, some are painted, some are decoupaged, but all are fun!  I think it’s so very important to have a creative outlet other than my glasswork.  If I didn’t, I would have a very long, boring winter, and probably end up pretty cranky.  I thought I’d share some of my work here.  I love drawing and painting fairies and fantasy, but also love flowers and landscapes.  I tend to lean toward color pencil and watercolor, although have been known to work with acrylics and other mixed media such as chalk and pastels.  I hope you enjoy looking at them.  There is a huge following of ACEOs on ebay.  Just go to ebay and put ACEO in the search bar and you’ll see what I mean… all styles, something for everyone.    I sell mine on ebay, and also give them as gifts.  Here’s a sample of my work, and as always, thanks for looking!