What a Difference a Few Degrees Makes…

Happy Mother’s Day! Yesterday it rained so both the city-wide cleanup project and the Little League game we were planning to attend were postponed so I had some free-time to play in my art room. I had cleaned off my big work table Friday after finishing the last illustration for the book I was working on so now I can have a bit of “play time.” My bead torch had been looking pretty lonely on the shelf lately so I decided to make a few beads.

When I first got the torch I was making beads like they were going out of style but then there was a problem with the torch and it would not spark so I had to light it manually, like with an open flame, so I called the maker Diamond Tech and they happily replaced it for me! I love that company, they make the microwave kiln and bottle cutter I use too! I had a replacement mid February but was so busy with projects that I hadn’t had a chance to use it.So, getting around to the title of the post my last bead making experiences were in February with it was about 55 degrees Fahrenheit in my studio, brrr, what can I say, I suffer for my art LOL! Well it is now May and a balmy 65 degrees down there so I went to work making beads with my Devardi Glass known for being cheap and shocky. It was so much easier to work with! Now I realize that my beads reek of an amateur  they are not centered, the edges are uneven and I think I overheated the aqua glass because there seems to be some brown schmutz in the glass. But I made them, they are a leg on my journey as a bead-maker and I love them. I also tried making two beads the same size (really harder than it looks!) so I turned them into earrings. Not great, but not bad for a 4 month hiatus from the torch.

It is very relaxing to work with glass at the torch which is funny because your hands are inches away from a very hot flame and molten glass. To each her own right? 🙂 I hope all the moms out there have a nice Mother’s Day and til next time happy crafting!