Sunday Metchosin Farmers Market

I've been doing the Metchosin Farmers Market on Sundays. It's a great little market running from 11 - 2 every Sunday from May 11th to Oct 26th. Lots of fantastic produce, flowers, baking, jellies, food and of course ME! I highly recommend taking the trip out to Metchosin if you are in downtown Victoria, it's well worth the drive. Maybe hit Metchosin Cafe for lunch or stop at the Broken Paddle Coffee shop. Photos courtesy of Melinda of Elysian Fields she sells fantastic eggs at the market!

Urchin Big Holed Bead

Urchin is listed in my Annealer Boutique auctions. I love the soft caramel tones in this bead with a touch of flair in the encased dots.

We've been busy this week, moving dirst for what will hopefully be a garden!

Two new Beads!

Two new troll / pandora beads! I am having alot of fun with these! Jim Moore's bead liner makes coring them with stering silver tubing easy and I don't have to hammer on the beads.

It's very windy here today. I keep thinking my sky lights are going to lift right off! The sun comes out, then a strong gust of wind blows the clouds over again and it goes dark and dismal. It's supposed to all blow oever and be sunny for the weekend though!

Troll & Pandora Beads!

I have been working on Troll & Pandora beads for the last week or so. I love making them they are alot of fun! I have a Charm-N-Bead bracelet made by Andrea Guarino, I just love it! Check out her blog too she mentioned my beads! Adding the beads, collecting the beads, I love the huge selection of silver beads out there.

I have lots of Troll and Pandora beads in my Etsy. Have a look I'll be adding new ones as I get them finished. Several of them match my big holed beads, they'd make nice matching pendants and bracelets!

Gorgeous Weather

This focal bead is caled Key Lime, a fresh color for summer!

We've had gorgeous weather this week. Cool mornings and warm afternoons, great growing weather! Everything is blooming here, our cherry and plum tree have lots of blossoms. The wild bunnies are happily gorging themselves on all the fresh green grass that's coming up. Our one barn swallow nest has the babies out and flying now, they are fun to watch in the early morning.

Earring Pairs!

I seem to be obsessed with making perfect pairs of beads lately. They make fantastic earrings. I work on tiny mandrels (1 mm) so they don't wobble on your headpins. People always ask how I get them so even. Practice, practice and more practice! I sometimes make two on one mandrel but when I make the encased ones I can't do that, so I just have a good eye for getting them the same size I guess. Here's a bunch, in my Etsy shop.

Mothers!

The Flaming Hot topic for this week is "your mothers impact on you business".

My mother is always keen to see what new stuff I've been working on. She comes to every home show and local event I'm at, and always supports me. Someday I hope to be as good a Mom as her!!

I have a couple new auctions up on The Annealer Auction site. It's a great site full of fantastic glass and bead artists. Some lovely jewelry in there too!

Aurora the large disk bead above is made out of silvered glass and has the most amazing colors throughout it! The hole is a 1/4 inch it'd be fantastic silver cored or just hung on a ribbon.

It's been a busy weekend for us around here. Yesterday we spent the day clearing a area that may become a garden. I can't decide if I can commit to a garden yet so I need a few days to decide how to progress with it. I'd love a pond but not sure we have the time to keep it up properly.

Today we pulled fence up for friends of ours, it went qay quicker than I expected. They gave us the fence so we now have some nice Bayco fencing we can use for crossfencing.

A couple new disk sets from me, both are in my Etsy shop.

LEST Featured Artist Melissa Vess

MY LEST Featured Artist for May is Melissa Vess of Inner Realm Creations.

How long have you been working with glass? I Have been working with glass for almost four years.. and love every minute of it!
What is your favorite thing about working with glass? For people who have never worked with a torch and glass, my answer may seem strange. Working with glass is very therapeutic for me. The hissing of my torch and the gentle flow of melting glass is very calming. In fact it is about the only time I really take for just me.
What's your favorite piece? I can't say that I really have a favorite piece. Unlike many beadmakers that have a truly distinct style, I seem to always be mixing things up. My favorite set of beads was my Picasso Sea set that I made a little over two years ago. I had a "bad" batch of Riechenbach glass that was gorgeous wrapped in silver foil and reduced. I have spent quite a few dollars trying to buy another batch that would react the same, with no luck. Thankfully, I sold them to a wonderful designer that made an incredible necklace with them. I really enjoy working with enamels. The broadened color pallete and textures achievable with them make them really hard to put down. I am very cautious with the safety aspects of using them. I use Class A ventilation and a industrial respirator when working with them.
What's the hardest piece you've ever made? The hardest piece I have ever made was a goddess with arms and legs. I watched Patti Walton make the most beautiful goddess at a bead show in Denver, Colorado and I was just amazed. She made it look so easy and she was so generous to explain why she was adding glass where she was and talking about the human form. My torch was on minutes after I arrived home and I spent hours using the information, skills and techniques Patti shared. I had one that turned out beautifully. Days later I dropped her on a concrete floor.. So much for the arms and legs!
Who do you admire in the glass world? I really admire most all beadmakers. Mostly those who can create work that I can't... or those that have the ability to always seem to come up with new and creative techniques. I have changed my "favorite beadmaker" many times. I think my favorites change along with my skills. I will always admire Patti Walton. Her work is the definition of beauty, to me!
What's your favorite inspirational saying? I have a lot of favorite inspirational quotes.. For my work, I would have to say my favorite is by Mark Twain., " You cannot depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus."
What's one thing you've never done you always wanted to do? I have always wanted to Scuba Dive. Luckily, my family and I will be taking classes this summer followed by two trips, one to Cozumel in July and the other to Hawaii in September. It looks like I might just be lucky enough to learn from a fellow lampworker, Jill Knapp..which makes it very special!