Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Painting With Fire with Barbara Lewis (and friends)

This past Saturday I had the utmost pleasure to start my exploration into classes by taking my first of many for the year -- "Painting With Fire" with Barbara Lewis, a metal enameling class that I'd been looking forward to for many reasons. One, the class is very cool. Two, I was going to get to meet some blogging buddies I'd yet to meet in person (always a fun thing).

Cindy Wimmer of Sweet Bead Studio took some awesome pictures of the setup:


And Barbara Lewis who is the master of this technique ....


And of me when I wasn't looking. (Eek. I hate photos of me).


Notice that I have my finger in the water? Wondering why that is? I was the first burn victim. I very carefully avoided the hot flame and the hot mandrel but had no problem chasing the hot bead. Yup.

These are my beads:

I have a lot to learn -- I need to coat the beads more fully with the enamel, for one, but I actually quite like the more rustic look of the beads. You can see Barbara's professional lovelies at her web site, Painting With Fire, but hurry because her beads do go fast! You can also buy the tutorial and materials you need to get started on your own projects.

All I need now are enamel powders (I bought an arsenal of metal beads). I can see so many applications where this style of bead could be a beautiful addition in my work. I've got a birthday coming soon -- maybe I'll treat myself!

Thanks to Jeanette Blix and Cindy Wimmer for putting on this workshop, and to Barbara Lewis for sharing her talent!


Lori also writes for www.prettythingsblog.com

12 comments:

  1. Oh, I would love to learn this! It looks like you had a great time. Can't wait to see how you incorporate this with your own work!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh my gosh, those beads are gorgeous!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I like the rustic look of the not fully coated beads too. If I had to make them I would go for this finish myself.

    I would love to work with fire and this particular skill seems not to expensive to start up, maybe the finance Gods will smile on me and let me get myself a torch, etc then who knows maybe I could produce beauties like yours too oneday.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Love the beads and the colors you used. Don't feel bad about burning your finger, I did the same thing after my first bead was done, I wanted to see what it looked like; DUMB! I can't wait to see what you do with the beads and any future beads you create!

    ReplyDelete
  5. What pretty beads! It looks like some of them are multi-colored...adore those.
    Looks like you had lots of fun (minus the burned finger)!
    Bead Happy!
    Michelle

    ReplyDelete
  6. Wow! Wonderful beads you made, I really love them! Congrats:) Makes me want start making my own...

    ReplyDelete
  7. woo woo! This looks great! I love the idea of painting with fire... if i was in the area i'd be all over this class.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Water on hand is a must. So exciting and your beads turned out awesome. I like the rustic look of the colors and enamels. Fantastic!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Ooooh, those are awesome, Lori! I would love to learn torch-fire enamel techniques!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Lori, your beads turned out great and, despite the finger boo boo, you really look like you were enjoying yourself! I'm proud of ya!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Now these are super cool!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks so much for commenting!