Art Bead Scene Design Challenge

I was recently approached by Heather Powers of Art Bead Scene, asking if I'd like to participate in a design challenge. Heather is an amazing polymer clay artist working under the name Humblebeads.


She sent out the same set of beads to several jewelry designers, we all made something with them, and then she posted the results.



The challenge for me was I normally don't work in this color palette. I let the beads sit on my bench for awhile, and then something clicked. Here is what I made...


I used a unique chain that was full of fringy flowers, to mimic the flowers in the pendant, and a combination of carnelian and kyanite to pick up a bit of the muted colors of the pendant. I'm actually quite pleased with how it turned out, and am enjoying these challenges, as they've really done a lot for me, forcing me to think outside the box.


To view what the other REALLY talented artists created, just click here.




Lori Anderson designs jewelry for Lori Anderson Designs, and also writes the blog Pretty Things.

Lampwork beads are better than flowers

Lori Anderson makes jewelry for www.lorianderson.net and also writes the blog Pretty Things.

Broken Torch and Smashing a Wall

Oopsie doodle.


I was cranking along just fine, torching my little heart out, making beads, even starting to add dots, learning new things (yay me!) when


CRACK!


Glass flew everywhere and a big chunk flew directly at the torch and MELTED over the part where the flame comes out. Right. On. The. Front. Where the gas and the oxygen comes out. Which, if you've never lampworked before, is, um, kind of stinking crucial.



I managed to flick off the biggest glob, but of course, as luck would have it, bits of glass got into the tiniest of the holes and there was no getting it out. So the torch is on its way to Bethlehem Burners to be fixed.


I'm bummed because I just bought a ton of glass and was really getting into a groove and was trying to fill up my Etsy store with spacers and had decided to take a deep breath and get brave and start exploring.


Not sure when I'll get the torch back (2 weeks? More?) which is NOT a long time, but I hate when momentum gets stalled. It's like running like hell and then turning your head to look behind you to see where you've been and then WHAM hitting a wall. Looking back, it's funny, but when it happens, not so much.



I tried to make some jewelry today but it's just not happening. So I'm giving myself permission to relax with reruns of "The Office", a bag of M&Ms, open windows, and the cats. Rick and Zack are at the farm, so the house is chaos-free. The Bead Soup Blog Party started today, so I'm visiting a bunch of blogs, too.


There's a slight bit of guilt inside that whispers, "Hey, you should be working," but thanks to so many of your wonderful comments over the past weeks, I'm finding it easier to just... let it be.


Thanks.

Lori Anderson designs jewelry for Lori Anderson Designs and also writes the blog Pretty Things.

Open Studio Friday

Jennifer Cameron interviewed me for her Open Studio Friday, so if you'd like to take a look, click here to see what it's all about!

New Post on Watch Me Create

Take a wander over to Watch Me Create and take a look at what I've FINALLY made with my own beads!

More Spacers in the Etsy Store!

I added a few more sets of my own (!) lampwork spacer beads in my Etsy store, Lori2, today -- not expensive at all, either! I hope you'll take a look!

www.lori2.com

This isn't quite going as planned.

OK, Dear Readers. This isn't going quite as planned.

I'd planned by now, nearly halfway through the year, to have made enormous leaps and bounds and huge artistic strides to great new designs and innovative coolness.

This, however, hasn't happened. Let's see what's going on, shall we?


* I started out with an Inspirational Journal. I am no longer using it. It's buried under papers.

* I started out with a stack of books so I could learn new techniques. So far they're still in a stack, although I've flipped through a few and read one.

* I've spent an inordinate amount of time in bed, reading a heck of a lot of novels, fighting a heck of a lot of migraines. I know I can't help that, but it still has been a huge time suck.

* I haven't even made all that much jewelry at all.

So I've got the "Time Off" part down pretty well!


But that wasn't The Plan.

So what have I done?

Well, I started lampworking, although all I can do is make spacers, and I did take two cold connections classes, but I haven't used the techniques since. I haven't updated my web site daily, like I'd planned, but then I have contracted for a NEW web site to be built.

So I guess it's not a total loss yet.

One thing I HAVE done my level best to do is stop looking at what everyone else is doing so as not to compare their progress with mine. It's crushing to feel like the world is passing me by, so while I still visit blogs, there are certain ones that I bypass (not that they ever comment anyway!) and focus instead on relaxing and getting well and rejuvenating.


I'm afraid I'm disappointing everyone, and I so don't want to do that. But there comes a point where I have to realize I'm just not able to do it all in a certain amount of time given my health and other obligations. I'm not giving up -- far from it. What I'm doing is regrouping, taking a deep breath, and remembering what this was supposed to be all about.


Lori Anderson designs jewelry for Lori Anderson Designs. She also writes for the blog Pretty Things.