New Bead Collection – “Shire”

On May 13, 2010May 13, 2010 By ccglassartIn Photos, What's Happening NowLeave a comment

This is probably one of my most favorite sets I’ve ever made, definitely in the top 5! I am so proud of the way it turned out, if I may say so myself. 😉

As often happens, a collection of beads starts out as something completely different in my head.

Then, as I make each bead they take on their own unique personalities as they are born in the flame.

So many of the materials I use produce unpredictable results that don’t fully show themselves until they’re removed from the kiln some 14-17 hours after they are first made.

I’m often surprised at how well the beads turn out (or greatly disappointed when they don’t turn out as well as I thought they would and end up in my ever-growing ‘learning experience’ pile).

At the moment I completed stringing these beads together with all the coordinated spacers, I instantly knew this was a very special set.

Once I saw how all the the colors of soft jade and dark ivory worked together with the violet/periwinkle shades that developed from the different silver glasses I used, the name for this set, ‘Shire’, immediately popped into my head.

Being an old fan of LOTR books and movies, I felt these beads captured the essence of that wistful fantasy land so well.

“Shire” is available now on eBay – click here to view.

Until next time,

CC
http://www.ccglassart.com

Spring Has Sprung

On March 15, 2010March 15, 2010 By ccglassartIn Photos, What's Happening NowLeave a comment

Hello! I hope you are having a great week and enjoying beautiful weather as we welcome Spring. 🙂 Here are my most recently listings on eBay:

SEA GRASS – This first collection reminded me of those wispy sea grasses blowing in the wind against a dusty blue sky on a sandy dune at the beach. It includes a lot of cylinder shaped beads in varying sizes for lots of options when designing.

~CCGlassArt~Handmade Lampwork ORGANIC Beads ~SEA GRASS~

Time Left: 3d

LUNA – The flowing colors in this bead are so beautiful in person. I named this bead Luna for the ethereal look the layers of silver glass gave to the base of this bead, in contrast to the rustic surface texture in places from transparent reactive shards. This bead also features a unique, new dimensional-looking silver glass murrini I recently made, on the front and back.

~CCGlassArt~Handmade Lampwork ORGANIC Focal Bead ~LUNA~

Time Left: 3d

SPRING – There was no other name for this wildflower inspired set. With the fresh, crisp colors of lime and teal in contrast to the pretty rose pink from Rubino Oro glass, this set just begged for the addition of some floral beads for a light, airy and still organic look.

~CCGlassArt~ Handmade Lampwork ORGANIC Beads ~SPRING~

Time Left: 6d

Until next time,

Christie
CCGlassArt

Food-Themed Beads From The Dieting Lampworker

On September 7, 2009September 7, 2009 By ccglassartIn What's Happening Now3 Comments

What’s a lampworker to do when she’s trying hard to watch her waistline but still craves all the foods she knows she shouldn’t have? She makes all her favorite treats out of glass, of course – LOL! 😀

I have always loved to bake and, more importantly…eat! One night I fell asleep thinking about how I might make a slice of pie-shaped bead, going through each step in my mind until I was sure I could duplicate this treat in glass. So, the next time I was at the torch I tried my hand at ‘baking’ the perfect slice of Lemon Meringue Pie and the results were a pleasant surprise.

Once I thought through that process my mind started racing with ideas for all kinds of favorite foods I could turn into glass beads. I have a very long list of things I have yet to try but the beads shown below are ones that I have already worked on and which have turned out well (if I do say so myself ;-).

All these beads are available now on eBay: http://shop.ebay.com/ccglassart

CHEESEBURGER – This bead was so much fun to make but quite tricky to figure out as well. Getting all the elements balanced and real looking was a challenge. I started by layering each ‘ingredient’ just like you do with a real cheeseburger. The bottom bun is topped with a juicy meat patty, then layered with a slice of melting cheddar cheese, crisp green lettuce, a juicy tomato slice then finished off with a fluffy sesame seed bun.

ICE CREAM CONE: This bead is a fond farewell to summer and all the cool sweet treats we’ll miss (because in the winter we just eat ice cream from a carton, right? not in a cone – lol!) I made the vanilla ice cream to hang over the waffle cone so it appears to be just about to melt. I also sprinkled some colorful sugar ‘jimmies’ on top for fun.

LEMON MERINGUE PIE: This is one of my husband’s favorite desserts – mine too! From the flaky and lightly browned pie crust, to the tart lemon filling and sweet, toasted meringue on top – this bead looks good enough to eat (but please don’t ;-)).

All these beads are available now on eBay: http://shop.ebay.com/ccglassart

Stay tuned for more foodie & sweet treat beads to come…

Until next time,
CC
http://www.ccglassart.com

From The Serengeti To Neptune’s Net

On August 14, 2009 By ccglassartIn What's Happening NowLeave a comment

It feels like I’ve been particularly busy this week making beads – which is fine by me since I love it so much! I believe a lot of my enthusiasm has to do with working with the style of beads you see. These are more organic and freeform in nature, yet all the random colors and patterns are captured within a perfect round shaped bead. This contrast of design is something I am drawn to making again and again.

Click here to view all of these beads available on eBay now!

SERENGETI: Lots of sparkle, shine and reactions going on in this bead. The glittering goldstone stringer against the deep topaz glass, shiny silver, and multicolored glass shards reminded me of the Serengeti plains in Africa at twilight.

NORTHSHORE: I’m sure you can tell right away why I named this bead after a popular surf spot in Hawaii. The reactive glass shards I used here bloomed into this wave-like shape with bright ocean colors.

NEFERTITI: When working with this bead I initially had a completely different name in mind for it. But once I took the bead out of kiln the bead had come to life with so many richer colors than I expected. Also, the shape of the shards looked very egyptian to me, even resembling the famous bust of Nefertiti herself.

FEATHER: With the deep raking and the wispy streaks of color that developed in the reactive silver glass, the name Feather just suited this bead perfectly.

NEPTUNE’S NET: It is so much fun to watch some of these reactive glasses come to life in the flame! The interaction between the base glass and the silver glass in this bead, produced this beautiful net-like pattern. With its pale carribbean blue color, I thought the name Neptune’s Net was fitting.

NAPA: This bead has a base of deep, rich true eggplant colored glass which is just beautiful against the reactive glass shards which developed into shades of celadon, chartreuse, aqua and teal. As if that wasn’t enough, the eggplant base glass peeked through the reactive glass creating what looked to me like little clusters of grapes, hence the name NAPA after Napa Valley, CA.

PERSIMMON: Here’s another bead that I originally had planned to name something different until I removed it from the kiln. The colors in this bead range from a true persimmon, to a light apricot and a soft coral. Set against a creamy light ivory background makes this bead especially beautiful in it’s simplicity.