Playing with fire

Bead making season is underway at last.  The optimum temperature range for  lamp working glass is between 65 and 80 degrees F, below that range and the glass is too chilled to melt properly, and above that range the artist tends to melt.

Spring and warmer weather arrived long ago but playing in the garden won out, the lawn needed mowing and the vegetable garden had to be planted.  Now with summer here I can finally make time for playing with fire.

Below are a few photos of bead making in progress:  you wrap an initial core of glass onto the steel rod and marver that into a cylinder, then add additional colors on top.  Here I am using a technique to capture a small bubble of air by making a dent in the glass with a sharp steel tool, and then covering the dent with clear glass.

Seattle has a new glass museum, the Chihuly Glasshouse and garden will be an inspiring place to visit.

adding molten glass to the bead

poking dents into the glass

cooling the bead away from the flame

Farm pets

What fun to visit my friend’s farm and see many dear animals.  The farm dogs enjoy going for a ride around the property and are nice protection to have along.  The older or sick cats get the special treat of being allowed in the house, and the delight of catching a snooze by a sunny window.  One convalescent cat, Mr StarDusty, might be pictured in the future.

Here is Zoe all ready for a ride, practically sitting in the driver’s seat!

Zoe

Buddy Turbo inspects the terrain for ground squirrels and deer.

Turbo

Misty gets all cozy on a pillow in a sunny window.

spring beauties

Hello Mo fans!

The cats are enjoying a beautiful spring in Seattle, all the flowers and warm weather are a treat.  Even Miss Nimbus has been allowed outside during daylight hours a few times.  Here she is in the early morning light, waiting on the windowsill to come in for breakfast.

Miss Nimbus at dawn

Mr Mo is out surveying his domain from the old apple tree, now laying down on it’s side.  The perch is not quite so fancy now.

Mo's apple perch now sideways

But the old apple tree had more to say, one last branch burst into bloom, the sweet and delicate fragrance of the pink and white blossoms as a parting farewell.

Gravenstein apple blossoms

And today we include a bit more beauty;  some guest art for Mother’s Day, a painting my mom did of Tucquala Lake north of Roslyn WA.

Tucquala Lake

Lacrosse anyone?

I was experimenting with Sculpey as a modeling material.  It is a clay like material that you can work with your fingers and dental tools, and then bake in your home oven to firm it up.  The Pillsbury Dough Boy is a famous character made of Sculpey.

I wanted to create a lacrosse player, so I found that nice modern action shot on Google images, and then used the historic images from Wikipedia, paintings by George Caitlin.

Click on this image to see the larger view with the reference image on the left.  Can you identify the model?  She is number 7 on the Northwestern Wildcats women’s lacrosse team.

Postscript:  The reference image for the lacrosse player is a wonderful action photo by Todd Andrew Love of player Hannah Nielsen, number 7 on the Wildcats.

Dear old apple tree, or the snow report

January brought a snow storm and then an ice storm.  The snow was pretty and a rare type of snow that rolls up well into snowballs, so I made a pair of snow cats to decorate the back yard.  They have leaves for eyes and whiskers made from apple twigs.

snowcats chillin

Seattle rarely gets much snow and it doesn’t usually stay around for long.  The snow cats tipped over the next day and seemed destined for a quick melt.

Unfortunately a few days later an ice storm proved too heavy for the ancient mossy apple tree nearby, and it tipped back into the bramble patch, getting a final bit of revenge on the blackberry canes that had been trying to strangle it.

the old apple tree keels over

Mo used to enjoy sitting in the crotch of the apple tree, surveying his domain.  I am now considering sculptural options the apple wood might offer.  Can I save Mo’s catbird seat and make a shallow dish from that slice of the tree?  The next slice down with the main trunk swelling out into three heavy limbs would make a lovely fluted vase or bowl.  The main trunk of the tree could be turned on a lathe or sliced into boards.

I will have to read up more on wood grain and perhaps find answers at Rough Cut Woodworking with Tommy Mac.  I don’t have any fancy wood shop tools like Tommy, but with some old fashioned hand chisels and my electric drill and some rough cutting with my chainsaw, I can get crackin’!

Snowy sunrise

Winter is just around the corner now, and Mount Rainier is wearing the winter robes of white, looking especially chilly in the dawn light.

Mt Rainier sunrise

Bead making season wound to an end with the warm weather and a series of warm to hot pink beads.  I have some special rods of pink glass that is called “Striking Pink.”  Before you heat the glass it looks clear, but once it has been heated, or “struck” then it changes color dramatically.

These were hot pink with touches of amber or uranium green, making them a bit warmer.

bubblegum pinks

Beads make wonderful gifts, as do handpainted silk scarves.  Check out my friend Lisa Chitwood’s artwork at India Denali Designs on Facebook.

Dust bath season ends

The cats enjoyed dust baths in the driveway all summer long.  They flop and roll and stand up covered with dust, really pleased with themselves.  The fall rains have arrived now, and the amber lawn of late summer has returned to emerald green again.

dust bath time

Miss Nimbus seemed to be outgrowing her collar, so I treated her to a new baby girl pink one.  It is missing this morning, I will have to search outdoors for it.  This morning’s preliminary stroll netted me wet shoes and nothing more.

With the cooler weather, bead making season is winding down too.

Pet beads

Mandy Hula blue merle beads

I have been working on a series of pet beads.  Some were inspired by the unfortunate passing of some dearly beloved pets.  I made one series with blacks, grays and hints of brown and blue to honor a blue merle Australian Shepherd, she of the dancing hairy skirts known as Mandy Hula.

Sambeaux tortoiseshell beads

Another series was made to honor a very pretty tortoiseshell long haired cat named Sambeaux.  I had a nice time snuggling with Sambeaux, scratching under her chin while she purred nonstop.  I will miss both of those dear friends and I know their owner is missing them mightily.

Jasper orange tabby beads

A third series were in the colors of an orange and white tabby, our friendly neighbor cat Jasper.  I had not seen him for several weeks and feared the worst, but he showed up with a freshly shaved neck which tells me he must have spent some time at the vet’s.  That series was an extra challenge as the opalino cream colored glass has a lower melting point than the clear and amber encasing.

Click on any of the photos to see the entire row of beads in each series.  I think Aura Sun Arts will be specializing in these pet beads for many a furry friend.  Custom requests are always accepted.

Raccoon visitors

There is quite the parade of wildlife here in the backyard.  One day I spotted a pair of pileated woodpeckers working on a dead maple trunk.  I have seen a mother and cub raccoon a few times and one morning got some good shots of them at dawn as they were headed back to bed after a night of prowling for food.

Mom and cub raccoon

Raccoons have escaped into the wild in Japan and Germany and caused tremendous damage to crops and buildings.  Japan’s problem started when a children’s cartoon featuring a raccoon caused them to become popular as pets.  Now importing them is banned.  Read more about the problems at this link.

They stand on their hind legs often for a better view, behaving like a miniature bear.  They have learned to avoid cars and keep to their small territories, finding plenty of food in urban settings.  Click on any of the photos for an enlarged view.

Checking for danger

pileated woodpecker on the maple tree

Ocean’s calling

beading in progress

Enjoying blue beads again, I am working on a new wrap in aqua colors.  Here are pictured some seed beads in tubes and the tray, the tiny needle used for the peyote stitch fringe, and two handmade beads on a stainless steel rod.

The royal blue wrap was made earlier and I have the basic strand assembled for the aqua blue necklace.  It has three handmade Aura Sun Arts beads in the seafoam blues that remind me of tropical oceans.

seafoam blues with a bit of fringe

Here it is with the ruffled fringe of smaller seed beads added on.  I may add some fringe to the right side of the strand just to see how that looks.

I have not been to the beach in a long time, but I take a look at Hempstead Beach on Long Island New York, by webcam when I want to pretend.

Click on either photo for a closer view.