10.11.2017 - Cute Posing Beads

*Remember - Weekly Wednesday update tonight at 9pm eastern. http://www.jillsymons.com

I love how glass transmits light.  (yes - think fiber optics!!) These wonderfully chunky tabs do that with these night straight edges.  I remember sitting at the torch while making these - looking forward to photographing them! Yes... seriously!  they're 1" across and about 3/8" thick... chunky - and I've left the chill marks on the surface - because it makes them all that more interesting!  Most of the glass I use is Lauscha or glass from the Czech Republic.  The transparent colors are just rich and clear. (OK... the light green is Effetre, and has some small bubbles... but the color is enticing enough to put up with them)... 
 

So, you know what the intent of this post is about... right?  Just how nice it was to stand these on their edges and capture their personalities!
smiles, Jill

9.27.2017 - ...That Nod & Knowing Whisper....

Years ago, my friend had quietly remarked how many times lampwork is an exercise into proving just how much you can cram onto the 'tiny canvas' of bead surface.  Yes, she is still my friend... and I remember that quite often as I work.

I've always felt less-is-more... and it shows in my work.  But every now and then something comes and nudges you... for me, this week, it was this piece.

While this piece has a mix of Boro and soft glass beads... I absolutely love the feel.  I have also found recently that my long-held belief that focal beads had to be just that - the focal - the belle of the ball... etc.  what I am now finding is just the opposite - that while they need to be interesting, it's better if they join everything together with a nod & a knowing whisper.  I like that approach much better. : )  Smiles, Jill

9.13.2017 - Eye Turning NYC Images

How do  you turn your eye off?  This trip wasn't about glass, or seeking that quintessential feel of the Big Apple, which surprisingly didn't feel big at all?  Are the comfort, beauty items we find pleasing somehow made present and evident no matter where we go?  

This is my take away from a week spent doing much different things than shown here... but these are the underlying sweetness of unintentionally being bombarded by the things I find so wonderful.  Thank you wonderful elements, for finding me. love, Jill

A little info I found online about these gems...

"Cast-iron vault lights (plates with glass lenses set into them) from the portion of sidewalk adjacent to the buildingVault space was a great thing in the nineteenth century. It could be and was used for coal storage, getting the potential fires and explosions of coal dust out of the body of the building. It could be and was used for boilers for the same reason. It could be used for storage for heavy objects, which makes sense when you remember that all those pretty cast-iron front loft buildings were warehouses and factories.

It gradually became more trouble than it was worth. The sidewalks leaked, and the cast-iron portions (particularly the vault lights) cracked under heavy loads. It was lousy space for anyone more sentient than a lump of coal. It was also, until 1997, taxed if it was usable. As a result, a lot of landlords closed off the interior access to the vaults, making them unusable and therefore untaxable, but also eliminating any possibility of maintenance. The tops of vaults were often covered with new sidewalk concrete, to the point where it is sometimes not possible to tell if a vault is present or not.

The New York City Department of Buildings has had some real success in digitizing records, but the focus has not surprisingly been on records pertinent to current regulations. The tax on vaults was handled by the Department of Finance, and those records have not been directly linked to the DoB records. Add this to the physical conditions and here’s the result: there are no accurate public records about which buildings have sidewalk vaults. In some cases there may not be accurate private records: if someone bought a building in 2000 that has a vault that was walled off in 1980, they may not even know that extension is there."

8.2.2017 - "I missed her Organic Phase"

Funny - I heard that comment online about 10 years ago, when I guess I skipped through an organic phase rather quickly! LOL....  I've been making beads now for twenty years, that's a long time - but I confess - I still get excited as I sit down to a torch session to transform rods of glass into bead creations.

I have found over time that when I happen onto a new design - I do it to death, all colors - many sizes and usually for the better part of a month... until I slip off to some other design (to do to death)...   Of course I have my favorite styles, but feel equally at home in all styles... sometimes it's nice to have a style that's 180 out from what I've been obsessing over for the past month.  

 

This has happened to me just recently.  Usually when springtime hits - I'm so ready for the "fresh  newness" of transparent glass - after a heavy wintertime. (ummm sometimes that doesn't hold true, as I DO live in Texas... but I do live vicariously through others and empathize with their wintery situations online).  

I also love the transparent glasses I use, my very favorite is Lauscha - as I can work hot and fast... no boiling and microbubbles... it makes a big difference!!

But, just because I love transparent glass doesn't mean I don't play with opaques...  I just often forget!

But while the opaques satisfy my need for color, I confess, I do love the form and shape.   Not so much chaos of colors all together in a bead - but sets of usually up to three colors. 

I occasionally fall off the radar when it comes to the silvered glasses.  OMG.  The effects are just amazing.So, selling online is a challenge because I make what I like... and hope that similarly minded customers find me.  I always ask for feedback as to what you'd like to see more of... do email - I'm always open to suggestions.

I love these beads!  They're uber high tech with the silver inclusions... all the silver is held underneath a top layer of clear glass so they never tarnish or get knocked off.  They're just so clean looking and fun.  

I love these purple beads!  They're uber high tech with the silver inclusions... which is held underneath a top layer of clear glass so they never tarnish or get knocked off.  They're just so clean looking and fun.  I've explored many different colorsways, denim blue, pink, olive, purple... and of course the silvered glasses.

Yes... these are timeless.  The wire is fused to itself as well as the glass.  They're part of the Ancients Series.  I love these.  I also love that the base glass is not a yellowy ivory... but more of a very pale taupe.  I like the sophistication of fine details... and clean lines.  Wearability and elegance...

So, selling online is a challenge because I get to make what I like... and only hope that similarly minded customers find me.  I will always ask for feedback as to what you'd like to see more of... do email - I like to hear what you have to say!! 

Smiles, Jill