Mary has been making glass beads for a while now. She is in the middle of taking an intermediate course.
The teacher nvited me to wear some protective glasses, like the ones Mary is wearing in this picture.
I didn't know enought to swing the side bar away from thefront lense of the glasses ... until the teacher came over and show me how to make it easier to wear the glasses.
They did feel quite lumpy
Mary is making the technique look easy -- gently holdiong the wire here and letting the bead gently cool out of the flame.
She and I dream that in the evenings we will be able to go down to her work bench and make enough beads that everyone can have a necklace.
So far, she has managed one night and a couple of hours on two Saturdays.
Her dreams mirror mine. I believed that I would sit down and watch a biopic each evening that I have been here.
After 11 days I have seen 4 pictures: A Beautiful Mind, Lumumba, The Social Network and La Vie en Rose (Edith Piaf).
Her dreams mirror mine. I believed that I would sit down and watch a biopic each evening that I have been here.
After 11 days I have seen 4 pictures: A Beautiful Mind, Lumumba, The Social Network and La Vie en Rose (Edith Piaf).
We don’t know if we should see this as the glass have full, or the glass half empty. I have seen more movies than none.
And she has run three beadings sessions.
I am going to count that as both of us being ahead.
Here are the rods of chartreus glass she has been melting, along with some of the beads -- black and white on the left side of the picture and you can see some chartreuse ones mixed in with other colours on the right side.
As you can see, protective glasses have to be worn.
There is a blow torch and several wires on which she puts slip.
When I first saw her sitting on the stool, a blow torch firing heat out toward the wall, I had a moment where I thought, "Who is it that takes up a hobby that requires a propane torch.
When did embroidery, tatting and cross-stitch go out of style?
When I first saw her sitting on the stool, a blow torch firing heat out toward the wall, I had a moment where I thought, "Who is it that takes up a hobby that requires a propane torch.
When did embroidery, tatting and cross-stitch go out of style?
The long tubes of glass sit against the wall.She picks one up, puts it in the flame and with her other hand, spins the wires as the glass falls onto them.
The spin is a slow one. I don't think I have the fine motor control to move my fingers that slowly and evenly.
But I can't say that I am not going to give it a try before I leave.
Arta
What beautiful colours in the photos. Are these photos from the studio? I love the rods of glass against the orange paint on the wall. I am envying the organization of the last photo with the multi-height containers for the different rod shapes.
ReplyDeleteI want to know if flash photography is allowed when someone has the propane torch going? Is it scary everytime the torch turns on? Does anyone wear protective gloves, and if so how could the gloves both protect and allow the fine motor skills required for the task?
David is here with me. He asks "How does she not get hurt?" I like where you are burning with fire. It's really cool. I am not meaning cold. I am meaning "cool". Like this kind (and he proceeds to do a fancy dance beside me). That kind of cool. Off he goes to dance to songs in the other room.
He also liked how the metal rod she is holding is black where she is holding it and white where it is close to the bead in the flame. I like studying Mary's face as she is studying the beading task at hand. Do the rich buy saftey glasses that have their prescription lenses in them? Perhaps Mary doesn't need prescription glasses.
Still musing away about this post,
Bonnie
Very cool. I need to get me a torch. Then we need to set up an area near the pottery studio. Then we need to figure out the most creative and beautiful ways to combine the glass beads with the ceramic beads, all home-made. Perhaps when we are all ready to retire this dream will come to fruition. In the meantime, back to grading and reading for me!
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