More a Garden Post than a Bead Post, but Still Preparation for 'Open Studio'

Now that my stint at Quarr Abbey with 'Magpie Art' has finished, it is time to prepare for 'Open Studios' isleofwightarts.com in July.
 I haven't been in my workshop to do anything other than to unpack. Instead I have been doing a little indirect preparation, getting my garden shipshape for the visitors I hope to have.
There sure is a lot to do. A couple of weeks ago I planted some new day lilies. In recent years I have found day lilies really resilient to waterlogged Winters and drought stricken Summers. They just need so little care. Yes, they can become invasive, but I don't mind, as they are easy to turf out and thin if they do. They also have the advantage of flowering at just the right time for 'Open Studios'.
Anyway, with all this in mind, I ordered some different colours [mine are all orange] and look forward to seeing their flowers in the Summer. Paula Dyason at  strictlydaylilies.com was so helpful and gave me suggestions as to which day lilies would suit my garden's conditions.

A pretty tree with some my established day lilies

My Acers are looking good

Path needs some work, but new day lilies are tucked up in their new homes.

Spring view of the path to the Summer house

New day lilies

Side of Summer house

More path that needs cleaning up

New plants for containers waiting in the greenhouse. Trying some small dahlias for the first time this year.

Various cuttings that survived the Winter

More cuttings and some Rosemary and Lavender

Patio in a state of preparation

Fig tree still bare.

Gave the patio border a good feed with chicken pellets, so hoping the peonies will appreciate it.

Clearing the brick edging always makes the untidy borders look better.

I can't remember what this stuff is called, but it is amazing, as it has flourished despite being under water for most of the Winter.

Gradually tidying up the fence border.

Up as far as the willow tree.

Before, brick edgings completely grown over.

After.

Another before shot. When this one is finished there's still more big borders to do. 

Combining Lampwork and Fused Glass

I have always found my fused glass pendants to be very popular with my customers. I can see the appeal: they are bright, eye-catching and can compliment clothes simply and inexpensively. Although my pendants are hung on suede or satin cord, many people have a favourite silver or gold chain they like to use instead. Some have several pieces of fused glass that they interchange to go with different clothes.


The problem is I've always felt I am not very good at it. With beads I can be free and easy, in my opinion handmade beads look better if they are not quite perfect. It sort of distinguishes them from mass produced beads. However with fused glass it is completely different. The best fused glass is precise and balanced in shape, arrangement and design. The best examples of this are Nina Bulley www.ninabulley.co.uk and for stunning objet d' art, Pauline Evans isleofwightarts.com/paulineevans.
Both of these artists will be taking part in the Isle of Wight Arts Open Studios next month [July 2015] isleofwightarts.com.
The other problem with my fused glass is that I have not invested enough time to get to know what happens to different glass when it's in the kiln. It's a bit like the old days when I use to take a roll of film to Boots and eagerly await the prints, but on opening them up, finding only six or seven out of twenty four that were any good. Thank goodness for digital cameras! Well fused glass is just like that. I carefully prepare a tile of what I think are going exciting pendants. On opening the kiln however, some glass has slumped unevenly, any tiny mistake I had ignored before, now is emphasised and looks wrong. Making beads is relatively instant in comparison, I know straight away whether a bead is going to work or not.

Well I thought it was about time to have another go with a different approach. My aim has been to combine lamp work bead making with fused glass. I have briefly tried this combination before by literally making a flat bead and then fusing onto glass. The problem was the bead release, which no matter how much I tried to clean out of the hole, still left an ugly rough bit behind. This time I am making the 'beads' on the end of the mandrel rather like the way I make stud earrings. There is less bead release to remove and if there is any residue, it is hidden within the layers.

Lampwork 'beads' made especially for fused glass

What I also wanted to do is to create an effect that wasn't so slumped or melted. A little less like a melted ice cream and instead have more defined edges. This I did by experimenting with different kiln temperatures and timings. I am making progress with this, but not quite there yet.

Anyway see what you think. I have found some lovely simple silver plated bails on Etsy [hotfusedglass] and will hopefully have some pendants ready for my Open Studio weekend from 17th - 21st July. More photos to follow in a future post.

Finding the Right Event

Tactile Disc Bead Necklace

The week started well with a good day at the Affordable Arts Fair at Ventnor.

I've been trying to analyse why one event can be so much more successful than another for me. It's difficult to pin point exactly. I know it's definitely not the number of visitors, as events with a high footfall have so far produced my poorest sales.

It may have something to do with location perhaps? But why a small seaside town like Ventnor artsisle.org appears to be better than a busy Saturday outside John Lewis in Southampton is a mystery.

This leaves me with demographic, which sort of links to type of event. Excuse me if I use West Quay as an example again. There wasn't a vast number of stalls at West Quay, but a lot that consisted of goods [particularly jewellery] that were handmade in a looser sense. It's hard to explain, so apologies for sounding sniffy and snobby, but the stalls attracted the eye of people who were looking for a trinket, an inexpensive treat, a bargain, something nice but ordinary. Whereas an arts event such as Open Studios isleofwightarts.com or Affordable Arts Fairs attract people who spend time looking. The visitors are generally more interested in how something is made and connect to uniqueness.

I don't pretend to be a professional artist. I don't have a degree and I am almost entirely self taught. What I do have is ten years experience in lamp work bead making, an eye for colour and I think a distinctive style of my own. I like to try new techniques and ideas, but don't like to do the same as someone else.

So where do me and my jewellery belong? When it comes to events, I would say somewhere between the craft market and a professional artists' event. Bead making and I however, know exactly where we are. I may never make a fortune, but as long as I continue to get a thrill from turning on the kiln and firing up the flame, everything else is just a bonus.      

Me!

Gardening

Thought I would start with the bits that look okay.

Front border

More front garden pots

What's gardening got to do with beads, you may ask? Probably not much directly, except that one of my main bead and jewellery events of the year happens in my garden. That is the Isle of Wight Arts Open Studios.isleofwightarts.com

I have been part of Open Studios for the past six Summers and two Christmas'. The Summer event takes place on the last two weekends of July, with the West Wight, which I am part of, taking place this year from Friday 17th - Monday 20th July. I will write more about my open studio preparations as the event draws nearer.

At this time of year, although I haven't abandoned bead making, it does take second place to the garden, or rather it will do once I get started!

So far all I have done is to make a list of jobs to do, and a very long list it is too! I was going to make a start today, but the weather is just too horrid. It's at this stage I wish I had a nice little courtyard garden. At least this year I have remembered to take some before photos.

View from my summerhouse

A very tangled horseshoe shaped border

A sad greenhouse

desperate looking pots outside my summerhouse

This time a tangled pot combination

Bare vegetable troughs outside back door