Same Design, Different Colours

I bought some two-hole beads last winter, just because. Because they’ve been around for ages and I’ve never worked with them. That seemed a good enough reason.

I began with a complicated pattern. Not the best idea as I kept getting lost. So I reverted to a simple design and varied the colour of the accent beads.

Here’s the same design with red two-hole beads.

I look at these four pieces and see the same pattern. In chatting with visitors at the farmers’ market last weekend, however, most of them saw totally different pieces — they only saw the similarities when I pointed them out. Seeing is deceiving … 🙂

Silent Auction at the Empty Bowls Arts Festival

This Saturday I’ll be at the Arts Festival in Airdrie, AB from 11 to 5 pm. This annual event is a fundraiser for the Airdrie Food Bank, and a good cause in support of ending hunger.

Each artist appearing in the show has donated a piece of work for the silent auction. This is the necklace I’ve submitted.

This three dimensional piece features blue zircon Swarovski crystals and Japanese seed beads, and closes with a vintage button clasp.

You’ll find more about the Arts festival here.

A Necklace of Light

Thin-film physics, anyone? I never thought I’d write about that but — as it turns out — that’s apparently what gives dichroic glass its fascinating properties of light and colour.

Last winter I bought several pieces of dichroic glass from the husband of a beading friend. It was hard choosing only a few from so many beautiful ones. I planned to use them as cabochons in beaded necklaces.

But none of my ideas seemed to work. This week I finally realized they would look their best as stand-alone pieces, without the distraction of intricate beadwork.

Dichroic glass is beautiful and these handmade pieces are truly one of a kind. As you turn each piece light catches it at different angles and the colours seem to change as if by magic. It makes for an eye-catching piece of jewelry.

Green Fire (Sold)

The most famous piece of ancient dichroic glass is the Lycurgus cup, a rare 4th century Roman cage cup. It changes from red to green depending on whether light is shining on it from the front (the cup appears green) or from behind (the cup appears red).

Today’s dichroic glass is made using a different technique. According to Trezora Glass:

Dichroic glass does not use paints, dyes, gels or any standard coloring agents to create color anymore than a prism does. The fantastic colors are created through the manipulation of light. The multi-colored effect is the result of complex light interactions called “thin film physics”. Thin-film physics are also responsible for rainbow patterns in a soap bubble, the swirling colors of an oil slick floating on a puddle and the dramatic reflections in dragonfly wings. 

Ain’t it grand when science and art collide. 😉

Class Act

My favourite thing after beading? Teaching. 🙂 I enjoy sharing what I’ve learned with others, whether it’s their first venture into the world of beads or they’re already hooked and want to learn more.

The first class this fall included 8 gals and a bunch of beads. By the end of the evening each person was wearing a gorgeous pendant of Swarovksi crystals. Talk about bling! Several other classes followed over the coming weeks featuring bracelets, earrings and more pendants. Great fun.

In addition to public classes I also offer private sessions, both individual and small group. You pick the project and I bring the class to you. The minimum size is 3 people, the maximum is 6 or 8, depending on the project.

I’m working on a number of new classes and once they’re ready I’ll post them here.