Helen Rose Glass

National press

2012-01-11T17:54:00.001Z

As many of you know I sell my fused glass locally in a few shops. The 1st of those was Glass From The Past at barleylands in Billericay. After a chance meeting years ago in Hylands House car park Caroline(the studio owner) and I have become friends. I've been to several different glass workshops at the studio, did eve classes and am now an apprentice each Friday. Well getting back to why I mention this and that because the gallery has this wk been featured in the national magazine Your Home. My little claim to fame can be that some of my glass can be see in 1 of the photos :)

On the opposite side of the page is Make Do and Mend which is based in Chelmsford, and another place where I display and sell my glass. Hannah is featured with her knitting and crochet workshops.

Big smiles all round for crafting in Essex :D

Spring at xmas

2011-12-29T22:53:00.001Z

We may still be in the middle of the festive season but I've been stepping into spring over the past 2 days.

These designs are destined for 'a Passion for Fashion' in Maldon and 'Glass from the Past' in Billericay. What shall I make tomorrow?

Christmas creativity

2011-12-28T18:55:00.001Z

It's so nice to have time away from school to really think about new designs. I had so many ideas the other night I couldn't get to sleep for thinking about them all.... Maybe sketching in bed isn't such a gd idea after all! :)

Until I've tested my new ideas I'm going to continue with a few I'd been testing in the run up to Xmas that flew off my stall. Stock is so low that I need new things quite quickly ....and to replace the Xmas themed pieces I have in shops!
So here I am a few days after Xmas and the kiln is on firing testers and new pieces too.

The Versatile Blogger Award

2011-07-14T23:16:00.000+01:00

Tonight I was reading one of my favourite blogs by Love from Lynne http://lovefromlynne.blogspot.com/2011/07/versatile-blogger-award.html?showComment=1310678285881#c964585329463313258 and saw that she has nominated me for 'The Versatile Blogger' Award. It was such a nice surprise and has made my evening.

I try to blog when I have something extra specially interesting to say and am hoping to get time to do it more from mid Aug....I am going down to 4 days at work to spend more time crafting. I can't wait :o) I love reading blogs by other likeminded crafty people and hope that other people enjoy my ramblings too.

So now I need to tell you 7 interesting things about me and then nominate 7 of my favourite blogs to pass the award onto.

1) I like growing my own fruit and veg in the garden so that I can pop out and pick exactly what I need for my dinner. I get fed up buying pack of things in the supermarkets who don't cater for singles like myself and throwing food away is such a waste!

2) Although I am now a glass crafter I actually trained in Theatre (Design and Technology) at Bretton Hall University College up in Wakefield, Yorkshire. I loved it but the reality of working in theatre I'm afraid just isn't me so teaching beckoned.

3) I hate cooking but for some bizarre reason am turning into a jam-maker-a-holic this summer. If its fruity and not being used for something it get turned into jam!! I am finding it quite theraputic and have decided to have a 'making as many presents as possible' type of Christmas....so get your jam flavour preferences in now ;)

4) I also hate clothes shopping. Going into cramped changing rooms to try on clothes that just happen to be in fashion but don't suit your body type in my idea of shopping hell. I'm afraid to say I end up in a supermarket far too often.

5) I love animals and have a cat and budgie- yes that does make for an interesting arrangement. The budgie is 10yrs old and his cage is suspended from the ceiling so that Annabelle (my cat) doesn't get him for dinner!!! but in her defence she rarely eyes him up and is more interested in the ones she thinks she can catch in the garden.

6) I am a member of The Guild of Essex Craftsmen. I applied around 6 yrs ago and was lucky enough to get in straight away. I can proudly say I was the 1st glass fuser in the Guild! I regularly go to their craft fairs and can often be found demonstrating how to work with glass.

7) I've recently come to realise that without art and craft in my life I don't feel whole somehow. I love learning new crafts and carrying on with what I do at home too. If I start feeling unhappy I need to get crafting and then start to feel more human again :o) I'm trying a needle felting workshop in Aug and am in the middle of an Emily Peacock 'Hug' x stitch cushion.

Right so now for another 7 blogs to pass the award onto....mmm....who to choose?!?

http://cupcakejojo.blogspot.com/

http://www.lovemakethink.com/

http://www.dotsandspotsdesign.blogspot.com/

http://laurahambleton.blogspot.com/

http://beautifulthingsbyclaire.blogspot.com/

http://threadwirecloth.blogspot.com/

http://www.pictureitinstitches.blogspot.com/

Hope you enjoy seeing some new blogs

new designs

2011-07-09T23:34:00.000+01:00

This week I had my new business cards and sticky labels delivered. I love the daintiness of the design. Sometimes it can be difficult to fully appreciate whats on the screen shot when you order things like this.

While I was demo'ing at Horndon on the Hill Feast and Fayre 2 weeks ago I made lots of card toppers. Tonight I finally found the time to sit down and make up the card designs. Once there's daylight I'll take some better photos and set up an etsy shop to sell the cards.

What kind of home do you live in? I've got bungalows, houses, town houses and flats in the designs.

Its wedding season so I just had to do some wedding designs too.

I also got a little carried away with the new baby cards. These are backed with felt rather than special papers like the other cards. I wanted a softer feel for new arrivals.

Its also the end of term when we all like to thank our teachers for all the hard work they do all year (ok so I'm a teacher, but in secondary school its very rare to get thank you cards/prezzies. The exception would be my 6th formers who bought us 2 goldfish and everything we needed to look after them too. How lovely is that?!)

We always seem to know someone with a birthday coming up. I don't know about you but I'm partial to a slice of cake at celebrations.

If you would like any of the cards above before I list them on etsy please leave a msg here or email me helen@helenroseglass.co.uk They will be priced at £3.50 and postage will be worked out asap.

Thanks

orange and apricot loaf

2011-06-12T19:28:00.000+01:00

For some strange reason the non-chef that I am decided to make strawberry jam and an apricot/orange loaf today. Yesterday I'd gone strawberry picking with a friend and she'd shown me how to make jam. I'd never realised it was soooo easy so today was determined to make some of my own too and now I have several jars of warm jam sat in the kitchen. With todays miserable weather they make perfect handwarmers ;o)

How yummy do all those bits of strawberry look mmmmm. Went lovely on a croissant earlier.

The strawberries were huge, see how big they are compared to an orange.

My 2nd make of the day was an apricot and orange loaf. Unfortunately the tin liners I'd bought were too big for my loaf tin so I ended up using them in a flat tin instead hence the squashed looking loaf. I don't mind though, it'll taste the same.

So here's the recipe for it-

100g dried apricots

an orange

100g self raising flour

100g soft margarine

100g soft light brown sugar

2 eggs

1- pre heat oven to gas 4, 180c or 350f and line your 2lb loaf tin

2- chop dried apricots into a bowl

3- grate the rind of the orange into the bowl

4- Sift the flour into the bowl. Add margarine and sugar.

5- break the eggs into a cup and add them to the bowl.

6- Beat the mix until its light and fluffy.

7- Pour mix into the tin and cook for 40mins

icing ingredients-

100g icing sugar

2 tble spoons of orange juice

8- Mix the icing sugar and orange together until its the consistency of runny glue.

9- pour over the loaf once its cooled.

10- most important.....Eat your yummy cake :o)

Happy cooking

Trialing a craft kit

2011-05-21T13:41:00.000+01:00

A crafting friend of mine, Claire from Beautiful Things by Claire Mackaness (look her up on facebook/twitter) has decided to start making craft kits. Before selling them though she asked for volunteers to trial the kits and give her a review so I volunteered to try out her tote bag kit.

I loved coming home on Thursday to find a little pink package on the mat. I know it’s only a small thing but it was the start of feeling like I’d got something special. As soon as I opened it I thought it looked very professional in the packaging and quickly opened the kit.

I have to say that I did find 5 pages of instructions a little daunting and wondered what I’d let myself in for but started to follow them step by step, running up and down the stairs to keep ironing various pieces of fabric, then coming down to sew them together.

It was simple to follow the instructions, so I needn't have been worried, and time flew by.

I also had a little hiccup adding the felt squares that covered the handle joins when it said ‘press the square for 10-15 seconds until the glue melts’. I literally pressed it and nothing happened. As someone who’d never seen sticky backed felt I didn’t realise straight away that it meant to press with an iron, oops! I felt very 'blonde' but I reckon Claire will not amend this before the kits go on sale.

I had another little mishap when my stitching didn't quite go straight- not due to my poor sewing skills obviously, there must've been something going wrong with the machine!!!! or perhaps I was getting distracted by this going on near my feet.....

Around 75 mins after I started I had a completed, gorgeous tote bag.

So if you were to ask if I’d buy other kits the answer would be yes, as I found it easy and fun to do. I reckon the kits will be a top seller in no time at all.

Good work Claire :o) Feel free to add a link to your etsy shop in the comments so people can easily buy them.

fusing workshop

2011-05-14T21:08:00.000+01:00

A few months ago I was contacted about running a workshop for 5 friends. This quickly grew to 7 friends and then to 9!! At this point I had a minor panic wondering how on earth I was going to fit 9 people into my house to teach them at the same time. I looked up hiring the village hall and thought about hiring extra tables to have a home but however I planned it out it wasn't going to work. I was also worried about being able to teach 9 people well enough so that they had individual help with their work. The only answer was to teach in 'shifts' with a group of 5 and then of 4 which thankfully the group were more than happy with.

The day started with tea, coffee, lots of chatter and a reunion with an old friend from down under. You could tell straight away that they were going to be great fun and were here for an enjoyable day whilst learning something new.

The coaster making went pretty smoothely but by the time they were onto suncatchers the making group were being 'helped' by their friends who couldn't resist giving suggestions on their designs. I guess it should have been predicted once they all had a basic understanding of working with the glass. It was quite nice really although they often joked about being in competition with the opposite group or telling them to stop heckling them- all good jesting :o)

Some chose to chill out in the garden reading some of my glass books and we all popped out to see the impromtu air show over head. I've never seen planes doing loop the loops over my house before today! Southend have their airshow in 2 wks so perhaps we saw their practice.

Friends 'helping' each other out.

The kilnful of glass created today. 9 coasters of varying design and glass cutting.

Gill who made the beach huts very nearly bought a piece like this last week in Burnham and was chuffed to bits to be able to make her own one.

At the end of the day I felt like I'd spent the day with my friends and was feeling about as chilled as they were and then came to shock of a clap of thank yous...now that's not something you get everyday :o)

peacock eyes

2011-04-25T15:36:00.000+01:00

Nothing like leaving things til the last minute is there!

My leaded window design has been coming along nicely but so far I've managed to do the 2 easiest of the 6 sections and haven't got round to fusing the eyes of the peacock's tail. In tomorrow's eve class I'll be doing a bit of soldering on panel 2 but will then be ready for the tail and the challenge of the century!!! Now that I'm ready for the tail parts I really need the peacock eyes done and there for leading into the design. (See what I mean about last minute now!) So today was the day for getting it done.

I'm using lead crystal glass that I've been using for my castings as having done a few flat experiments with it I realised it would be perfect for what I envisaged.

I set myself up on the table in the conservatory with the leading design, peacock images, bags of glass, a kiln shelf to position the glass directly onto and was joined by a hot and bothered cat stretched out under the table!

But then disaster struck!!!! I ran out of glass eek!!! (ok I know I'm being melodramatic but I am impatient!) Luckily Glass From The Past, where I get my glass from, is pretty local so I jumped in the car and bought another 8 bags which should keep me going for a little while.

So disaster averted and I finished all the 'eyes' on the left hand side of the design.

When the come out of the kiln tomorrow morning I'll be able to pack them into a bag ready for the eve class when I'll cut and grind them to fit into the design perfectly.

But before then I've got lots of 16yr olds to prepare for their final GCSE Art exam on Weds/Thurs....I'll need another 4 day wkend to get over this chaotic wk :o)

new casting sculptures

2011-04-24T19:30:00.000+01:00

What a gorgeous bank holiday weekend and school Easter holiday. For days now I've been able to enjoy eating every meal al fesco on the patio and have had 2 bbq's which is just amazing for April. I could get used to this :o)

Today I decided it was time to take my crafts outside so spent a few hours this afternoon making new casting sculptures.

Last week I went on holiday to Norfolk and visited Southwold which was full of seaside inspiration (ok so perhaps I am a little preoccupied by seaside themes but we can't help what inspires us can we?!)

These will be used to make a plaster mold at a later date so that I can turn the design into 3d glass.

Which is your favourite?

What other items should I add to the seaside collection?

glass casting results

2011-03-20T22:02:00.000Z

So I managed to restrain myself from turning the kiln on for 6 days!!! Are you as impressed as I am?! I'll admit I was going to put it on sooner but on Tues I bumped into Sue Chalk and she said she'd recommend leaving the molds to dry out for about a wk so I sensibly listened to her advice.

After 30hrs in the kiln I broke open the molds and this is what I found. Some of the edges were a little sharp, especially on the lagoon green shell which was the one that had got buried in the plaster, so I had to start grinding off the edges.

I love the level of detail that remains in the glass after its cast.

Last week I experiemented with fusing the lead crystal glass into flat shapes and was quite pleased with the results. I'm now wondering whether to use shapes like this as a base to put my sculptures on top of. What do you think?

What colour combinations/contrasts do you like best? I think I prefer the green shell on the bluey base, do you agree? mmm decisions decisions.....and what shall I get making next?....oooh the possibilities are endless.

glass casting 1

2011-03-20T21:37:00.000Z

Back in October I went on a glass casting workshop with Sue Chalk and have finally started to experiment with it at home now. All it took for me to get going was discovering that the gorgeous lead crystal glass I needed was on sale at Glass from The Past in Billericay and I was away :o)

Last weekend while I sat on a craft stall at Hylands House I spent several hours making mini sculptures. Using plasticine, shells, a pencil and a craft knife I began to create the 3d forms I wanted to cast in glass.

Now anyone who knows me won't be surprised to hear that I was far too keen to see how they would come out to wait for too long to make the molds. By sunday evening my kitchen looked a bit of a mess with plastic pots, a jug, bags of glass, newspaper, plaster, weighing scales and various other bits n bobs cluttering the worksurfaces.

Some of the castings worked perfectly....

...but the one with the air bubbles didn't look quite so good....

...the plasticine had come unstuck from the base and moved inside the mold but armed with a handy craft knife to dig the plasticine out happiness was restored :o)

By the time I went to bed on Sunday evening the glass was secured in the molds ready to go in the kiln

All that was needed was patience in waiting for the molds to dry out before I could turn the kiln on....and that's not something I'm too good at when something this new and exciting is concerned. How long will I be able to wait before I programme the kiln?

Needlecraft thats just my cup of tea!

2011-02-17T20:43:00.000Z

Having watched Kirstie's Homemade Home in the Autumn last year I fell in love with these gorgeous cushions by Emily Peacock. I guess like most people I'd never seen any kind of needlework thats so modern like these designs. I'd had a traditional image of landscape picture or samplers. As a child I'd made many a cross stitch in school holidays and bought my mum a couple of kits a few years back for a Christmas present. She's not quite finished them but is quicker than my sister who's still trying to finish one she started around 15yrs ago!!!

I've just bought myself a kit for 'HUG' and am hoping it doesn't take me as long to do as my sister's 'country companions' kit.

Designers like Emily Peacock and Granny Knits have become firm favourites for me. I'm following them with enthusiasm on Facebook and came across this link on Emily Peacock's page, which is all about contemporary needlepoint. Take a look if you are as keen on this style of work as me and you won't be disappointed.

http://www.ukhandmade.com/content/make-craft-profile-contemporary-needlepoint

My kitchen door design

2011-02-16T22:50:00.002Z

For a while now I've wanted to learn how to lead glass so that I can create a glass design for my kitchen/hallway door. In January I went on a leading day workshop and have now finished designing my 1st piece. I'm slightly worried it could be a challenge too far but maybe if I knew what was coming I'd not set myself such a challenge and therefore wouldn't get better so quickly. I remember doing the same when I started glass fusing and regretted cutting sharp curves in opaque glass as I couldn't see what I was doing but I persevered and Mum eventually got her bowl (but not quite on time for her birthday! oops)

I've decided to combine fusing and leading in this piece (see what I mean about doing something challenging for a 1st piece!) and will fuse the 'eyes' and the head piece of the peacock. This way I should be able to get a bit more detail in the work and create some added interest. Before doing too much more cutting out I need to experiment with the fusing just incase the pieces need adjusting to fit the pattern. I don't want to have to recut lots of pieces because the fused elements 'grow' in the kiln as the glass melts.

Watch this space to see the trials and tribulations of making the peacock and share my surprises along the way too...

The outcomes of the baby feet/hand casting

2011-01-23T13:16:00.000Z

Part 2 of casting a baby's foot for posterity!

These are the outcomes of our 1st try at casting a baby's feet and hand. As you peel away the rubbery alginate mixture its amazing just how much detail you start to see on the plater cast inside. With the pink from the mix slightly dying the plaster it looks spookily real. We were quite relieved to see the pink fade though as the plaster dried out!

A foot starting to emerge from the the mold. Its looking all wrinkly like the foots been in a bath for too long!

We were impressed with our creations and surprised ourselves at how amazingly real they looked. You can also see which ones have been exposed to air for longer as the pink becomes less bright.

We needn't have worried about the fist after all. It came out the best of all the casts.

An adorable little foot...ahhhhh.

So glas we didn't buy one of those kits from the shops and tried something a little differernt instead. The risk definitely paid off :o)

copying other peoples designs is wrong

2011-01-19T22:32:00.000Z

This evening I dropped into Twitter to discover lots of people I follow retweeting posts from a designer with the user name @SheDraws Today a friend of hers discovered that Claire's Accessories have plagerised a necklace design and have been selling it in their shops. If you follow the link below you will be able to read @SheDraws blog post about this and see examples of the 2 necklaces. They are scarily similar and clearly show no morals on the part of Claire's or even any attempt to make slight design changes.

http://drawglueglittermake.blogspot.com/2011/01/claires-accessories-have-copied-me.html

Things like this make me so angry and are just so wrong. Designers need the credit they deserve for their hard work and not to be treated like this. If you feel strongly about this issue to please pass it on and avoid shopping in Claire's. Go to a real crafter for a quality piece of jewellery instead.

Making a cast baby foot

2011-01-18T22:25:00.000Z

Its become popular recently for new parents to buy kits to imprint their baby's hand or foot print. My sister had a baby in October and wanted to create a mini hand and foot to remember just how small Adam was when he was first born but being related to arty old me we decided to try for something a little different.

Armed with dental alginate and you tube tutorials we decided to cast both feet and a fist too.

Attempt no1 to imprint the feet was a disaster so thats when we looked up you tube!

I poured the quick setting alginate into a bag and and we then put Adam's foot into it and tried to keep him still until it set. It was soooo much easier when he fell asleep and then didn't move at all!!!

Looking into the cast.

As the alginate dried it turned pink. We poured plaster into the molds and then left them overnight to set. At this point my sister took the molds home and I was left wondering what these mini feet would look like. We both thought the fist mold hadn't worked as well as the feet had so I waited in anticipation to hear how well our efforts had worked........

Glass Casting

2011-01-17T17:41:00.000Z

Its been a while since I regularly blogged (life kind of caught up with me and time for blogging disappeared I'm afraid) and I've just realised that one of my last posts was about the glass casting workshop. So I told you all about the workshop and never ended up showing you how my pieces came out.

The cast glass still inside its mold.

Breaking open the molds

My finished pieces made from lead crystal. I had no idea that this level of detail would be seen within the glass so was really pleased with my mini sculptures.

Leaded Stained Glass Workshop

2011-01-16T20:35:00.000Z

Yesterday I went on a leaded stained glass workshop which is a glass technique I've wanted to try for a while now. Having copperfoiled for 2years now I am more than ready to work with something new in the evening class ......and I've got a large project in mind for my house too.

The workshop started with choosing a design so I opted for this one which I decided to make Christmasy ready to come out each year and to replace some of the more spring/summer copper foiled designs I've already got hanging in my windows.

The morning session was fairly straight forward as I'm used to cutting glass but I was ready and waiting for the challenge of the afternoon when the lead came out of the cupboard! We all learnt to stretch the lead and how to cut it with 3 different tools and then it was time to put our learning into practice. Having watched my Tue eve classmates struggle with leading I thought this was going to be very very difficult, I was therefore surprised at how quickly a design could be leaded together. Ok quickly is a slight exaggeration but I was expecting it to be much longer and much more technical....although I know the designs we had chosen from were on the simpler side of challenging. I'm sure it won't be long before I'm back in the Tues class trying to lead a design and finding out what my classmates have been experiencing and will be quickly eating my own words!!!

Now for the challenge of designing my own work for my house

Glass Casting Workshop

2010-10-15T20:07:00.000+01:00

My journey with glass continued into the world of glass casting this week. Its a whole new area to learn about and one I've been wanting to try for a while now. I very nearly signed up for a masterclass with Keith Cummings at the International Glass Festival this year but then decided I wanted to try it on a smaller (and cheaper!) scale first.

This week I started a 3 week course at Glass from the Past with Sue Chalk. She is an excellent, experienced glass artist who we've spent years asking, no actually begging, to teach us all how to cast glass. By day Sue is a science technician at the same school as me but this masks her amazing knowledge and skill for glass. For the past 13yrs Sue has been exploring glass, drawn to the play of colour and light and is intrigued by the plastic and manipulative qualities of glass. She is currently casting lead crystal and many of these pieces are on display at Glass from the Past and have a magical luminous quality to them. In 2006 she received the Worshipful Company of Painter-Stainers' award for creative glass and has also exhibited at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. Now I'm pretty sure not many people at school know that!

So workshop 1 was all about making an item out of chavant plasticine ready to cast it's negative next week. I became completely absorbed by making my item, a mini conch shell but before I knew it the time was over and I came away with some chavant to try and make another item to cast next week. Who knows if I'll have time to do my homework though as I'm off on another workshop this weekend to learn how to make silver art clay. Happy times in workshops this week :o)

How paintings can evoke memories

2010-10-12T18:51:00.000+01:00

Are there paintings that you've looked at that remind you of certain times, places or people? I know photos and music can do that so easily but have you ever had that with a work of art?

I've spent the day today with 40 Yr10 students visiting The National Gallery and The National Portrait Gallery. (We had a great gallery talk in The National and plenty of sketching time in the Portrait Gallery too....and I'm back there again tomorrow with another 40 kids for round 2!) However while I was in the Portrait Gallery this morning I had a 'blast from the past' moment with this painting of Sir Christopher Ondaatje by Daphne Todd.

Now most people will say "who?" and be completely baffled but I was transported back to 1999 and my 1st job after uni at Blundell's School, Tiverton, Devon where I worked as their Theatre Manager/Administrator/Teacher in the school theatre called.....Ondaatje Hall (excuse the teeny tiny picture, it was the best i could find online!). I doubt it was the painting I saw today but there was a portrait of Christopher Ondaatje hanging in the theatre foyer for us to walk past every day and it was one that I often found myself looking at and seeing more and more in it and enjoying the painting style.

So how come the school had a building named after the man who also donated money to build the Ondaatje Wing at the National Portrait Gallery? Well he was an old boy of the school and after a hugely successful career in finance/ publishing donated a large sum of money to build an arts centre at the school.....now this is the kid of former students I could do with in my dept!!! He also made some slightly strange stipulations about the design of the building though - a tower, a spiral staircase and a balcony needed to be in the building with the theatre, drama room, art history room and art studios. Now I guess if you are donating money you can make any design stipulations that you like but in this case it actually made for interesting architecture....although the meeting room balcony that opened up to a view of the theatre foyer was a little on the pointless side of things!

In my year at the school I got to meet the man himself when he came to give a talk with the National Geographic Society in my theatre and I didn't need to be introduced to him to recongise him. He was exactly like his portrait, very tall, kind of willowy in build but with a grand status kind of aura. If you take a close look at the portrait I think you'll see what I mean too.

So what paintings or music bring back happy memories for you?

So true

2010-10-07T21:27:00.000+01:00

I was reading a blog today by a fellow crafter and they'd been told this rhyme recently which I love as it sums up some situations we come across in life perfectly.

" I am not in this world to live up to your expectations,

And you are not in this world to live up to mine.

I am I and you are you.

If we meet and respect each other,

Then it can be beautiful.

If not, then it's too bad."

I don't know about you but I tend to take far too many things to heart and find myself bogged down by other people or beaurocracy at work and could do with remembering this saying. I know I shouldn't be so sensitive but thats easier said than done and there are times I wish I could change my personality to shrug things off more easily but I am who I am and I'm happy with that.

As a secondary school teacher I am constantly put upon to get students ridiculously high grades for their GCSE's. According to the stats people anyone who can get high SATs in yr 6 for eng, maths, science and lives in a nice area is somehow supposed to get an A* for Art!?! Nevermind their artistic skills, lazy attitude or I've gone the extra mile to pull them through the exam course. It drives me mad and is a big cause of stress, perhaps I should think back to this saying next time I'm being quizzed about my students.

Does this saying have resonance with you too? Share it with your friends if so.

Life Drawing Workshop

2010-10-07T15:42:00.000+01:00

LIFE DRAWING

Full day life drawing sessions for all abilities.

Lunch, life model and basic drawing materials are provided.

Sessions are suitable for those who wish to access a life model for their own work through to beginners as an experienced artist and drawing tutor will be on hand throughout.

Sunday 10th October, 11am-3.30pm - Figurative drawing workshop form and structure
And / Or
Sunday 17th October, 11am-3.30pm - Figurative drawing workshop narrative and expression.

£12 per session or £20 for both - Over 18’s only

BIG DRAW events at the University of Essex
Studio 1, Clifftown Studios, Nelson Street Southend, SS1 1EF

For more info or to book phone Clare on 01702 328279 or email ccook@essex.ac.uk

Online art courses with Tate Gallery

2010-10-07T15:16:00.000+01:00

Tate Gallery are now running online art courses. Via their facebook page I found out about this one that may be of interest to some of you. This would appear to be one of several online courses they have so if you want to learn more about art click on the link and see where it takes you.

http://www.tate.org.uk/learnonline/onlinecourses/drawingtechniques/

Introduction to Drawing Techniques

Sketches, still lifes and studies – drawing is often considered as the primary method of artistic expression.

This course introduces you to a variety of drawing techniques, using a combination of video tutorials and examples of work by artists in Tate’s collection. See exclusive video footage of artists explaining their drawing practice, learn at your leisure and also discuss your works with fellow students in the online forum.

The Introduction to Drawing Techniques course costs £20 for unlimited access and can be purchased online. Find out more about the course content in the course overview.

New lampwork bracelets

2010-10-03T11:52:00.000+01:00

Today I finished making 3 new lampwork bead bracelets. These are my hot sellers at the moment. As quick as I make them they are selling. These 3 are also the last bracelets I can make for a while because although I have some beads left there are not enough to make any more bracelets (unless someone didn't mind completely random colour combinations!).

This one is perfectly autumnal with rich reds and browns in the glass beads and garnet seed beads too. Its also a longer length £40

Summery, aquatic lampwork beads with mother of pearl £35

Pretty pink and lilac lampwork beads with swarovski crystals. This is so gorgeous I am thinking about keeping it but if you'd like it get in touch and I'll work out a price.

If you would like any lampwork for Christmas presents please get in touch asap as I will be busy with fairs/parties from late Oct-early Dec and need to start forward planning lampwork torch time at Glass From the Past. Watch this space for exciting new from the studio coming soon!

To attend or not to attend that is the question!

2010-09-25T23:12:00.001+01:00

Its the eternal question for every stall holder- do you attend an event or not? Does the cost of a pitch mean the event is up for the taking or ruled out straight away? Will people going to that event be up for buying crafts or are they there for a different reason entirely? Sometimes you make a good choice and at other times its not quite so successful.

2 weeks ago I went to Woodfest in Hatfield Forest. As I arrived in Takeley the heavens opened, I couldn't see a single sign and I began to wonder what I'd signed up for. Last week I went to a Handmade and Vintage Fair on a lovely sunny day and had seen lots of advertising in the run up to the day so had high hopes. Now which one do you think turned into the best day and my perfect kind of event? If you read my blog a few wks ago you'll know the answer, it was WoodFest by far or perhaps 'Takeley's best kept secret' as it could also be known. I loved the atmosphere, the other crafts there, the friendly stall holders and then sold well too.

One thing that really made the event special was the live music all weekend just a short distance from my stall. It was a mix of folk/ blues and of a very high standard. The music went on long into the evening on Saturday and on Sunday the added sunshine helped too ;o)

Now don't get me wrong the Handmade and Vintage event wasn't badly orgainised or lacking visitors its just that people were there for the vintage side of things much more than the handmade side. I was amazed at just how many people dressed up in vintage clothing/vintage hairstyles to go to the event and the vintage stock seemed to by flying off the stalls around me. I had lots of chats with people about workshops or larger pieces of glass as potential commissions but generally found myself a bit....can I say this?! er yes, bored. I am used to demonstrating at events which helps the time pass and if I'm not doing this its usually because I am so busy, but without this I felt at a loose end. The highlight of my afternoon was the live music by 2 fantastic singers.

Now this brings me back to my original question about what events to chose to do and which ones to leave out. Perhaps if I'd have thought about it a little more I'd have realised that the Vintage and Handmade Fair wouldn't be craft specific enough but I didn't so I've lived and learnt, so to speak. Its also make me think ahead to next year and which events I'd like to try and find more of. I'm beginning to think that festivals with live music are the way forward for me so it's time I bought my own waterproof gazebo and got those wellies at the ready....festivals here I come!

What are your favourite events? Where do you think you'll be going over the coming months/next year?

Don't you love it when other people love your designs

2010-09-25T17:43:00.000+01:00

At the start of the summer holidays I made a lampwork bead bracelet as a commission to match an outift. Helen emailed me a picture to use as colour inspiration and then I got to work on it. Today she left this rather lovely message for all her friends to read on facebook.

Helen Gillespie: "*****" Helen made me a wonderful bespoke necklace and bracelet set for the Vegas Wedding/Harry's Christening.

It was really easy, all I had to do was contact Helen, email my picture and then she made a set that compliments the dress and shoes (most important) beautifully. I will post a picture soon.

You can either have it sent... or visit helen for a fitting, ensuring it is (as goldilocks says) just right.

Thanks Helen!"

Here's the finished design with the emailed picture of the fuschia pink bag and turquoise dress I was matching the design to. Thank you back Helen for the comment :o)

These bracelets are hot designs at the moment, as fast as I make one I am selling it. I only have 1 left in stock which is red/plum colours but I am off to the studio tomorrow to make more beads and fulfil a 40th birthday commission.

Glass Studio Supplies

2010-09-16T22:52:00.000+01:00

Today I discovered glass heaven!!!

It came in the form of http://www.glassstudiosupplies.co.uk/ in Wickford, Essex. I've been hearing how lovely this new shop is at my evening class and as I needed a few bits n pieces for my workshop this weekend I thought I'd pop in and see what all the fuss was about....now I know! They had an amazing array of glass in every colour, frit, stringer, confetti, glass tech books, display items and its was all displayed in a very enticing way....and yes I spend a small fortune, but thats what glass shops are all about. As its en route between school and home I know this won't be my first and last visit and its great to have such a good supplier round the corner (the next closest is a 90min drive away in Bedfordshire!)

Bead making workshop

2010-09-15T19:38:00.000+01:00

Bead making workshop

There are still spaces on a friend of mines bead making workshop in October, here are the details.
Handmade Beads

Saturday 23rd October 10am - 4pm. Belstead House, Ipswich.

Telephone: 01473 686321. Email: belstead.house@suffolk.gov.uk

Love Beads? This bead making workshop will give you the opportunity to design and make your own. Using various materials: formers, polymer clay, felt and friendly plastic; you'll create your own unique beads, which will enable you to create your very own personalised jewellery.

Cost circa £38 which includes a fabulous hot buffet lunch and dessert plus coffee and cakes! A course contribution cost is also requested from the tutor directly (circa £6).

WoodFest 2010

2010-09-10T18:01:00.000+01:00

This weekend is WoodFest at Hatfield Forest, nr Bishops Stortford, Herts. Its the 1st time I've been to this event and felt quite honoured to be asked if I wanted a stall. Whilst I was at Cressing Temple craft fair over the bank holiday a friend and her daughter (Suzie) came to see me. Suzie then found my facebook page and sent me a lovely message saying how much she loved her white glass heart necklace. The following day she sent me another message saying a friend of hers wondered if I'd like to come to WoodFest so here I am with a day to go about to load up the car.

It sounds lovely. Here's how they describe the event online:
Small intimate weekend Festival set in the heart of the Forest adjacent to the Lake. Sale of timber and woodland produce with craft and forest machinery demonstrations and stalls. Live music on Saturday and Sunday on the green in our open air arena.

I'm keeping my fingers firmly crossed for a rain-free weekend with a chilled out atmosphere.

Glass festival 'People's Award' winner announced

2010-09-09T20:35:00.000+01:00

’Contained Freedom’ by Fiaz Elson.1

Kiln-cast optical and purple glass with internal lens, polished curved surfaces. Photo by: Simon Bruntnell.

http://www.biennale.org.uk/2010-biennale/exhibition.php

So this was the winning piece of glass from the biennale exhibition. I'm sorry to see that it wasn't the one I chose but its a pretty amazing piece of glass none the less.

Nearly ready

2010-09-06T21:18:00.000+01:00

Today I've been working on my 'How to...' blog entries. I've written one about monoprinting and another about adding oil pastel and chalk pastels to a monoprint. All I need to do now is take photos over the new few days while I'm at school and then I will post them on here.

Coming soon...How to's

2010-09-05T18:10:00.000+01:00

I've decided to post a series of 'How to do/make/create.....' on my blog over the coming months to help those creative vibes get going among my loyal readers. Sometime we all get stuck for ideas of what to make or just wonder how on earth something is done so my aim is to show you how. There are 100's of things I'd like to know how to do and I'm always looking for the next workshop to sign up to so I can keep learning(I've just found a silver art clay workshop to go to in October and will be signing up for that).

As an art teacher I probably take for granted how many art techniques I know how to do and teach the kids every day I'm at school. Each time I teach them something new I'm going to try and take photos to show you how its done too, although you'll have to forgive me when term gets hectic and I hardly find time to breathe let alone take photos or write a blog about it! Right now though its the start of term and I have good intentions so like every new years resolution we'll see how long I can keep it going.

What art technique would you like to learn to do 1st?
I'll try and respond to any requests 1st (although please note that I don't know everything about everything because as lovely as that would be I'm afraid I'm only human!) so let me know your suggestions

Red House Cone

2010-09-03T16:53:00.002+01:00

So this is my final post about the International Festival of Glass and actually my favourite of all the venues. It wasn't just the exhibitions here that I found fascinating but the history of the venue itself too.

In the building behind the post box I came across a small glass studio with a lovely lady called Sarah Jones working in there. She is a lampworker and shares the studio with a friend who fuses glass. They had only moved in the week before but already seemed pretty established there. Sarah was saying that she'd only been beading for 2yrs but had spent around 4 hrs a day cooped up in her shed making beads at home, around her day job in a special school. This academic year she was able to cut down her hours to be able to focus more on her glass. Now there's someone living my dream!

Red House Cone is one of only 4 cone buildings left in the UK today but at one point many areas had cone buildings to produce glass and pottery. Producing glass in yrs gone by was labour intensive and 100's of people would have worked in this building creating wares needed by the local people. These were made at the cone and then distributed via the canals. There had previously been an inlet for the canal within the cone but this has long since been closed off.

The glass was made in sheets along a woodend conveyor belt (above) or blown in the middle of the cone part of the building (below). It was then left to cool slowlyt in the curved tunnels that joined these 2 parts of the building together. The tunnels were also right next to the canal inlet so perfect for packing straight onto the barges.

A glass collaboration still on exhibit in the Red House Cone.

I was a craftsman at work blowing this glass vase. At this stage he is nearly finished and is just sawing the glass off the rod he's blown it through.

I'd seen these glass curtains on the front of 'Craftsman' magazine 2 years ago after the last glass bienniale exhibition (was how I 1st heard of the exhibition and made me want to come to this one) and was really please to be able to see them in real life. The lace patterning in the glass is much more vivid in real life and the fact it seems to defy gravity is what makes this piece stunning.

I hope you've enjoyed my little write ups about the glass festival and might even be inspired to go yourself in 2012...if your not at the Olympics that is!!!

Plowden and Thompson Glassworks

2010-09-02T16:23:00.003+01:00

Plowden and Thompson are one of a dying breed of glass manufacturers and still manage to create bespoke glass for glass artists, hospital equipment, window manufacturers, the local butchers! (yes they really do!!!) and pretty much anyone who wants glass made for them. Their glassworks is just along the river from the main festival venue, The Ruskin Glass Centre, and is a pandoras box of glass. I managed to sneak onto a tour of the glassworks (I needed a paid ticket but by the time I realised we were already inside having the tour, oops!) and then had a look at more amazing glass in the exhibition alongside the works (this bit was free to everyone so I was too cheeky really, honest!).

The glass gets gathered in the kiln and poured into a mold, the press above it then comes down to flatten the glass and creates a round window.

They manufacture glass rods of just about any glass COE (co-efficiency, when you work with glass it needs to be the same COE so that it melts together at the same rate, if not it will crack). This was just half of the room. In the VERY long space below this room (so long you couldn't see the end as it was too dark) they are able to pull glass lengths by hand or machine to create these. Their preferred method is by hand as the machine tend to leave a slight curl in the rod which isn't perfect enough and they like to be the best they can be. Plowden and Thompson are know for having the best red coloured glass in the world and are definitely determined to keep it that way!

I absolutely loved this piece in their exhibition, probably my favourite of all the glass I saw. Its by Gill Hobson and called 'Celeste Amethyst' but with a price tag of £2200 I'm afraid to say its not yet in my house. Each individual piece of glass was a mini work of art in its own right and woven together with the wire in this way looked gorgeous.

This piece was going to be auctioned for 'Help For Heroes', its by Diana Dias-Leao and called 'Glass Corset'. Although it looked kind of spikey and uncomfortable the poppies softened the work and it was certainly drawing a lot of attention. I hope it raised a lot of money for the charity.

The lampworker who made this piece was at The Bead Fair at the Bonded Warehouse (which was also a venue for the festival) on Saturday. On her stall I noticed similar beads and spoke to her about this piece. She was clearly quite proud that someone had recognised her work from this exhibition. If only I could create something like this with my own lampworking I'd also be very proud. I'll keep practicing and see how I get on.

Next venue- Red House Cone tomorrow

Glass Bienniale 2010

2010-09-01T16:21:00.000+01:00

The International Festival of Glass is an event that happens every 2 yrs in the Glass Quarter of Stourbridge in the Midlands. The best way I can describe it really is that its like a huge arts trail but one all about glass. You get given a map and a list of whats on at each venue, along with a timetable of events at the Ruskin Centre (which is the main venue for demo's, talks, workshops etc) and then its down to you to find your way around and have a good look at everything. I managed to get to most venues in the 1 and a half days I was there and had a great time wandering around all the exhibitions.....and yes I did make a few purchases along the way too!

The Glass Bienniale is a huge part of the International Festival of Glass and really shows of the best of the best in the world of glass. The work on display includes just about any warm or hot glass technique you can imagine (warm glass is fusing in a kiln where as hot glass is more about working with molten glass like glass blowing). I don't think I was the only visitor to be walking around the displays thinking "wow, how on earth have they done that?!" The quality really was amazing. I took a few piccys of my favourite pieces for you to see. Which one would you have voted for as an entry into The People's Award?

Lattice work with noodles of glass that were then slumped to create 3 free form shapes as a sculptural piece.

This was sooooo delicate. Its been created with fine powders and print onto glass. How on eath she managed to keep it all in one piece I have no idea. It was simply stunning and actually looked like real lace....as a result this was my vote for The Peoples Award.

I loved this dynamic lighting installation, quirky and fun!

I liked the sculptural form of this piece and also how fresh it looked, almost like ice.

These flowers had been created on a hot lampwork torch to form part of a glass headdress. Not sure I'd be brave enough to wear it though for fear of breaking it!

Copper foil inclusions in glass with printed imagery. Several pieces like this were joined together to create a dress shape on a wire frame.

So having seen a small snippet of the exhibition who would your vote go to?

Coming soon: Next festival venue - Plowden and Thompson Glass works....the only glass makers left in the UK today

Back from the International Glass Festival

2010-08-28T21:07:00.000+01:00

What a busy few days its been (and is going to be for a while). As I'm writing this I'm thinking that I should really be packing up the car ready to go to Cressing Temple Barns tomorrow for what is usually my biggest fair of the year but I've had a long day driving back from Birmingham and I feel all I want to do is go to bed and sleep.... but just incase you were wondering if I was ever going to write anything on this blog again I thought I'd stop by with a few lines for hello! and to let you know that on Tues you can expect to hear all the inside info on the International Glass Festival 2010...the good, the bad and the unbelievable amazingness (ok so thats not a proper word but it does emphasis what I mean!) that was some of the glass....and yes I took lots of photos so you can see just how gorgeous some of the work was!!!
Until than have a fab bank holiday.

International Festival of Glass

2010-08-24T00:05:00.000+01:00

On Weds I'm off to the International Glass Festival and have just found out about the Fun Auction that I can be a part of, the question is what piece of glass should I enter into it?

The International Festival of Glass http://www.ifg.org.uk/ happens every 2 years and this is the 3rd time it has taken place. For 2 weeks Stourbridge becomes the home of all things glassy and is an international showcase for glass artists. This week has seen numerous masterclasses take place in Stourbridge and at the University of Wolverhampton in their fantastic glass department. I was seriously tempted to sign up for the glass casting one but in the end wasn't too sure if I really wanted to spend £500 for a 4 day workshop. If there had been a taster day 1st I'd have gone for it to see if I liked it but otherwise its a lot of money to see if you like something new. I wasn't even sure I'd be able to do more of it at home after so all in all I opted to go to the festival instead.

I've spent this evening going through the 16 page brochure of taster classes, lectures, demonstrations, exhibitions, walks, tours, book launches, fairs.....as you can probably see there's a huge range for people to go and visit. The difficulty is deciding where to start and what you want to see the most. I've printed off the timetable of events and starred those things happening at specific times so I can hopefully make the most of my time there. So far Fri 2pm is a bit of an issue- 3 things I want to see clash!!! I'm sure it won't be the last of the clashes by the time I get there though.

Monday at 4pm sees the final event of the festival- the Fun Auction- being led by Will Farmer from BBC Antiques Roadshow. Glass work is auctioned off by him with 50% going to support the festival and 50% going to the artist. Its a great way to get your name known and printed into the festival auction brochure for all to see so I'm going to do it but that brings me back to my original question....what should I enter? The organisers say fun, quirky, imaginative and fabulously frivolous so what do you think? Should I take something seasidey or something cupcakey or something else entirely?
http://www.igf.org.uk/

Christmas Decorations for sale

2010-08-22T17:25:00.002+01:00

Over the past few weeks I've mentioned making glass Christmas decorations and until now you've only had a sneaky peek at a few of the designs. After an email from Mary yesterday, who's been waiting patiently to see what they all look like, I thought I'd better get snapping so here they are. I've still got a few more to make and I'm waiting for the gift pouches to arrive in the post to put the sets into but these are basically my designs. I won't be taking them out until the Handmade and Vintage Fair, in Leigh on Sea, on 18th September but from then on I'll be going Christmasy with the stall and in the events closest to Christmas I'll take my mini tree with me to put on the stall complete with fairy lights and tinsel....but until then you have 1st dibs on any of the decorations.

Christmas Decorations

2010-08-20T17:26:00.001+01:00

Over the past few weeks I've been getting ahead with making Christmas decorations (got to make the most of the school holidays!). So far I've made Xmas trees, icicles, Xmas puddings and presents and am now going to get cracking on snowmen and refining the robins (wasn't happy with the 1st few as the tails were too short so I'm going to adapt how I made them. I'm not sure there can be many designers out there who get things perfect 1st time so this is an essential part of the process for getting the best work for sale).
Here is a sneaky peek at the decorations so far. Prices start at £5 per decoration so get in touch if you'd like to buy some.

New Beads

2010-08-19T22:41:00.004+01:00

Over the summer holidays I've been going to use the lampwork bead torch equipment every Tuesday and these are the beads I made yesterday. I am a novice beader really but the regular practice has definitely improved my skills and I'm starting to feel like I'm finding my favourite colour ways too. Last week I experimented with a new shade of blue, and have just made a fresh light blue and white bracelet with these beads, but as much as I loved those I'm loving the blue green combination even more. Its definitely one I'll be coming back to soon.

I've been experimenting with layering opaque and transparent colours to create depth in a design and make the bead have an aquatic feel but on top of this I've been trying other techniques too including the twirl patterns.

In July I visited Art in Action at Waterperry Gardens in Oxfordshire and bought 'Passing the Flame' by Corina Tettinger. The book is an absolute must for anyone learning to bead as she explains new techniques so clearly with witty writing and step by step photos. You can read it and almost hear her saying the words which is a style I have found very helpful, as its meant I sit on the torch and remember what I've read fairly clearly. I've still obvioulsy had my mishaps but at the same time I've known what's gone wrong and what to change next time. I've barely got started with the tutorials in the book and I've already learnt a lot. Over the coming months I'll keep working my way through it and learn more and more.

Young artists

2010-08-18T19:52:00.002+01:00

Tomorrow is D day for many a 17 or 18yr old, and that includes 12 of my As/A2 students. No doubt there will be stories in the news about A Levels getting easier as more and more students get good A Level grades but when was the last time they picked up a pencil or paintbrush to create several A3 skecthbooks and numerous canvases or essays about artists to fulfil exam criteria?! Art A Level takes serious dedication and time committment to pass with a high grade which can be blissful hours for some or stressful times for others.

After a tiring year July finally arrives complete with the exhibition, which was full of superb quality pieces. We are predicting some of our highest grades achieved in recent years, not due to easier criteria but down to sheer hard work from our students. Have a look at this to see just how good the work is http://www.mayflowerhigh.essex.sch.uk/gallery/default.asp?gallery=57&pid=2

The top 5 students in the A2 group are all off to university to do foundation courses or arts degrees so we'll keep a keen eye on their progress as they are already good artists who should excel on specialist higher ed courses.

Unfortunately Art is still seen as an easy subject but if only those news reporters really knew just how many hours of time and effort went into achieving an A or B A Level grade I think they'd change their minds!

Cupcakes

2010-08-14T19:39:00.000+01:00

These are some of my new designs from Thursdays kiln firing.

On 18th September I'm going to the Leigh-on-Sea Handmade and Vintage Fair so thought I'd try to join in the vintage retro theme of the event. Of all the things in the kiln these were the ones I was most unsure about but now I'm not sure why. These pretty cupcakes have holes through the top ready for ribbon to be slotted through so they hang up on a hook or over a door handle. I am now going to do some multiply cupcakes on plain glass for larger pictures and try to develop some home decor items too....watch this space for 1st viewing!!!

Jannie Jan Felt

2010-08-14T15:22:00.000+01:00

This is a fantastic link to a blog by a good friend of mine who makes fantastic felts (and I'm not just saying that cos she's my friend, they really are excellent). Jan recently made me a beautiful seascape from felt that you can see in some of my studio pictures below and is now beginning to write about what she does on her blog. Have a look and I'm sure you'll agree with me about just how lovely they are.
http://www.lovemakethink.com/?p=121&cpage=1#comment-87

Dichroic Glass

2010-08-12T13:34:00.000+01:00

It's a question I get asked nearly every time I do a craft stall somewhere.... How is the glass made? or how do you get it to be so sparkly? I'm sure many of you will have seen the amazing effects of dichroic glass and will know that no photo can do justice to the true sparkle that can only really be seen in real life, which is what makes dichroic jewellery so eye catching and a must have buy.

So to answer those who want to find out exactly how dichroic glass is made I've found this article. Click on the link below to find a pdf download explaining how dichroic glass is made including stunning pictures of the only dichroic glass museum in the world!

https://www.theflowmagazine.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=946:the-history-of-dichroic&Itemid=61

Christmas decorations

2010-08-10T22:03:00.001+01:00

To many people it may seem too early but for anyone making/selling things its actually the perfect time to be thinking about ......Christmas, yes i mentioned the C word months before its even in the shops and these days that is pretty early, but if I don't start thinking about designs now I won't be able to approach shops with my work before they get other suppliers in or have enough to sell on my own craft stalls.

This year I'm going to have trees, icicles, xmas puds, robins and snowmen. In a change to last year I'm going to package up sets of decorations too so that people can have a mixed range of tree decorations in a box or gift bag. I still need to find the packaging but I've got a few ideas up my sleeve. I'll also be making some mini trees to go on the front of xmas cards as these sold particularly well last year but this year I'll be doing personalised cards too, get in touch if you are interested in one of these. The challenge of a commission is one I am happy to accept.

As soon at the decorations are out of the kiln I'll get some photos taken and you can then see what I'm getting all excited about.

Crafty friends

2010-08-09T16:52:00.000+01:00

I have a fantastic arty crafty friend who has added this lovely post to her blog. Thanks to the Internet we have stayed in touch and can bounce ideas off each other and get feedback on our art, which we all need from time to time. I'm not goin to say much more because Jan had summed it up perfectly. We all need good friends like this :o)
http://www.lovemakethink.com/?p=79&cpage=1#comment-48

Ipswich Marina Festival

2010-08-08T20:10:00.000+01:00

Tutu by Stuart Haygarth

Today I've been stood pretty much underneath this amazing lighting design at DanceEast Dance Studios in Ipswich. Its been the talk of the day with the public and has received mixed reviews too. Its all too rare that creative installations like this are commissioned and seen in buildings. Too many people seem to think its too big a risk to take with a space but do we really need something dull and boring in its place instead. A few light bulbs hung from office style fittings?! An arts environment should be a place that encourages all forms of art so in my eyes this is a fun piece of art and perfect for the space. What do you think?

New Jewellery Designs

2010-08-07T19:19:00.004+01:00

Over the past few weeks I've been designing a new jewellery collection and last night put the kiln on with anticipation and excitement.
I'd not fused any jewellery in the new kiln before (having previsously only had a few bits I'd been using the small kiln). I've pretty much got the schedules for larger pieces to my liking but small pieces were a little bit like unknown territory so there was the added anxiety of how well the schedule would work. Was the temperature correct, was the ramp up speed too fast/slow etc etc but with the kiln at 66 degrees celcius I finally took the plunge and opened it to find these little gems inside....

I'm very pleased with the results and will be selling them for the 1st time at The Guild of Essex Craftsmen Fair at Cressing Temple Barns over the Aug bank holiday weekend.

New Studio

2010-08-07T14:42:00.000+01:00

So here it is, my new studio space.

There are still things to sort out and organise but I am loving the new workbench which is so much wider and deeper than I've had at home before, am is a better height too so should help reduce any back ache problems. I'm sure it won't be long though before I manage to fill up thes space and need to have a clear out but I am full of good intentions right now to keep the studio clear. Are you the same with your workspaces?

2010-08-04T16:18:00.000+01:00

This is my current work in progress as promised. Where you can see the silver pins I've ground the glass edges below this to fit the design perfectly. Any holes will lead to fat solder lines later on which wouldn't look very good so theres quite a lot more grinding to go. So far I've spent around 8hrs on this but the time consuming bit is still to come....more grinding, copper foiling verey edge with the copper tape and then soldering both sides...oh and not forgetting trying to fuse/slump curved sails which could well be the trickiest bit!

Twitter

2010-08-03T23:17:00.000+01:00

I'm now also on Twitter@helenroseglass

Studio day

2010-08-03T12:44:00.000+01:00

Tuesday is studio time at Glass From the Past, at Barleylands Craft Village in Billericay. I usually go after work but as its the summer holidays I'm going for the afternoon and staying on for the eve session too. So thats 3hrs on the glass torch and 2h30 copper foiling. Ahhh a perfect day :o)
At the moment I'm trying to make enough beads in a 3hr session to make a bracelet ready for the xmas fairs. Last week I worked in the blue colour ranges so I'll see how they fired today and might have a go at earrings to match....which is easier said than done when trying to get the size to match perfectly.
I'll take some photos today (to post tomorrow) to show you the copper foiled sailing boats I'm working on and the beads too.

Commissions

2010-08-02T17:36:00.004+01:00

At a recent craft fair I was asked if I could make a lampwork bead bracelet to match a wedding outfit. After a little experimentation with cranberry pink colour combinations this is what I created, along with a picture that the client emailed me to based my design on.

Where to see me next

2010-08-01T16:15:00.001+01:00

This time next week I'll be at Ipswich Marina for their 10th anniversary celebrations. Needless to say I'm going to be taking lots of my seaside themed glass with me to display on the stall.
The event starts at 10am-4pm with stalls and entertainment going on in and around the DanceEast building down to the marina itself. Pop over for a free day out in the sun.

Welcome

2010-08-01T16:04:00.000+01:00

This is going to be my blog about all things glassy and crafty. I'll keep you posted on my own glass creations and also talk about work that I find inspiring too. There are so many lovely talented designer makers out there that its good to share what they do too.