Making animal-themed dichroic glass jewelry for Vegan Fest!

Bushwick Vendors Market may have not gone as well as I'd hoped, but we're on to a new month -- and my friend Christopher has given me a unique opportunity to sell my jewelry.

On August 26, he's hosting the Long Island Vegan Food and Information Extravaganza. So far, he's lined up an incredible lineup of speakers and vendors, including doctors, nutritionists and self-made businesspeople... and he's asked me to have a booth at his event.

I wondered why he'd want a jewelry vendor at a vegan fest, but he explained that he wants his attendees to have a full experience, where they can get information, try new foods ... and shop. I was planning to go just to support him, so I was definitely on board.

Still, I don't just want to show up with my jewelry; I want to have a purpose for being there. So I'm making a line of animal-inspired glass pieces. All of the proceeds will benefit an as-yet-to-be-named charity of Christopher's choice:

I'm also making a point to learn EXACTLY what goes into every bit of my jewelry making and how I can make my pieces as eco-friendly as possible. I realized I didn't really know how the glass decals are made and did some research. The high quality ones are made of crushed glass, or enamel. They're "silk screened" onto the transfer material, though these days, the screen is almost always made of a polyester blend instead of actual silk.

I want to know as much as possible so I can answer any questions my customers might have. As Christopher told me, "Vegans tend to be a very inquisitive bunch." I do work small scale by keeping my studio in my apartment and by mostly using my hands instead of machines to do the work. I do use a microwave and will be honest about that. Ultimately, jewelry is a luxury and not a necessity. so one can debate whether we really need it. But I hope my work can raise some money for whatever organization Christopher chooses.

Check out the rest of my jewelry at Naomi's Designs and MayaGirl Creations.

Adventures in making handmade fused dichroic glass jewelry: the great glue debacle of 2017!

I always try to take safety precautions when making jewelry... but sometimes, well, shit happens. Take my recent mishap, which I call the "Great Glue Debacle Of 2017."

When making wire wrapped jewelry, I never solder the pieces together: they're all attached with handmade findings and jumprings. However, I can't put metal in my microwave kiln so I simply glue my findings onto my glass pieces. I simply use Krazy Glue -- nothing expensive; nothing special -- and it does the trick. A little bit goes a long way and keeps my necklace and earring hooks, etc. intact.

Gluing my backings is usually the easiest part of the process; I squirt on some glue, attach the backing, let it sit. No sweat, right? Theoretically. Unfortunately, everything went pear-shaped this weekend and I ended up with a big mess.

I'd purchased a brand new tube of glue and gently squeezed it, intending on squirting out just a small dab. This tube was defective, though, because a giant wad of glue spilled out. It got all over the pendant, all over the table ... and all over me. I quickly went to clean it, but my stick hand attracted another pendant and a ring that were drying... and now glue was on these pieces. Ugh!

I keep a bottle of nail polish remover on hand for these situations, so I polished off as much of the jewelry as I could. Then when they dried, I gently peeled off the rest of the glue. But this stuff would not come off my fingers. I dipped them in the acetone, rinsed them in warm water and soap... nothing. So much had gotten onto me, it just stubbornly sat there.

People often ask if it hurts to get such strong glue stuck to your skin and no, it doesn't. It's just annoying. It gets in the way when you're trying to do something that requires precise finger coordination... like, in my case, play the flute. It doesn't hurt or burn, though. I do tell my students to rinse it off immediately so there's less chance of it sticking. I just spilled so much onto myself that some stayed.

The glue is finally peeling off today and my fingers are getting back to normal. I try not to get too upset over these things; really, all I can do is roll my eyes and laugh at myself. I mean, hey, Julia Child made a whole career for herself by showing off her cooking mishaps!

I've always been a perfectionist, but have gotten more relaxed about making mistakes in recent years. Being a jewelry designer has definitely gotten me to loosen up because you just can't expect perfection on the first run. It's all about trial and error, and practicing -- and part of the fun of it is in learning new techniques. I enjoy playing "Mad Scientist," even it means spilling glue on myself every so often.

I like to tell my students that there isn't a wrong way to do something; that it's just one more step to doing things the right way. I'm trying to take my own advice.

Check out the rest of my handmade fused dichroic glass, wire wrapped and enamel jewelry at Naomi's Designs and MayaGirl Creations.

Photo gallery: handmade fused dichroic pendants with decals

It's about six weeks 'til the Readers studio tarot convention and I'm getting excited and nervous! I always hope that people at fairs like my work, but in this case, I'm going to be vending for four very long days. It's going to be intense, especially since I've never really been to a convention before. I did spend one afternoon at a writers' convention, but didn't stay for the entire weekend. This will be a much more thorough experience.

My friend Judith keeps telling me how awesome this event is and how much fun we'll have. Since she's one of most fun people I know, I have to believe her, right? I'm looking forward to meeting some fascinating folks and making new friends. I'll also, of course, learn everything there is to know -- well, not quite -- about tarot.

Today was a snowy day in NY, so I spent it making fused dichroic glass pendants with decals. Here is a photo gallery featuring some of the pieces I've created for the upcoming Readers Studio weekend. You can see the rest of my work at Naomi's Designs and MayaGirl Creations.

Photo gallery: Handmade abstract fused dichroic glass jewelry sets

Happy holidays, everyone! Merry Christmas! Happy Hanukkah! Joyous Kwanzaa! Happy New Year!

I hope you're all having a great holiday season, no matter what you celebrate. We always go to our friends' for Christmas, but this year, we brought a menorah so we could light the candles for the second night of Hanukkah. We really enjoyed combining our holidays and sharing traditions with our friends.

I couldn't take too much of a break, though, because December is always my busiest month -- and this year hasn't disappointed. I've had a lot going on with my jewelry and my music. This week, I had three holiday performances and on Friday, I'll be ringing in the new year (a touch early) by playing a local coffeehouse. This is something I've been wanting to do for a long time. I love performing for seniors, but I'd also like to branch out and play for other groups. This won't be Carnegie Hall, but it'll give me a chance to entertain the people in my neighborhood and to try some different types of music.

I'm also working on various jewelry projects. People seem to like my glass jewelry sets, so I've made a few more of those. What I like about these is that they give me a chance to work on certain skills. For instance, that abstract set with the chunky blue and purple pieces was slightly underfired to give it that very textured appearance. That glossy pink and green set with the dots is called "Midnight At The Oasis" and was made with three layers of glass. I've gotten much better at firing the glass at even intervals so it results in a smooth finish, as you can see. The blue and pink wire wrapped set was made with transparent glass, which again, gives the piece an interesting looking finish.

As always, I have more projects in the works, so please check in regularly. And don't forget to check out Naomi's Designs and MayaGirl Creations.

Happy 4th Of July! Red, White and Blue Jewelry Photo Gallery

This weekend, we're celebrating Independence Day in the United States -- and a Happy Canada Day to our neighbors, too! We'll probably join many of our fellow Americans and head to the beach while we take in a fireworks display. But in honor of the Fourth, here are some "patriotic" red, white and blue wire wrapped, enamel and dichroic glass jewelry pieces. Enjoy and have a great holiday weekend!

Check out the rest of my handmade jewellery collection at Naomi's Designs and MayaGirl Creations.

Fused dichroic glass necklaces: "Sunrise, Sunset" and "Summer Storm"

I recently wrote about how I've been invited to sell my jewelry at one of the senior homes where I play flute. Well, we finally have a date scheduled and I'll be there on June 3!

I'm especially excited about selling at the Atria because a) I know almost everyone there and b) this will be the first vendor event where I'm selling my dichroic glass jewellery. I've sold a few pieces online, but this will be their "live" debut. I can't wait to see how my table looks with all of the colorful glass pendants spread across. My booth will certainly appear festive!

Now that I have a date settled upon, I've been working on some new dichroic pendants. As always, not all have turned out so well, but I'm pleased with the good ones. Two of my favorites I've named "Summer Storm" and "Sunrise, Sunset."

For Summer Storm, my original plan was to combine shades of blue, but I really like that pink swirly glass, so I added one stripe. I like the way the hint of pink sets off the different blues. Sunrise, Sunset was my attempt to recreate my "Fire And Ice" pendant for a friend. However, dichroic glass sometimes takes on a life of its own -- especially when it's fused in a microwave kiln -- and I ended up with gold and orange stripes instead of two yellow pieces. I love this combo, though. I'm still getting the hang of working with glass, so I never quite know what to expect!

I've been making the necklace bails for most of my pieces, but I "cheated" and used some ready-made bails for a handful of pendants. Honestly, they're just easier to attach and it saved me some time. I prefer to make as many elements as possible, but I'm not against taking a shortcut every so often. Ultimately, I just want my pieces to look attractive.

I hope to have 30-40 glass pieces for the fair. That's a lot, but I already have many on hand, and if I make a couple per day, I can get it done. Then I'll have an excuse to buy some new glass -- and to get even more creative.

Check out the rest of my handmade wire wrapped, enamel and glass jewellery at Naomi's Designs and MayaGirl Creations.

Handmade fused dichroic glass jewelry: dichroic party and a fused glass ring!

One of the greatest advantages of having my own kiln is I don't have to wait in line for a turn. I'm the only artist using it! I also don't have to wait for a once-a-week class, like I do with enameling. My kiln is available every day. I've had time to practice making fused dichroic glass pieces, and while I've had some disasters, I'm happy with most of them:

I call this pile of fused glass focals my "dichroic party." Most don't yet have backings, as I still have to decide what I want to do with them. However, a friend came up with an interesting idea and suggested that I turn some of the dichros into rings. I tried my hand at this -- pun intended, I guess, as that is my hand in the photo -- and came up with that purple and yellow dichroic ring.

The way I made it was to create a wire wrapped band with a spiral centerpiece. I then glued the glass onto the spiral. I like it, but my next ring will be made a bit stronger. For a heavier piece like this, the band needs to be wrapped two or three times. I feel like this ring needs a little more support -- though some people do like thin bands. I usually prefer simpler bands, but kept wishing there were more wire to balance out the glass.

Oh, well, this is why I'm putting in so much practice! I'm a lot better at making fused glass than I was a month ago, but it's still new for me. I'm having so much fun, though, and love this very "colorful" discipline.

Check out the rest of my handmade wire wrapped, fused glass and enamel jewellery at Naomi's Designs and MayaGirl Creations.

Fused glass jewelry: striped dichroic glass pendants

One of my favorite things about making my own fused glass jewelry is that I'm actually wearing my stuff! I'll admit it -- I'm TERRIBLE at advertising my work in person because I rarely wear jewelry I've made. Don't get me wrong, I'm proud of my pieces and love many of them, but I tend to make things that are more to my customers' tastes. I've always loved dichroic glass, though, and made a point to purchase glass pendants at craft fairs that were made by other artists.

Now that I'm creating my own glass art, I'm able to make as many designs as I'd like. I really loved a simple, but colorful striped pendant that I'd made. It came out better than I'd expected and I liked how it looked with my pink T-shirt. Here I am wearing it last weekend:

Keep in mind that it was about 70 degrees that day and the next day was in the 30s. Yeah, that's how our crazy weather has been in New York. I wore the same pendant to a fundraiser that was held the next day, but I paired it with a long-sleeved blue top. It got a lot of compliments and I decided to keep it for myself and not sell it. Since it was cold, though, I slipped a sweater over my top before heading home.

Well, when I got home and took off my sweater, I could not find the pendant. The cord was still around my neck, but the pendant was gone. I shook out my sweater, my coat, my top... everything I wore that day, but no pendant. I was pretty bummed and am still hoping it turns up somewhere.

I didn't stay upset for too long; I simply got out my glass and made another striped pendant. This one also turned out pretty well. However, when I went to attach the bail to the back of it, I squeezed the Krazy Glue too hard and spilled glue all over my piece. I tried to remove it, but I couldn't get all of it off, even with acetone, and the pendant's face was damaged. Another striped piece down the drain!

I was now on a mission to make -- and keep -- a glass piece. I made several striped pieces, being very careful not to overfire them or break them, or do anything stupid in the process. Here they are!

I think the one on the left is my favorite of this bunch. I haven't yet decided if I'll keep it; I'll wear it and see if I like how it looks with a few outfits. I'm happy with these guys, though.

Sometimes it's embarrassing to share these stories of my jewelry-making mishaps ... but like any other job, there are ups and downs, especially when you're working with glass and fire. I can get very frustrated when I make mistakes, but I do try to learn from them. I am getting better and making glass jewelry, which is my ultimate goal. But expect to hear about more disasters along the way.

Check out the rest of my handmade wire wrapped jewellery at Naomi's Designs and MayaGirl Creations.

Fused glass jewelry: Dichroic glass pendant "Fire And Ice"

I've been making fused glass jewelry for about a month -- and while I've had quite a few failures, I've happily had many more successes. There are quite a few pieces that I genuinely like and would wear myself. One of my favorites is my "Fire And Ice" pendant:

Dichroic glass is so much fun to work with because there are hundreds of different patterns available. I usually order a bag of scrap pieces, so I never know what I'll end up with. I enjoy the surprise! I'm also never sure what the jewelry will look like when it's fired in my microwave kiln. Dichroic glass changes color in the light, anyway, but it often turns out to be a completely different hue when fused. I've used blue dichroic glass which came out pink or pink glass that came out yellow. Using this kind of glass is always an adventure.

Because of this, I'm always pleased when a piece turns out better than I'd expected -- like my "Fire And Ice" pendant. I made a simple design by sandwiching blue tie-dyed glass between shiny yellow dichros. The blue ended up being a deeper color than I'd anticipated and the yellows are shinier with hints of oranges and reds. They reminded me of flames, which is my reason for giving the pendant this rather obvious name.

I recently sold this glass pendant to my good friend, Nancy. She's purchased a lot of my handmade jewellery over the years because she enjoys supporting small businesses. She wore several of my pieces on the recent cruise with took together and I got a kick out of seeing her in my jewelry designs. She was ready for something new and chose "Fire And Ice."

I was sorry to let the pendant go, but I know Nancy will wear it well. And I can still borrow it! That's one advantage of selling to a friend.

I've made dozens of fused glass pendants at this point. Hopefully, all will find good homes. You can check them out, as well as the rest of my handmade wire wrapped and enamel jewelry at Naomi's Designs and MayaGirl Creations.