As my upcoming vendor sales get close, I've been working round the clock on new pieces. There have been a few failures: for instance, I had a glass piece literally explode on me the other day. When I opened my kiln, the glass shot across the microwave. This is why I wear protective gloves and glasses! Thankfully, the pieces didn't hit me and I wasn't hurt.
Meantime, I've been working on a new bracelet in enameling. This link was supposed to have one blue side and one white side; I then planned to add cloisonne wire to the white side so I could wet-pack it with color. However, something went incredibly wrong along the way and the enamel did this:
I don't know what the hell happened here, but it looks like a wave. Actually, from one angle, it looks like a wave and from another, it looks like a dolphin is jumping from the water. It's so bizarre... but as far as mistakes go, kind of cool. My teacher thinks I added too much enamel to the blue side, but my classmates were very amused and persuaded me to keep it. I call it the "Wacky Wave."
In between these disasters, I HAVE made some decent pieces. I'm particularly happy with a series of glass pendants I designed, which I've named my Crystal Collection:
I made these by fusing clear textured glass onto a white base. It's no secret that I love color, so most of my dichroic glass pieces have been made by fusing bright-colored material onto a clear or black base. I'd been ignoring these clear pieces because they didn't catch my eye right away, and I was more drawn to the sparkly blues and yellows, etc.
However, I took a closer look at the clears and realized that they're actually quite beautiful. The designs are subtle, but colorful when the light hits.
I didn't think they'd show up well on a clear base and figured they'd blend right into black glass. I then fused them against the white... and voila! Here are these beautiful pieces that look like lace or crystal.
I still thought they needed a little something more, though, so I wrapped them with silver wire and Swarovski crystal bicones. I chose bicones that accentuate each glass' undercolors. The one with blue crystals has a blue tint when you turn it toward the light. I call this pendant "Glacial Greatness." The pink one is "Ice Queen" and the large pendant is "All That Glitters."
When wire wrapping these pieces, I try to do it so that the wire doesn't completely cover and obscure the pendant. In this case, I wanted the wire to have a "natural" look, so I bent it into a jagged design. It reminds me of tree branches or a winding river, and the curves bring out the textures in the glass.
My table at the fair is going to be covered with eye-catching, multicolor pieces... but I hope people notice these crystal pendants, too. I'm just sorry that it took me so long to recognize the beauty in working with clear and white glass.
Check out the rest of my handmade wire wrapped, glass and enamel jewellery at Naomi's Designs and MayaGirl Creations.
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