Elephant Fundraiser a Trumpeting Success!

You may remember that I was asked to make two pieces of jewellery to be auctioned at the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust's Elephant Gala Fundraiser in New York.

The first one was dedicated to Turkwel. I made some lampwork beads with lots of silver in them and paired them up with some smoky quartz.

The second piece was dedicated to Chaimu. This time I made some organic cream and amethyst beads and wired them up with some amethyst briolettes.

I am pleased to report that the event itself was a resounding success, and the evening raised $70,000! The pieces I made sold for a total of $750, which I am really pleased with.

The picture below was taken by Beth Dietz, a DSWT supporter who attended the event, and has kindly allowed me to use her picture of the Turkwel piece as displayed in New York. Thank you Beth!

Kristin Davis, of Sex and the City fame, was the guest speaker for the evening.

Kristin gave a brilliant account of how she was involved in the rescue of little Chaimu when she was visiting Kenya. Kristin is a fabulous supporter of the Trust and has seen first hand the incredible difference that it makes to the lives of the elephants, who are orphaned often as a result of poaching or other human intervention.

By the wonders of modern technology you can watch Kristin's speech on Ustream.

I learned today that the person who bought the Chaimu necklace presented it to Kristin as a gift and I am told that she loves it! I hope it serves as a reminder of the part she played in Chaimu's rescue, and that she wears it often.

If you would like to support the work of the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust you can foster your very own elephant orphan.

New Beads & Other News

I have new beads to show you this week at long last!

This first set is called "Andromeda"

and the second set is one of my favourites; "Lyme".

I plan to be producing beads a little more often than I have managed over the past few weeks, so keep checking my site and my gallery for new beads.

Despite the lack of beads, I have been busy making beads and jewellery for a very exciting fundraiser event in New York. The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust are hosting an Elephant Gala Fundraiser at The Wild Horses of Sable Island Gallery, and I was asked to make two pieces for the charity auction. So I have made pieces for two special orphan elephants; Chaimu and Turkwel.

Now this is the exciting bit! Their guest speaker is Kristin Davis, of Sex and the City fame, and she is (hopefully) going to be wearing one of the pieces for the evening. Gulp! Kristin was involved in the rescue of Chaimu, a male baby ele when she was visiting Kenya. I'm hoping Kristin might like the Chaimu piece enough to place a bid! Well you never know ;)

I will post some piccies of the pieces I made once the auction details are in the public domain, which should be soon.

I was asked to send a copy of my Bumpy Beads logo for them to add to the event Sponsors page, which I duly sent. It is quite bizarre to see my little logo displayed against some big brands, particularly the iconic Vespa brand. I think I could get used to it though!

I was wandering around the website of Making Jewellery magazine yesterday evening when I stumbled across some pictures of my beads and jewellery. These particular pieces featured in a recent edition of the magazine, but I didn't know they were online too! My beads are the ones at the bottom of the page, on the left. I'm sharing the page with some of Laura Sparling's delicious cupcake beads.

The other thing I have to tell you is that I went all sequins and sparkles a couple of weeks ago and went to see the Strictly Tour at the NEC. (Gon on, click the link - you know how you love THAT music!) It was fab!

I am a massive fan of the show and was in my element with Len, Arlene, Craig and Bruno. Kelly Brook is stunningly gorgeous, and the dancing hobbits, Chris and Ola were cute! Ali and Brian were in love, Ricky Groves was funny, Natalie Cassidy did a brilliant quickstep and Austin Healey displayed a marvellous chest, which justified the ticket price all by itself ;) Mark Ramprakash won the trophy the evening I went. I haven't enjoyed a night out so much in ages.

I'm back at the NEC again tomorrow, but this time to visit the Spring Fair International. It should be fun!

Have a great weekend :)

Flame Off 2009 - Day Two!

Day Two of the Flame Off was just as brilliant as Day One. Inevitably there was more shopping and oohing and aahing over beads and meeting up with friends, which was brilliant.

The first demo was Beverly Hicklin, who showed us how she makes her gravity swirl beads, and as a bonus she also showed us her disc beads, which she layers and then melts down. This gives a lovely effect of layered colours and randomness.

Next up was Julie Anne Denton. Today she created for us a fantastic sculputural She-Devil. Unlike yesterday, where she used boroscilicate glass for her dragons, today she used soft glass. Producing sculptural pieces in soft glass presents a completely different set of challenges to using boro, and there is a far higher chance of the glass becoming stressed and cracking. However Julie Anne's skills ensured this did not happen, and the resulting piece was visually stunning and technically miraculous. I only wish I had a photo to show you, but my iPhone just isn't up to decent close ups, so you will have to take my word for it!

Next was Sarah Hornik. When she told us she would be demonstrating an encased floral there was a fair amount of surprise, as this was not necessarily what most of us would associate her with. However, as always, Sarah put her own style into the bead, and showed us a gorgeous long encased floral, with lots of her trademark dots and scrolls inside. Her use of colour is inspiring and I learned a lot from her today.

I wasn't able to stay for the final two demonstrations, but by this point I was already full of ideas and new techniques to try when I'm next at the torch.

The entire event was extremely well-organised and Martin Tuffnell and Co should be congratulated. The only thing that could improve it would be making it a twice-yearly event! However I don't think Martin would agree, so I will start counting the months off until Flame Off 2010!

Flame Off 2009

I had an absolutely brilliant day at the annual Flame Off in Towcester. It was really enjoyable meeting up with friends, old and new, and there was such a lovely atmosphere. I shall be going along again tomorrow, but thought I'd give you a quick rundown of today's events.

Obviously the first thing I did when I arrived was head straight for Martin Tuffnell's stall to see what delicious glass I needed to buy. I bought some copper green and rubino oro, which are two very special colours that I use quite often, and then stocked up on some basic effetre colours, such as black and periwinkle.

Then I headed upstairs to watch the first of the demonstrations, which were relayed to massive screens as well as to various monitors around the room. This meant that we all had a great view wherever we happened to be sitting.

First up was Sean Taylor, who made a stunning marble containing a green and aventurine vortex. He didn't use boroscilicate glass, as is usual for marbles. Instead, he used Bullseye, which is stiffer than regular soft glass, but melts more easily than boro'.

Next up was Sarah Hornik, from Israel. This is Sarah mid-demo;



Sarah demo'd one of her gorgeous ribbon beads. She made everything look so easy, and has inspired me to perfect my linear encasing technique. Gravity, as a tool, is often overlooked, but Sarah's ribbon beads rely on it to twirl the glass and achieve the twisted ribbon effect inside. I've been wanting to see Sarah at work for a long time, so today was very special.

The next flamework artist was Julie Ann Denton, from the Isle of Man. Julie Ann makes the most exquisite flameworked dragons, and this is what she chose to demonstrate in her mammoth two hour demonstration today. I didn't get to see the entire demo, but I saw her creating the dragon's wings by blowing a boro tube, cutting the wing shapes and then pulling them into just the right shape. A massive amount of patience and skill is required to pull off a glass dragon, and Julie Ann is one talented flameworker.

I then did an hour stint manning the GBUK stand. It was a great opportunity to chat to fellow beadmakers and try to persuade some potential beadmakers to take the plunge and have a go on the torches that were set up for taster sessions.

The final demonstration of the day was Anouk Jasperse, from Holland. Anouk demo'd two beads. In the first she showed us how she uses silver glass to stunning effect, and then she showed us one of her "caterpillar" beads. To make these she cuts into the glass and then carefully encases over them, and this creates a gorgeous twisted effect.

I spent some time ogling the delicious lampwork beads in the Lampworker's Village, and bought some silver beads. Then I went back to Martin's stall and bought a bit more glass. It was inevitable really! I bought some Reichenbach Magic, some Pink Gold and a few other "essential" bits and bobs.

Finally I joined the rest of the Frit Happens members in the Big Bead Swap! I pulled out a lovely dotty and raked bead from "Pat from Canvey". It's gorgeous!

So tomorrow I shall return to Towcester to watch more demo's, meet more friends and buy more glass. When I began beadmaking it was still relatively new within the UK, but today's event really opens your eyes to how it's growing in popularity, and that can only be a good thing!

Art in Action

Yesterday we went to Art in Action at Waterperry Gardens in Oxfordshire. I hadn't been to this event before, even though it's now in it 28th year. It was a fantatstic day, and an event I will definitely be returning to next year. I was in my element all day!

Art in Action brings together artists and craftspeople from all over the country, and further afield too, to demonstrate their skills to the public. All manner of crafts were represented, including leatherwork, sculpture, calligraphy, metalwork, ceramics, textiles and more. Of course for me the glass was the biggest attraction, and I watched several of the demonstrations by talented glassblowers and lampworkers. Anthony Wassell's plate spinning demonstration was fantastic! The final stage where he span the plate out was magical!







There are many similarities between glass and ceramics. The application of heat and cool can effect the colours in each, and we watched as some of the Raku pottery was fired. The smell of the burner was delicious!

This pot in the ceramics tent was born surprisingly quickly and it was really interesting seeing it come together.



Dora Schubert was in the Market Place, and I watched Diana East make a beautiful hollow bead from boro tubing. Julie Ann Denton's flameworking pieces are exquisite. We also watched beautiful wine glasses being made in the flame.

I was enthralled with the jewellery. Particularly I loved Lucy Sylvester's work. Her work is inspired by nature, and I was especially taken with her rings, with seed heads and acorns on them.

The best thing about Art in Action is the fact that you can roll your sleeves up and get involved. There were a plethora of practical classes to sign up for. My husband took the opportunity to take a winetasting class, while I watched yet another glass demo!

If you've never been to Art in Action I would recommend it wholeheartedly. The setting is beautiful, and the house and garden are open to visit if you want to pack even more into your day! It was really well organised, and the atmosphere was completely chilled. I took the opportunity to meet up with a couple of lampworker friends, and it was lovely to see Diana and Dora again too.

The event is on tomorrow too, so it's not too late!

Jinney Ring Craft Centre

I am absolutely thrilled that a local Craft Centre has taken my jewellery for their Gallery. The Jinney Ring Craft Centre is a great place with a diverse range of craft workshops.

One of my favourite things to do on a Friday is visit the glass studio where Stuart and Carina produce the most fabulous freeblown glass objects. While there are lots of similarities between studio glass and lampwork, there are enormous differences too. While I'm manipulating blobs of molten glass on the end of a 9" mandrel, Stuart and Carina are hefting great dollops of the stuff on 6' long punty rods.

I would definitely recommend the Jinney Ring Craft Centre if you're in the Worcestershire area, not least because they have a Chocolate Deli in one of the workshops. From molten glass to molten chocolate in just a few paces. Heaven!

You can find out more about the Jinney Ring here;

http://www.jinneyringcraft.co.uk

Flame Off 2008

The Flame Off event last week in Towcester was absolutely superb! It was the first event of this kind in the UK, and such was it's success that there are more events planned for the future. Yay! The whole event was organised brilliantly so that it went without a hitch.

There were stalls where you could buy glass, and tools, and silver, and beads. There were benches of hotheads set up, offering taster sessions for the uninitiated. There were more benches with an impressive range of "serious" torches. I was eyeing up a GT Bobcat, but amazingly managed to quell my enthusiasm and chose some CIM glass instead.

There was some pretty impressive sculptural work and glassblowing going on from the Scientific Glassblower's contingency. I think they had their eyes opened too to the world of beadmaking.

Upstairs was where the brilliant demonstrations happened, and these were all filmed and relayed to a stonkingly huge screen, so we could all see every detail. Laura Sparling made stringer control look really easy. If only! Emma Green is a self-confessed "mentalist", and her demonstrations were expertly delivered and let us into the world of critters. Sally Carver showed us how to make implosion beads, and I've had fun this weekend creating my own. Judith Johnston makes the most gorgeous encased florals and I watched her demo in awe. Ray Skene is awesome! As well as showing us his renowned hollows, he showed us a couple of off-mandrel pieces, including a worryingly realistic spider. He seemed to let it cool for ages and yet it didn't go bang. Impressive. Dora Schubert creates fabulous beads and has a real eye for detail. Her dots and geometric shapes are perfect, and she works with stringers so thin you could tie them in a bow! Mike Poole also demo'd but I'm afraid I missed it on account of watching the Boro Boys!

The entire day had a fabulous buzz, and it was lovely to meet up with friends and make new ones. I travelled down with Lesley, Julie and Cath. What a treat to be able to talk about all things glassy with like-minded glassaholics! We had a gigantic bead swap at the end of the day. Beads were flying in all directions! I made a little set of fritty encased beads, which Shirley received, and I picked out the most beautiful silver core bead, courtesy of Bee;



Martin and Theresa of Tuffnell Glass did an excellent job of organising the event, which must have been a nightmare given that it involved lots of people, and lots of gas and explosive oxygen! The Health & Safety Officer must have been exhausted by the end of the day!

I can't wait until the next Flame Off event. I will definitely be there.

If you'd like to see some of the photos of the event, click here. Click on "Flame Off Event Information" and then scroll down and select "Photo Gallery".

Hot Glass Weekend

I had an absolutely brilliant time last weekend at Ray Skene's studio. Ray has a superb studio within the Model House at LLantrisant. The Model House is home to a number of outstanding artists, using a variety of materials to produce wonderful works of art. If you're in the area be sure to pop in and you'll find silver jewellery, felt items, stained glass and a whole host of other crafts. Don't forget to say hello to Ray too! If you're lucky you'll find him busily melting glass.

It was great last week meeting other lampworkers. Ray did some superb demonstrations, and everyone was very generous in passing on their techniques to others. I met some lovely people and now I'm busily putting into practice the tips and tricks I learned! I think I have finally mastered the art of encasing beads, so I'm very happy!

The next glassy gathering that I'm looking forward to is the Flame Off at Towcester on April 19th. I can't wait!

Worcester Festival

Worcester Festival  is taking place over the next three weeks, until 27th August. The Festival incorporates the Riverside Artists' Market, which takes place on the South Quay on Sunday the 12th, 19th, 26th, and Bank Holiday Monday 27th.

Robin Jackson, friend and talented abstract and contemporary artist is there exhibiting his fabulous paintings. Robin has a real eye for colour, and his textural pieces are outstanding. You can see his work here.

Robin is very kindly exhibiting a selection of my jewellery, so if you want to see it "in the flesh" pop along to the Artists' Market and look out for Robin's stand.

We had a lovely time at the riverside today. The weather was perfect and there was a lovely relaxed atmosphere. Let's hope the weather is kind to us for the next few weeks!

Here's Robin, looking ever so handsome;

My jewellery! Apologies for the less than perfect photograph......