New blog

Well, lots of change here, a new Etsy shop, and a new blog at;
http://steampunkglass.wordpress.com/

This is more for my glass work which is where all my energies are now going, saillecrafts was going to be a joint venture with lots of wood work (saille is an old name for willow). I am not really sad at the change as this is a very exciting time with some really interesting jewellery coming along, plus some mad steam stuff. Please check it out, and look for new posts at the new blog site

http://www.steampunkglass.etsy.com/

The Eloi strike back!

It’s been a mad few months, what with getting ‘boss woman’ off to Uni and settling into a new routine. However I have finally managed to put a few early bits of jewellery onto Flickr, and have already had some nice comments back. Thank you!

I was struck a few weeks ago with mad inspiration for some ‘Victorian steampunk/ Cyberpunk’ beads which I worked like an obsessed demon on. The result are… well, interesting??? Lots of encased copper coils and strange shapes, imagine what might be the components and valves for HG Well’s Time Traveller. Doubtless after a few years of him bringing civilization to the Eloi they would have got sick of having to work for a living and would have smashed up the time machine. Maybe they would they would have used the parts to make jewellery? In the cold light of day I am not so sure about them, but last night began threading them onto an equally mad necklace. When I feel brave I shall pop a picture on here.

I have also made some sensible beads as well, I overdid it with the silver on the Lava bead necklace, I just need to be able to take better pictures to show up the insides as the goldstone just doesn’t show up in the pictures. I also have been playing with off-mandrel glass, I have so much new stuff I really have to get some more pictures taken!

Stunned

I'm a bit stunned as 'Boss-woman' has got accepted to uni as a mature student, which is great news, but completely out of the blue! It was only last week we were talking to some old freinds, one at cambridge, about it and bang! She's on her way in six weeks! I am so stunned can't even get around to lighting my torch, been busy faffing around hoovering workshop instead-plus I have a nice new press to play with which would normally have me itching to light up!

Tired but reducing

Been a few long and hot days, but looks like I'm nearer getting hold of some new bead presses and special mandrels (basically a metal rod the molten glass is wound onto) I've been after for a little project I have in mind - watch this space!

I have been concentrating on focal pendant beads, and I think I have finally got the idea now, some very interesting effects now coming out, and in twenty minutes I'll go and check on a few to see if the metal reflective finish has stayed on one of the beads or vanished as it does with this weird reducing glass.

One of the exciting projects has been off mandrel work with 'implosion beads' which produces sexy paperweight effects with swirls and flowers inside a large dollop of glass. Of course what really happens is all goes well until I try removing the bulk of the rod from the new pendant which suddenly slips free and rolls away still orange hot, denting and picking up fluff and grot as it sears away the floorboards!

Hot Hot Hot!!!

It’s true what they say about time flying, met some old friends this weekend that hadn’t seen for ‘a bit’, which we realised was in one case six years!!! So on one of hottest days of year when everyone else is heading out of London, we’re heading into the centre!

All this heat and going out is playing havoc with my glass making schedule, waited until half nine in the evening to get an hour’s torch time before I melted in front of it. Still having problems with the tips of earrings cracking, I keep having the glass running too hot and loosing the top definition. Adding insult to injury the lovely ‘Victorian’ amber and lilac set I made have gone and chipped! Argh! It seems all I’m making at the moment is scrap glass.

On a positive note I’ve decided to play with some pendant designs. It was such a revelation to see one of my ‘rejects’ turned into a pendant by mother-in-law who came locust-like to grab any beads she could get away with. I had a quick play again with some of the double helix glass that’s supposed to change colour, but has only been turning brown or white. Yay! Managed to get some great blues, light browns, and a tiny thread of copper turned up in one! I am going to have to play with that some more, and figure out how I did that and get more metals in there. Shame it’s so darn expensive else I’d do loads to see what comes out.

Here goes nothing!?

Well, about time I joined the 20th cent I guess! Everyone is on facebook (or should that be faceache? I really can't get my head around to all those daft attachments and quizes) and even my old mate Scot has a blog! Doubtless the rules are short three lines of drivel- but I am sure I will break that rule with long rambling nonsense!

All quite exciting at the moment, my glass work is coming along really well now, plus have bit the bullet and got a dual fuel set up, so much faster and cheaper to run than the canisters I was using. Only thing is I'm now making beads faster than I am getting around to anealing them (a toughing process that stops them exploding from internal stresses). Not able to do much this week as have got an infected eye which is giving me grief.
Bizarre the chain of events....... if the hotel next to my office had allowed them to put air conditioner fans on the back of our building I wouldn't have a sore eye now, as the builders would have installed it correctly the aircon wouldn't be in a cupboard overheating, and they'd have put the vents in the right place! Then the office would be cool, so I wouldn't have been climbing around moving and poking vents! Thus no grit in eye that rubbed sore and caused me to be waffling on here instead of glass working!