One World One Heart

Hello and Welcome! On your journey around the world you have now landed in Indiana in the Midwest of the United States. I am your hostess, Julie Miller. I’ve been lampworking, that is making glass beads and beadie type things, for about 6 years now. I used to have a day job. I used to serve 9 to 5 in a cubicle but an early recession liberated me from that and when the next job was just not to be found, I took it as a sign that maybe it was time to take a leap of faith and do something else. I have been working full time in glass every since!

I make glass vessels, wee vessels I call weessels and I make glass globe pendants. I also make hollow beads and other lampwork beads as the whim and muse nudge me. I mostly enjoy working from my studio in my home. I’m a home body and I like to be able to torch when an idea hits me or go visit with friend on the computer. Sometimes, it’s good to just take a nap with cats and go back to “work” later. For the business end of things, I mostly sell online but I also participate in some local and national shows.

In my spare time, I am a rabid movie fan particularly sci-fi. I also enjoy dabbling with jewelry making. I mostly stick with glass and my glassy friends at ISLAGA our local lampwork club and chapter of ISGB.

Thank you for taking time out of your tour to visit with me! If you would like, please leave a comment below. I will add your name to the drawing for this lovely sea shell globe necklace. I know it’s an odd keepsake from the Midwest but would you really want a globe full of corn or soy beans? The globe was blown at my torch, filled with sea shells from Florida, and sealed with a handmade sterling silver cap and wire bail. It’s strung on brown greek leather cord with a sterling silver C clasp.

To win, you will need to leave your name and email address or a way to contact you if you win! I will choose the winner and contact them on February 17. (If you do not respond with a mailing address within 5 business days, I will choose another winner) This opportunity is open to everyone around the world. If you win, you win, no strings attached and no shipping charges apply.
Good luck and happy journey!

My Favorite Glass: Devardi

I love getting my hands on new glass and playing but I think I could benefit from being a little more constructive and methodical in my testing and experimentation. So, to put me on that path, I am going to post, a couple times a month, about different types of glass and my results; a virtual journal that I can share (and not misplace).

I stumbled across Devardi glass while browsing on the ABR Imagery website. Some of the colors looked intriguing and others looked like the standard effetre colors.

To begin, Devardi glass is from India and, per the website http://www.devardiglass.com/) it is hand pulled and lead free. Their goal is to provide a more economical glass option for lampworkers and given that most of the glass is $6.00USD or less per pound, they seem to have achieved that goal. I bought a couple of rods of colors that I thought looked interesting and here’s what I found.

Overall, the rods are hand pulled and not very consistent in diameter. This doesn’t pose much of a problem to me and I can work with it. I do recommend inspecting each rod before use for inclusions. I’m not sure what these are, some look like kiln brick, but these are foreign objects, not glass, that will cause the rod to explode when heated. These tend to appear at one end and can be nipped out or carefully heated and tweezed out.

Examples of the hand pulled nature of the rods 

Examples of inclusions

The transparents are stiffer which makes them ideal for hollow beads but a little tricky in blowing out for vessels.

Then, there are the bubbles. Some rods seem to bubble up like seeded glass and others less so but I think if you are using this glass, you should count on some bubbles and just work around it. I love bubbles so I’m a happy camper!

In summary, I bought a good stock of some of the interesting colors and look forward to adding them to my permanent palette but the colors that are similar to effetre, well, I’ll stick with the devil I already know.

Now, the fun stuff, the colors:

Dark Rose and Rose (I didn’t try pale rose). Can you see the difference, not much of one is there.

The dark rose rod is on the top with examples to the left and regular rose rod on the bottom with examples to the right.



Ink Blue.  I really like this ink blue better than effetre not only for the price difference but for the fact that Devardi Ink is much lighter.

Devardi Ink

Effetre Ink



Ice Blue.  The photos that ABR and Devardi have for this glass are criminal!  This may be my favorite find of them all!  This light blue is more aqua than effetre light blue and unlike the transparent pale and light blues and aquas of effetre, Devardi Ice blue does not scum up when worked hot.

Ice Blue



Dark Purple.  This was OK in a hollow but the heat involved in making even a small vessel caused it to devitrify.

 Examples of Devardi Opaque Dark Purple



Cranberry.  This has the same problem as any other transparent red by any other manufacturer which is that the color burns off if it’s pulled too thin.  However, the color is great and it isn’t cloudy like effetre transparent red.

Devardi Transparent Cranberry

"Opaque pink".  Devardi currently has two colors that they call opaque pink.  One is called lipstick pink and the price is $10USD per pound.  I didn’t try that color but I did try the other “opaque” pink.  I would be hard pressed to tell the difference between this color and medium pink alabaster.  It has that semi opaque/opalino/alabaster quality in rod form and at every stage in the flame especially when it shocks and shatters into a pile on your bench.  If you choose to bother with this, preheat it in the kiln first.

Devardi "Opaque" Pink

I hope you enjoyed a brief tour of my experience with Devardi glass!  I have a list of glasses to explore like this so stop by again soon!

Tease n Run

Here are pictures of what I will be posting on Etsy for the next week or so.   I will be talking about the glass I used for the beautiful honeysuckle pink and violet purple in a new post and feature coming this Friday:  My Favorite Glass Color!

Merry Christmas Kitties!

Left, old tree  Right, new tree

My fur kids have their Christmas present already.  Actually, they've had it since I bought it on Black Friday.  I'm not a big shopper and certainly not a Black Friday shopper but this year, for them, I was.  I had had my eye on this colossal kitty tree for awhile.  The one they had (on the left) was woefully inadequate since the second, lower bunk isn't even at window-gazing height.  This left poor Buster to sit with his front paws folded on the window sill like Oliver Twist begging for seconds.

Gracie "Hurry, take the picture, I can't keep my gut sucked in much longer!"

There was a little problem though.  No, getting it in the car and in the house was a struggle but I managed.  The problem was the top bunk was a little too high.  Gracie is, well, a tubby tabby, a portly puddy tat.  She manages the lower bunk of the new tree but that is probably the extent of her abilities.  So it was up to Buster to claim the top bunk but he just hadn't been up to it, yet.  A couple of nights ago, he finally, and with less grace than normal, clawed his way to the top.  He's been insufferably smug every since.  He now sits proud and high, flinging stuffed mice and toys off to their plummeting doom and gloats over Gracie and me equally.

Buster "That meecie wasn't pushed, he jumped"

I like it too.  Positioned in the front window, in clear view of the street and all who pass by, it clearly states that the neighborhood crazy cat lady lives here.

Buster, Gracie and I wish you as much joy and contentment this holiday season and in the year to come!

Etsy Preview: Beads

Hello!

I am currently running a sale on several jewelry items here and offering Priority shipping for the cost of first class shipping (on jewelry items only).  Gift boxes and bows are included as well.

Listings coming up are bead sets.  Some bright colors and some earth tones as well.  Take a look:

Creek Stone - 2 sets

Pomegranate - 3 sets

Salt Flats - 1 set

Super Green - 1 set

Fun Mix - 1 set

Thanks!

Etsy Preview

Hello!

I have a few more jewelry items left to post before I go back to bead business as usual for 2011.

Here are 4 pair of hollow bead earrings that will be posted before the weekend.  Enjoy!

Sale!

Thank you to everyone who stopped by my booth at Winter Market at the Eiteljorg this past weekend.  Lisa and I were overwhelmed by the number of people who braved the snow to support local artists and buy handmade for the holidays!

I'm currently offering some of my jewelry and other gift items at sale prices for the rest of the gift buying season.  Stop by the SALE section of my shop for items already priced 20%.  I can ship via priority mail upon request and include gift boxes with upgraded shipping.

Here are a few goodies:

Happy Holidays!!