Lampwork Deux
Today was the second and last part of the lampwork bead class. I swore to myself that I was not going to be as nervous about it as I was last time - but I was. I didn't want to be shaking like a leaf everytime I pulled the beads out of the fire. I couldn't believe I still was!! This time the stars were not aligned and the muses left the building because my little beads came out horrid. I was so disappointed I actually wanted to leave and take a breather. Of course it had been a week since I last torched a bead so I could understand that the beads may not have been so round, but the dang things cracked and once the torch went out when I was 85% finished with a bead using a new technique. To make things worse, my back and neck were on fire! This all amounted to having my hands shake way worse than last weekend. Plus, that psycho lady was thinning my patience. She was trying to go way ahead of the pace of the class, wasted too much material AND she almost torched a fellow student. Grrrr.
I was not so disappointed that I would drop lampworking forever, of course. I think with a little nap and a few advils I would have been good to go. I really like the whole process and I know that with more practice I could get better and more steady. On the extreme plus side, I DID NOT burn myself today and I managed to only minimally expose myself to fiberglass. Hooray!
So in the spirit of craftyness, I broke down and bought the lampwork kit that was being sold at the studio. The box was completely sealed and chock full of goodies. I picked up some extra glass rods in colors I liked just in case the rods in the kit were wack. I drove veeeeery slow all the way home for fear of jostling the glass rods and breaking them. When I got home I tore open the sucker and was happy to see that not all the colors were wack (though some were) and they packed in a good number of mandrels. All I need to do now is buy the gas, build a table and find a place in my tiny apt that is well ventilated. I think I may be pushed outside on the balcony for this one.
I will probably buy this book pretty soon.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0972660208/qid=1124576979/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-1951149-2304718?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
I have searched high and low at my local Borders and Barnes & Noble and neither have it in stock. It's a bit pricey but well worth it!
I was not so disappointed that I would drop lampworking forever, of course. I think with a little nap and a few advils I would have been good to go. I really like the whole process and I know that with more practice I could get better and more steady. On the extreme plus side, I DID NOT burn myself today and I managed to only minimally expose myself to fiberglass. Hooray!
So in the spirit of craftyness, I broke down and bought the lampwork kit that was being sold at the studio. The box was completely sealed and chock full of goodies. I picked up some extra glass rods in colors I liked just in case the rods in the kit were wack. I drove veeeeery slow all the way home for fear of jostling the glass rods and breaking them. When I got home I tore open the sucker and was happy to see that not all the colors were wack (though some were) and they packed in a good number of mandrels. All I need to do now is buy the gas, build a table and find a place in my tiny apt that is well ventilated. I think I may be pushed outside on the balcony for this one.
I will probably buy this book pretty soon.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0972660208/qid=1124576979/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-1951149-2304718?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
I have searched high and low at my local Borders and Barnes & Noble and neither have it in stock. It's a bit pricey but well worth it!
posted by Arianne at 9:31 PM
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