My fourth and final Necklace Lending Reception will be next friday, February 6 from 5:00 to 7:00 pm at The Arts of the Southern Finger Lakes in Corning, NY. The Arts is the sponsor of this project, so I'm happy to be hosting my event there. The people who work for The Arts have been extremely helpful with the ins and outs of the grant writing process and all the hand holding I needed to get this project out into the world. So Thanks a Bunch to Lynn, Ginnie, and Sharla!

After the final loan period the necklaces will be auctioned off with a portion of the proceeds being donated to the Southeast Stueben County Public Library in Corning. It was the public library that inspired this project so I'm hoping sales will go well and I'll be able to turn over a nice sum to them.

If you're interested in seeing the necklaces, click here and check back to find out details about the auction as they become available.

Here are some nice shots of the lending reception. Quite a few visitors came on purpose for the necklace event, but we enticed some passers by to stop and try on necklaces as well. 

trying on the Ruby Reef Necklace....

Spiny Stripe, very subtle on this sweater, but looks like a good length.

Jaqueline shows off the pretty blouse she'll wear with the Ruby Reef Necklace for New Years.Thanks Jacqueline!

Parade of Necklaces on display!

and yummy snacks add to the fun.

setting up the display at 171 Cedar Arts Center

Caitlin, Jo Jo & Loretta planning the next Lending Library Event

So far the Art Glass Jewelry Lending Library Project has been good fun. People seem delighted by the idea and the necklaces have made their way to quite a few parties, receptions and holiday happenings. The Spring Grass necklace went all the way to Canada and several of the others have traveled out of town and back.

Something lovely and unexpected is how many kind souls have jumped in to help out in various ways; explaining the project to others, handing out information cards, helping to gather up necklaces at the end of loan periods, connecting me and the project to new potential venues. It's been an exciting and heartwarming response.

The project will wind to a close some time in February. We're currently in the middle of the 3rd loan period and there will be at least one more loan period over Valentine's day. I'll be announcing the 4th public lending event as soon as the details are worked out and then the necklaces will be auctioned and proceeds will be divided between the artist (me) and the Corning public library which inspired the idea in the first place.

The first of several Lending Events: Southeast Stueben County Library: Trying on necklaces

Wearing necklaces at the CMOG 2300 where we previewed the necklace project to the public.

All the necklaces are finished and ready to go out on loan. We're planning to debut them at the November "2300 Degrees" event at the Corning Museum of Glass. This is a wonderful, gigantic monthly party the museum throws for the community during winter months. There will be food, local wine, live music and glass making demonstrations. I'll be in one of the flameworking booths making ornaments during the event. Marshall will have a little display table next to my booth with photos of the necklaces and postcards explaining the project. And most importantly, eight lovely women will be wearing the necklaces during the evening so people can see them for the first time in the flesh - or shall we say, on the flesh.

In preparation for the 2300 Degrees evening we're having a little get together for the all our models and a few friends to try on the necklaces and choose which one they'd each like to wear.

Trying on necklaces at the pre-preview evening:

What the Art Glass Jewelry Lending Library is and how it came about:

   The Art Glass Jewelry Lending Library is inspired by the feeling I have every time I walk out of the public library with a stack of books and DVDs. I think, “Wow, they’re just letting me borrow these! Just because I want to and they trust me to bring them back.” It makes me feel so good to have this luxurious access and to be trusted. I feel rich and cared for and part of a community that respects intellectual growth and generosity. It helps me be my best self. We need more of that kind of experience in our lives and our community.

 In 2007 I received an Artist's Crossroads Grant which is a New York State funded grant awarded through the Arts of the Southern Fingerlakes for this project. The funds became available in March of 2008 and began working on the necklace designs:

    This project includes the production of eight complex, lampworked glass bead necklaces and the offering of these necklaces on loan at no charge to the public to wear at events of their choice.
    Those who intend to borrow a necklace will be asked to sign an agreement of loan terms and describe the event they plan to wear it to, then be photographed wearing the necklace they have chosen. The life and progress of each necklace will be documented on this web site through photos and anecdotes as it makes its way through a series of fabulous events on various necks.
    After all loan periods have ended the necklaces will be sold at auction and the proceeds shared between the public library and the artist.

How The Lending Library Works:

The eight necklaces will be made available on loan at several public lending receptions between November and February where they may be viewed and tried on. To borrow a necklace simply choose an available loan period, fill out a simple loan agreement, and have your picture taken with the necklace on for the web site. Then after wearing it to your heart’s content, return the necklace by it’s due date to The Arts of the Southern Finger Lakes, 32 West Market Street, Corning


Dates and locations for future lending receptions will be announced here as they are scheduled. 

After months of delays and trepidation I've finally begun my sales page set up. Please check it out and let me know what you think: Buy Beads

There is but one lonely bead in place so far, but soon there will be many more as I become more familiar with the process.

Mandala Bead

The first brave trailblazer into the wilderness of my online bead store

While getting ready to go to Oakland, CA next week for the ISGB Gathering I am, as always trying to create the simplest, most portable, while also beautiful and efficient, display system for taking to bead shows. Especially these days when flying is getting more expensive and luggage more complicated, I'm fantasizing about the Wiley Coyote style Acme Instant Display where you open a briefcase, squeeze in one magic drop from an eye dropper and voila! up pops a clean, well lighted retail space complete with signage, cash register, beads, jewelry, and customers already in place!

In the mean time I'm experimenting with cork - a nice, neutral, lightweight background for most beads.

Well, it's been a ridiculously long time since I've written a blog entry and a ridiculously over scheduled summer. Every time I get home from one stimulating event and begin to regain my bearings it's time to head out to the next stimulating event until frankly, I'm so over stimulated with traveling and teaching, I don't know what to think. Actually, it feels more like I've forgotten HOW to think....but this state of excessive excitation will eventually come to its exhausted conclusion and I'll be back home in my studio, ready to work again.

I've got projects galore in every state of partial completion and will post pictures as they progress. For now here's a nice snapshot of some of my students from Penland this summer. That's Helen, our lovely and talented studio assitant in the front.

We had a little trouble getting everybody in the room at one time for a photo op. on the last day so this is only part of the group, but we had a great class. Everybody did excellent work and the Penland experience was as delightlful as I had expected.

Here's what the place looks like early in the morning:

How could you not be delighted looking at that over a cup of coffee every morning?

Since our Penland class I spent a few weeks filling jewelry orders, visited Wale Apparatus in Pennsylvania to look at lampworking equipment and glass colors and went to Knitting Camp in Wisconsin. I've been home for a few days now and between getting caught up on lawn mowing, bill paying and laundry I'm working like a mad woman to get ready for the ISGB Gathering in Oakland, CA. It's all very delightful and exciting and I'm really looking forward to September when things quiet down finally!

 I spent a bunch of the past week learning how to create a digital slide presentation in iweb Keynote. Turns out it's pretty easy (if you already know how to use your digital camera, set up good lighting, crop and edit photos in Photoshop, size and lay out text and spell pretty well and oh, yeah, make the beads) and pretty cool and I managed to pull off a decent artist's talk for the docents' luncheon of the Corning Museum of Glass. The lunch was yummy, the docents were delightful and my job there is done, Now I'm itching to get back in my studio and make stuff, but this weekend I'll be teaching a workshop instead. Poor me. I have too many fun options in my life. Teaching workshops is really one of my favorite things so even though I'll have to put off making beads myself until monday, I'll have the pleasure of seeing my students make beautiful beads and brilliant progress. I could hardly ask for more.

If I'm very organized I'll remember to bring my camera to class and shoot some workshop photos. Then you'll be able to see my excellent students and their work here in a few days.

Well it just seems like it's time to stop pussyfooting around and go ahead and launch this website. I've been fiddling with it for weeks now trying to get things just so and have finally realized it's going to be an ever changing and ongoing process, like most things in life, so why not take the plunge and send it out into the world. Take a look at my work and come back soon to see what's new. I'll be adding more images and text as fast as I can and in a few weeks I'll even have a shopping page where you can veiw and purchase beads and jewelry. Thanks for visiting!

Here's another little goof: Girl with pink hair. A lampworked glass head made off the end of a mandrel so there's a hole up into the neck, but not through the top. The black section below the collar is flattened so the paperclay body can be formed over it and the head won't spin. Now that's silly! She only has one tooth.

Here she is with her body: