Back to the Torch

Back to the torch! I was afraid that I was away too long and would forget what I knew about making beads.

Someone asked me if I could make beads to match her round soaps and the tablet press is perfect for the job. The beads came out pretty well and I'm thinking they would make a gorgeous necklace or charm bracelet.

The soap bead inspiration got me started and I kept going, inspired by colors and some of the angel beads I've seen online recently.

I thought about doing a Christmas angel/fairy and came up with this little one (on the right) dressed in green with gold tipped wings and halo.

She isn't one of my best beads, but then I started to think about some of the stuffed, primitive angels we used to make years ago, and progressed to some really basic angels, but I like them too. I was so impatient to get pictures of these and didn't really do a good job so I hope you can see that the turquoise angel has a bit of holly on her skirt.

The pink angel is more *just a country angel*, no specific season for her! She has a little green vine twined around her and a stylized daisy.

At least they are somewhat original. I was hoping to come up with something a little different from what everyone else is doing.

Finally, I was about to turn off the torch, but had been so happy with the look of the turquoise angel, that I picked up one more mandrel and started a fairy. I love this little gal, there is a depth to her that isn't easily visible in the photo - very etherial. No name yet. I'm thinking some kind of water nymph fairy... is there such a thing?

That thrill of watching the glass swirling around the mandrel never leaves. I'm still not technically perfect by a long shot, but I feel I get better all the time. I must constantly remind myself that I don't have to rush to get the piece finished. I can keep it warm and continue working... I can add and subtract. Glass is much more forgiving now than it was a couple of years ago.