Statement Necklace

I'm a Carnival Blogger over at Art Bead Scene Blog. We post each month about a specific topic and then Cindy does a post incorporating everybody's blog on the Art Bead Scene Blog. This month so many talented bead people are at Bead and Button so Cindy is doing it a little differently. Some of us who aren't busy with Bead and Button have chosen to create a Statement Necklace in honor of Bead and Button and post about that. What is a Statement Necklace? Well, think about how many kinds of statements one could make. That's how many different kinds of Statement Necklaces one could make.

I've used lots of things I love in this necklace. My first love is ceramic beads. The focal pendant, the round bead and the little discs are my handmade ceramic beads. I've incorporated some glass beads, some metalic edged silk ribbon, copper chain, copper wire in different gauges, and then my next love, my hand made copper clasp. I'm so into copper and so into clasps.

Check out the rest of the Statements!!

Cindy
Jeannie
Jen V
Kate
Mary
Nicki
Island Girl
Sharon
Janel
Marcie
Christine
Lyn

It's the second Wednesday!! There's a great giveaway over at Beads of Clay Blog featuring these prizes from me and lots of other prizes from from Beads of Clay members. Go check it out. All you have to do is leave a comment and you could be randomly picked to win these prizes. What have you got to lose.

Anticipation

Sometimes I make beads just to feel the clay in my hands. With no real end in sight. This clay hasn’t yet decided what it wants to be. But sometimes I have a whole finished piece of jewelry in mind. Before I can start on the project I have to go through the whole process of making the beads I have in my head. I let them dry before I can get them in the kiln for the first firing. That’s usually not so bad in the middle of summer here. It’s pretty hot and arid so they dry quickly. But in the winter it takes longer. Then there’s the firing, glazing, firing again. Sometimes it turns out just like I had anticipated. Just as often the whole thing, which has a mind of its own, turns out to be something quite different.

A lot of potters refer to opening the kiln as Christmas morning. It really is like that. I can’t tell you how many times when I was starting out, I would open the kiln when it was still too hot. I just couldn’t stand the anticipation any longer. Sometimes the results of that were disastrous. So I’ve learned to force myself to be patient. I usually leave the kiln to cool overnight and open it in my pajamas with my first cup of coffee. One of my favorite things to do.