Glass bead give-away contest

Well, based upon a totally underwhelming response to the last post on selecting the next bead prizes for the give-away, Im going to try and re-invigorate things.

See the below post about lava and Caribbean waves. Sorry to clutter things up with kittens and all. I mean after all this is about glass, and more importantly glass beads.

I have posted 4 photos, two if each "design concept" there is one vote for each bead as of today. I will run this until Oct. 1st. The bead that gets the most votes by then will become the next two give-away prizes.

The Stoffobeads contest committee is also working hard on the next contest. They are taking suggestions but are working out a series of challenges that will make survior island look like a walk in the park.

So, please leave your comments, emails and let me know which 2 of the 4 beads you want a chance to win, or should I remake the prizes totally. But please let me know by Oct. 1st.

The rest of the contest details will also be released on Oct. 1.

Thanks to those two folks who logged in with comments so far.

Contest continued-Lava beads

Its nice to put up photos of beads again. Its been too long. A package arrived today from Olympus, I placed the order yesterday (fast shipping) and in it were 2 smart media cards, both instantly fired right up in the camera and work like a charm. Thanks Olympus.

First bead is a tab shape. Its about 10x25x35mm in size, made on a larger mandrel. Base color is black with lots of red and amber yellow. The red and yellow are flowed together like lava and the whole deal covered in a thin layer of clear. It more of an abstract interpretation of lava than anything, but its for sure lava inspired.


Second bead is a nugget shape. Flat on two sides from lapidary. Core or base color is magma yellow, covered in lava red, then a layer of ash grey, rolled in black crumbly nubs for a rough lava like outer shell, the outer crumbles are slightly reduced for a raku like ash tinge. The bead was then ground down on two sides to cut through to the layers and make two flat sides to the bead. Then polished up to a glassy finish. Size is about 20x20x30mm and made on a larger mandrel.

Part two of the contest-lets hear some comments on this bead concept......

Contest continues ! Caribbean Blue

This is the next step in the bead give-away contest.

Im going to post up a photo of the bead design concepts. The original design concepts can be found back in the blog archives. You have the option of voting for one or the other, or you can tell me that I missed the mark entirely.

Depending on votes from you all, I will remake a new set, or proceed to the next step which will be giving these beads away.

First two are the Caribbean Blue beads;

Bead one (right) is base cobalt blue, made on a larger mandrel. Its got silver balls that look like stars. There are waves of light colors both opaque and transparent, all under a pretty heavy coat of clear. Shape is kind of a tapered barrel 25mm tall and 22 mm wide at the widest point.


Bead two (left) is a tube, 53mm long by 16mm wide, made on a 3/32 inch mandrel. Its got an opaque core, then its got 3-4 colors of blue, opaque and transparent that are kind of swirled about wavelike and also under a pretty good layer of clear.

So, now that you have seen them, let me know what you think ?

Lila and Clover

Who amongst us doesn't love a kitten let alone two of them.

Here they are the much loved and talked about Lila and Clover.

Lila is the tortoise shell and Clover is the orange tigress.

Lila has some spunk, she is the adventurous one, runs full bore around the house, jumps higher, leaps from ledge to ledge and swings from the lamps. More likely if your toes get bit it her.




Clover is mellow, she's the one the little girls dress up in doll clothes. Turn her over and she lays on her back and purrs. She gets toted around the house by the local kids and is basic kitty putty in their hands.

Not on the same topic as kittens, the smart media cards arrived today and the new ones wont work, at least I cant get them to work but the old ones suddenly started to work. Who knows what's going on there. So, tomorrow I will try and post some bead photos and work out how to make the new cards work.

Hunting SmartMedia ...

Well,

If you have a device, camera or something else that relies upon this type of memory card, watch out ! Rumor is that they will cease production of this style of card within the month and they are already hard to find.

Got to love the disposable society we live in where scores of folks can rely upon something to work and the manufacturers can change 1 part, stop making that part, or otherwise engineer it to fail at a certain interval.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with my digital camera. It works great, one of the first Olympus models, the Camedia c3000 zoom. Its a fanstastic camera and takes great photos. PROBLEM-now the smart media cards that it stores the photos to soon will no longer be made.

Got to love the online retailers who list stuff on their sites but dont bother to tell you they dont have any more of that item. So after placing an order with an un-named retailer who actually did email me the next day to tell me they were out of stock. I have had to conduct a more intensive search for these cards.

If you need one try these guys, at UpGradeNation they said they were one of the last few to still have some in stock.

Should be getting my new cards in about a week so once they arrive, provided they do arrive and work, I will get some photos up.

Of course, its Smart Media....

This morning I was ready to wow the world with a few new items. But, I cant get my digital camera to work.

Problem seems to be the smart media flash cards. Both of them, worked yesterday and now I cant format them. Been through this before and into the manual several times. Nope, none of the old standby tricks seem to work...... Anyone got any suggestions ? So, the joys of living in a small town means that I cant get it here. I have to go online to seek out obscure vendors who carry this critical yet outdated wafer of technology.

At this point its almost cheaper to buy a new digital camera than these cards for the old, almost an antique camera (Its about 6 yrs old).

Two new cards on order and $100 lighter in the wallet, nothing left to do but wait....

What I wanted to do was post;
1) photos of the two new kittens, "Lila" and "Clover" named by the local 5 yr old girl.
2) photos of the four beads I have made under the molten lava and Caribbean blues themes.
3) photos of my 2 new bead sculptures. Cantilever glass ala Frank Lloyd Wright.

Speaking of Wright we managed to make a much anticipated and long awaited trip to Taliesin West about a month ago. Well worth the trip ! What a cool place. Very inspiring. If you are ever in the Phoenix area, you have to go.

Sorry but you will have to wait....

My intention is that once able again, I will post up photos of the 4 beads and you all will pick which ones best represent the themes. Then we will proceed in wrapping up the bead contests.

Hopefully the cards will arrive soon and I can be photo capable, with smart media.

Oh ! -in the local newspaper, Ajo Copper News, under opinion poll, you can vote for a highway bypass or against the bypass. Im against the bypass, maybe you can visit also and vote against the bypass. Got to keep traffic going past local businesses.

Finally !

Well, to those of you who try to follow this blog, Im back !

Its finally cool enough to melt glass again without copious amounts of sweat gushing about.

Temps have dropped down to high 80s and low 90s so we are able to tolerate some torch time.

Recently back from a gorgeous wedding trip to Michigan. Had a great time in the East Lansing area. Ate some of the best ribs ever ! Thanks Tom Hopper, the chef who prepared these amazing little creations ! A true feat of flameworking. A sugary crust over a peppery interior, grilled over flames ! It was a nice trip to cool off, and visit an old friend and celebrate his wedding.

Enough of that. Here are few of the many treats that awaited me this morning as the kiln was opened up.

I have to get going, need to try and work on the promised sets for prizes. There are two beads Im supposed to make as part of the last contest ! Im negligent in getting this done and owe two people some torch time with their ideas as my intended product.