12.12.2018 - The Last Few Months

Last week, I approached an Austin Gallery - Artworks on West 6th Street - about putting some of my work in their gallery - they chose a nice variety and I’m very pleased - as it looks amazing in their showroom! Stop by and see it if you’re in the area - maybe after you’ve scooped up my work - you’ll snag some art for your walls!!

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Over the past year - I’ve been working up to this - and also - to a level of work that doesn’t scream craft. It’s all about a more deliberate pace - slower and more careful… to get there. The earrings shown above have a mirror finish on the black - top hole will acomodate the loop turnbed sideways - while the bottom better fits it - rotated 90 degrees… the Jetstream dangle bead has only one hole… so when you wear the earrings - you don’t have to see the ‘hardware’ at the bottom of the bead. These blue beads are just so awesome… the silvered glass is singing beautifully underneath the silver wire that’s wrapped around it… then I’ve carefully laid a layer of clear on top of the wire/silvered glass. This holds the wire onto the bead (eliminates the need for polishing the bead) and protects the silvered glass’ finish.

Very pretty. I’m thrilled.

smiles,
Jill

11.28.2018 - Matchsticks

I’ve been making beads for over twenty years… that being said, I make a LOT of beads. But, yesterday this was all that I made. This handful was the results of 6 hours at the torch… crazy, huh? While the idea of a square shaped rectangular bead with a hole in the very middle… can be appealing - let me remind you - glass, through gravity and surface tension wants to always be round… the idea of square + rectangular is crazy, huh?

I had a friend suggest that she could see these used this way…. I have to agree, they’re quite wonderful!! Lots of sparkle and independent movement… very wearer friendly earrings!

I’ve been making many finished pieces lately - but as usual, have found that it sells better in person… IF YOU are looking for a special gift for the holidays - send me a note - and I’ll try to fit the bill!!

smiles,
Jill

11.14.2018 - New Way of Thinking.

So - I had a longtime customer, Barbara Muth, (turned friend - as luckily many of them do!) come visit me on Thursday. We were looking through beads of course and she remarked that she would wear what I considered a pendant as an earring… NAH??? really??? I popped an ear wire on and boom - she put it on and it LOOKED FABULOUS!

So - this week, I made it my work to make more!! If one pair is good, then more is “more better”.

She asked me to make her a pair in this color combo… and I have to admit that they’re pretty stunning!!!

then those led to these above…. and these below…

So if bigger is better - keep posted. Maybe I’ll have my stuff together by next week!! Smiles, Jill

10.31.2018 - ...and so it goes

Earlier today I was thinking about how often I wear a very simple necklace - it’s my ‘go to’ necklace. So, if it’s good enough for me… I should make more!

While I’ve always liked the simplicity of these beads on a cord… the idea that the design is always in flux appeals to me so much! The sliding-knot closure, and repositionable beads allow this piece to adjust to different necklines and perhaps different moods. The fact that there is no metal to tarnish, it can be ‘thrown” into the dishwasher for a quick cord clean-up, and that there isn’t a clasp that continually needs to be moved to the back makes this necklace even more of a joy. : )

This week, I also found myself working on a more complicated piece that left me feeling I’d spent way too much time… and hence possibly overdone the design… two totally different looks, I know. Must remember customer base is varied as well!! smiles, Jill

10.24.2018 - Rain, Boro, Rain, Rain, Rain....

Hi… I’ve been working on gently graduated sets of boro beads - nicely straight sided and smooth mirrored finish surfaces… I feel these are necessary components for a smooth contemporary feel… and I feel this is very possible for lampwork that looks like this. I’m typically not a boro gal… but every now and then I get the bug - and this week I had it.

I’ve held a set back and will assemble another bracelet this evening… and post a picture here for you to see… but I’m in a good place. One big difference working with boro (excuse me, “ONE OF the big differences”… ) is my usual inability to accurately predict the final color - as many of these colors actually change while they’re in the kiln. (That’s not so with the soft glass)… but I find that the more I work with it, the more I get to know what the colors, or combination of colors will do - and I find that very nice. : )

There is now a long list of favorites that I plan to order more of, as sometimes burning that last little nub of glass in your most favorite color, of the moment, can really be hard on the fingers!

In the 20+ years I’ve been making beads, I’ve taught as well… I happily will report to you that there seem to be two kinds of students. 1. The impatient one who insists on applying glass that’s not hot enough to the mandrel - then ends up cracking the release and is upset. 2. The one who’s so full of wonder & joy, and who is also patient to a fault. These are the easy ones - as I also have found this week that patience is a virtue… and Borosilicate melts slowly… I enjoyed the evolution of color and the trial of shaping such a stiff glass.

The payoff was that I’m happily going to do it again soon… smiles - Jill

10.17.2018 - Tall, thin, .... Texan Disk Necklace - (Update here tonight at 9pm EST)

Tall, thin, and Texan. I love disks - I feel like that’s my mantra at my support group… I just wish there were more ways to show these beauties off!! I’m working on it. I have these strong feelings about certain things glass related - (as my quest to remove the hole, or at least the visibility of it) and it dominates my creativity.

Last week I had the new version of the disk necklace… which lovingly lets the light to transmit through the glass and ‘allow’ the color. But until theres a nicer way to use these pretties with their broad plane of color facing forward… I’ll always be pursuing options.

Many of the prettiest color are so color dense - that unless they’re stretched very thin, or veiled over a lighter color - they get lost in the dark.

For years, I’ve played with a small footprint of glass and building tall, thin beads… below is a video I made that shows the process… enjoy.
smiles, Jill

10.3.2018 - Lovely Moo Cards!

I received my order this week from Moo Cards… I’ve placed several orders over the years - and am just so pleased!!! These are laminated so they’re shiny - this time, I’ve chosen only three images for the front - but you can choose as many as you want! I have my logo and contact information on the back. I just wanted to share! : ) Update tonight - at 9pm EST. smiles, Jill


PS - if you want to order cards - I can send you a referral - and you will save 25%!! Contact me at lampwork@jillsymons.com : )

9.26.2018 - Midnight in The Garden Focals... snowstorm in the garden?

Click below to see the video from the torch - it’s only 5 seconds - but it’s interesting to see these as they’re created.

This focal reminds me of perhaps flowers in a snowstorm… but, in all reality, (especially in TX) that’s not too possible. This is one of my larger focals - long/balanced and slender.

I just had to show you what a snowstorm looks like in TX… smiles, Jill

9.18.2018 - Obsession & Figuring it out - Thanks for coming on my journey : )

Are you like me? Do you take a new idea and do it to death… in all colors - variations and such until you and your viewing audience are totally saturated? Sometimes that’s what it takes to get to a point where you’ve addressed all the issues. ALL the issues.

As you know, I’ve been on this quest to get rid of the bead hole - as I gravitate towards transparent glass I often feel that hole meandering right through the middle is a distraction… from the perfection of a near bubble-less creation. I don’t work often in clear/colorless glass, but the Lauscha is so darn wonderful… I couldn’t resist.

It started with a tiny drop of glass no bigger than 1/2”, I played with various ways to create this on or off the mandrel. Then they got bigger as my confidence grew…. until, that is, I realized they were too large. I slimmed down the earrings, perfected the profile and found a way to be able to consistently handshape these earring beads - and have nicely matching pairs. I’m finally satisfied and can now just produce… I’ll meander off somewhere and obsess about something else.

….LIKE these pendants. Why is it, I am easily able to make only a certain size?? I’d been asked to work larger - but I get lost in a larger scale. hmmmm. Maybe that’s the next chapter. Smiles, Jill

9.5.2018 - Yes - I'm still here.

Hello - I'm still torching - and creating, just having trouble getting it translated and onto the site!
 

color, color, color..... and not much else.   Smiles, Jill

8.15.2018 - Its all about the Weather...Little Lines of Glass.

I often say that my hands are busy, but my mind wanders... and of late it's been wandering over to muse about all the wild weather that has come our way this year.  I have a friend, Sue,  who lives in CA & in my opinion way too close to the fires... but that's not the only problem.   They have a sweet golden retriever, Sadie (Charlie's Girlfriend), who has been traumatized this year by frequent gunshot blasts to keep the birds from a neighbor's rice fields until they have a chance to harvest.  So - from the fires come the series
"Firestorm"... where swirling flames are churned into angry weather swirls - only one of these pendants has a raindrop at the base...

Then there's the harvest and the angry skies.....  This type of transfer doesn't happen that often, and I don't usually become too literal in the representation of things on my beads.  But, this just happened - these are the "Harvest Series". 

Then we have the rains in the Northeast.... and some crazy Texas rain...  More crazy angry clouded skies and downpours.  I love the size & simplicity of my canvas - and the easy portrayal of events as simple as weather - in little lines of glass.

"Downpour" is the third series... guess what that's all about? LOL.... loving these!  The focal bead in all these pendants is 47mm x 12mm or smaller.  With the bail and dangle charm, this brings them to at or Less than 70mm or 2 1/2"L - they are, for now, assembled to be photographed, but not permanently epoxied into place.  Just say the word and I can send you the components and you can assemble as you choose.  OR just say so and I'll do it!  These will be on tonight's update - 9pm Central time - Smiles - Jill 

8.8.2018 - Jetstream in a NEW Shape

Oh, you know how it goes - how many different style beads can I work my design into?!

I've taken the Jetstream bead style into an elongated shape and capped it in black at both ends... this allows the focus to be on the design in the center.  These range in size from 1 1/4"L - to little over 1 3/4"L.

The silvered glass' sheen and the silver's shine is held under a layer of clear encasing - amplifying the design and making the maintenance/upkeep minimal.  All beads have 1/16" mandrel holes.