A Charming Adventure On Lampworketc

Deb Batten and I have participated in many different exchanges on Lampworketc. As a matter of fact, that's how we "met" in Cyberspace. Since then, we have become good friends, and on some evenings, you will find us chatting away on Skype. You have to realize that Deb lives in Christchurch, New Zealand, and I live in Minnesota in the USA.

Through the years, our friendship has grown to the point, where one of us can start a sentence and the other one can finish it. Now, we do have a bit of confusions about this charm exchange. I said to Deb, "You had a great idea about this exchange." She said to me, "No, it was your idea." We aren't sure whose idea it was, but we both feel it was a good one. Our minds melded on this one.

Anyway, we, whoever "we" is, decided that a way to overcome the winter blahs here and the heat of the summer there, was to host a charm exchange on LE. The bracelet you see is mine, and it was from a previous exchange there. I don't remember who hosted this exchange, I just remember that it was fun. There was a lot of chatter in the thread, and I got to "know" a lot of people.

If you check here, you will learn more about our charm exchange. We are encouraging a lot of growth in a very supportive environment. Charms are not restricted to glass, and we encourage everyone to explore what they would like to do! Another great thing is that Deb just posted a fun Valentine related activity with prizes. You'll have to read the thread to find out what's going on because that's all I'm going to say.

So, hop on over to LE and check this out. I'm sorry, but our 50 openings are filled. Maybe there will be another one? We'll have to see what happens when our minds meld again.

Our Monthlly Challenge! Firebird Flamework aka Deb Batten v. Me aka Mallory

Well, it's that time of the month again,
Stop it, you know what I mean! Deb Batten aka Firebird Flamework and I are challenging each other so that we can develop and nurture our creative souls.

We are trying different media each month with the hopes that, as we progress, we will become more fluid and creative in our greatest love, melting glass. We want to awaken those parts of our brains that govern the creative process and make ourselves more receptive to those creative urges and inspirations.

This month, we are tackling beaded kumihimo. Right now, we are scheduled to reveal on the 26th. Come see what we make! This is going to be fun!!!!!

You can check out Deb's side of the story on her blog here. See you at the end of the month!

REVEAL! A Crush on Copper!

Well,

the day has arrived!
The time has come to
REVEAL
the results
of
A Crush on Copper
You might remember that
Deb Batten (Firebird Flamework)
and
I
decided to begin a program of challenges to each other
to nurture artistic growth.
This is not a contest to see which of us can make something better than the other person. ;)
This is a true attempt to nurture our creative instincts and grow.
Check out Deb's blog for more details.
Anyway,
to make a long story short,
our task was to make a
NON jewelry item
using
only
copper wire and copper shapes,
but to feature,
the
love knot
in our work.
ARE
YOU
READY?
Here is my entry in the competition,
I mean,
the challenge of artistic growth!
The shapes I used were
a rectangle and a circle
I also used the love knot.
And the REVEAL is..................



A

Bookmark

Made of

Etched copper sheeting and wire.

Oh,
please don't tell Jenny.
She's getting this for Xmas!

Now, make sure you go to Deb's blog and check out her Crush on Copper!
This was fun!
I'm not sure what we'll do for December, but
we'll let you know soon!

A Crush on Copper - Love me Knot

Skype has been busy lately because Deb Batten, Firebird Flamework on Etsy and Sew Much to Do and Meltin' Glass Too, and I have been busy chatting and talking about artistic growth. Out of these conversations has come a series of challenges that we plan to explore to help each of us develop creatively and nurture the artistic nature of our souls.

We will, probably, post these challenges about once a month on our blogs. We expect that, on occasion, life will most likely interfere, but we are going to give this opportunity for growth a real try.

There are several things we plan to do, but one of the most important ones is to work outside of the medium with which we are most comfortable--glass. We will bring glass in at some point, but for the most part, we want to challenge ourselves to develop our skills and creative ideas in other areas. We also hope to do more than make jewelry as we express our creative ideas .

This month, November, we will be working with copper since we both have "A Crush on Copper." We decided that our task will be to make something with copper wire and copper shapes. The main component with our copper wire will be the "Love Knot." We will also include with our non jewelry creation copper shapes. This should be fun! Look for the reveal on November 24th in our blogs! My brain is straining right now, so I'm off to think. See you later.
Oh, be sure to check out Deb's blog for her side of the story. Remember, this is not a competition (;-). It's a reason for artistic growth.

Deb Batten Blog Photo of the Day

On Thursday, September 16, Deb Batten published her Photo of the Day blog Sew Much to Do and Meltin' Glass Too. This is the photo she took of an unknown tree in her back yard. Be sure to check out Deb's blog.

When I saw this photo, I thought this could be a beautiful bead! Guess what, I was right.































Here's a cab that was inspired by Deb's photo. Isn't it pretty?






















This lentil is my favorite!
Thanks for the inspiration, Deb!

My Creative Journal has become my Art Journal

After reading Linda Lawrence's recent blog post about crayon therapy, and an intense discussion about creative development with Deb Batten, I have decided to incorporate parts of each discussion into my creative development. Linda talked about crayon therapy. I'm honestly not sure what that is, but today, I went to Walgreen's and bought some school supplies!









Oh, did these smell good! I bought the box of 64, and the colors in my box are amazing and very close to the colors of glass I now own. Hmmmm. Could this be coincidence?






















I also bought some colored markers and colored pencils! Cool! This is my favorite time of year. I love school supplies!





















I had a notebook at home, so I decided to use that one! Fun!

I already used my journal today, and I used my crayons. I decided to explore shape and decoration of those shapes.





















As with glass, the colors took over, and the shapes became designs. This is page 1.























This is page 2, and I already feel better!

Thanks, Deb! Thanks, Linda. New directions for me! More updates on my art journal to follow. I need a rainy day!

I'm Shopping Etsy Again!

All right, I have to admit, I am playing favorites again. Today, we are going to shop the store of a dear Kiwi friend of mine, Deb Batten. Her store's name on etsy is: Firebird Flamework. Deb also has a website where you can visit and find her wares, but I want to concentrate on her Etsy store today. Oh, and before I forget, Deb also has a wonderful blog that I'm sure you'll enjoy. She's one busy lady!








Isn't this bead awesome! She has named it Aneirin. Isn't is stunning? Can you imagine wearing it on a chain around your neck? It is amazing!














This bead is called Aquium. It does remind me of the flow of water on a river bed. Amazing, isn't it? Oh, there's more to come. Stay tuned.



















This bead is called Malta! What an amazing bead full of twists and turns and reactions in the glass. Wow! That's all I can say!















If glass isn't enough for you, how about chain maille? Deb has some gorgeous bracelets featured in her store! This one is called Byzantine. It is also amazing!

Now, don't you agree, shopping from home and shopping etsy is really the way to go? If you like Deb's work as much as I do, be sure to order soon. Deb is a Kiwi. She lives in New Zealand. You want to give the shipping process time to work for you. Order early so that you will have one of these stunning pieces of art under your tree in time for Christmas.

This That and the Other

Sadly, Deb's computer had a major crash, so, hopefully, she will be online again very soon. We'll have Freaky Friday show and tell, once she is back online. In the meantime, check out Deb's website, her etsy store, and her blog.

Hopefully, Deb will be back online soon. Bugger!

I've been blogged by Cinnamon and Honey! Is that cool or what? Thank you, Robin!

That's all for now. I'll try to be back later. It's going to be a busy day!

Another Glassy Friend--Deb Batten aka FireBird FlameWork aka da Batt

I have to admit, I was absolutely thrilled when my Kiwi friend, Deb Batten, agreed to an interview in this Glassy Friends series! Deb, a native of New Zealand, and I met, online, through the forums on Lampwork Etc. She is an absolutely fabulous glass artist! So, I sent her some questions, and here are her photos, and her answers. First of all, a self portrait.

) Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I’m me… anyone that knows me will know I don’t do short! Lol! I’m well seasoned Mum of 4 with a love for nature, colour, texture, warmth & light. Without them I am nothing. I don’t recall ever not having love art in some form or another – I grew up surrounded by music & colour, a Maternal Grandfather from the Mediterranean saw to that & as a result all of my life has been spent dabbling & working in one form of the arts or another.

2) If you could be anyone, past or present, who would you be and why?

If I could be anyone I’d be anyone, past or present, I’d be Cleopatra VII – Queen of Egypt.

Oh yeah – I know that in reality she was far from beautiful, of mixed heritage, had to fight to regain her throne & died a not too pleasant death. But hey – she was determined, lived somewhere warm & had GREAT jewelry!

Then again I wouldn’t mind being Xena….. all of that wonderful decorated armour…


3) Outside of the glass world, who is your favorite artist?
Yep throw me a toughy! A single favorite artist? Now that could vary from day to day. I adore colour – it rocks my world & I am hugely affected by it. I love the colours of Africa, warm earthy ochres, umbers, rich sienna’s. I love the way that light is different there & shows things in more depth.

That said, for today at least, I’d have to go with a South African artist Salomi Prinsloo. Her use of colour & light is amazing - & her paintings have a depth & flow that are mesmerizing.
www.salomiprinsloo.co.za


4. A place to live is always important. Choose one location. Where would be the ideal place for you to live? Why?
If I was given the chance to relocate myself at this point in my life – I would have to be honest & say that without having visited them, there is no one location that I could definitively choose.
It’s tempting to say that I would set up a home base in Santa Fe, New Mexico – while I explored the rest of the world, primarily North Africa & the surrounding countries. I choose Santa Fe because the architecture & geography appeals to me, greatly….but then again perhaps the winter temperatures would not be to my heat seeking tastes. History holds a huge fascination for me – so it would have to be somewhere relatively old….& warm, very warm. Yep travel sounds grand – enjoy the summers & escape the winters ;o)

4) What is your greatest accomplishment?

Actually that’s an easy one – bringing up my kids to become relatively normal, happy adults…of course only two of them are at that point so far. Can I get back to you on this in another 8 years?



5) If you could change one thing about the world, what would you change and why?
The base line….I’d love to be able to change peoples perception of others & somehow make everyone more tolerant of the differences between cultures & beliefs. I think if that was achieved then everything else would just fall into place. Sneaking in a second one - I’d love for people to realise that this planet is not an endless supply of everything, & the need to replant , restock & put back into the earth is imperative for it’s future existence.

6) What is your favorite piece of art in your collection or outside of it?

OK another toughy – my tastes change day to day & according to my environment. Right now I would have to say that IN my collection is my “Huli Warrior” painting. Outside of it is a fabulous piece by the Artist I spoke of earlier – it is in fact the artwork that made me realise the importance of acting in the moment when you fall in love with an original piece of art. I missed this piece through hesitation &, even though part of me knows that it was never meant to be mine, I will always regret that it isn’t.









7) Choose 1: Fiber Arts, glass, wire work. Which is your favorite? Why?
Ok this one is easy – Fiber Arts, simply because it is so adaptable. I adore glass – but in my heart I know there will always be fiber. Fibers keep us warm, give us privacy & have so many practical applications – yet in it’s various forms can be used to created items of great beauty, be totally frivolous, completely impractical, wonderfully ornate & elegantly plain. It can be embellished & manipulated beyond anything else, used with almost unlimited other materials & in more applications than one person could possible explore in a lifetime. It is the base for so many items & the springboard for so many designs in other mediums. It’s is a fabulous teacher of history also. Yep, I adore glass – but will always be passionate about fiber.

Oh & something that you may not know about me….I name everything. Even my torch has a name, her real name is Venus, but I call her Mischief – that makes me the Mistress of Mischief ;o)

Editor's note: As I have gotten to know Deb over the internet, I have found her to be a wonderful, funny woman with a great heart full of compassion. I hope you get to know her, too. Check out her website. There's a link in the sidebar. Check out her ETSY store. There's a link in the sidebar for that. Now, I want to show you a couple of photos that I asked Deb to send.

When Deb was talking about fiber arts and her love of fiber, she wasn't kidding. Here's a photo of some silk ribbons that she sewed and dyed. I am fortunate to have some of these wonderful ribbons! Take a look!













Aren't these absolutely gorgeous? You should feel them in your hands and on your skin. They feel marvelous! These were hand sewn and hand dyed by Deb!

Now, here's a bead I love that Deb made. It shows her love of nature and texture. I think you should check out her website for more beads! Awesome!
















Isn't that bead stunning? Organic, silvered, textured, warm, cool, natural. Deb, you are a most fabulous bead maker!

Thanks, Deb, for doing this interview!