Google Groups no longer supports new Usenet posts or subscriptions. Historical content remains viewable.
Dismiss

Sculptural Lampwork

1 view
Skip to first unread message

BeckiBead

unread,
Feb 25, 2004, 6:09:13 PM2/25/04
to
I was looking at Helen's beads

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2693741464&category=34070

and remembering the Fonda/Clark that Beki Haley had up last week (that Pat
Hauge beat me out of, the bitch, LOL). And I wanted to say to you all that I
love sculptural flower beads. I know, some are saying, hey, gee whiz, Becki
likes flower beads? Like that is NEWS and she doesn't bother us with this
information on a regular basis? LOL.

I love that Fonda/Clark bead because you can put pearl stamens through the
middle of it and make it really look like a flower. Ginger Sanders make
sculptural flowers like this also, but I won't buy any more of her beads,
because they break. However, the Fonda/Clark version is exactly like Ginger's,
but made of a different glass that doesn't break as easily. I realize that all
glass is likely to break, especially when stretched out in thin shapes like
that. I dropped a light bulb in the bathroom sink last night and it sure as
hell broke, LOL.

What I am trying to say is a) I have seen other lampworkers make this
elongated type of flower bead with the hole in the middle, so you can bead
through it, and I don't think this is a proprietary design (could be wrong
about this but I doubt it, it is found in nature) and b) I would love to buy
some of these if others would be interested in making them. I love turning the
glass flowers into "real" flowers with beaded stamens. The look is just
awesome, and one alone as a centerpiece makes a very stunning necklace.

I think like a jewelry-maker, not like a bead-maker, so forgive me please for
always asking for you all to make the things that I see in my head (like highly
decorated hearts, which I still lust after). I can't make them myself.

Also, I want to say that Fonda/Clark bead was well worth a $57 price tag, in my
mind. I said eariler that I thought $49 was too high a starting price for a
smallish centerpiece bead and again -- I am thinking like a jewelry-maker, not
a bead-maker. I have no doubt it takes eons to make some of those beads and
your time is well worth it. But unless I am collecting beads or just buying an
expensive pretty for the joy of having it, which I don't do but others do, then
I intend to make jewelry out of it. And I would imagine that the majority of
bead-makers are creating for those who make jewelry, not just the collectors.
I can't have a $50 centerpiece bead without making a $200 necklace out of it.
I put other, pretty, expensive beads with it like handmade silver and carved
stones, the best I can get. So if I start with a $50 bead in the center, I
have to have a $200 necklace when I am done. Some $50 don't look fancy enough,
to me, to be a $200 necklace. I am only thinking like a jewelry-maker. It is
all I know.

That Fonda/Clark bead was well worth $57. I would have paid $75 or $80 for it
(and if I had, Pat Hauge would not own it now, LOL)! Because that was a
truely elegant bead, and would have made an expensive necklace. Or at least,
it would when I am done with it.

OK I'm done now.


Becki
"In between the moon and you, the angels have a better view of the crumbling
difference between wrong and right." -- Counting Crows

Karen_AZ

unread,
Feb 25, 2004, 6:13:31 PM2/25/04
to
I love you Becki!!!!! I had an idea while watching Leah yesterday. I need
some time to work on it, but you just gave me the "but what would you DO
with it???" nudge that I needed. More soon.

Oh, but a question......what approximate size would you want to work with?

KarenK

BeckiBead

unread,
Feb 25, 2004, 6:19:59 PM2/25/04
to
Example: The necklace with the fuschia flowers close to the bottom of the page
(these were Ginger Sander's beads that I used for this necklace)

http://members.aol.com/becbean/fp1.html

Also, to Harry. See the piece at the top, the flowers with beads in the
center, centered on a jade leaf? I see a profusion of flowers coming through
the center hole of a Paua or Abalone shell, making the centerpiece for a
stunning, feminine necklace. Can you see that?

BeckiBead

unread,
Feb 25, 2004, 6:26:42 PM2/25/04
to
>Oh, but a question......what approximate size would you want to work with?
>
>KarenK

BIG girlfriend. All good things come in BIG. 1", 1-1/2", 2". Not sure if
2-1/2" is too big or not. Would have to see one.

I am SO glad you posted on this thread. I meant to tell you earlier that every
single lampworker whose flowered work I have loved, except for Mavis, studied
with Kim and Leah or with Leah. Cousette was the first, and while she couldn't
finish her ends worth a damn, the girl could make flowers. I loved them so
much. So, I am personally extremely excited to see what you come up with
following this class!

BeckiBead

unread,
Feb 25, 2004, 6:27:51 PM2/25/04
to
>I love you Becki!!!!!

And, on the "do you remember" maudlin scale, do you remember when we met at the
IBS show? The other vendors kept looking at us because we were loud and
hugging and CRYING when we met.

I love you too, babygirl. Always have.

BeckiBead

unread,
Feb 25, 2004, 6:30:21 PM2/25/04
to
And also, on the same page, the necklace at the bottom was a Ginger bead with a
flower and hummer, which I put pearl stamens through the center. Love it.

BeckiBead

unread,
Feb 25, 2004, 6:47:59 PM2/25/04
to
And, one more post from me, here is the Fonda/ Clark bead to which I refer. It
is abolutely perfect, in both color and composition.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2691946337

Debbie B

unread,
Feb 25, 2004, 7:27:57 PM2/25/04
to
WOW Becki
Those are gorgeous. I love the long pink flowers.

--
Debbie (New Mexico)
Life is too short
"BeckiBead" <beck...@aol.combuybeads> wrote in message
news:20040225181959...@mb-m11.aol.com...


---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.593 / Virus Database: 376 - Release Date: 2/20/2004


JL Amerson

unread,
Feb 25, 2004, 7:32:32 PM2/25/04
to
I fell really good right now! I won one of Beki's auctions with a similar
Fonda/Clark bead in the kit. And I got everything for $55. I still have to
assemble it but it's so pretty I enjoy just looking at it in the box!

--

JoAnn

Do not meddle in the affairs of cats, for they are subtle and will piss on
your computer.
--Bruce Graham


"BeckiBead" <beck...@aol.combuybeads> wrote in message

news:20040225180913...@mb-m11.aol.com...

(snip)

Cheryl

unread,
Feb 25, 2004, 7:44:31 PM2/25/04
to

And, one more post from me, here is the Fonda/ Clark bead to which I refer. It
is abolutely perfect, in both color and composition.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2691946337

Becki -- those would not be considerably difficult -- they use pretty much the
same technique as my seafans most likely (see the pretty aqua one I have up
this week... for example)...


Cheryl
last semester of lawschool! yipee!
<A HREF="http://www.dragonbeads.com"> DRAGON BEADS </A>
Flameworked beads and glass
http://www.dragonbeads.com/

BeckiBead

unread,
Feb 25, 2004, 8:37:37 PM2/25/04
to
VJ -- those are probably Ginger's flowers on Justbeads. That is where she was
selling last time I looked. They are made of pyrex, and they break easily.

BeckiBead

unread,
Feb 25, 2004, 8:39:21 PM2/25/04
to
VJ -- exactly right, those are Joan Eckard's , and they are very very small,
LOL. About the size of czech flowers, or smaller. I was the first person to
carry Joan's beads at a bead show (thanks to Karen). She makes great stuff.

starlia

unread,
Feb 25, 2004, 8:58:57 PM2/25/04
to
I loved making my sculptural flowers. Mine had holes through the middle and
I was wondering how anyone would like that. Making some stamens out of
beads sounds wonderful.


"BeckiBead" <beck...@aol.combuybeads> wrote in message
news:20040225180913...@mb-m11.aol.com...

starlia

unread,
Feb 25, 2004, 9:00:27 PM2/25/04
to
I do like those beads. Yummy!

"BeckiBead" <beck...@aol.combuybeads> wrote in message

news:20040225184800...@mb-m11.aol.com...

starlia

unread,
Feb 25, 2004, 9:01:32 PM2/25/04
to
How can someone make flowers that small? All mine are huge! I just
finished an encased floral, I know not my style, but it turned out huge too.
:-(

"BeckiBead" <beck...@aol.combuybeads> wrote in message

news:20040225203921...@mb-m10.aol.com...

Christina Peterson

unread,
Feb 25, 2004, 9:19:43 PM2/25/04
to
First, let me concur. I love flower shaped beads. I also have a couple
"trumpet" shaped beads from Ginger.

When I was at BABE, I got two beads from Fonda/Clark! An angel about 3 1/2"
for $57. And a flower -- dichroic aqua and olive/moss leaves (surprise,
surprise) that looks like a morning glory. They had two sizes. I got the
smaller one, 2", for either $29 or $35. I do not know what they cost on
their site. Wish I could have bought the whole table full.
http://www.nfobase.com/html/clark_and_fonda.htm
My flower is like the ones at the bottom only more beautiful. And yes,
these are the price range I saw.

Or look here
http://www.dichroic-glass.com/beadproducts2.asp

I also met Karen Bye there. She used to have sculptural flowers on her site
too, but doesn't make them anymore. I had specifically looked her up to
see if she still had some. They're about 2/3 or 3/4 down the page.
http://www.byebead.com/gallery.htm

And I got "Persian Lilies" from "M Verdi", Aimee Long. None there now.
http://cgi6.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewSellersOtherItems&userid=m-verdi&include=0&since=-1&sort=3&rows=50

And I completely agree that the main market for bead makers is beaders. And
that to sell a $50 bead, the beader has to sell a necklace for at least
$200. And a much higher price if it's necessary to sell to a store or
Gallery.

Think in terms of paintings. Very, very often the cost of a framed painting
is well over twice the price of the painting itself. Several hundred
dollars is common for framing and matting.

Tina


"BeckiBead" <beck...@aol.combuybeads> wrote in message

news:20040225180913...@mb-m11.aol.com...

Karleen/Vibrant Jewels

unread,
Feb 25, 2004, 10:01:15 PM2/25/04
to
AHA! so that's who outbid me for it!!! I figured I wouldn't get it anyhow, I
don't have the cash to go that high, but when I started bidding, no one else
had... and I thought... maybe THIS time no body will notice what an awesome
set this was... DREAMER!!!!

LOLOLOLOLOLOL

But I agree... several of Ginger's beads have broken for me too, two have
broken in the mail and they refunded the $$$ but the other broke sometime
after I got it for some reason (glass beads don't bounce too well, even in
padded envelopes).... I love free form beads but are leery of them because
of this experience. I suggested that Ginger's beads MIGHT have a design
flaw... but would you believe that Jerry never replied to that email?
--
Vibrant Jewels Online Bead & Jewelry Store
http://www.vibrantjewels.com/jewelry/welcome.htm

Karleen Page/Vibrant Jewels
JustBead Auctions
http://www.justbeads.com/search/ql.cfm?s=21770
PayPal Merchant Account
https://www.paypal.com/mrb/pal=7XJ98L86Z7S2C


"BeckiBead" <beck...@aol.combuybeads> wrote in message
news:20040225180913...@mb-m11.aol.com...

Karleen/Vibrant Jewels

unread,
Feb 25, 2004, 10:07:24 PM2/25/04
to
The newest Fire Mountain Gems catalog has a similar sample necklace made of
abalone, FWP and Paua, with danglies coming out of the Paua shell... I've
just GOT to make something like that!

--
Vibrant Jewels Online Bead & Jewelry Store
http://www.vibrantjewels.com/jewelry/welcome.htm

Karleen Page/Vibrant Jewels
JustBead Auctions
http://www.justbeads.com/search/ql.cfm?s=21770
PayPal Merchant Account
https://www.paypal.com/mrb/pal=7XJ98L86Z7S2C
"BeckiBead" <beck...@aol.combuybeads> wrote in message

news:20040225181959...@mb-m11.aol.com...

Karleen/Vibrant Jewels

unread,
Feb 25, 2004, 10:13:29 PM2/25/04
to
What are you waiting for Cheryl, JUST DO IT!!! LOL

--
Vibrant Jewels Online Bead & Jewelry Store
http://www.vibrantjewels.com/jewelry/welcome.htm

Karleen Page/Vibrant Jewels
JustBead Auctions
http://www.justbeads.com/search/ql.cfm?s=21770
PayPal Merchant Account
https://www.paypal.com/mrb/pal=7XJ98L86Z7S2C

"Cheryl" <drag...@aol.combeads> wrote in message
news:20040225194431...@mb-m03.aol.com...

Cheryl

unread,
Feb 25, 2004, 10:18:57 PM2/25/04
to

okay - i thought pyrex was the HARD stuff???????
now i'm confused again!!!


IT is "hard glass"

but it is also, strangely enough - much more shock prone.

If you strike a rod of pyrex sharply - (like on the edge of a counter) it will
break more readily than a comparable rod of Moretti/Effrete.
truly --
I don't know if the reason is scientifically what I believe it to be -- but it
is a denser molecular structure - and it is essentially "more brittle."
IT is "harder" glass.... but that doesn't seem to make it less brittle.

starlia

unread,
Feb 25, 2004, 10:34:37 PM2/25/04
to
You are absolutely telling the truth on paintings. When I finish a piece I
have to have the right frame. I won't let it leave the house without the
complete package. Thankfully, Regina has great frames in Houston and they
are at wholesale prices. I would normally pay over $300 for a small frame
if I didn't use them.

Christina Peterson

unread,
Feb 25, 2004, 11:51:26 PM2/25/04
to
Like "hardened" metal?

Tina


"Cheryl" <drag...@aol.combeads> wrote in message

news:20040225221857...@mb-m05.aol.com...

Christina Peterson

unread,
Feb 25, 2004, 11:54:38 PM2/25/04
to
I'll have to look up what year but I believe it's the Feb 02 Bead and Button
that has the Fonda/Clark bead necklace with pearls spilling forth.

Tina


"Karleen/Vibrant Jewels" <nospamk...@earthlink.netnospam> wrote in
message news:Mpd%b.21800$hm4....@newsread3.news.atl.earthlink.net...

Cheryl

unread,
Feb 26, 2004, 1:46:29 AM2/26/04
to

Like "hardened" metal?

Tina>


probably ---

Shirley Shone

unread,
Feb 26, 2004, 2:30:37 AM2/26/04
to
Wonderful, stunning necklaces, hard to chose which I like best.
Shirley


In article <20040225181959...@mb-m11.aol.com>, BeckiBead
<beck...@aol.combuybeads> writes

--
Shirley Shone

Juanita Floyd

unread,
Feb 26, 2004, 7:39:22 AM2/26/04
to
>Ginger Sanders make
>sculptural flowers like this also, but I won't buy any more of her beads,
>because they break.

Interesting that you should say this Becki. A while back you sent me a pair of
hummingbird earrings made with her beads. The wings broke off almost
immediately and I had to repair them. I love them so much I mear them anyway
because you made them. :))

Be well,
Juanita

May fate bless us all according to our deeds.

Karen_AZ

unread,
Feb 26, 2004, 7:58:51 AM2/26/04
to
One of the issues with pyrex (which IS the "hard stuff") is that it
realllllly wants to be smooth. A textured surface with lots of wiggles will
create a lot more internal stress. It won't thermal crack the way soft glass
does, but one bump and you have a microscopic earthquake. Some of Ginger's
pendants are VERY textured. I'm just guessing here but at the volume she
produces them, I suspect annealing may not be at it's best.

I bought some beads from her several years ago (soft glass). Most were fine
but one broke from thermal problems (you can tell by the kind of cracking)
and another lost surface decorations because they weren't properly attached.
It can happen to anyone.....Leah put some vines on one of my beads when she
was walking me through my first flowers, and they popped off when I went to
reheat that area.

KarenK


"vj" <v...@vickijean.com> wrote in message
news:p6lq30heaplpn4phu...@4ax.com...
> vj found this in rec.crafts.beads, from beck...@aol.combuybeads
> (BeckiBead) :
>
> ]They are made of pyrex, and they break easily.


>
> okay - i thought pyrex was the HARD stuff???????
> now i'm confused again!!!
>
>

> -----------
> @vicki [SnuggleWench]
> (Books) http://www.booksnbytes.com
> (Jewelry) http://www.vickijean.com
> newest creations: http://www.vickijean.com/new.html
> -----------
> The measure of the menace of a man is not what
> hardware he carries, but what ideas he believes.-- Jeff Jordan


BeckiBead

unread,
Feb 26, 2004, 1:50:13 PM2/26/04
to
>A while back you sent me a pair of
>hummingbird earrings made with her beads. The wings broke off almost
>immediately an

Damn, I am sorry Juanita. That is why I quit using them. They are lovely,
stunning beads. But I got tired of replacing them in jewelry.

Tinkster

unread,
Feb 26, 2004, 2:37:55 PM2/26/04
to
That's so weird... Are they not annealed or something? I love doing
sculptural stuff, but with all the delicate sticky-out bits, it makes
me nervous selling them.

Tink

On 26 Feb 2004 18:50:13 GMT, beck...@aol.combuybeads (BeckiBead)
wrote:

Kandice Seeber

unread,
Feb 26, 2004, 4:24:21 PM2/26/04
to
Hey - all good thoughts! :) This is of great interest to me, because the
more sculptured flowers I see, the more I want to try my hand at it. Maybe
after I do all the orders I have sitting on my studio table, I will try
doing some sculptured flowers.
As for decorated hearts, have you seen this page of mine?
http://www.lampwork.net/gallery3.html#Hearts
I'd always be happy to tailor one for you with your specific colors if you
like the designs.
--
Kandice Seeber
Air & Earth Designs
http://www.lampwork.net

> I was looking at Helen's beads
>
>
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2693741464&category=34070
>
> and remembering the Fonda/Clark that Beki Haley had up last week (that Pat
> Hauge beat me out of, the bitch, LOL). And I wanted to say to you all
that I
> love sculptural flower beads. I know, some are saying, hey, gee whiz,
Becki
> likes flower beads? Like that is NEWS and she doesn't bother us with this
> information on a regular basis? LOL.
>
> I love that Fonda/Clark bead because you can put pearl stamens through the

> middle of it and make it really look like a flower. Ginger Sanders make


> sculptural flowers like this also, but I won't buy any more of her beads,

Kandice Seeber

unread,
Feb 26, 2004, 4:34:41 PM2/26/04
to
A lot of it has to do with the fact that the beads are boro, but it also has
to do with the protrusions. If wings, dots, flowers, etch aren't melted in
enough, they may break off, even if annealed - no matter what kind of glass
it is. Protrusions which have undercuts are more likely to break off. An
undercut is when the base of the bump, wing, etc. (the part that sticks to
the main body) is thinner than the rest of the bump, wing, etc. Any thin,
delicate protrusion on a bead is more likely to break than if the bead were
just a regular shape. Of course, that all varies with the artist's
techniques and designs.
Basically, if you can grab the bump with your fingernails it may not be
melted in enough. When I first began making beads with applied flowers on
them, I had a few break off. Same with bumps and such. Breakage happens,
but the artist can do things to make it happen less often. :)

--
Kandice Seeber
Air & Earth Designs
http://www.lampwork.net

> That's so weird... Are they not annealed or something? I love doing

Christina Peterson

unread,
Feb 26, 2004, 6:38:04 PM2/26/04
to
Aha. Pyrex "wants to be smooth". Now I get it. Perfect. Thanks.

Tina


"Karen_AZ" <desertd...@coxnospam.net> wrote in message
news:54m%b.16437$aZ3.8157@fed1read04...

DreamBeadr

unread,
Feb 26, 2004, 8:21:50 PM2/26/04
to
>http://www.lampwork.net/gallery3.html#Hearts

Mmmmm Summer Heart makes me wish I liked hearts! =o)

Beki
http://www.whimbeads.com

DreamBeadr

unread,
Feb 27, 2004, 12:07:38 PM2/27/04
to
>Because that was a
>truely elegant bead, and would have made an expensive necklace.

I agree Becki...and I feel that way about most of their beads. That style just
lends itself to feminity...which is how I like my jewelry to look.

I have one of their beads with a slight flaw in it. Can I make you a deal?
I will send you the bead if you promise to make a smashing necklace with it and
show it off to everyone! Deal?

Beki
http://www.whimbeads.com

BeckiBead

unread,
Feb 27, 2004, 3:30:39 PM2/27/04
to
>I will send you the bead if you promise to make a smashing necklace with it
>and
>show it off to everyone! Deal?
>

I believe I can complete my part of this deal, LOLOLOL. Will email you with
the snail address! And thanks.

BeckiBead

unread,
Feb 27, 2004, 3:32:19 PM2/27/04
to
These things shatter. Not like regular beads at all.

Kalera Stratton

unread,
Feb 28, 2004, 6:42:17 PM2/28/04
to
As I understand it, you have it right on the nose... it is indeed more
brittle and therefore more likely to fracture through physical shock,
though less susceptible to thermal shock. Lots of people think of Pyrex
as being more durable than "soft" glass, but and in terms of being able
to heat and cool it rapidly with no ill effects, it is (hence all the
cooking and serving ware) but in terms of surviving getting banged
around, it's actually soft glass that's more durable.

Sort of like the kind of toffee that's too soft and yet too hard to chew
at the same time... you know the kind I mean? You have to suck on it,
because it's so hard your teeth can barely dent it and not hard enough
to be crunchy. That's soda-lime glass. Then there's the kind that has no
give to it at all, but is crunchy. That's borosilicate glass.

-Kalera

0 new messages