Friday July 27 Demo and FINAL HoG sale at the Glass Shoppe Studio

Sorry for not blogging for a while! Things have been quiet on the glass front this winter - but no longer!

Speckled Poppy floral bead with Green Stamen

A few weeks ago I received a message from Grace Edwards of the wonderful Glass Shoppe Studio with a fantastic request. Glass students had asked if I would teach a class on my complex stamened floral beads. I was deeply honoured by the invitation to teach and of course I leaped at the opportunity! I love teaching and I am SO passionate about my stamen florals! This will be my final Big Glass Event in Ottawa and I'm taking full advantage.

July 27, 7pm at the Glass Shoppe Studio
FREE Lampworked Glass Demo and FINAL Hearts of Glass jewellery sale!
Making Complex Floral-Stamen Cane ...and Our Final Public Glass Sale!
Your very last chance to purchase our work before we move to Edmonton.

Note: My latest, as-yet-displayed floral beads will be on display and for sale, but will be for pick-up after the July 28th class as I will need them as exemplars. I also have a large set of NEW Captive Drop earrings to display and sell. This is my favorite batch of the series! I feel like I've hit a new pinnacle of having-things-turn-out-the-way-I-imagine. (Artists will know exactly what I mean here!).

July 28th - FULLY RESERVED
Heather Stewart's Complex Stamened Floral Glass Bead Class
All my hard-won secrets will be revealed! Students will learn all the steps in making my unique style of stamened floral beads and will make their own canes and florals in-class.

Components of new multi-step Black-Fringe-Edged Red Stamen

Brand-new yellow floral with new black-fringe-edged red stamen

The reason that these events will be our last in Ottawa is that we are preparing to move out-of-province... again! An irresistible opportunity knocked and so we're packing up and heading to Edmonton for a few years. I'll be taking full-time graduate studies and Andrea will be the Head of the Scenic Art Department at the Citadel Theatre.

After we made this decision in December 2011, I had hoped to have a few farewell events over the winter and spring. Unfortunately since the Art Glass Bead Show in November 2011 and our home studio show in December, all our artisan show applications have been declined. This is probably a combination of our lack of reputation in the local scene (outside of the tight-knit glass community), and the highly competitive artisan market community in Ottawa, especially in the Jewellery arena. It was a discouraging season and I was saddened to be leaving Ottawa's artisan scene with a whisper rather than a bang. But the BANG has appeared and I'm thrilled!

As you may imagine I've been practicing my stamen-making and have made two brand-new canes, and three brand new florals. As soon as I finish this blog I'm getting back on the torch to make at least two more. I've made some new innovations and breakthroughs that I'm excited to share.

Next post I'll be showing the creation of my latest stamen cane! Here's a sneak peek of the component canes I made. That's right people, it's a PINK stamen! With a star centre! I would say it's whimsical but I'm willing to bet there's a real flower out there with a stamen like that. Flowers are crazy that way.

Components of new Pink Stamen - cane-pulling pics to follow!

I have a floral made with this stamen in the kiln right now, and if it turns out the way I think it did, it will be my BEST FLORAL EVER!  I'm posting pics tomorrow.

Stay tuned...

Ottawa Glass Bead Artists Show, Nov 11-12!

We're excited to announce our next art show is coming up this Friday and Saturday! We will be in Booth #8 in the far left corner as you enter the hall (far right on the map since the doors are on top). Hope to see you there. Please spread the word!



Ottawa Glass Bead Artists

Bead & Jewellery Show 2011
Friday November 11th, 4-9pm
& Saturday November 12th, 10-6pm 2011

* A Showcase of ‘Hand Made’ Glass Beads , Jewellery & Bead Work *

Venue: Hellenic Centre, 1315 Prince of Wales Drive
Ottawa, Ontario

Salon annuel de perles et bijoux 2011
Vendredi le 11 Novembre, 16-21hr
& Samedi le 12 Novembre, 10-18hr 2011

* Une 'vitrine' de perles de verres faites à la main, bijoux et travaux de perles *

For more information on artists and classes, please visit:

http://www.ottawaglassbeadartists.com



Last year's booth (OGBA 2010).

We've been working on our booth design and have a few innovations to unveil, including a new tablecovering system and some new and repainted displays! And I have a great selection of brand-new florals to share.

New Floral Stamen!

Mission: Dragonflies

I have been avoiding the torch lately! It's been too beautiful out and I've been away from home. However the urge is growing. I've seen some gorgeous dragonflies this summer, including a gorgeous Blue Dasher with green eyes:




And when we attended Andrea's father's burial in Alberta, the old rural graveyard was awash in dragonflies, giving us a perfect, peaceful and mosquito-free day to say goodbye.

So now I have an urge to try glass dragonflies again. They're challenging and exhausting to make and I have to be in the right mood, but I'm feeling ready to initiate the new studio into pyrex glass - if I can find an evening that isn't too sweltering already!



I'd like to make some smaller, sturdier and more wearable pendants, as well as a few splashy, life-sized stickpins! It will soon be time for the Art in the City festival, the last weekend of August!



Stay tuned...

Accepted! New Art Festival June 2011

Andrea and I just got some great news - we've been accepted into the New Art Festival!This is an outdoor festival held in a Central Park in the Glebe, a sophisticated and funky neighbourhood in central Ottawa. It features a blend of fine visual art and handcrafted artisanry in media such as jewellery, glass, ceramics, wood, metal, textiles and more! Check out the artist directory from 2010 to see what I mean. We're very excited to participate and have a million ideas. More updates coming soon!

Thanks For a Great First Show, Ottawa!

It's been over a week since the OGBA show! We were pretty tired by the end (not too tired to go straight out to a party afterwards, of course!) but it was a big success for us and Andrea and I both feel pretty great about the experience.

There were some pretty amazing artists involved in the show and I was really nervous! But everyone was so nice, and we had a good response from visitors. We even re-imagined out display a little, using the bronze-coloured drapery instead of the yellow-gold damask. I like the subdued colour better.

Our approach to display is always evolving but there are a few elements that I highly recommend: light, height and levels. To raise the table to hip height, we use 4 pieces of black ABS pipe about 18 inches long, and just fit one over each of the folding buffet table legs. It's dead simple and makes it so much easier to see our tiny work. For our levels, we use two of our transport containers (plastic suitcases) and lay a melamine shelf across them, before draping everything in fabric. It not only adds visibility and visual interest, but it gives us a hidden "cave" under the middle of the shelf where we can store packaging materials for easy access!

We bought some new glass and frit from Nortel and the Glass Shoppe that I'm looking forward to playing with. We don't have any more shows planned for the rest of the year, but we look forward to our next one, whenever it may be!

99th post: Florals Galore!

We have five brand new, Ottawa-made florals that will be available at the OGBA show this Friday and Saturday!


This one has a twist: I added some small cane-florals around the main stamened florals. It added a lot of time to the creation but I like the effect! I'm also happy with the enamelled base.



This one is sweet, little and bright. I accidentally made it on a 1/16" mandrel, which was nervewracking at the time (it's very delicate mandrel for a focal!) but luckily it worked out. It's a benefit now, as a smaller hole diminishes the hideous spectre of bead-wobble. The vivid green, coral and pale pink palette isn't one of my typical colour combinations but I'd like to explore it more! I actually did make a matching earring pair that Andrea is making into Captive Drop earrings.


This one was the first floral I made in the new studio! It features my trusty black base and handpulled reactive cane base, with stamened flowers in white.



I love the background on this one! So rich and vivid. Blue does such wonderful things in glass. I'll never get tired of playing with blues.


This was the most recent one I've made, and also the biggest of the batch! I'm really happy with it. It has a rich background with frit, silver foil, reactive cane and goldstone, two huge violet florals with nicely flared stamens, and four smaller complex cane-flowers. It's something that one can gaze into and enjoy the depths and detail.

I can't believe I'm almost at post #100! Thanks to everyone who has been reading my blog. :) It's nice to have a place to talk through projects, track progress and generally nerd out on glass. :)

Moving week!!!

We've been to the lawyers and possession day is so close we can taste it! It's almost time to move into our new home. We're SO looking forward to having our own space after "camping out' in a furnished sublet for three months and crashing with kind friends for the extra weeks before and after.
Part of our preparation for moving has included looking into the requirements for setting up a natural gas line to run our glassmaking and soldering torches. So far the news has been a bit daunting - according to TSSA we need to get a full industrial inspection (at nearly $600) in addition to the lost for gasfitting. Also, so far the insurance brokers we've spoken to have said that we'd have to get commercial coverage for our studio at around $700/yr, whereas we were able to include it in our home insurance for just a small cost in Winnipeg.
It's not impossible to arrange but it's significantly more costly than expected, and might affect our timeline. Still, we're committed to safety first and to being above-board with all our work so we'll jump through the hoops as best we can.
"BEFORE"Our bench will be here between two windows, with intake air and vented exhaust.

I've also been looking into limewashing application as it sounds like a gorgeous treatment for the rustic basement walls, and one that will be compatible with a semi-permeable surface. It depends on what the existing white surface is, as you shouldn't limewash over acrylic paint. The long-term plan is to frame in some proper insulation but that may be a few years away!
Step one is, of course, to move all our stuff out of storage and refinish the main floor hardwood so we can set up our lives and put our exciting but challenging vagabond summer behind us.
Wish us luck!

Bead History with Tom Holland

Last night I attended a presentation by internationally-renowned pioneer beadmaker and bead history enthusiast Tom Holland, organized by the Glass Shoppe Studio and the OGBA. First of all, I still can't believe how big and active the beadmaking community is here! There were at least 50 people at this lecture. Secondly, I was blown away by how much I still didn't know about glass beads. Thirdly, Tom Holland is fabulous and adorable.

I missed the first part of the lecture because of slow buses and me being slow in figuring out the exact location. But I was there in time to hear Tom talk about ancient beads with the eye of a beadmaker, reverse-engineering them and explaining the techniques and tools that would have been used, and his theories on trade and influence between beadmaking cultures.



For example, it took him 5 years to figure out how to make this Islamic Folded Bead! Without thinking about it, I would have guessed that this bead was made with twisted cane, but no - it was folded from a thin disk.



His enthusiasm about ground murrine chevron beads and chevron-esque beads was cool, but then when we got to see his own work (and the work of his equally reknowned partner, Sage) it really hit home. His work, and especially the lapidary-faceted work, was just stunning. And we were only seeing what was left over after several days of teaching and visiting in Toronto and Ottawa!

It was also really humbling to hear the story of this cool pioneer who built his own torch and struggled to develop brand-new techniques with no teachers or resources other than his collection of ancient beads. These are techniques that we all take for granted now as beadmakers, but only because artists and teachers like Tom and Sage and a handful of others in the 80s and 90s opened the doors.

For more on Tom Holland's local classes (which I sadly can't even consider taking during our big move as money is too tight) check out Lise's blog PERLES DE VERRE (in French, translated through Google Translate - I love how they translated the name Sage into Wise!)

Summer Texture & Pattern Inspiration Part 3 - Birds

I've been lucky to see a lot of gorgeous birds so far this summer. I'm very priviledged to have a family with a fabulously cottagy log cabin on a lake with a healthy loon population. I won't lie, it was a MAJOR incentive for moving back to Ottawa! I also get to go boating regularly with my father and see wetland flora and fauna. Even though bright colours are associated more with tropical wildlife, it's amazing to think that these vivid and inspiring colours and patterns can be found in our own Ottawa-Valley backyard.

Demonstrating at the Glass Shoppe Studio

A New Home for Hearts of Glass

We did it!

Andrea and I bought a house in East Ottawa (Vanier-Beechwood) this week. It's waking distance to the Bytown Market, biking distance to my office downtown, and on three bus routes, so we should be able to continue to manage without a car. It's in good shape with just a short list of projects to work on (mostly roof ventilation and drainage, but definitely DIY stuff) and great layout, kitchen, bathroom, and yard.

Most importantly for the glass side of our life, it's got a tall, bright and spacious unfinished basement and a classy garage with a huge window overlooking the garden - so much studio potential!

We look forward to building our dream bench over the next year, step-by-step! The first steps will be gas hookup and ventilation, and some sort of basic bench surface. Eventually as we can afford it we'll upgrade to something in stainless steel or slate (my Dad has offered us a large salvaged slab - he's the king of "good junk"!). We also want to build a silversmithing bench with a dedicated line for our soldering torch.

Of course, we don't get possession until September 10. But now we can enjoy the summer and know that we have something very special to look forward to!

Ottawa Glass Bead Artists

Last week I contacted the Ottawa Glass Bead Artists to see about getting involved in upcoming events. I got an immediate reply from Grace Edwards of Laucha Lady fame. Apparently she has just opened a new teaching studio on Colonnade (near my old high school!) which hosts special events, meetings and demonstrations!

Sounds very interesting. I look forward to attending an event in the near future!

...on the other side: Ottawa

Ottawa!
















Andrea and I are halfway through the process of moving here from Winnipeg. I've been here for nearly two weeks now, starting my new job, and our stuff arrived safely last Wednesday in a shared truck. But Andrea's still in Winnipeg tying up loose ends, and we don't have a place of our own set up yet. I've been staying with some very generous friends downtown and helping them with some projects in return. It's a weird time! All the hard work of moving away from Winnipeg is dealt with but there are still emotions of loss and displacement. Even though this was my choice and it's my long-lost hometown, it is disorienting to be the "new kid" in town! Ottawa has nearly twice the population and a much higher average family income than Winnipeg, so everything here seems bustling and shiny.

For example, a pillar at the corner of the block where I work has a base of shiny black rock. But not just any rock! It's beautiful Larvikite, a semi-precious stone with lots of dramatic blue flash:

I've made lovely jewellery using this very same stone!

Some would call it "flashy", and some would call it "fabulous". I don't know what to think of the downtown streetscaping so far, but I do know that I'm being very well taken care of by my friends and family. And I know that there is an amazing arts and cultural scene that belies Ottawa's rather buttoned-down reputation. And I know that there's an active and creative glass beadmaking scene that I'm very excited to join!

For now, we're still working on settling in. The rest will come in time.