My next show will be The Contemporary Craft Market in Santa Monica, CA. It is November 6-8 at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. This will be my first time participating in this show and also my first time flying to a show. I'm really excited to be participating in this show and to be going to California.I'm especially excited about seeing the Pacific Ocean. I'm going to be super busy setting up, being at, and taking down the show, but if I only get to do one fun thing in Santa Monica, it's going to be going to the beach! I was born in Newport Beach and spent the first 11 years of my life pretty much in the ocean or at the beach. My sister and I loved to body surf, boogie board swim and just play and get pummeled by the ocean all day. I think it was way easier for my mom to take us to the beach to be entertained all day, then to deal with us being bored and cooped up at home. Thanks mom! Even though we moved away when I was 11 I still get really excited and feel at peace at the same time when I'm at the ocean and around palm trees.

I have some postcards that are good for two free admissions to the show. If you would like one, or even two send me an e mail at Larissa@risabeads.com and I will put them in the mail for you!

Well here's what I pulled out of the kiln this morning. New colors are so refreshing! I already have more ideas I want to try.

Yay for new glass!!!!

On my way home from the show in Portland I stopped at Bullseye Glass. I had never been there before and discovered it's pretty much glass heaven!

11 years ago, when I first started lampworking, Bullseye was the first glass I used. That was before they began making round rods, and all that was available for lampworkers was cut up sheets of glass in long skinny strips. I loved all the colors, but eventually switched to Moretti because they made round rods which are way easier to turn.

I had to restrain myself and only buy a few, ok maybe 20 colors and today gave myself a play day. Yay! I really just wanted to play with the colors, so I did. I can hardly wait to see my beads when I get them out of the kiln in the morning.

It was really interesting and fun working with a different glass. I kept thinking it felt silky and smooth to work with. It takes a little more heat to melt it, so I had more time and it kept it's shape easier. Usually when I make round discs and flowers, around the hole wants to melt and I have to be super careful to keep the hole nice. This glass wasn't doing that and it was kind of nice.

Tomorrow I'll post pictures of my beads here. But be warned, they could be really ugly! I never know what I'm going to get when I open the kiln, but that is half the fun! Sometimes I make something that I am sure is just fabulously beautiful and when it comes out it's really not so pretty. I'll just have to wait and see......

Portland Here I Come!

Next week I'll be heading to Portland for Bead Fest Portland at the Oregon Convention Center. Here are the show hours:

Thursday Sept. 24, 5-9
Friday Sept. 25, 10-7
Saturday Sept. 26, 10-6
Friday Sept. 27, 11-5

I'll be at an Artisan Table in space #16. Hope to see you there!



I've come up with a new color combination for a Lovely Bloom Bead. I'm calling it Marina. I just love the vibrant blue, and how the lighter blue radiates out from the center.

PMC

Here are some photos of what Precious Metal Clay Silver looks like in various stages. If you don't already know what PMC is, I will tell you! PMC is made from silver particles and a binder. You work it like clay and then fire it in a kiln at 1650 degrees F for two hours. All the binder burns out and you are left with pure silver! During the process the peices shrink a little. It is pretty amazing and a super fun material to work with. These ones were carefully rolled out thin, then rolled on a rubber spiral texture template. Then they were cut into circles using various shapes of circle cutters, similar to very small cookie cutters. The holes were made with straws. Finally the edges were cleaned up a little and they are ready to be fired. After they were fired they are slightly domed and polished. Then they are blackened in a stinky liver of sulfer bath, rinsed and polished again to highlight the spiral texture. From there they are connected to the end of a bead with a silver tube rivet.



Silver Precious Metal Clay before firing:
After firing in a kiln at 1650 degrees F for 2 hours:
After doming:
After tumbling to remove the white residue:
After being blackened in liver of sulfer:
After polishing:
After being connected to handmade glass beads with a tube rivet:

My Next Show

I will be participating in the American Craft Council Show at Fort Mason in San Francisco. I am in booth #1030. If you are in the area come and see some of the finest American crafts!

Perspectives Exhibit

I am happy to have this bead included in The International Society of Glass Beadmakers juried exhibition, Perspectives. It runs June 5 to September at the Raddison Hotel in Corning New York, and was on display during the Glass Art Society Conference. I'm honored to have my bead included in this group of such beautiful beads, by talented artists! You can see the rest of the selected beads here.