and on the 14th day she made the solar system

This piece has been a blast to conceptualize and make, partly because it afforded me some fun opportunities to make outrageous statements like these in all sincerity:

"well, I guess I should get off the couch now and go make the Earth"

"hey, check this out, I just found Jupiter in my pocket, I thought I lost it")

so even if the final necklace didn't quite match the vision I had in my head, it has been a fun experience of taking an idea from concept (thanks to Craig for the idea) to finished product

and anyway, I can always make another solar system tomorrow, LOL!

Cosmic Crafts

Can you guess what I'm making now?  There are several clues in the picture and I will tell you that  I am going to the California Academy of Sciences next week for NightLife, and hope to see the Planetarium show. 

did you guess??  No? Well, stay tuned and hopefully I'll post the finished item some time this week.

Aren't Magnolia's simply magnificent?  I love that they are one of the first ones to bloom this time of year.

Future's so bright I gotta wear shades

I've taken a gazillion pictures using my point and shoot camera. I've spent countless hours editing photos using Shutterfly, Picasa and GIMP (all free photo editing software downloaded from the Internet).  I've built my own photo box twice (really 3 times as I'm on iteration 2 of the current one).  And I still was NOT HAPPY with the strange colors and glare off my pretty little fire babies (beads).  

This is my current photo box, it's kind of hard to see with the blinding amount of light in there.  I literally wear shades when working in it, otherwise I get snow blind, LOL.  The box is made of foam core board from Staples, masking tape and 4 cheap clamp-on lights from Home Depot with "daylight" fluorescent bulbs.

Tonight I made a command decision that I would learn to use the white balance on my Nikon D-50, because I could and would master it's insanely complicated menu's, I'm an engineer after all, DAMMIT and no camera is gonna get the best of me!!

ROUND 1:
 This is the D-50 using a normal set up in the photo box with auto set White Balance. Note the slightly greenish cast to the background (Kosher salt crystals).

Nikon D-50 Auto White Balance in photo box

I like the GIMP software, but it's a GINORMOUS application and really slows my computer down so the the only feature I've really used so far is Levels.  Levels allows you to use an eyedropper to find a spot in the photo that's supposed to be white, the software then auto-corrects the color based on that selection (you can do this for black too, but these photos had no good matte black). The photo below is the same as above after Gimp level set.

Nikon D-50 Auto White Balance in photo box with Gimp Levels set

ROUND 2:
The last one above wasn't too bad, but I thought it could still be better using the D50 preset White Balance. After all that's the whole objective of tonight's little exercise.  This is after messing about with the camera for about 10 minutes trying to get it to set the white balance by putting a piece of white interfacing (fabric stuff, but kind of stiff and with a nice matte finish, shiny would be bad in this situation I think).
Note that the salt looks better, the greenish cast seen in the first photo is gone now.

Nikon D-50 Preset White Balance in photo box

 same as above after using Gimp to set the Levels

Nikon D-50 Preset White Balance in photo box with Gimp Levels set

definitely better (probably a little too bright, but that's a lesson for another day)

FINAL ROUND:
and for tonight's final exam; I used a card with a white side (coffee filter for the matte finish) and a black side (fabric scrap) so I could use the Gimp Levels to set both light and dark.  You can just see the edge of the card in the top of the photo, for actual posting purposes I would crop this out.

Nikon D-50 Preset White Balance in photo tent with Gimp Levels set for both white and black

And that concludes my photo experimentation for tonight.  Next time I want to see what can be done to reduce the light glare with some better diffusion, which will cut the overall light to the subject and may necessitate yet more exploration of the D-50 to figure out the best ISO, aperture, exposure adjustment and/or shutter speed.  Who knew that making glass beads would also require a major investment in upping the photo skills?

Earrings and Insecurities

For some crazy unknown reason, I was talking with a friend at work and out of the blue a vision popped into my head of a pair of earrings I could see her wearing.  I decided to give into this impulse and make them even though I have NEVER actually seen her wear any sort of jewelry at all, go figure.  I did surreptitiously check to ensure she has pierced ears before moving forward.

 

I also randomly popped into her cube and asked what her favorite color was; "purple" she replied.  She probably thinks I'm a little nuts, as this question had no real follow up, I simply said "great" and walked back to my office.

It turns out that I had no purples left in the soft glass, having just used them up making the flowers beads, so I reached into my secret "save it till I get more skilled" stash of borosilicate, silver-infused, "striking" glass.  This one is called Double Amber Purple and changes color depending on how hot and how much oxygen is in the flame (essentially you control the silver crystal growth rate at the surface of the glass, which in turn affects how your eye perceives the reflected color).  Since these are just little, itty bitty beads it wasn't too hard to achieve a purplish color.  I love the simplicity of these earrings.

Now I just have to figure out how to give them to her so it doesn't feel weird/creepy. I'm considering an anonymous drop off, but she knows I work with glass, so will probably guess the source.  Ok, then I guess my next option would be the awkward, "so, hey, I thought these would look nice on you".  Of course, this "how to give them to her" issue is further compounded by my own stupid insecurities, what if I am the only one who thinks these are cool, what if they really look like something from a bad 7th grade art glass? Ok, ok, I just gonna do it and to heck with if she actually likes or ever wears them, that will now be her problem.

These green beads were meant to go with the purple ones above, but just didn't look right, so I made them into another set of super, simple earrings.  I am trying out a style of earwire I've seen online a few time, where the wire is long and actually wraps around the back some to become part of the design, sort of like a "Jetson's" version of a hoop.

I really, really like this Italian soft glass color of Transparent Medium Grass Green, yummy, like Sweet and Sour apple candies.

Flowers

Spring is on the way, and flowers are coming soon.  In anticipation, Manny and I would like to present these:

the above are made from Blueberry Marble color Italian glass with simple white "daisies", 15mm rounds with a 2.4mm( 3/32") hole.

I also tried to make a sculptural flower from the Italian glass. This requires a bit more skill and heat control of the glass to prevent it from cracking (when the glass cools too quickly in one area of the bead, then gets heat again, PING).  I like the color which looks pinkish purple under some light and light blue under other lights.

Made from Light Transparent Lavender with a yellow center, overall about 25mm with a 2.4mm hole.  I put the silver spiral in just to dress it up a bit.  It reminds me a bit of a water lily, but I had no real design in mind, just messing around with the glass.

Manny gets a job

As my faithful readers (all 3 of you) know, Manny, has been hanging around for a little while now and recently started bugging me for a "real job". We got into a big argument about the difference between decorative and ornamental (there is none really, Manny was just peevish with boredom).  I felt bad after our disagreement and conceded that perhaps he could be of use as my photo assistance.  At first, he could hardly contain himself from his excitement.

  he was a little surprised when I went in for the close up and it was of the BEADS, not his well formed head.

these are what I like to call the "UFO" shape beads (7mm x 17mm disk), made from Effetre pale transparent lavender (yes, the label said lavender) with a 2.4mm (3/32") hole.  A couple have the coveted newbie look,  "Sooty Swirls",  as I learned that this glass likes the flame super oxygenated.

Manny was having a lot of trouble balancing the tray and kept spilling the beads (he would happily spill the beans as well, but the only juicy gossip he has is that I dance like an epileptic fool around the garage to loosen up after every few beads.  There, now he officially has no beans to spill, I just beat him to it, HAH).  Oh yeah, back to the tray, so we tried and tried to correct his posture to no avail, and finally conceded he needed a new tray (AKA a jar lid).

by this time poor Manny's arms were getting quite fatigued and he must have decided the pay wasn't worth the abuse as he screamed out at me "oh for heaven's sake, woman, just GET ON WITH IT!" as I snapped this last photo.

these are 15mm x 15mm barrel shaped beads with a 2.4mm (3/32") hole, made from Effetre Blueberry Marble glass and etched for a matte finish.  I love the "wind tunnel" blue veining on these. 

Well, despite his poor attitude and pouting about not being the object of interest in the photos, he did perform well, so we might give this a shot again tomorrow after we both cool down a little.

Stay tuned for "Flowers", this month's technical challenge.  I tried a couple of new techniques and cannot wait to see what comes out of the kiln tomorrow (or maybe later tonight if I can't wait that long : )

The Adventures of Manny Kin

Let me introduce you to Mr. Kin, his friends just call him Manny.  He's an easy going guy and up for any adventure.  Some folks who don't know him well might say he seems a bit stiff and wooden, but once you spend some time with him, you find really has a magnetic quality about him.

Manny had a great time this weekend hanging with the ladies in the fabulous town of Copperopolis (maybe the town isn't truly fabulous, but it sure is fun to say Copperopolis, Copperopolis, Copperopolis, go on try it).

Our first stop of the day was to check out the brand, spanking new Town Square with a vintage vibe, cuz' nothing says vintage like the smell of fresh paint and concrete ; ).   Manny, nature loving soul he is, just shook his head at our cynicism and enjoyed the flowers.

We were feeling a bit peckish and stopped for a quick bite at Panini's grill.  The ladies at the restaurant were quite taken with Mannie and fussed around him almost to the point of annoyance, but our Manny was unfazed by their attention as he leisurely perused the menu.

He went with the Caesar Salad as he has to watch his androgynous figure.(thx Di, wink, wink)

Properly fortified we set off to explore the window shopping delights of the Copperopolis Town Square.  The Olive Oil store purported to have tastings, but the staff were engaged in a stiff competition of cards which clearly couldn't be interrupted to provide any actual tasting service to the potential customers, so on we went to the knick knack store (I'm sure it had a fancy name, but really who needs another scented candle holder, soooo knick knacky).
Manny, ever the perfect gentleman, charmed the proprietress into letting him handle the merchandise in his unique way.

 

The wind, bringer of allergenic pollen, seemed to be calming a bit so we pondered what outdoor entertainments were available in the Copperopolis (Copperopolis, Copperopolis, it just never gets old) locale. Manny suggested we consider an Equestrian Adventure as he was feeling quite the horseman after his brief sit upon the Trojan horse at the Knick Knack store.

In spite of being within, literally, spitting distance of the rental stables, his lady companions sadly declined as they were  neither financially nor sartorially prepared for galloping about on huge, smelly and quite frankly, a bit scary, beasts.

After further discussion we agreed to explore around to find the actual, historical part of Copperopolis, which we learned was founded in 1860, because..., yep, you guessed it, a large deposit of Copper was discovered.

It has 4 locations in the National Register of Historical Places.  We were interested in learning more about the Copperopolis Armory , but had to settle for enjoying this lovely sign only. I suppose our dwindling tax dollars can no longer fund the retired veterans to play docent at these sorts of places.  Manny got a big kick out of pretending to be one of the guys and begged us to take this picture of him (he's the one on the left).

,

We found another olive oil tasting place (odd, really, to find not one but two, olive oil tasting shops within 2 minutes of each other), where the man at the counter was actually friendly and knowledgeable.  It turns out he is the son of the man who brought back olive tree saplings of the oil producing varietal directly from Italy, perhaps in his very own suitcase, but I missed that part of the sales pitch.   And, in a very small town twist of fate, it turns out that they no longer have their own orchard as they sold it so developers could build...

wait for it...

YES, that's right, the new vintage vibe COPPEROPOLIS TOWN SQUARE!

The olive oil was quite tasty and we learned a bit about the difference between the supermarket olive oil (apparently, bad, nasty, dregs of Italy to hear the "son of olive oil man" say it) and the fruity, green goodness of the local varieties, especially when infused with fragrant herbs and spices.   Manny preferred the simple, almost astringent flavor of the Frantoio

Having exhausted the, admittedly limited, shopping and historical sightseeing options we headed off to find some easy hiking.  We drove past the picturesque Tulloc Reservoir, by the Tabletop hills.  One of the roadmarks we looked for was the Sierra Conservation Center, which I naively assumed was a nature center, however this should have been clue one that we were headed towards jail ( in case you chose not to explore the link, the SCC is a prison inmate assistance program).    No matter, we were a band of intrepid hikers, not to be put off by a little trifle such as a prison, no, we were told there was good hiking to be had and we meant to have it.   Manny insisted there was no danger, he would gladly lay down his life to defend our honor and safety, that is, if he wasn't off climbing trees

or climbing rocks.

At the end we simply couldn't stop him from putting his feet in the stream, he only recently started walking really and he needed a bit of a rest and cool down.

We made our return approach to the parking area from a different direction than where we left. From this perspective it was startling to notice the hundreds and hundreds of strange, grey cylinders stretched all across a rather large field.

Upon closer inspection we determined these must be rock core samples from the nearby mining operations.  Some of the samples had veins of quartz, others that looked to be shale or slate were shearing apart into perfect ellipses.

 
and so concludes this weekend Adventures of Manny.  Our perfectly relaxed and slightly educational day at an end, we piled back into the car for the long drive home.

Manny loves to travel and has extended his offer of companionship should any of his dear friends wish to include Manny on their own travels; he packs light and sleeps heavy.