Welcome to our
Glass Spacer Bead extravagaza! Before we get started, just a quick reminder that 10/29 is Think Pink and our Halloween Bead wrap up will be 10/31. But today,
all artisans will be posting pics that feature lampwork spacers today!
But before we get to our show, we're going to hang out with artist Aimee Milan of
Polychrome Beads. Since this post is all about lampwork spacers, let's take a look at some of Aimee's:
What do you make? What or you known for? I make so many different things– not being able to stick to one style may be my downfall! I do focals and sets, buttons, and a bit of metalwork (Viking knit and silver cored beads/beadcaps). I may be known mostly for the lotus beads I started making nearly ten years ago. A variation on petal beads, they are probably my most popular pieces.
Do you ever space out at the torch? What do you think about / listen to / watch? Here’s my embarrassing little secret: I love to watch cheesy, low-budget Sci-Fi movies. I can’t get my husband to watch them with me any more (he says he can feel his brain cells dying…), so I watch them while I torch. Most of the time they don’t require a lot of concentration to follow the story, so I can keep my eyes on the flame and sort of half watch the T.V. Sometimes something actually good comes on and I find myself sitting and watching and twirling a bead in the flame without working on it! I rarely actually “space out” – but I’ve been doing gravity-swirl beads lately and I find them very soothing. Watching the hot glass roll and flow around the mandrel is like a slow dance. That is as close as I get to spacing out.
What was the Worst burn / cut you ever got??? How did it happen, where was it? Special treatment??? I haven’t gotten a really bad burn from glass, but I’ve managed to cut myself several times. The worst was the time I slashed the side of my index finger. Glass cuts take a long time to stop bleeding, and this was right across the joint. I couldn’t use my hand properly for DAYS!
What was the hardest skill for you to learn how did you overcome? Any tips to share? Hollow beads. I’m still not very good at them. But I think my biggest problem was that I kept trying to make the walls very thin. Thicker walls are actually easier to do, as they don’t blow out suddenly.
What is YOUR favorite jewelry to wear? I love a choker-length necklace with a set of beads – accented with some simple spacers!
What is your favorite thing you’ve made. I am really proud of the stacked beads I’m doing right now. Sort of gigantic big hole beads – very dramatic.
You can find Aimee's beads on her website
PolychromeBeads. Her work is also available on
Etsy,
Zibbet and
CraftStar.
Aimee, thanks so much for hanging out with us on Space Out Sunday!
Onto our show:
