UGH, I can’t encase! I totally lost the ability. See ya, bye bye. I wonder when it happened? It is only recently taht I discovered that the talent for encasing had gone missing.
And actually, I am being a little over dramatic. I can encase. I can encase quite nicely when I want to make lovely stripes under a thick surface of clear.
Those aren’t the kind of encased beads I am suddenly unable to stop thinking about. I was blog hopping and fell on this recent post from Sarah Hornik. She doesn’t do encased florals, but there they were. Lovely as any other bead she makes. So, I was sitting at my torch, working on some beads for a new bangle request. I thought, huh? How about a little flower? The result, ugh. The bead was nice, but looked nothing like an encased floral. (Can you find the bead I am taking about in the photo below?)
Okay, okay, I told myself. Back to basics, let’s just try making some dots under the surface that don’t stretch into stripes. After about 6 failed attempts, cursing, and hot beads getting dropped on my desk to cool and shatter (don’t worry, it is a heat proof desk)… I gave up. But it is bugging me.
I consider myself a fairly decent bead maker. I have quite literally made HUNDREDS of beads, heck I have probably made thousands if you count the countless little disc beads. I can pucker an end, I can control a stringer, and I make a good big hole bead. Why is encasing suddenly eluding me?
I have decided that if my inability bugs me enough to write a whole creative blog post about it, then it is time to tackle this little encasing demon. I have armed myself with copies of my favorite glass bead making books, and I have links to lots of online tutorials. I am re-reading the fundamentals and refuse to let this technique get the best of me.
I’ll be back with the the results soon!
Kerry Bogert is blogging and creating glass beads from her home studio in Western NY. You can see more of her work at www.kabsconcepts.com and catch up with her daily at her blog www.kabsconcepts.blogspot.com.
Jenn says:
Yes, Kerry, I know what you mean. I haven’t done glass for 4-5 months now. I’m afraid of what I may have lost. When I first started doing glass, I could do stringer work. (Not well, mind you, but I could make decent “Scribbler” beads out of them.) But I couldn’t do a dot to save my life. So I set out to conquer dots. And while don’t have the mastery and precision over dots like some of the other artists, I can do dots. But, now I can’t do stringer work. And forget fine stringer work. You’ll conquer encasing again!
February 18th, 2009 at 7:00 pm
Mallory says:
Go, Kerry! You can do it!
http://rosebud101-fortheloveofbeads.blogspot.com/
February 18th, 2009 at 8:13 pm
eileen says:
i have total confidence in you kerry…i know you can do it, you did do it, you are doing it…
can’t wait to see the results…
February 19th, 2009 at 11:47 am
Kate says:
Kerry,
I was referred to you by a friend of mine, Lynn Davis who said she intereviewed you some time ago.
I am new at lampmaking beads but love the flat swirl earrings you have on your blog. During a recent lampwork class I inquired of the teacher but she said she had no idea how those would be made.
There was an ad in a Rio Grande glass catalog by Chelsea Stone that said she really like liquid glass. Can you provide me some insight into the process.
Thank you so much.
February 23rd, 2009 at 11:21 am