...vessels!  I have some soaking down in the studio. I'm so excited! I've got the bug. Now I have to find tiny corks (and I have to pray that the vessels will come off the mandrels!).

As I mentioned in my last post, I visited Delphi Glass on Saturday for some demonstrations and a little shopping. The demonstrations were excellent. Val and Tim are patient teachers and took all kinds of questions. It was worth the drive and I would recommend checking out a class there.

I stayed in Howell, Michigan and right next door in Brighton, Michigan I found a bead shop called Brighton Beads and More. Check out their website. They carry all kinds of beads, findings, glass, gemstones, Swarovski crystals, Kumihimo kits, precious metal clay, books, tools, and much more. I took some time and shopped and brought home some fun stuff. The staff was very friendly and spent all the time I needed directing me to things I asked for, as well as showing me some things I hadn't thought of.

They also offer lots of classes. I was given a tour of the workshop and shown samples of the class projects. There are some fun class offerings like Zentangle Glass, Silversmithing, Torch Enameling, Viking Knit, Wire Wrapping, and many more. Class information and visiting artists are listed on their website.

Stop by if you happen to be in the area. They are located in Brighton, Michigan at 9850 E.  Grand River Ave. Check the website for hours. Please tell them I sent you and that I said hello!

This is Lucie. Lucie is not for sale because she is cracked and I had to glue her back together. But I do intend to make lots of "siblings" for sale.

She is made entirely of glass. Her head and body are lampwork beads, her arms and legs are Czech glass seed beads.

I have kind of dedicated her to my dearest friend. She lost her dog (Lucie) a few days ago. She will be the store mascot.

If you are interested in one of Lucie's siblings, watch the listings. As soon as they are "born" they will be listed for sale.

I have been running the kiln every day. Can't wait for the electric bill. Between the air conditioning - it has been very hot the last few weeks - and the kiln, the bill is going to be a killer.

I have so many beads listed now that it seems it is time to make them easier to look at. I will be putting the lampwork beads in catalog format. Watch for this change and let me know what you think.

Instead of a gallery of lampwork beads, you will now find that my lampwork beads are listed for sale. You will find several sets and some pendants and charms. Soon I'll have some beautiful large focal beads for sale to complete your projects. Feel free to leave a post here to let me know what you think.

While surfing the internet looking for forum entries regarding the Cricket GTT Torch (like the one I have which isn't working at this moment), I came across another lampworker's blog. I am posting a link to it here because her anecdote about what we do is humorous and well spoken.  Enjoy!

http://deannachase.wordpress.com/2008/07/26/lampworking-still-a-great-unknown-to-the-masses/