I gather this year CiM, in addition to donating glass for 40 bead challenges, also will be providing a pair of rods to be using in a monthly focal challenge. January's colors were commando and, um, purple.^[1] According to my studio notes, I started my 40 bead challenge the same day as I completed this one—and a good thing too, as the 40 bead would prove to be extremely frustrating, so having this success under my belt probably helped considerably.^[2]

One of the most beautiful beads I ever saw was a stevi belle vessel, built on a copper tube, using a lot of german frits and powders. Years later I would take a class with Stevi Belle (who now evidently has moved on, at least in a commercial context to ‘energy healing’, much like my very first teacher, Peggy Prielozny) and we got to play with similar techniques used in this lovely bead I'd encountered before I knew how to work glass, and was to cheap to pay $75 for.

Fortunately for me, my dear friend Page recognized just how special this bead was, and bought it. And then, recently, gave it to me while ‘cleaning out stuff’.^[3] I've alluded, many times, how working with Page, and being inspired by her aesthetics, has had a profound effect on my own artistic development^[4] but in this case, the influence was more direct:

My first effort, though it looks more like Stevi's, was not intended to do so: it was supposed to be a lentil, like the final bead. My hollow collapsed. I decided also to work out some of the other color issues as well on scrap beads, plain hollows ginned up on inexpensive clear. After I'd got those more-or-less worked out, I decided, since I had only a rod of each color, to make a base bead in clear, and if looked good, case it in the CiM and other frits and powders and press. My first attempt, the two in lentil, was...disappointing. I did case it again in clear, but I wasn't happy with the bead.

Third time was the charm, however: I was really happy with this lentil, which fit the press perfectly. I added a commando dot, which I then used a star-punch as a mini-press to decorate the obverse, and flashed this a bit to get some variation in the boss (or shaped dot). I also concluded I really needed to buy my own star punch, and give Cindi B hers back:)

Stevi Belle's is still, IMO, the stronger work: it has a richer and wider range of color, shifting from a mustard yellow at the base, with some lovely deep vivid pink in her boss. Mine, otoh, has some pretty tans in the raku frit; and also purple—but not that perfectly located (and, frankly, probably accidental) pink splotch in the boss. It's also a more complex shape, though admittedly not hollow. Unfortunately the marginally compatible glasses have developed very subtle cracks along the base of the bead; however, with the copper core, I'm presuming they won't severely affect the structural integrity of the bead. They're only visible under the 500w light I use to photograph beads anyway.

Mine does stand up on its own, however.

Now that I've successfully documented the bead, I plan to give it to page: we thought we'd string each other's gifts as a girlfriend project. That should be fun!

Unless otherwise noted, text, image and objects depicted therein copyright 1996--present sylvus tarn.

Sylvus Tarn