One of the easiest way to obtain wonderful beads is by trading for them. These five beads were the ones I received in Laura Brito's ‘Big Bead exchange’. I hope every one who received my beads is enjoying them just as much.
Perhaps the biggest difference between these beads and the ones I typically make is that all of these are solid, and three of them are bicones, a shape I've only recently had any success whatsoever in making. One is cased. One, the stacked dots, involves what I call slow mandrel turning techniques, which I find physically painful. Thus, all of these beads illustrate techniques I don't do well, an added bonus.
17x39mm, borosilicate glass. Looks like there might be some silver fuming going on, but I'm not expert enough on boro to tell. Israel Brito, Beaded Lizard Art Glass. Bead by the spouse of the Big Bead exchange organizer, Laura Brito. I'm so honored.
19x25mm (approximate, includes dots). Soda-lime glass. Artist Jacqui Collins-Parker of Angel Craft Studio notes, “I love layering colors!” That she does, for my best guess is there are ten or eleven layers on top of the acid yellow base: transparent light grass green, a dark transparent green, nile? green, opaque orange, opaque sky blue, transparent, opaque orange, opaque red, transparent, sky blue, and finally, dichroic dots, which my photo doesn't show very well. And I may have missed a few!
25x26mm, soda-lime glass. Cristina Cooper. (Somebody else who forgot to include a business card or any comments...wasn't just me. Hurray.) Love the big thick casing.
19x41mm, borosilicate glass. The largest of the boro beads I received. Again, a highly layered bead, with many subtle reds. I'd have to switch back to tanks to make something this big in boro. Pat Lauzon of Being Beads.
16x46mm, soda-lime glass, metallic leaf. This understated bead came in an equally elegant black velvet box. Tina Routt, NuPasa Beads.
Artists are in alphabetical order. Click on the thumbnails for enlargements, 500 pixels wide. Images copyright sylvus tarn, but the bead designs revert to the creators.
Unless otherwise noted, text, image and objects depicted therein copyright 1996--present sylvus tarn.
