Tips Tuesday - Keeping Track of Colors

I use to keep track of colors on notecards in the hopes that I would keep a file. That didn't happen I just had notecards everywhere. I was reading a blog from a "Journaling" artist who talked about keeping a daily journal with ideas, scraps of interesting info, scraps of colors, etc. What a great idea. Mine is no where near as colorful or interesting as hers but all the same it is 1 journal for everything! My to do list, the list of what is in my display case (the suitcase that holds my bead display set up for shows), blog topics, bead names, color combinations, etc. I glue any note scrap down in this book so I don't have notes all over the place anymore. It's working so far - but I forgot it today and left it on my studio work bench! I even make a quick note in the margin for category - I think I should highlight the categories that would also help me find stuff. I am going to post this blog now but when I get home I'll try to take a picture and post it with this blog. Color is everywhere and so are ideas.

I don't know about your Muse but mine plays tricks on me and sends me down too many paths at once! I think I should make a muse bead - there I go and no journal in sight!

It's Sell it Sunday

At least I'm being consistent on Sunday! Have been kind of a slacker this week! I have 2 beads on eBay for sale. Nothing new on Etsy although I've got some pieces ready to photograph and ideas cooking on the bench. I've even got beads cooking in the kiln. A new twist on my dragonfly bead that I am very excited about . . .dichro wings and CZs. Wait til you see them! Any way two florals are now on eBay. One ends Tuesday and one ends Wednesday. Please take a look!

The Santa Ana winds are blowing like crazy. I went to Pasadena to meet up with my daughter's family yesterday and it was blowing alot but today is even worse. The gate to my backyard just swung open and made a loud clang - scared the heck out of me and the dog! Last night I could hear the patio furniture scooting around the back yard. I'm glad the gas barbecue is gone it is known to tip over when the winds blow. Have a good week everyone!

Theming on Color

It's Tips Tuesday and the theme is more about color. What do I use for inspiration? I work in the graphics business and my job is to check and approve color for printed pieces. Many times matching color to product so I'm very sensitive to colors being just right. I use fabric for color combinations, linen catalogs are great inspiration, clothes catalogs (keeps you current with what's popular). And sometimes I get out the PMS book - that's something we use in the printing business - and start looking for combos. Then when I think I've got one, I have to interpret it in glass - that's not always easy. Is it transparent? Is it opaque? Is it metallic? Is it creamy? Is it etched? All of these things come into play when making a bead. What's really fun is sometimes I come up with something I really love and yet it's nothing like what inspired me - go figure! I love to use twisties and shards and then let them swirl and blend to make new colors and amazing one of a kind art. Right now this is one of my favorite things to do!

It is my intention to use my blog to challenge myself to be more creative and part of that is to use different color combinations, shapes and styles. . . To not be so realistic. I've been studying some of the scrapbooker and journaling artists. I may with their permission post some of their collages and then take off on a color/creative challenge. Want to join me?

I'll start with a beautiful photo I discovered. This weekend I'll make some beads using this photo as inspiration. You never know what's going to happen. I'll post what I make next week. This challenge is not just about making beads, it could be about a piece of jewelry, it just needs to be beady. If you come up with something please post a comment here and a link to your blog. I'd love to see what you come up with!

WHERE WAS I 10-20-30 YEARS AGO

I picked this up from Beadguiling Designs who is also a member of Flaming Hot. Where were you 10-20-30 years ago.

10 Years ago would be 1997. I was living in the same house I'm in now in the Santa Clarita Valley of Southern California. We bought the house about 15 years ago - what a great investment! My partner - Howard - was in good health and we were sharing a fairly good life. I was making beads and just beginning to venture out into the sales arena with some decent success. My daughter was just newly out of college and living in the South Bay. She had just recently started to date her now husband of 7 years. I had 2 dogs, both now deceased, whom I loved very much.

20 years ago I was living in Manhattan Beach with Howard. My daughter was in Middle School just about to go into high school. Save us all from those teen age years! We lived in a rented house and had 2 dogs because we had been burgalorized 1 too many times. My daughter need watching because she was sooooo boy crazy. I was making fabric crafts and hadn't learned about beadmaking at that time. I worked for an ad agency in West LA.

30 years ago I was still living in Los Angeles - working in Hermosa Beach I think. For an ad agency. My daughter was 7 years old. I hadn't met Howard yet so it was me and my daughter in a duplex. I don't remember those years too well. My daughter and I were very close and my time was devoted to her and to my work. I hadn't started any of my crafty businesses yet so life was pretty much about being a good mother.

What great reflections, how far we've come. Now I'm a grandmother with 2 beautiful grandchildren. A new dog and my partner Howard is now deceased. My daughter's education is paid for, the wedding is a distant memory and that is paid for. I always wondered how I'd do it and although it seemed unsurmountable at the time it was pretty easy. You do what you have to. I'm still working but I have a creative outlet that I've always needed. I love making lampwork beads and hope I live to see another 30 years! It's a good thing I don't mind change although it feels like it came on gradually. What a difference 10 years make!

www.jackiemixon.com

SELL IT SUNDAY!

Well it's Sunday - time to show you what's up on eBay and Etsy.

I've got 2 beads up on eBay. I should have 3 but I was just so tired this week I couldn't shoot any pictures. So I settled for 2. But I think they are both really nice beads in their own way.

Greg the frog closes on Tuesday at 7pm PDT. He is so very cute with big, buggy turquoise eyes and kiss me quick green lips. I once dated a guy named Greg!
This frog is on the big side, at least by my standards. He'd make a great focal or look so cute sitting on a desk. Just a reminder to be kind to all men - never know who will turn into a prince.

And I have a really pretty large lentil focal bead with 2 matching round beads. I really love this new style of bead and hope to make it my generic bead for a while. I am known for my hearts, florals, and whimsical sculptures (like Greg the frog). I've never really had a solid "generic" bead that looks good with everything and has DESIGNER written all over it. I think this style might be it. It's so earthy looking and takes on so many different colors. I really enjoy making them and hope you enjoy them as well. I can see them used in so many different ways. Since these are new they are being passed-over. My friends say it takes 3-6 months to get noticed so I'll hold out. Maybe it's because of the simplicity of presentation. I guess I see potential and designers haven't found it yet. What do you think?

You'll find these auctions on eBay.

I've added 2 items to my Etsy Store. A really lovely floral pendant on a silky cord and a great pair of silvery blue earrings. Haven't had anything purchased off my etsy store yet. Again, it's the "discover" thing. Hope it happens soon. I need to get off my hands and do more and better marketing I guess.That's what's new this week! Lots going on! Be back again another day! I've got beads cookin' in the kiln now and need to make some more. Plus there are pictures to be takin' yipes!

Oh yeah, I almost forgot! I narrowly missed a horrible fate of being stuck in horrendous traffic! I was suppose to go to my parents' house yesterday and meet up with my daughter's family to show off the new granddaughter. Well Cindy (my daughter) was sick so it was postponed for a couple of weeks, thank goodness. Unbeknown to us there was a horrible accident on the freeway between my house and all parts known as Los Angeles and South! I didn't know about it until last night. I guess it was taking people 1-2 hours to get through a small little stretch of freeway. In these parts the inland access north becomes 1 freeway and when it is shut down you have to go miles out of the way to get around it. So, things do happen for a reason!

Presenting my finished Beads

The topic on Flaming Hot today is how do you present your finished beads. My beads are kind of like debutantes and need to be presented in the most gentile manner - just kidding! I actually sell my beads on eBay, off of my website as Catalogue, on Etsy (mostly as jewelry), and at a few major bead shows a year - there are a few local shows and trunk shows as well.

The beads for eBay are specifically made for eBay. I do better with focals then sets - I can't seem to sit at the torch long enough to make enough beads for even 1 measley set! You see I also work full time at a very time consuming, energy draining, stressful job. My need to be creative every day is expressed in my glasswork. So I make my eBay beads, clean them them with a dremel, stare at them on my table a while. Pull some out for Etsy because they would look better as jewelry. My newest design is a marbelized kind of bead that I'm naming after National Parks. I had full intention of selling them on eBay in sets - 1 large focal and some small lentil companion beads. That didn't happen because the companion beads came out so nice that they called to be made into earrings. Anyway then I set up my photo booth on my dining room table - I have a Table Top set up that I love, love, love. I mostly use the surface of a plexiglass square although sometimes I'll put down a sheet of white paper. I usually shoot straight down at the picture but lately I've been experimenting with shooting at a angle. I use earthquake clay (I live in So Cal that's why I have earthquake clay) to hold the beads in place. I have a Nikon camera that I can turn the lens to the bead and still look at the digital image. Works well that way! I think my pictures come out pretty nice. Then we are off to the Mac for a little photo retouching. I like to put different views of my image together into 1 layout so I only have to deal with the 1 photo upload when I go on to eBay.

For Etsy it's individual square pictures. My goal is to have pictures that well represent the piece as best as possible. Artsy doesn't work if that is not what you are getting. Or in some cases I've seen some very artsy nice photos that are then just plopped on the page one after another and they look terrible. The layout is important as well. I work in the graphic arts industry so I realize some of the dos and don'ts of layouts. The point of the layout is to show off the bead not the layout. Sometimes I think my pictures are good but my layout doesn't sell the product well enough because I keep it too plain.

Now for shows it's a whole different ball game. My beads are mostly shown individually and I have a tiered stand that I set up, cover it in white and then put small brass bead stands on it that show off my beads. These are wire wrapped stands that people often want to buy. That way the bead is facing the customer and sometimes draws them to my display. I also like to have varying heights for interest. I do sell some small beads which I put on mandrels in a tray by color - that seems to work best. Of course nothing stays the same and it is always changing! Don't have a picture but I promise to take one at my next show and I'll post it here!

A Beadie Weekend

The weekend is almost over. I didn't get near enough beads made this weekend but I'm happy with what I did. Mostly it was a computer weekend and I didn't end up on the torch until late afternoon each day. I have to go to work tomorrow so I can't push the envelope and work until I drop tonight or I'll end up being good for nothing tomorrow.
I scheduled 2 beads to go up on eBay starting Tuesday. I have decided to have beads up Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Right now I've got 3 beads on eBay all very different.

I added a pair of earrings to my Etsy store so now I have 3 whole items on Etsy. Please make sure to check these out. Mostly it will be simple jewelry made from my beads - focals turned into pendants and pretty one-of-a-kind earrings.
So all-in-all I accomplished quite a bit this weekend. I even posted my auctions and Etsy Store on Flaming Hot, a new joint effort of a number of glass artists. This is a blog to watch for great work for sale and interesting tidbits from glass artists across the country and internationally.

Of course don't forget to look at my web page - www.jackiemixon.com. I invite you to join my newsletter to be the first to know as new items go up for sale.

NAME THAT BEAD!

During this last year I have decided to market my beads MORE. I've been making beads for 14 years and sell at 2 major national shows plus a few other local shows. I'm a member of the ISGB (International Society of Glass Beadmakers) again. I was a member way back when but stopped my membership for a number of years. Since I'm serious about marketing my beads it's time to rejoin. I still work full time so I do have to sit on my hands and not volunteer for too much. Then when would I make beads?

Well I've already gotten off topic. Anyway, a lot of artists name their beads. It's a way to attract attention and get more "views" even maybe more sales. My mind goes blank when I have to name my bead so I come up with the most inane names. When I'm making beads I think of them in terms of style not name - Bet you can't guess which is which --- Floral Bouquet, Dog, Dragonfly

I guess I feel I should be descriptive rather than "zen". Recently while reading the blog Flaming Hot I was introduced to the idea that a name can evoke an emotion and helps the buyer understand what you might have been thinking while creating the bead. That's a much better approach. In my quest to be more creative with my beads I think I will look at what is capturing me within the bead while I make it. There are a few beads that do get named. I name my frogs - after men they remind me of - after all kiss a frog and make a prince, and when I posted the first of my swirling silver lentils I kind of named it, think I need to do better though.

Here's Hank and Petrified Forest.I am drawn to other artist's beads that have names so watch for my new beads - yup with new names!

Sunday Beadmaking Lesson

Sunday I gave a private lampwork bead making lesson to my friend and student Penny. We had a very good day playing with silver reactions. I showed Penny how to make frit with my handmade frit maker. Then we used it on our beads along with silver foil and some reactive glass. It was a very fun day. Penny makes beads for her jewelry and I think the techniques I showed her on Sunday will be perfect for her colorful bracelets. My little dog Jack played guard dog.