Twistie eye candy

twists-blue, originally uploaded by kitzbitz art glass by Jolene.

I am getting the hang of blogging directly from Flickr - very handy, especially as I like my blog to be picture rich and not so very wordy. Here are some yum-scrum pics of my hand pulled twistie cane - bright and full of potential for lampwork bead beautifulness.

Kitzbitz

Lady Garden Beads

Lady Garden Beads, originally uploaded by kitzbitz art glass by Jolene.

It might seem just a little bit naughty – or perhaps even out and out attention seeking, to be taking a perfectly pretty handmade glass bead and giving it a vadge badge.
I love making these, exactly because they are cheeky and to some tasteless, but to me they empower. Wear a Yoni with pride I say. I think that being 7 months pregnant has some part to play in this outspokenness – so whatever you call yours here are some of mine.

Kitzbitz

Lost in Space

Lost-in-space-3
Originally uploaded by kitzbitz art glass by Jolene

The kiln fairy left me this a couple of weeks ago - Lost in Space featuring a rocket murrini by Charlotte Dakin-Norris of Big Bang Beads

I gave it as a gift to my neighbours sisters son (who is 6) as he had big big eyes when he saw it. I have had it on good authority since that he sleeps with it under his pillow. I don't think a bead gets to be more treasured than that!

A couple of shiny ones

I have had a bit of a break from bead making, and come back to it with all the more passion because of the rest. These are the first beads I have made in over two months - using techniques that I learnt in my master class with Andrea Guarino in April this year.



CiM Simply Berry with Double Helix Aurae and some complex twistie made with Effetre Opal Yellow. I have also made the Murrini with these three glasses.



I cannot be sure as to the name of this lush, green silver rich reduction glass, tho I suspect it is GT Glassworks Green Envy. This class turned up in my studio as part of job lot and I have been hoarding it because I love it so much.

I thought I would feel rusty - but the love of melting glass made me forget I had ever been away!

Kitzbitz

New Fritz on the Block

Showing my age here with the title of this post!

Anyhoo here they are, my newest frit blends, Smokestack and Orange Grove, just listed on Etsy today Frit N Chips





You can also find the full range of frit and Kitzbitz fritblends Kitzbitz Art Glass

Thanks for looking, Jo x

Frit N Chips - Murrini Blends new on Etsy

I have begun to add some "chips" to my lampwork supplies store on Etsy today.
These chips are cut my very own handpulled starburst murrini cane.

Princess is a quirky blend of pinks and red, very delicate and graphic.

Oranges and Lemons blend contains rare Vetrofond odd lot glass,
the now sought after Pineapple and Tangerine Sparkles.

Slice of Lime is my personal fave of all three blends just listed, so fresh and juicy!

You can find these pretty chips and more at Frit N Chips
ad my handmade glass beads at Kitzbitz

Artist's Spotlight - Larissa Symbouras

Wow........I have never, ever wanted to smell beer in the morning before, but this soap appeals to the beer snob in me too.



Larissa's Blog is eloquent, humorous, beautiful and has some of the most enticing product photography I think I have ever seen. Can you tell that I have a serious handmade soap fetish!

Check this out! Now this is the kind of wakeup call that I like the look of! Cafe Mocha Scrub...yumyumyumyummy



Larissa makes great stuff for guys too, check out this superb Clean Cut Saving soap in the Reef Botanicals artfire shop.



You can find more about what is hot and new from Reef Botanicals on twitter and Facebook

Yummy Double Helix Shards!

I have just launched my new lampwork supplies shop on Etsy, Frit N Chips where I will be selling my handmade CoE 104 glasswork for bead making and CoE 96 furnace glass frit.



Yesterday I loaded up the shop with delicious Double Helix reduction glass shards. They are very easy to use, apply to the warm surface of you glass bead in a neutral flame, and simply waft your bead through a reduction flame to get the beautiful simmer and shine and magic from these spectacular glasses.

Psyche Shards

Aurae Shards

Trition Shards

Jo x

Artists spotlight - Nancy Rawlison

Nancy Rawlison is creative butterfly; with every style of craft she touches down upon, a pretty something comes to life. Nancy is a great blogger and looking around 'Twas Brillig Whiffling through the Tulgey Wood... brings to me a sense of wonder that I remember from childhood. And here is a little example of why....



As a child I loved the dark and whimsical writings of Lewis Carroll and this elegant print is one of three in an Alice in Wonderland triptych created by Nancy.
Below is an image of Nancy hard at work, creating art outside her real life brick and mortar store.



Nancy says her three main creative loves are handcrafted jewelry, silk floral design and photography. I'll try almost any craft once to see if I like it! Here a just a few more pics of her work.





You can find more stunning designs by Nancy at Shop Handmade and Etsy.

Mini Mo' Colour club in Febuary

I run a lampwork glass colour club for 14 ladies and each month I send out the little glasswork packages of twistie, shards and murrini that I call Mini Mo's (Mini Mojo's). There are three strands of the Mini Mo Club, Amethyst and Beryl and Chalcedony and so I make three colourways each month, one for each strand.

I love putting these collections together each month; picking my colour inspiration from all sorts of places......this month my colour sets are inspired by the frit blends I have been mixing lately and a very special colourway of ivory and green organics.

Amethyst strand - Brights



This month’s Amethyst Mini Mo' contains red, yellow and bright green ribbon twisties and some fine striped black and green twistie which would make excellent vine cane. The murrini are complex starburst with 7 layers and red over yellow stripes to finish. The shard element is purple red laced with Nero Insenso. The colours are inspired by a frit blend that I am sending out for testing this month.



My test beads are encased cores, with Orange Grove frit, decorated with thin stringer work and Brights murrini.

Beryl strand - Cottontail



This month’s Beryl Mini Mo' contains soft blues, baby pinks, a touch of purple and lots of scrummy Rubino Oro. Rubino Oro likes and oxygen rich flame and so I have encased the ribbon twistie so that it will be more friendly to the Mini Mo' Club members working on Hot Head torches. I have made some ultra fine baby blue Rubino striped twistie and rose cane too. The murrini are complex starburst with 7 layers and purple over white stripes to finish. The shard element is baby blue glass laced with Nero Insenso.



My beads have been made using the Rubino ribbons and ultra fine baby blue twistie with Cottontails murrini.



These are encased beads with a core of baby pink and Cottontails frit blend

Chalcedony strand - Seaside organics



This month’s Chalcedony Mini Mo' is a sea side inspired colourway, with green twistie for vines and fauna and ribbon twistie to give the impression of seaweed. The Barnacle murrini are striped with a striated earthy brown colour glass that I have hand mixed. The Barnacle murrini do not like to be reduced at all. The shard element of this Mini Mo' is silver infused Belgian Lace, a Vetrofond odd lot. It has turned golden with organic effects when kisses with silver in the flame.



I have made this first set of beads using CiM Creamsicle glass as the base, for a parched desert feel. The Barnacle murrini look almost fossilized against this backdrop. This bead set also contains my EZ Tiger frit blend



These pretty lentils were created for my first ever Etsy commission and use the ribbon twistie for a seaweed effect, Barnacle murrini and Gaffer Chalcedony frit.



I really wanted to show off the versatility of these simple looking organic murrini and here is an example of how they look both melted flat and left raised under a deep encasement.

You can find out more about my glass work and frit blends on my UK shop Kitzbitz Art Glass

Jo x

EZ Tiger, Hocus Crocus and Cottontails frit blends

I am so very proud of these, my first three frit blends. I sent them out for testing at the beginning of January and the feedback I have received has been 100% positive and even more fantastic than I could have hoped for.

I have just listed these for sale on my webshop Kitzbitz Frit Blends

EZ Tiger

Cottontails

Hocus Crocus

I post out Worldwide with a very reasonable flat rate postage, so there is no extra cost for multibuys.

You can find more of my beads and glasswork on Etsy and on my webshop too.

Thanks for looking, Jo x

Artists spotlight - Heather Goheen

Heather Goheen is an exceptionally talented Seed Bead artist and jewellery designer. She has a wonderful eye for colour and creates beautiful and challenging pieces of art incorporating the human form.



Heather creates exquisite and intricate beaded dolls, The Treasure Hunter - is simply stunning! And also my personal favourite. I love her grace and style, elegantly bejeweled in aqua and shine.



Disterbia is another favourite, cute and beguiling, unsettling in her prettiness and chains.



Heather is a keen blogger. You can find more stunning designs by Heather on Etsy at Heathers Haven and follow her Facebook fan page here