I’ve been pulling pounds of ivory and black stringer for all those glass tiger beads I’ve been working on… and when I have a clump of such gorgeous contrast on the end of my pull rods, I can’t stand to waste it! So I make little hearts. I was struck by how elegant and plain they look and… well, I just could live with that! So I added frit – but ONLY to one side of the bead! So these glass beads have a split personality! One side is understated black and pale ivory, the other will have an explosion of color! Wear whichever side suits your mood!
Duo Split Personality Heart #2 is blue, green, rust and lavender on the reverse and measures 17 mm wide x 30 mm tall including glass bail. $15.00
I have just been mesmerized with Eye Beads lately. I wrote all about my obsession with them on my glass bead blog. You can read the entire article on eye beads here. But here’s the part I adore about Eye Beads:
“Eye beads are meant to offer protection. Think of the third eye in Indian culture. The eye bead for protection is also really popular in Greece, Armenia and in Egypt. I’ve always been fascinated with Egyptian eyes and looked at lots of Egyptian artwork to come up with the background colors for that bead above. I also researched Egyptian symbolism to figure out what to put on the back.
I found out that a squared off version of a swirl… an image prevalent in all human art since the caveman era … stands for home. What a better thing to offer protection over than home!”
So, the obsession continues… I’ve had several requests for blue backgrounds with gold accents – a common color in Egyptian art. But… blue and yellow don’t really play well in glass. There’s always a weird green halo that my own eye really dislikes.
Both beads were made free hand in a loose eye shape. I covered both with a variety of blue glasses, both opaque and transparent. Each was wrapped with goldstone and feathered. Then I built the eye with murrini from my friend and very talented glass artist, Janel Dudley.
About the First Bead: Traditional dark eyelid, the goldstone does not sparkle much on this one. There is an Egyptian symbol for “home” on the back in goldenrod stringer. 28 mm hole to hole x 24 mm wide. $55.00
About the 2nd Bead: I really like the goldstone in this bead…it really sparkles! It was the first one I’ve made with a lighter colored (ivory) eye lid and the first time I attempted to place “eyeliner” UNDER the lid. The back side is plain with only the goldstone feathering showing. 29 mm hole to hold x 23 mm wide. $55.00
SOLD!
Allow me to kvetch for a moment about cameras and the color blue. Most cameras never get it right. This glass bead is a cobalt blue… like the signature in the picture. I made this focal for a piece of jewelry for the Art Bead Scene’s July ’10 contest and never found the time or inspiration to make the jewelry. C’est la vie! 35 mm hole to hole x 30 mm wide. 22.95
Shibori is form of Japanese dying – Kind of like our tye – dye but usually quite elegant. this glass bead reminds me of shibori. It is colorful and elegant. It is a long barrel focal made from a temperamental pink glass. If you know you’re going to make something mad, you might as well try to have a little fun with it, right? So, I deliberately used glasses that I thought would make that base glass react and boy did she! tones from pink, mauve, lavender to coral and olive appeared! There is a black and gold ribbon running around the bead as well. This beauty just shimmers in the light! It won’t disappoint! $32.00
Photos above show three views of the same bead.
Measures 53mm hole to hole x 11 mm wide.
Click photos for larger images!
This was a sample from a custom order for a focal glass bead. Sailboat on the ocean features brown hull and white sail. The sky is a baby blue. The water, a dark lapis color with streaks of dichroic and yellow. The glass bead is anchored by the sandy shoreline complete with mini seashells.
Measures: 1.4″ from hole to hole. .94″ wide. $36.00
OR Make it a pendant for 48.00. For $12.00 more, I will wire wrap it with crystals and sterling silver for a pendant. See Koi Fish pendant for example.
It’s no great secret that I love silvered ivory in my glass beads. Here’s a focal – petit for me but large to some of you! Measures: 37 mm hole to hole x 11 mm wide. 17.00
I love the size and shape of this glass bead but the red didn’t strike as much as I had hoped. Still, it’s really pretty and large! Measures: 27.2 mm hole to hole x approx 19 mm wide. $15.00 $9.00
I love these free form ginkgo leaves. Made entirely off mandrel, this glass bead pendant is ready to wear! Fits our rubber, stainless steel and friction clasp chains. $12.00
This pendant is my entry into the March Art Bead Scene contest, inspired by the Van Gogh painting of the same name.
ABOUT THE BEADS: The art glass beads were handmade by me, Holly Dare of Holly’s Folly ~ Glass. The focal is made of layers of opaque and transparent teal glass for depth. The flowers are white with a bit of pink. I didn’t want the pink to overpower the piece.
The Bellflower dangle is an opaque pink on stainless steel wire.
ABOUT THE PENDANT: The upper part is a wired wonder! The flower petal shaped bail, the roller coaster swirl and the large hammered flower are all ONE piece of sterling wire! I carried out the flower motif with a smaller hammer wire flower dangling from the large one. The bellflower dangle completes the piece.
$49.00
