SaorsaStudios' Blog

Saorsa on Artfire....
1

Basic Terminology- Lampwork Beads

Published: 05-08-2012 03:56pm
Posted In: A Few Explanations...
 It was brought to my attention that not everyone knows what I'm talking about when I use terms like "anneal" or "work-harden".  So... I thought I'd post a few explanations of some of the things I mention in my descriptions.Lampwork or FlameworkToday, what this boils down to is melting long thin rods of glass in a very hot fire, usually provided by some sort of torch set-up.  The term originates from the original set up for making small things like beads out of glass, when it was literally done using an oil lamp for heat.  Thus the term "lampwork".  There are numerous ways to set up for working glass in a small flame, and the most common way ... » Read More

Taking Pics of Specialty Glass

Published: 05-07-2012 01:12pm
Posted In: Photography
Well, I'm definitely in a learning curve on this one.  One that has been particularly tricky is a silver reactive glass by TAG called Fire Opal.  It's gorgeous, and I adore it...but it's nasty to photograph.  lol.  How it looks depends utterly on the light and the background.  I can hold a bead in my hand and it's blue and shimmery, but the picture shows a sort of muddy yellow.  I've found it does best on a darker background in muted sunlight.  Thus, I put the one I have for sale on here in a flower pot to show it's full potential.  The same is true for the dragonfly wings, although their background is fixed, the angle at which the light h... » Read More

A Little about my photography (as it is currently)

Published: 05-07-2012 01:01pm
Posted In: Photography
Camera:  Sony DSC-H20Software:  Photoshop CS2Computer:  HP Pavilion Laptop Windows 7First of all, I have to say that taking these pictures is a constant learning experience.  I've taken them outdoors and indoors, with the set up in the pictures and without.  I've moved it, tried different lights, different camera settings, different backgrounds... it's exhausting to think about...lol.  The one thing I've found to be a constant is a good macro setting is required for taking pictures of little stuff like my beads.  Another is that the camera sees things that I don't.  On a fairly regular basis.  Things like cat fur, dust, fingerprints, refl... » Read More

Saorsa Studio of Beads-

Published: 05-07-2012 11:29am
Posted In: My Studio
I always like to see where people work.  Here's where I do it :)The Glass Shop:The Bead Shop (finishing, jewelry, electro-forming, etc.)... » Read More

Recyling Bottles to Beads...

Published: 05-07-2012 11:14am
Posted In: Recycled Bottle Beads
I love doing this, and I thought I'd post a few pictures to give you an idea of what's involved.  1.  Choose a bottle.  This is hard for me sometimes, because the bottles are often just lovely on their own.  Here's the Mexican tequila bottle (donated) I chose:2.  Next, I have to break it into usable pieces.  This bottle was very thick, so smaller pieces were ok.3.  Now begins the heating process.  I pre-heat in my kiln, punty up,  then slowly (VERY slowly) introduce the shard into the flame for heating.  4.  It takes awhile.  Up to 20 minutes to get it to a ball & molten thru enough to pull it.  5.  I pull the rod, and let it cool- u... » Read More

Back On-line!

Published: 05-04-2012 01:51pm
Ok...so it's been a month since Sherwood Forest Faire ended.  Let's see...TRF, Christmas, then Sherwood.  Add to that some major changes in my personal situation and the resulting chaos... phew!  So, I'm finally getting to work again;  not back on the torch yet, but my workshop is clean, I'm organized and as soon as I get some pictures taken of what I have, I'll start making more.  :)  I have several projects sort of on the back burner... electro-forming, sandblasting, and some cute little critter beads I've been aching to make.  All in all, if I can get time, I'll be producing!  Still have to survive a summer with no shows, so I'm back to... » Read More
1