Beautiful Glass in my Home

These are a couple of the glass pieces I have in my home. These photos do not do them justice. Both pictures were taken on winter-in-Portland less-than-sunshiny days.
The top photo is a lovely housewarming-gift mobile from Leah Pellegrini (her Etsy shop is here). I have it hanging from the archway between the living and dining rooms where is catches light from both sets of windows (and no one is in danger of bumping into it).
The lower picture is a fun stained glass banner made by Megan Klepp of Ta-Dah (her Etsy shop is here). While in a perfect world I'd have the perfect in-a-window spot for it, I don't. It currently resides on a wall in my sunroom (I got it specifically for the sunroom). Because it is fairly opaque glass, the wonderful colors aren't lost without the light coming through.
I'm so happy that I know both these delightful ladies and can see these beautiful works of art everyday!

Sway Earrings - Bevels

Created from the bevel pieces used for making beveled glass windows, these new earrings catch and refract the light. They are foiled and soldered using the stained glass technique. I've hung the 1" squares on the corner for a bit of diagonal dash.



Although they are glass, they aren't too heavy, but have a nice weight. Another addition to my Sway Earring line, these Bevels are available in my Etsy shop.

Leah Curly Glass

Sometimes in the search for ways to broaden our art, we run up against the barrier of not having the skill or tools to see our vision out. This is where collaborating with another artist comes in. They can bring their own ideas and methods to the table, expanding your original ideas.

When I moved to Portland, I started attending the PDX Etsy Street Team weekly teatimes where I first met Leah Pellegrini. Leah makes beautiful fused glass mobiles, and some of them had lampwork on them. I had started selling little glass puddle earrings that were created with the stained glass foil method. Leah and I began talking about her creating smaller fused glass circles with lampwork on them and I would make them into wearable pieces. Our collaboration was born. I sort of jokingly call it Leah Curly Glass.

Of course, for collaborations to succeed, they need to mesh working styles, time schedules, and such, and require a bit of communication to make sure what works for one is working for the other. While we are still working out some of the "this works, this doesn't", we are both pretty excited about how it's going. Leah has posted more about it on her blog, The Garden of Leah, too. I think I'm lucky as my partner in my first artistic collaboration is pretty laid back and is letting me explore my idea while creating these necklaces. A couple of the finished items are for sale in Leah's Etsy shop. I'll write more about the process of creating these wearable works of art in the future.

Calla Earrings

Sweet little lilies with a deep red garnet, I call them Calla Earrings. The lily leaf is raw brass which enhances the garnets and contasts well with the heat oxidized sterling. They are something sort of different for me: little, cute, more delicate than I usually make. Did I say they were little? I guess because I'm a big person, I tend to make bigger jewelry. I make things I like and feel that little things get lost on me and particularly in my hair. Needless to say, I'm not a delicate person. A little exercise in stepping out of my comfort zone a bit? They are now for sale in my Etsy shop.

In other news, I have begun an artistic collaboration with Leah Pellegrini (a fellow PDX Etsy street team member and Etsy seller) making jewelry of some of her glass pieces. I'm pretty excited about it. I'll be posting pictures as soon as there is something to share. She's written more about it in her blog and has posted a picture of the glass puddles we'll be using.