The Green Man

As well as being a hare-loving household, we also seem to have accrued quite a few Green Men over the years!  My husband, Tracy is currently carving his interpretation, which I will share pictures of when he's finished.

My 'Ancients' series of mask beads led me to explore the Green Man in glass.  I used handpulled stringer and ribbons to decorate the base bead, and like most designs it has developed the more I've made.  'I wonder if?' is a question I often ask myself and the best answer is to 'Try it and see!'..

My second Green Man bead (I'd show you my first, but he's AWOL, I expect my son has appropriated him!)

Here's number three - I was so happy with the way he turned out!

I was eager to make more on Thursday but have been plagued by headaches, which don't make for a good day at the torch!  Happily, on Friday I got back into my studio and made some more!

I was delighted to see their benevolent faces when I opened my kiln on Saturday morning.  They kindly lined up for a photo!
Two of them will be headed out to foreign shores next week, the others will make their way into my Etsy shop.

Late summer greetings to you, thanks for reading!  As always, I welcome your comments.
Ness xx

The Ancients Series 2014 - Face/mask beads

I hadn't realised how long it's been since I posted!  Time flies when you're making beads and keeping up with a 6 year old boy!

My favourite series of beads this year has definitely been my mask, or face beads.  I started with the goal of producing a serene Buddha head.  I'm not there yet, I have a tendency to go off on a tangent and I have a low boredom threshold.  I don't enjoy making the same thing over and over, hence my concentration on focals - rather than sets.  But I will make a Buddha head one day!

This is the first of my Ancients - I wanted him to look like a stone relic.

with more work they developed the serenity I was after -

I had to bead around one - it was the perfect time to use the sleek Czech spikes I'd been hoarding.  This is a mixture of little Miyuki cubes, Miyuki seed beads in sizes 6, 11 and 15 and some lovely little pearls in the perfect colour (I can't resist this sludgy green!).

 I'll show you my Green Man beads next time!  Please feel free to leave me a comment or contact me.