NKP DESIGNS - Beads, Pottery, and Whistles

Blue Jean Beads

2012-01-20T10:41:00.000-05:00

I used a blue glaze on these and they remind me of the same color as my favorite blue jeans.

Sprigs have been added to each round bead and textured in this geometrical pattern.

I am feeling incredibly indecisive today. I can't decide whether to sell these individually, by pairs, or lump the entire batch into a single listing with the Caption: WHILE SUPPLIES LAST and sell them one by one or in groups as specified by the interested customer.

Any suggestions? Oh, these are about 14-15 mm.

Newbies from the Kiln

2012-01-19T11:48:00.000-05:00

The next few days I will be showcasing some beads I have taken out of the kiln the last few weeks. I've been negligent about getting them online and in my store, but I'm trying to rectify that somewhat.

I have been sorting through some of my bisque beads the last few weeks as I have been glazing and I found this adorable piggy head in the bottom of a bowl that was stashed high up on my bisque bead shelves (yes, shelves).

So I glazed him in a clear gloss glaze and included him in one of the recent firings.

He's a cute little piggy. Apparently the brown stoneware clay I used had some white clay in it, making for an unique ear.

I wish I could sculpt at will but that just doesn't happen for me. I will have a bit of clay in my hands and decide to sculpt something and pphhhbbbb nothing happens.

Other times, I am able to make something like this piggy head. Voila!

The hole is going through the top of his head to the bottom of his head.

More Beads?

2012-01-17T13:16:00.000-05:00

I love making beads. It is relaxing to sit with clay in a bag on my lap and create. I wish I loved the act of brushing on the glaze as much as I like the clay in my hands. I love opening up the kiln full of glazed beads, though. I will try to concentrate on that as I begin the process of glazing these newbies.

Dragonfly Ceramic Bead

2012-01-13T12:01:00.000-05:00

I am back from taking pictures of my pottery to taking pictures of the beads that have come forth from my kiln the last couple of months.

This picture to the left is a handformed nugget with endcaps that I impressed a stamp of a dragonfly upon. The dragonfly impression comes from a very tiny base metal post stud earring that I bought at the dollar store.

I have about 15 different nugget beads with this glaze, all with different patterns and impressions and sprig techniques.

I do have this listed in my store, click here to read its dimensions and to see more pictures from various angles: http://www.etsy.com/listing/90380057/dragonfly-nugget

What About Those Beads?

2012-01-07T11:15:00.003-05:00

... in case you are wondering ... I have been renewing 4-5 expired bead listings daily (deja vu) whilst I take pictures of pottery for my pottery etsy store.

The hardware lights are covered with a piece of paper and sport sunlight natural bulbs to keep the color true. They are pointed upward and the light bounces up and off of the piece of white foamboard which is carefully balanced on stacks of books.

If I pointed the light directly at the pottery, it would reflect two eyeballs staring back at me. A bit creepy? I think so!

The background was bought from B&H . It is actually taped to the curtain to keep it from slumping. Yes taped. I am resourcefully determined. The piece of white foam board which is sitting on top of the books was bought at the dollar store. I turn off all the lights in the room and shoot with my macro lens on the camera, no flash. Other than to sharpen the image with picasa, no other photo editing manipulation is needed.

I think I will only need another week to finish this process up. I fired two loads of beads in my big kiln in December. The result is that I have an entire ziplock bag (large) of new beads that need photographing as well (they're so shiny and pretty!). The sooner I get finished with this the sooner I can get busy with that.

Oh, in case you are wondering, that bright pink thing beside the light is my umbrella. It is placed there to keep the light from rolling. Whatever works, right? LOL!

Amber Ceramic Beads with Endcaps

2012-01-01T09:00:00.001-05:00

I like making this style of bead. It's simple but distinct in its shape. I have been concentrating on textures and patterns and thought it was time to return to a nice smooth glaze on a smooth bead.

2011-12-20T15:10:00.000-05:00

I've been glazing in the spare time I've had. These beads to your left have been dipped in a watery black underglaze, left to dry, then wiped off with a sponge.

I love this effect, though it is very time consuming.

Here are some rounds in which I combined two glazes of green. One is a sage green and the other is an apple green. I don't know how they will turn out. You are in as much suspense as I am.

I love how the beads look on the skewers, kinda like a bouquet of flowers.

Here are some beads that I added a sprig of clay on top of a texture, then textured the sprig.

The blue-green glaze had some blue crystals in it and they melted nicely in the firing.

It's been a fun year experimenting with beads: glazes, textures, iron oxide decals, etc ....

I didn't expect to be diagnosed with cancer earlier this year but it is nice to be past cancer treatments and getting my strength back. In case you are wondering, the cancer is in remission and my doctor's don't expect it to reoccur. I'm having regular tests and biopsies the next few years to make certain of all this, though.

Thank you to everyone who wished me well and prayed for me. That touched my heart greatly. It's been a wonderful year and this next year my daughter and her husband are making me a grandma. I'm so looking forward to meeting little Ruby Makayla who will be born near the end of April, perhaps May.

But most of all I'm thankful to God who got me through some very tough months, and my mother who sacrificed her time and energy and took care of me. My husband was incredible too, as he always is and has been. Thank you to my friends who stuck with me and by me ... May God bless you everyone! See you next year!

Popsicle Stick Bead Textures

2011-12-16T16:34:00.001-05:00

I went searching around my studio for simple geometrical textures and stumbled across this Popsicle stick (or is it a coffee stirrer?) which caught my interest.

There are not many of these beads in my stash because I was experimenting. I do like how the glaze turned out. This particular celadon glaze below is one that was discontinued by the manufacturer last year. I had about 1/4 of a jar left and these are some that I did glaze.

I used this glaze on a few other beads made from different clay bodies and on each one, the glaze performs differently.

I like this texture and will probably end up using it again. I hope to find another glaze that does as nicely as this one does.

I have some of these beads in my shop for sale. Click Here and Here to check them out.

Bossy Bead Necklace by Jean A. Wells

2011-12-07T12:42:00.000-05:00

I created this bead in a whimsical fashion, adding texture and sprigs of clay to the stringing holes to form this very fun 'bossy' buttery yellow nugget bead.

Jean took this bead and fashioned it into a most gorgeous necklace. She hung it from a hand formed bail made from square copper wire and added faceted yellow and purple Czech beads for emphasis.

The whole effect works wonderfully. The necklace is 20" long but if you prefer it shorter, she'll be happy to change the length just for you.

Definitely take a moment to check out Jean's blog, her store, and also a more detailed description of this necklace.

Bracelet by Kathy Mortensen

2011-11-25T12:10:00.000-05:00

I always love seeing what jewelry designers end up doing with my beads. Kathy Mortensen purchased these beads back in October and created this beautiful bracelet. The silver is a lovely way to complement the green delicate scroll ceramic beads. Thanks for sharing, Kathy!

Sunflower Seed Beads

2011-11-17T11:29:00.003-05:00

These beads have had a black underglaze put on them and I wiped most of it off so the dark color would sink into the recesses. I made five sizes, small, medium, and large. These range from about 13 mm to 24 mm from hole to hole.

I am planning on firing these nine different colors.

I have been calling this style "Harvest" but when I look at the unfinished beads I can't help but think they look like a bunch of sunflower seeds.

These are the nine colors I will end up with when these are all fired. (see last photo).

What will I be doing with the rest of my day?

That's easy .... glazing glazing glazing. And tomorrow I'll be firing firing firing. It's going to take a couple of firings, though because I will have to use my smaller kiln.

In other news, my large kiln is still out of commission. I'm waiting on a part to come in the mail. I had thought it was the coils, but as I was removing them from the kiln, I saw the 'infinite switch' had a burnout.

Then I had a flash of memory. I did this same thing last year with another infinite switch issue. I had perfectly good coils then, too. My kiln has two infinite switches. One for the bottom and one for the top. Last year it was the bottom one that burnt out. This year the top burnt out. But I didn't look to make sure before pulling the coils out and by the time I realized it wasn't a coil problem it was too late.

I suppose I could have stuck those coils back in their slots but I probably would have ended up ruining the firebrick.

I am also in need of some slip on connectors in order to connect the switch to the wires, but the place I ordered the switch from was out .... and I think I may have some extra in my stash somewhere around here, but I'm not certain. I wonder if hardware stores carry those slip on connectors? If not and if I don't have any, then I'll check the ceramic stores around here and if they don't have any, I suppose I will have to wait the three weeks the online store said it would be before they would be back in stock.

New Beads

2011-11-15T12:00:00.000-05:00

These came out of the kiln yesterday and I plan to list them later this week on Etsy.

These are nugget beads, each one unique with various textures combined with sprigs.

I am particularly drawn to the lavender bead at the bottom left. I did not think that texture would come out that lovely.

I also quite like the yellow texture, too. I'd like to try that texture in different colors (maybe a lavender?).

Thanks for stopping by!

Fun Experiment with Sand and Beads

2011-11-14T23:48:00.000-05:00

A good friend of mine brought back some sand from two of her trips. She used some of the sand in a bowl which she fired to cone 10 and it came out really neat. She gave me some of it and also some other sparkly sand and told me to have fun. So I did. I mixed each type of sand in some clear cone 06 glaze and coated each bead.

I didn't want to get confused as to which bead I put what at, so last night I took this photo on the left. The bigger bead was coated with the sparkly sand and the smaller bead was coated with the other sand.

I probably should have used the same clay with each bead, but I didn't. The bigger bead was made from b-mix cone 6 clay and the smaller bead was made with frost cone 6 clay.

I fired these at cone 1 though. Why? Because I had other beads firing at that temperature and stuck these in at the last minute.

These came out rather rough, but I like the texture of the sand. I think I would like to add another coat of clear gloss to these and refire.

Fun Necklace by Jean A. Wells

2011-11-10T07:00:00.007-05:00

It is always exciting for me to see how jewelry artists fashions necklaces, bracelets, earrings, etc ... out of beads that I and others have created.

This necklace has several bead artists. The handmade ceramic cardinal bird by is by Cindy Dolezal. The handmade stoneware fall seed pod is by me. The handmade porcelain stoney bead and leaf pendant is by Ingrid Mueller and the handmade polymer clay bead by Alison Crenshaw. Then there are some beads by Earth Tones, a Vintaj brass twig, some Antiqued brass chain, some Deerskin leather lace, as well as a handmade brass clasp. This measures 18-1/2" with a 2-3/4" leaf pendant. It's just stunning!

Here is another photo of this necklace. I love the background which this necklace lays upon. Notice also the bright red cardinal, it is such a beautiful bright focal piece, and the twig it sits upon has a leaf dangling from it. It's a lovely combination!

Here is the bead of mine that Jean used. It is made with Trinity stoneware clay, bisque fired, coated with iron oxide, wiped off, fired to cone 10 in a natural gas kiln. I only made a few of these as I don't have regular access to this particular gas kiln.

Click here to visit this necklace. Click here to visit Jean's store.

Kiln Elements

2011-11-09T11:52:00.000-05:00

I am busily making beads. So far I have 100 small harvest beads and 100 small smooth, and now I'm working on the next size up. So far I have 60 in total with 30 harvest style and 30 smooth style. I'm trying to get enough to do 10 in 10 different glazes in each size. I haven't decided if I'm going to do a bigger size. I might, but probably not as many. Decisions decisions.

The photo on the left is what they look like right now. Some are dryer than others, hence the color variation.

About a week ago my big kiln had a bad firing because the top set of kiln element coils burnt out. I had to unload everything. I refired the beads in the smaller kiln but the pottery still sits on my table waiting to be refired.

Yesterday the box was delivered with four coils (my big kiln takes four elements). I plan to put the new ones in on Saturday when it is going to be about 70 degrees outside.

I have had this kiln about 10 years and this is the third time I've changed the elements. I must be hard on elements. Maybe I ought to stop peeking inside my kiln before it has cooled down enough. Yep, that's probably it. Or maybe it is because it sits outside. I dunno. I just replace 'em when they burn out.

Latest Firing

2011-11-03T09:50:00.000-04:00

These are what came out of the small kiln this morning. These beads are all fired to cone 1 and have a black underglaze in the recesses. Yesterday morning I had to rescue them from the big kiln.

The night before I discovered the element coils in the big kiln had burnt out and were not glowing at all. It still had about two more hours to fire. The bottom set of element coils were glowing brightly, but not the top. I know from previous experience that the kiln was not going to go to temperature. So I shut it off.

In the morning I loaded these beads into the small bead kiln and this is how they turned out.

A Simple Green Nugget Necklace

2011-10-31T11:10:00.000-04:00

I was digging around in my necklaces looking for something to wear yesterday and came across this necklace which I created a couple of years ago. It was in the beginnings of what I call my 'rock' phase, whereas I was intrigued into making beads look as though they came out of the earth and had been polished. In other words, the nugget bead. I used simple shiny seed beads and simple silver tone spacers along with some dark green melon ceramic beads which I had also made about the same time period. The toggle and clasp are also quite simple. I like simple. This makes me want to make some more nugget beads and see where the glazing takes me. Maybe I will do that sometime this week. Thanks for visiting my blog!

Pastel Ceramic Beads in Porcelain

2011-10-21T11:31:00.000-04:00

I have a batch of these cone 6 beads going in the small kiln today. I had enough glazed for two batches. The photo is from the first batch that I fired earlier this week. The temperature outside is about the same so I am hoping the results will be the same.

The creamy vanilla beads look a bit buttery yellow in this picture but that is because they are next to the pinks and blues I think. By themselves they are not that color at all.

On all these beads, except the creamy vanilla ones, I put a purple underglaze on (Pueblo Purple by Duncan). The underglaze turned this lovely blue color.

On the creamy vanilla rounds I put on Fern Green underglaze by Mayco. The color apparently burnt completely out. I wonder if the beads would still be that same vanilla creamy look without the underglaze, or if it would be a completely different whitish color? I'll have to try that next time I am firing to this temperature. It would be a good experiment.

I was in the ceramic store last week looking at the underglazes and all the new bottles from Mayco have notes on each bottle saying what the colors do at cone 6. My old bottles do not. I suppose I will be writing on each bottle of my own what each underglaze does at what temperature from now on.

Painting with Nature - Literally!

2011-10-20T10:45:00.000-04:00

This is a demo article on how to make a paintbrush from a yucca plant. You can use any yucca plant. I happen to have access to a Red Yucca plant. It doesn't matter how big or small the frond you cut off is. You can cut it to any shape.

I prefer a sharp diagonal shape. The more a yucca brush is used, the softer the shape becomes. This makes for a unique brush, but eventually you will have to cut and reform the edge. Every brush is different which makes for unique brush strokes, which makes for very unique beads, well you get the picture.

This Red Yucca frond is lovely to use because it is firm and easy to hold. I typically cut the pencil length but you can make them longer or shorter. The most important thing is to easily hold it in your hand. So make it a comfortable length.

Next stick the frond in a glass of water to soften. I let mine sit about 24 hours.

How long does a yucca brush last? I don't know. I use them for a day or so and then I stick them on a shelf meaning to reuse them. But six months or more may go by before I feel the urge to use one and by that time it is very dry and shriveled up, completely unusable.

Just go cut another one. Yuccas can be 'harvested' any time of the year.

The yucca plant is made up of soft plant fibers. After 24 hours simply use your fingernails to pull at the end, scraping off the green pulp.

If you don't have fingernails (like many potters and bead artists), do the best you can. If your nails are extremely short, you can try using the edge of a spoon or fork or knife. Experiment.

This is the stroke that the paintbrush above left on my bead. A nice straight line. I just dabbed on the underglaze.

The yucca paintbrush holds lots of paint. You would load it the same way you would a watercolor or oil brush. You will be surprised at how long one stroke can last.

You would pay a lot of money for such a nice paintbrush but the best thing about yucca paintbrushes is that they are free.

Free is good.

Here is the same bead with a clear coat of glaze. I fired this one to cone 1.

To finish this bead, I added some of my original hand drawn iron oxide decals and refired to cone 05.

Thanks for following along and if you make your own yucca brush, post the results so we can see your own unique bead creations. :)

Originally this article was posted on the Beads of Clay blog where I contribute articles once a month. I am reposting it here for my blog readers who may not be subscribed to the Beads of Clay blog.

Beautiful Bracelet by Jean A. Wells

2011-10-14T11:03:00.001-04:00

This bracelet was created by Jean A. Wells and has some wonderful elements by many talented ceramic bead artists. Read the descriptions by clicking here .

The focal piece, the owl, in this bracelet is made by Marti Conrad.

My beads are the brown beads with turquoise blue rivets.

This is a lovely piece. Check out the rest of Jean's shop here. Have an awesome day!

Beautiful Necklace by Jean A. Wells

2011-10-01T07:00:00.001-04:00

This beautiful necklace was created by Jean A. Wells and feature three of my teal blue porcelain barrel beads. The Oval Silver Bead with Textured Leaves Design is not silver metal, but metalized plastic which makes it lightweight to wear. Check out the rest of her Etsy Store.

Beautiful Bracelet by JewelsbyKat

2011-09-30T07:00:00.002-04:00

This beautiful bracelet is from an etsy jewelry artist by the store name of JewelsbyKat. It features four of my cobalt blue delicate scroll beads and a couple of lovely beads by Pottery Girl.

September Art Spark Winner

2011-09-29T07:00:00.010-04:00

The September Art Spark Challenge took place on the Love My Art Jewelry website. The winner was announced September 27th here and so these beads, my Iced Pink Ceramic Bead Set are well on their way to their new owner! Congrats to Sandra for her winning entry! If you like these beads, you may like these that are already in my etsy store.

Beautiful Necklace by Jean A. Wells

2011-09-28T07:00:00.002-04:00

http://www.etsy.com/listing/82550364/owl-artbead-necklace-with-copper-and

I wanted to show off this listing by Jean A. Wells which sports one of my beads. It is the long tube bead in the top right hand corner. That was a fun bead to make and I only made that one. There are no more. So this one of a kind necklace is sure to please whoever purchases it. Also on this necklace is a ceramic focal piece of an owl by Ceramic Bead Artist Marti Conrad -- beautiful!

Beautiful Necklace

2011-09-27T14:28:00.000-04:00

I wanted to share this beautiful necklace made by one of my customers. She combined a couple of my beads with other beads to make this art jewelry. The porcelain focal bead with violets is one of my beads, and there is another one of mine that I have spotted ... that bead is in the top right side, the sort of white and with bluish violet at one end. I think I see another one of mine but I can't be sure its mine so I won't identify it as mine. This is a lovely necklace!

Another Set of Pink Ceramic Beads with Purple Underglaze

2011-09-18T07:00:00.000-04:00

Here is another set. I only made these three. That's it. Just these. I just noticed these kinda look like a zebra stripe. I'm trying to remember what I used to texture these. Was it the same rod I pierced them with or did I roll them over a texture? And if I did roll them over a texture, which texture did I use?

I don't remember. I made these and bisque fired them. Then they sat waiting for me to glaze them. I have bowls and bowls of beads like this sitting around my studio.

Because there may only be one or two or three beads per style, I'm going to glaze some in the same series of glazes and put them in the same firings. I've never utilized the search function provided by Etsy, so I have written into the item description to search " pink and purple " to find beads with the same kind of glazes. I think this is so useful, that I plan to go through some of my listings on items that are already in my store and streamline that a bit more.

Here is a bead that I used my piercing rod to add lines onto before adding spiral sprigs onto. I also used this same spiral sprig for the end caps. It is a very pretty bead and there is only just one in this batch, just this one.

It reminds me of a pink decorated pumpkin, rather an odd color for fall, but I like it anyway.

Pink 'N' Purple Textured Nuggets

2011-09-17T07:00:00.002-04:00

I textured these just to see how they would come out. I think nuggets are a fun sort of bead to play with in jewelry designs. They're funky, they're random, they're playful. The can be used individually for emphasis or strung together for that cool Flintstone's sort of look.

They are also very organic looking. I like making nuggets. I measure the clay out in my homemade bead measures, which are little more than a block of bisque clay with a small hole I pressed into it. Then I roll the clay into a ball, take it in my thumb and index fingertips of both hands, and squeeze and slightly twist the clay.

When I texture the clay I wait until after it is completely textured before making the stringing hole.

I also have the same texture in these egg shape beads.

Pink 'N' Purple Nuggets

2011-09-16T07:00:00.012-04:00

It didn't take long before I thought of a better way to apply the Pueblo Purple underglaze. I added water until it was the consistency of Kool Aid. Then I placed each nugget onto a bamboo skewer and dipped them into the small cup. After they dried, I lightly wiped them off with a sponge. This method was less wasteful because less underglaze had to be wiped off.

It doesn't matter if the underglaze gets into the stringing holes. It doesn't melt so the beads will not stick to the rods.

Last I coated them with the Pretty N Pink mayco gloss glaze. These ended up a rustic sort of delicate pretty.

Pink 'N' Purple

2011-09-15T07:00:00.003-04:00

These are handformed rounds that I pressed a stamp of daisies and flowers onto. The purple underglaze was applied and rubbed off with a sponge. That left the dark purple glaze in the recesses. This is a Pueblo Purple underglaze from Duncan. Next I coated the bead with Pretty 'N Pink gloss glaze from Mayco. Like many of Mayco glazes, the Pretty 'N Pink glaze has been discontinued.

Mayco has another pink glaze which I'm sure will be just as pretty and I will eventually have to try it.

Glazing Glazing Glazing

2011-09-14T09:53:00.000-04:00

Monday I set up for a day of glazing and this is what the table in my newly organized studio looked like before I started. I took some beads that I only had a few of, less than a dozen, and glazed them with the same combination of glazes, a purple underglaze and a pink overglaze. After I was finished I set the beads aside to dry overnight. Tuesday morning I put them in the kiln and waited. First I waited until they were fired, then I had to wait overnight to let the kiln cool down enough to take them out of the kiln. Today, Wednesday morning, even before I had a cup of coffee, I took them out of the kiln to ooooohhh and aaaaahhh over. The rest of this week I'll take photos and highlight each style of bead. Tune in tomorrow and the next few days to see the results. Thanks for stopping by!

Studio Stuff

2011-09-13T07:00:00.004-04:00

I have been attempting to straighten and clean my studio since before April. I would have taken a before picture but frankly, it is way too embarrassing. The last several months I stuck anything and everything into that small converted bedroom I lovingly call 'my studio'.

Since August I have been going in there every day and putting one or two things away and then closing the door. Finally this weekend I had the strength and stamina to stick with it. I put all the glazes in one place and gathered up all my bisque beads and dedicated shelf space just to them with the promise of glazing soon! DO YOU SEE ALL THOSE BOWLS OF BISQUE BEADS? Oh my! One way I relax is with a clay ball in my hands, picking off bits of clay to turn into beads. That is why I have so many one of a kind beads. Plus, I get bored awfully easy and maybe make six or so before trying something new or getting some new idea.

The other problem in my studio, besides trying to walk through it, was the vast amounts of clay I had stored in old plastic coffee cans. I think I had more than 20 of them and right now they are all washed and cleaned and in the recycling bin outside for the trash men to take away this week. I am going to try to stick to three coffee cans from now on. The more I allow myself, the more I will allow myself to store before using it all up and then I will be back in this same place in no time.

In order to put the clay into bags and not breathe all that clay dust, I went outside. It was pleasant because the temperature was in the low 90's this weekend. I used a hammer to pound on those plastic cans to get the clay to dump out into a big bowl. Then I scooped up the remains and put them in large Ziplock bags. Later I can put water in them and hydrate them as needed. However, do you see all the bags of clay behind these Ziplock bags? Do you see all the bins of clay I still have to go through. I don't know how I acquired all this clay but somehow I have to make enough pottery to use it all up. I'm thinking "EMPTY BOWLS"!

Nuggets and Rounds with Turquoise Rivets

2011-09-12T12:04:00.000-04:00

SO I was making some rounds with these wonderful turquoise rivets and had to make some small nuggets with rivets too. These are both in greenware form and will have their first firing tomorrow. I made about 20 of each! The rounds are small, right now about 11 mm, but after their bisque and glaze firing should end up between 9-10 mm, the same with the nuggets.

Handmade in Texas

2011-09-09T20:57:00.000-04:00

http://www.handmadeintx.com/2011/09/lone-star-showcase-3.html

My Good Buys

2011-09-09T12:44:00.001-04:00

I bought yet another book on silver metal clay last week. I love those books. I pore over the pages just awestruck by the imagination of these clay metal artists. They are so talented and come up with the most wonderful designs ideas.

I have realized that most anything that can be done with silver metal clay (PMC) can be done with ceramic clay. And I adore metal beads. They inspire me in the same way nature inspires me. In one of these books I saw a square tube bead, okay, it was more of a rectangle than a square. It was so precise, so lovely that it thrilled my soul. And I thought to myself, 'self, you have to try to do something that precise with regular clay'. As much as I love the precise, I am rarely precise, which I probably why I am so drawn to precisely done objects. However, knowing this about myself did not stop me from getting onto the internet and buying the tool to the left along with the ClayCore Extruder Adaptor, so that if I ever wanted to work with silver clay, I could. Because it is always in the back of my mind that someday, SOMEday I will work with metal. And a torch. And a hammer. And a saw. Ahem, anyway ....

It came yesterday and after fiddling with it for five minutes I realized I had a problem. The extruder discs were all too small to work properly with the extruder adaptors. SO today I bought these extruder adapters on the right and they will be here in a few days. Then the experimenting will being in earnest.

LOL! I have this problem. I really love tools. I suppose that is not the problem. The problem is that after I purchase the tools, I rarely end up using them more than once or twice. I end up back using my fingers and one aluminum knitting needle for all my decorating needs. However, I hope I will use these and maybe, just maybe, actually do some PMC (precious metal clay) work like I've been tempted to do for so very long.

Small Rounds

2011-09-08T07:00:00.010-04:00

And the last from this batch of bisque beads, are these plain rounds, which are approx. 12-13 mm. I am going to glaze them with the same coral glaze that I've been glazing the coral sprig beads I have been designing. I think I made about 40 of these small ones.

More Seed Pods

2011-09-07T07:00:00.000-04:00

This style was a lot of fun to make last time so I made three more, these are about 22 mm. The one on the bottom has no textured areas, so it is different from the two on top.

These are time consuming to make but they make for a quiet relaxing afternoon. I am also trying to decide how to glaze these as well: Blues or greens? Suggestions?

Another New Bead Style

2011-09-06T07:00:00.011-04:00

This is an bead shape that I made from a mold off a vintage metal bead off a necklace that a friend's mom gave to me. It is a little nut of some sort and I added end caps to each bead. I'm thinking I will glaze these a neutral color of some sort, a greenish moss or a mossy brown.

New Bowls

2011-09-05T13:43:00.000-04:00

I designed the glaze on this bowl badly. I should have tested it on some beads first. Actually, I think this would be a great glaze combination on some beads, but on the bowl it simply does not work. The bowl is still functional, even with the crawling of the glaze, but most people do not want a crawling glaze inside their bowls.

So what is the glaze combination? Well, the Mayco cone 6 Oatmeal glaze was dried out when I opened it. I added water but perhaps I added too much? When it had dried over a cone 6 turquoise Mayco glaze, it immediately began to flake away. I knew I would have problems even before I put this bowl (and two others like it) in my kiln. I should have washed off the glaze and used something else, but I thought, "Hey, maybe it will look cool.

These aren't big enough to give to Empty Bowls. Nor are they good for selling or giving away as presents. But if I keep them around and use them I'll remember not to apply that particular bottle of oatmeal glaze on anything else besides beads.

The other problem is the oatmeal glaze covered up the turquoise glaze in the letters, so the words are hard to read.

Below are photos of the other bowls with this same problem.

Kind of a New Bead Style

2011-09-05T07:00:00.006-04:00

I've made these before, but not with the endcaps. This texture is from a strange little button I found that I made a mold from.

I haven't decided whether or not to glaze the endcaps the same color, a different color, or not at all.

New Bead Style

2011-09-03T10:58:00.000-04:00

I've made some similar to this before, but these are more barrel/oval shaped than round. The base is a stoneware clay from Texas Pottery and the textured sprigs are a cone 5 stoneware/porcelain called "B- Mix" from Laguna Clay.

I only made six of these beads. I haven't decided how I'm going to glaze them yet.

This Old Man Bracelet by Jean A. Wells

2011-08-30T12:06:00.000-04:00

The focal of this bracelet is a little old man that I formed from stoneware clay. Jean used it in this bracelet in a wonderful way.

There are also two polymer woodgrain looking beads, a round and a rondelle, by etsian EarthTonesOnline, a blue turquoise magnesite round, two white magnesite rondelles, a pumpkin white magnesite bead, two peach magnesite rounds, two green magnesite barrels, a nut bead rondelle, a black and white marbled polymer bead with a touch of turquoise that Jean made, a faceted bronze Czech glass rondelle beads, a Copper seed bead, a Brass snake charm, Goldstone, agate, and jasper dangles. The clasp is Copper and Jean's handmade copper jump rings are oxidized and polished. This bracelet is professionally finished with copper wire guardians and crimp covers. It measures: 7-3/8" to 8-1/2". Of course, if you need a different length, Jean will change that for you. Here's a link so you can look at more pictures. http://www.etsy.com/listing/76760252/this-old-man-stoneware-polymer

Cyber Sale

2011-08-29T07:00:00.001-04:00

Today, August 29th, some members of the Beads of Clay etsy team are holding a cyber sale. I am offering 20% off in coupon form. Enter the coupon code BOC20 (take this link to visit my etsy store ) upon checkout to receive your discount. Remember, with every order I always send a few extra thank you beads.

There are many other ceramic bead artists holding their own sales with varying discounts. TAKE THIS LINK to visit the beads of clay blog to see a list of all the participating artists.

Thanks for looking!

A Necklace by Jean A Wells with some of my ceramic art beads.

2011-08-27T14:43:00.002-04:00

I did a little tag searching on Etsy to see if I could find any jewelry with my beads in it and I did. I found this beautiful necklace in Jean A. Wells shop.

It has a wide variety of artisan ceramic beads including McCarroll, Ingrid, and Potterygirl1. It also sports copper beads and wood beads. It is strung on a Greek leather cord with handmade brass clasp and Measures: Approx. 18-1/2".

I think it is a simply stunning necklace. McCarroll did the gorgeous pendant, by the way.

New Pots

2011-08-24T15:47:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I sat down to throw on the wheel. I haven't been able to do that since April. Luckily all my clay had not yet dried out! I like making this curvy shape and adding small feet.

A good friend suggested I press words into the rims of some of my pieces, so this I did. Also, I wanted to get some patterns into these pieces. So I took a large cap that went on a bottled water and made a circle. Then I pressed a stamp shape into each circle. From the inside, I pressed outward to make a small bubble shape.

Last I took the end of a bamboo skewer and outlined each circle for emphasis.

I found an oval shape to use on this form. I didn't add feet to this one, but I did trim the foot.

There are two things I dislike about pottering. I dislike having to make certain rims are just so (the right thickness and smoothness) and I dislike trimming. This is why I oftentimes put feet on my pieces.

My last semester in ceramics my instructor told me I was too advanced to be ignoring the undersides of my pots. Since then I have been attentive to those areas of my pots.

I like this bowl so far the best. I think it would hold salsa or dip or a steaming hot chowder. That reminds me ... I just got back from the Oregon coast and if anybody goes, be sure to eat at Mo's, the original one in Newport is the only one that serves fresh homemade bread with its clam chowder... and it is the best I've ever eaten, next to my mother's of course.

I have two more bowls to add feet to and decorate. These are bowls I will be donating to Empty Bowls this year. If you want me to make you one, just leave a message.

Daisies and More Daisies

2011-08-22T14:48:00.001-04:00

If you've ever spent much time looking around my Etsy stores, flickr photos, etc ... you may have noticed that I love daisies. I've drawn daisies since I was a small child. My mother sent me home with a daisy drawing I did in third grade and I have put it somewhere special (meaning I can't find it to scan it into the computer, unfortunately!)

All my life I suppose I have been a bit obsessed with daisies. This picture is one I drew of me and my daughter. If you look closely, I am pointing a petal at her!

To add to all the drama is a busy background!

When I began working in ceramics, I still drew daisies. I made some into stamps. This drawing on the left never became a stamp because by that time technology progressed to where I could print out my drawings on a laser printer with a special decal paper (quite expensive paper, by the way).

I am able to incorporate these images not only onto beads, but pottery as well. Below is a porcelain mug I have decorated with not only brush strokes of plants, but colorful commercial decals as well.

This mug took four firings. The first was the simple bisque firing, which shrinks the clay so that the clay accepts the glazes easily. (approx. 1850 degrees, cone 06)

The second firing is where I paint on the brush strokes and apply a clear glaze. (approx. 2350 degrees, cone 10)

The third firing is where I attach the laser decals which I have drawn.(approx. 2165 degrees, cone 4)

And the fourth and final firing is where I attach the colorful commercial decals. (approx. 1422 degrees, cone 016)

It's a lengthy process but I love seeing it all come together.

And the best part is that I am still drawing daises! :)

Beads of Clay is giving away $95 worth of beads

2011-08-10T11:36:00.000-04:00

Beads of Clay August month's giveaway is valued at over $95.00!

Take this link to visit the blog and enter.

A winner will be drawn on Aug. 17th.

~~~We use Random.org to pick a winner~~~

Maybe YOU will win!!!

Coral Swirl Sprig Bead

2011-08-02T12:58:00.000-04:00

I am still having fun with this style of bead. I press a swirl stamp into a round bead and add small sprig bead caps to each end hole. I rub in an underglaze after its been bisque fired and cover with this Victorian Red glaze by Mayco. The body of the bead is porcelain and the sprig bead caps are an iron stoneware clay.

This bead is 21 mm from hole to hole and 20 mm at its widest.

I have it in my Draft items to be listed later this week. I am loving that new Etsy feature. I can get items ready to put online and Etsy has a folder it stays in until it is time to put it online. The old way was to save a link to the listing into a text file. I always lost the text file. :(

Ocean Wave Ceramic Bead

2011-07-27T10:42:00.000-04:00

Before I was diagnosed with cancer, I was taking a extension class over at the local junior college in ceramics and while I went to class, I didn't have the energy to do wheel work or handbuilding or other things I normally would do.

So instead I just sat there and made beads. This is one of the beads I made that semester. It's shaped like a lentil, has small bead caps, and one side is decorated with this ocean wave motif. I used a needle tool to make this texture.

I just added it to my etsy store yesterday. Here's the link if you are interested.

Green and Blue Sprig Ceramic Beads

2011-07-25T07:00:00.013-04:00

These also came out of the kiln earlier this week. These would work well in a statement necklace or bracelet.

I haven't used this glaze combination before. Do you like it?

Pink Two Hole Bead Whistle

2011-07-24T07:00:00.015-04:00

I added two holes in this whistle and it works great. The pink with the black underglaze gives this whistle an edgy flavor.

These bead whistles are so much fun to make. This is the first time I've been able to add more than one sound hole successfully.

The pitch is high, as would any small body whistle, and the holes just send that sound up even higher.

Love it!

Terra Cotta Red with White Accents Ceramic Beads

2011-07-23T09:19:00.000-04:00

I rubbed white underglaze into these terracotta sprig beads and coated with a clear overglaze.

Fun times! Each bead is different, no two are exactly alike.

The kiln has been good to me this week, although yesterday when I went out to turn up the temperature, I discovered that it wasn't turned on at all. I turned it off, jiggled the turning knob and it came on.

I don't know why I didn't notice that it was not on the first time though. I will have to make a note to open it up and have a look at the inner parts and see what was going on with that.

Pink Seed Pod Ceramic Beads

2011-07-23T09:03:00.000-04:00

I could hardly wait until this morning to take these out of the kiln. I shaped them a few months ago and agonized on how to glaze them, finally setting upon this delicate pink with the black accents.

I will sell them individually in my store, and in sets of two or three. Look for them soon.

Bye Bye Artfire

2011-07-22T10:12:00.002-04:00

I deleted my items from the Artfire store yesterday and will be adding them to the Etsy store in the coming days. Artfire was fun to try for a few months. I jumped in at the $5.95 pro price per month. The beads got a lot of views, but no sales. I dropped to basic after the first of the year. I still got a lot of views but no sales. Then I got an email saying Artfire was getting rid of the basic accounts and only taking Pro accounts. So before I lost all my pics and descriptions, I copied them to my computer and deleted them. I left a message saying I would be at my Etsy store. I enjoyed being over at Artfire. I always meant to drive more traffic over there but I never seemed to find the time to do it properly. These are some beads that I'll be moving into my Etsy store in the next few days.

I took some beads out of the kiln this morning and put some more beads into the kiln. I'll have to take some photos later in the morning and share them tomorrow or the next day.

Thank for stopping by!

Back to Normal

2011-07-21T10:28:00.000-04:00

Last night I sat on the couch and formed beads for the first time since late April. I've had the shops shut down for the last couple of months while I've been going through chemotherapy and radiation treatments. The good news is that I am now cancer free and well on my way to recovering my strength again.

In the meantime, I have really missed working in clay. I had glazed some beads right before my treatments started and this morning I loaded those beads into my small kiln and they are currently firing.

Because I finally have enough strength to stand at the line in the post office to mail international packages, I will be re-opening my etsy stores (both beads and pottery) tomorrow (July 22nd). Thank you for those who logged onto my facebook page and followed my progress and had so many kind comments, and especially thank you for all of you who have prayed for me and continue to pray for my recovery as well. I could never have gotten through the last couple of months without all your prayers. It's nice to be getting back to normal. It's great to be back.

2011-05-13T14:47:00.000-04:00

This texture was made by sticking each bead multiple times with a very small coffee straw. I added bead caps to these, too.

The next step was to glaze these black, wipe them down so that the black stayed in the recesses. Then I glazed with a soft speckled pink.

This is also a style of bead that was in Beads 2011. I'm trying to get some of these in stock in case anyone would like some. I still have a lot of styles to glaze, but they are all bisque fired and ready to glaze at this point.

These to These

2011-05-09T16:11:00.001-04:00

These are some of the bead shapes that made it into BEADS 2011, the buyer's guide edition in April. There are three sizes, The papa bead is 22 mm hole to hole and 20 mm wide. The mama bead is 19 mm hole to hole and 15 mm at its widest and the baby bead is 15 mm hole to hole and 13 mm at the middle.

And here they are in their finished state, just a simple black bead cap and clear glaze to show off their vanilla creamy whiteness.

More Beads to Bisque

2011-04-27T12:42:00.000-04:00

Here in North Central Texas the pecan fronds are hanging from the trees, dangling their pollen rich plumes, attempting to make me sneeze anytime I walk past a window. So while I was waiting for my particular pollen season to be over, I spent a couple of days creating these. Now they are dry enough to go into the kiln. In this batch are recreations of some of the beads that made it into BEADS 2011.

There are actually two bowls of beads in this photo. The smaller bowl is on the bottom and holds the beads that will be approx 17-20 mm. The bowl on top holds the smaller beads which will range from 13-17 mm. I'm doing the same style on three sizes of beads, because some jewelry artists prefer bigger beads and some prefer smaller.

The kiln is currently firing and I just turned it up to medium. As I wait to turn it up to high I think about how those pecan fronds don't know that with one big windstorm they are all going to be on the ground and I will be free from sneezing once again!

New Nuggets Design - Finished!

2011-04-21T11:12:00.000-04:00

It's a rainy day today in North Central Texas. A mild cold front has moved in and lowered the temperatures out of the 80s into the 60s. That's fine with me because that means the pecan tree out back is not blooming, which means I was not sneezing and rubbing my eyes whilst taking these newbies out of the kiln.

I blogged about initially forming these (click here) then about the glazing process (click here). I put these in the kiln yesterday and here they are this morning, in all their nuggety goodness. Wouldn't you rather have nuggets made out of stoneware clay than chicken? ;)

"May I take your order?"
"Yes, I'd like some stoneware nuggets please, and don't forget the bright blue endcaps!"

What's Cookin' in the Kiln?

2011-04-20T07:00:00.003-04:00

Today these nuggets are in the kiln. I have a demo of how I made these a few posts back (Click here to see post).

Here they are glazed in a four step process. First I brushed on a blue underglaze, which I promptly wiped off with a sponge. Next I took the same color and reapplied it carefully to the endcap sprig of each bead. Lastly, I applied a clear glaze.

You know what this means, though, right? Tomorrow I will take photos of what they look like fresh out of the kiln and I will be sure to list a few. Oh, one more thing: these are being fired to cone 6.

Beads 2011 - My Beads Got Into This Magazine

2011-04-18T16:55:00.000-04:00

I have been waiting on eggshells to see if the beads I sent in earlier this year would make it into the 2011 BEADS Buyer's Guide issue and yay ... my beads are on three pages. Oh Happy Day!

I wanted to also put advertising in this issue and I was contacted however I was on my out of town and not able to meet the deadline. Next year for sure.

I scanned the three pages of the magazine and scans are always grainy. These beads look much better in the magazine. My beads made it into three sections:

The Floral section (page 17), the Steampunk section (page 48) and the World Beat section (Page 63).

I had a hard time deciding whether to list my beads under my website name (nkpdesigns) or my etsy store bead store name (nkpbeads). In the end, I decided that it was more cohesive to point people to my website and they can easily click on the link to visit the bead store.

My New Toy, ahem, Piece of Equipment

2011-04-18T13:43:00.001-04:00

I bought this a couple of weeks ago after going to my pottery guild and having this demo'ed. I had to go and buy an air compressor and a couple of 1/4 inch fittings, but amazingly enough, as easy as Sal made this look, it was easier to utilize than that. This is a wonderful addition to my studio. This first photo shows a simple round tile/coaster/wall hanging/clock ... whatever you want it to be.

When I went to pick this up, Sal said, "Now this tile has two sides, don't forget that." And I haven't. The idea is to put a circular plug of clay into the hole, mash it down, smooth it out and voila ... lovely smooth tile.

Then there's my way. Take pieces of clay, smash it in there, who cares if it is smooth and lovely? After all, there are two sides! So the top side is smooth, but the bottom side is not. Why? Because I used pieces of clay. Next I textured that side with a lava rock. Then I added clay sprigs, much the same way as I do the beads.

So here is my 5" round whatever. It's like a big bead, but flat. Anyway, to watch a real life demo, take this link. This product is the best piece of pottery equipment I've seen in a long time.

Thank you, Sal, for making ceramics even better!

Take this link to watch a demo on how this is used. Enjoy!
Texas Tiler

Out of the Bisque Fire

2011-04-17T10:00:00.001-04:00

These are a few samples of bisque beads that came out of the kiln early Saturday morning.

These are all made from a stoneware clay with little grout, so they are smooth to the touch.

I have no idea how I will glaze these. Should I go for bright summer colors? Subdued winter colors? Do I go for glossy or matte?

Decisions decisions!

Neutral Bracelet: Nuggets and Rounds and Silver

2011-04-16T09:45:00.008-04:00

Neutral colors are calming and this combination of beads, while understated, lend themselves to a certain elegance.

The ceramic nuggets were glazed with an oatmeal glaze. The holes are rather large. These are some from a batch I made when I first began making ceramic beads. They are newbie beads. I had no idea how to fire ceramic beads when I first started. I had simply put them down on a kiln shelf that was heavily coated with kiln wash. I had to chip them off of the shelf, then grind down the rough spots with a Dremel tool.

Before long I realized I could hang beads on rods which were balanced on kiln posts (posts that are used to hold up shelves).

The silver beads I chose were some leftover from other projects I've done over the past few years. I've had them a while. It is easy to tell because they are somewhat tarnished.

The rounds were textured and glazed this lovely tan brown.

This palette is quiet and soothing. Perhaps this is why I felt that each ceramic bead should be supported by one of those small silver spacers.

This is the finished bracelet. I've had fun making all the bracelets I've been showcasing this week. It's been fun. I hope that you've enjoyed what I've been having fun with, too. I am going to enjoy wearing my new bracelets.

Peanut Butter Bracelet

2011-04-15T10:23:00.003-04:00

I call this a peanut butter bracelet because the glaze on these particular thumbprint shaped beads remind me a bit of the color of peanut butter, little chips of wonderful. I happen to love peanut butter, though I know it is not everybody favorite spread.

The red beads are a coral tube shaped. Think of them as jelly. ha ha! There are apple green nugget resin beads too. Yes, they are plastic. But you can hardly tell. They are well made plastic beads, so they are resin, yes?

There are also some metal beads, maybe they are brass? I'm not sure. They came off a piece of vintage jewelry that I acquired a long time ago. Alsrein lured are unikite rounds. I love unikite, those greens and pinks are so cheerful.

I made up a palette to go along with these beads. Sometimes before I string beads I like to have a visual of the major colors. It helps when I string to see how they will all work together. These colors seem to flow, one into the other, so I didn't worry about the color when I strung these beads.

I focused instead on the shape. The peanut butter beads needed to bunch up against each other. They are the biggest beads so they are the focal beads. I didn't want them near the clasp though because that can get uncomfortable when resting a hand on a table.

Patchwork Bracelet

2011-04-14T10:42:00.001-04:00

These are the beads I choose to make this bracelet. The patchwork beads were made by cutting up some flower decals with a pair of pinking shears. The delicate scroll pattern rounds are not exactly round and they've been glazed with a lovely shade of blue/purple. The cobalt glass spacer beads are a dramatic addition and the silver spacers add a touch of class. The clear lemon yellow beads are faceted glass. They add the sparkle that will make this bracelet fun.

I formed this palette with the beads and it sure is a busy palette. That made me think that I should have a distinctive beading pattern so the eye won't feel overwhelmed.

Here is the finished bracelet.

Iced Pink Twisties Ceramic Bracelet

2011-04-13T11:35:00.000-04:00

I woke up this morning with an idea of making a bracelet out of my iced pink ceramic twist beads. I love pink and green together so I came up with this palette. Of course I was going to start out with the pink of the ceramic beads. Green is a great contrast to pink, so I have a warm shade with the peridot colored cat eye glass beads and a cool color with these green stone chips. These chips came off of a vintage necklace I bought at a thrift shop. They are definitely stone and so I assume they are dyed this mint green. Usually opaque stones are types of jasper, so I think they may be a type of jasper. If anyone knows for certain, I'd love to hear your idea.

I made the Iced Pink Ceramic Twisties bead by forming a rectangle with my fingers and twisting the ends after it was formed. It is a stoneware clay that bisque fires a beautiful pink. The iron in the clay helps to make these this particular color. I glazed it with this white glaze and refired to the same temperature. I've made quite a few beads like this over the years and always meant to make myself a bracelet. Today is the day

The yellow is a great accent and these metal brass beads are also from a vintage necklace I rescued from a thrift store.

I often buy vintage beads at thrift stores. They make great filler beads and it's always good to upcycle.

Simple simple. Now I have a casual bracelet to wear with a summer top, jeans and comfy tennis shoes.

Bracelet with Nuggets

2011-04-11T13:56:00.000-04:00

This is a small bracelet I made a while ago with some of my ceramic midnight blue nuggets. There are three glass beads also which I made, along with some small pink glass beads and silver spacers. It's simple, but pretty.

What's New? Textured Nugget Beads with End Caps

2011-04-07T13:59:00.002-04:00

I was browsing through my bead store and realized I am very understocked when it comes to Nugget shaped beads. I am a bit bored with nugget beads, which is why I probably haven't been making any lately. However, I do like that mish mash shape.

When I was gardening I came across a few stray lava landscaping rocks and I got to studying their texture. Sure enough, I brought one or two back inside with me and got a small bit of clay. I was stunned at the intricate nature of the texture this left behind. Thus, I began making some nugget beads. Here's the process ...

NOW ... to add the beads' end caps....

And here is the whole batch:

What? No Hole?

2011-04-04T12:53:00.000-04:00

This is what I was thinking when I put this bead in front of my camera. Sure enough, I had forgotten to put a hole into it. What was I thinking? I guess I was not thinking. It is a pretty pebble though. I'll keep it for display.

This bead is from the batch of beads was the last batch to come out of the gas kiln at the college. It is a stoneware clay, lightly swabbed with an iron oxide and fired to 2300 degrees in reduction. I love the warmth of this firing technique.

My Little Helper

2011-04-02T07:00:00.002-04:00

I seriously could not function without this little machine. I set it on the floor beside me while I search for particular beads in my stored containers, instead of walking back and forth between the beads and my computer monitor. It makes everything SO much easier, especially with my short term memory ... oh wow, it's great to have this!

When I was reshooting pics in my stores, this small computer was so great to double check my inventory. A huge shout out to Apple for this wonderful piece of computer equipment! Oh, and yeah, I check my email with it too. And Plants Vs Zombies? Best app ever!

No Fooling!

2011-04-01T07:00:00.009-04:00

Throughout the entire month of April my Etsy Bead Store is offering a 20% discount for any customer who buys from the Beads of Clay Etsy store.

1. Make any regular Purchase from the Beads of Clay Etsy Store anytime during April.

2. Use this the discount code april2011BOCstore20 at my NKPBEADS Etsy store to receive 20% off your entire order in my store.

3. You don't have to rush to decide what you may want from my store because this coupon code will remain active until the end of May. In other words, if you make a purchase on the last day of April, you have until the last day of May to use my store's coupon code. Important: the discount is only valid for beads purchased at NKPBEADS.

If you have any questions about this, please leave a message.

Give Away Beads

2011-03-30T13:23:00.001-04:00

These beads are some that I've had in reserve for a while. The largest, the tangerine, is difficult to photograph. It is a bit lighter in color than the photo suggests, but I've combined it with other beads which I think complement it nicely.

Would you like them? If so, please find an item in my NKPBEADS bead store on Etsy and simply link it to your facebook or twitter or blog, or whatever social media you choose, then leave a comment here.

I'm leaving this open for two weeks, then I'll use the random number generator located on the bottom right hand side of this blog and let it pick a winner. Then I'll send these beads to the winner at no cost to them (i.e., free shipping). This is open to those living outside of the USA, too.

Thanks for participating (and the shout outs) and good luck to everyone!

So Many Beads So Little Time

2011-03-29T17:29:00.000-04:00

The last couple of weeks I've had beads spread from one end of the carpet to the other, sorting, taking photos, and generally just being in a bit of bead heaven. I'm putting together something of a to do list. I've sorted beads into little baggies for photographing and organized containers into three categories. The first container holds beads that I'm planning on photographing. The second holds beads that I have photographed, but haven't processed the photos yet. And the third holds beads that have been photographed and processed.

Many beads don't make it from the second container to the third container because they don't look like they ought to in the photos, or I see some flaw with the macro lens that wasn't apparent to my naked eye. That bead will go into yet another container. It will go into the trash if it can't be refired (say there is a chip on it I didn't see), or it will go into a container for another glazing if I see a place where the glaze didn't take nicely. Sometimes the bead looks much prettier in the photos than they do in real life. These beads get set into my give away beads container. I also make a note not to use that particular glaze again with that particular clay. They are truly treasures.

However, most of the beads that don't make it into the third container go back into the first container to be rephotographed because they were blurry.

In my bead store I have about 20 listings that are expired, but they need to be rephotographed. So there they sit. I have been rephotographing most of my store since early last year -- when I started rephotographing these I had a bit over 200 listings, so I've been steadily redoing my entire stock for almost a year, plus trying to put in new listings as well. It's been a long haul.

Sometimes the simplest beads are the most fun to photograph. The bead in the photo above has some good memories. It is the last one in that series. It's just a plain Mayco turquoise cone 6 glaze on a white stoneware body. I don't know why they didn't come out shiny. They came out this wonderful matte color. I think I had about a dozen to start with. Some I put decals on, others I added a coat of clear to and refired. It's all fun.

After I actually list the beads, I place them in huge hatboxes. I have ziplock bags of "2s" and "3's" and "4s", etc ... up to 12. If I have similar beads, I write their listing numbers on a slip of paper and include it in their little baggy. Then I can be certain I am sending the correct beads.

I love making beads. Thanks for letting me share my working day with you.

Prize Beads

2011-03-21T11:44:00.000-04:00

I was the lucky winner of the Beads of Clay giveaway between the bead artists. These arrived a few days ago and Ooooo I must exclaim that they are even more beautiful in person!

They are simply gorgeous! I'm so glad to be able to hoard them all to myself. ;) Thanks for your beautiful work, and thanks also to Mary for the beautiful packaging! You are a gift to our entire Beads of Clay group!

Patterns and Zentangles

2011-03-16T12:12:00.000-04:00

Marsha Neal has been blogging lately about Zentangles (see her blog here: http://marshanealstudio.blogspot.com/).

I love fractals and repetitive patterns so these caught my eyes immediately. I read a few websites, got out my black sharpies and began doodling. So here is one of my doodles. I plan to make these into iron oxide decals and put them on beads and pottery.

Announcing the Winner

2011-03-13T12:33:00.000-04:00

Congratulations to my two winners! The random number generator picked #2 and #11.

#2 is RockCreekCreations and #11 is Gbkoru!

(whistles, clapping, fanfare, confetti)

Please send me an email to nkp@nkpdesigns.com and include the address you'd like your beads sent to.

Whilst everyone was blog hopping here I was on a road trip to The Land of the Mouse (Disney Land). I'd never been there before and it sure was fun. We drove all day Sunday and Monday went to the park.

The weather was slightly overcast on the day we went and rain was in the forecast. That must have kept people home because the park was not crowded. We walked right up to rides and had a blast. The most we waited was a mere 20 minutes.

BUT the characters were missing. We saw one character: Goofy. That was it though. The only Disney princesses we spied were little girls in full royal regalia. Adorable!

The rest of the week was spent sightseeing, most notable was my favorite spot: Santa Monica Pier. I rode that fantastic roller coaster! That was probably the best $5 I've spent in a long time. Happy sigh.

I want to share the happy with everyone and am having a 20% off my Bead store this week on Etsy. At checkout, simply enter the following code: bocstudioevent2011

Thanks for stopping by and participating!

Beads of Clay Open Studio Event

2011-03-06T13:00:00.002-05:00

Welcome to my blog and my First Beads of Clay Open Studio Event.

Take a deep breath, bookmark this blog and come back to it later in the day or week. Because of family obligations I am opening up comments to last
until the 11th. I will be announcing a winner on the 13th. There will be two giveaways, so I will hold two random drawings via the Random Number Drawing widget on the bottom right hand side of this page. That means you are leaving one comment but you have TWO chances to win!

If you subscribe to this blog via Feedburner (on the right side column), you will receive an email on the 13th and know right away if you are a winner. But I will also announce it here on this blog.

ABOUT ME:

I work in all types of clay, from earthenware to porcelain. I also throw on the pottery wheel and also handbuild as well as create beads. Lately I seem to be interested in attaching sprigs to my beads. Form is important and surface decoration is just as important. I enjoy creating both sides of this coin. When I am making beads I think to myself, "Whatever you can do to a pot you can do to a bead" and when I am making pots I think to myself, "Whatever you can do to a bead you can do to a pot". This helps keep me focused.

1st GIVEAWAY

Here is a photo of my 1st giveaway beads.

I do not use any toxic glazes on any of my pottery or beads. All glazes which are commercial are labeled non-toxic by the manufacturer. When I mix my own glazes I do not use toxic materials. Toxic glazes are are stable and perfectly safe once fired, if fired properly. I, however, decided that I didn't want the additional task of being careful because I am quite clumsy at times and I could see myself accidentally dropping something mega-toxic all over the floor and making my entire studio off limits for 6 zillion years... okay that's an exaggeration ... maybe it is just too difficult to clean up.

I've taken some photos of my studio to share with you all. I don't drink or eat in my studio. I usually work in silence without music or noise. It's calming and
easier to concentrate. For the first few years I didn't have a studio. I stored everything in plastic tubs in closets and such. When my son went to college I immediately claimed his room. I ripped out the rug and installed a snap-in wood floor. Next my husband helped me build shelves all along one side and part of two other walls. It looks spacious but it is not. I barely fit in here and usually the tables are completely covered with projects.

Instead I take a small foldaway table out to the living room and create and glaze beads there. The pottery I make exclusively in the studio, because that's where the wheel and slab roller are located.

Because my studio is in my house, I am careful with the dust. If it gets in the lungs can be very dangerous. I never sweep, only mop. If I am sanding beads or pots, I go outside and wear a special mask. I also have a special air filter which runs 24/7 in the studio and I rinse out the filter every two weeks.

If I didn't have my studio in my home perhaps I wouldn't be such a worry wart, but I am a worry wart and I accept that about myself. So the most dangerous thing about my studio is the dust and I do my best to limit that with wet clean ups, air filters, and such.

2nd Giveaway:
Here is a photo of my 2nd giveaway beads.

Here in North Central Texas we enjoyed summer right up into mid-December. It was warm and balmy, in the 70s and mostly 80s. January came and went, same thing.
Then about Super Bowl time, WHAM, we got hit by snow and ice. We were buried for days. It's a miracle the Super Bowl happened at all. We even had rolling blackouts
because the electric companies didn't anticipate the cold weather and they were not equipped to handle the extra output needed. Now at the end of February as I prepare
this blog post, we are up to the 80s again. It's like living in Florida but without the beach. Personally, I would prefer the beach.

I suppose that is why I've been enjoying making beads and pottery so much the last few months. I've been doing more creating than marketing. My favorite thing about
spring is the crispness of the air and the excitement of knowing that summer is right around the corner, and with summer comes heat, and with heat comes bike riding,and I love to ride my road bike. I didn't do much of that last year but this year I hope to ride much more often.

When I ride I mull things over in my head and this is a good time for me to think about new ways to design beads and how to implement those same designs into the pottery side of it all. Beads amaze me in their complexity and simplicity. They are all such simple things, a lump of something with a hole, and yet when I look at all the beads I see being created around me I am in wonder at how each bead artist is able to put so much of themselves into each one.

I hope everyone enjoys looking at all these ceramic bead artists' blogs and their beads. I know when I am able to get back online I will be making the same rounds you are able to make today. I hope you've enjoyed learning a bit more about me. Don't forget to bookmark the official Beads of Clay blog (http://beads-of-clay.blogspot.com), because we are always giving away something beautiful! Also, stop by our Etsy Beads of Clay team store (http://beadsofclay.etsy.com).

Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to leave a comment for two chances to win!

Red Beads Green Beads

2011-02-09T13:00:00.000-05:00

Here in North Central Texas we are having a bit of a snow and ice storm. This is post Superbowl 2011, and this is the second one in less than two weeks.

To celebrate my forced time indoors, I am working on taking beady pictures. These are from the same batch as I've showcased in recent blog articles. The body is a porcelain clay and the sprigs are a brown stoneware clay. They sprigs have been pierced with a needle tool (a sock size knitting needle to be precise). The beads were fired and a black underglaze was applied with a brush and then sponged off. The entire bead was glazed with Victorian Red from Mayco and fired again.

Photographing these beads so they will appear the same way in the photos as in real life is proving difficult. I am still struggling for an 'easy' fix with the green ones. So far I am only able to photograph them outside in natural light. However, the macro setting on my camera does not allow for anything but automatic white balance settings. The manual setting is not available for the macro function. So when the 'automatic' white balance function does not work, the paper appears this lovely shade of lavender.

I am still working to figure a solution. The easy solution is to not to make any more of the green beads and try a different color such as transparent blue, but I really like this transparent green so I keep trying.

I was having much the same problem with the red beads, too, so eventually if I keep working on this, I hope to figure it out. Too bad the solution for the red beads would work on the green beads, but it does not. The solution for the red beads was to move the 'natural sunlight' lights back a few inches. Perhaps I need to move the light back even further for the green beads? We'll see ... I wonder if my camera is about to croak. Hmmmm ... I sure hope not!

Coral Beauty Ceramic Bead

2011-02-08T14:30:00.000-05:00

This red glaze bounces nicely off the white of the porcelain clay bead body. It combines with the ruddy stoneware sprigs to make the coral reds radiate.

I did not apply black underglaze to these sprigs like I did most of the others. At first I was not sure I liked this effect but I have come to like it, especially because it does bounce the light in the manner it does. Using a certain color of clay body to achieve a certain color effect reminds me of painting with watercolors.

Before I was into pottery, painting was my thing and I painted in watercolors. Someday I plan to include a small 'gallery' of my paintings on my website. Someday ... there's that word ... but really, someday. Maybe soon. Next year? We'll see.

Back then I had a large palate of watercolors and took my time working through a book by Nita Leland titled "Exploring Color". There are 88 exercises in the book and it took me a long time because I kept going back and trying different palette combinations. If you are an artist and you love color, I highly recommend this book. Not only is it a ton OH fun, you will never forget what you've learned.

Green Beads and a Whistle

2011-01-25T13:36:00.000-05:00

These are what came out of the kiln a few days ago. I have more, but these were the few I grabbed to photograph. This is outside on top of a kiln. It sits in the shade which makes it perfect to pose beads on, except on sunny days. Today is very shady, but usually here in Texas it is very sunny. That makes it hard to take pictures, even during early morning or late evening hours. The cast shadows are just impossible to deal with. I probably could figure out how to work around this problem eventually, but for now I'll continue shooting inside.

However .......

When I put these same beads under the 'natural sunlight' bulbs indoors to snap their picture, they come out radically different. See this second photo? They are a different color value, more of a yellowish green. The first photo is more accurate as to the beads' natural color. My job is to adjust the indoor lighting so that the beads in the second photo match the beads same color values as in the first photo. This is how I'll be spending the rest of the afternoon, figuring out the lighting. It is also one of the times I'd love to be in a photography class.

Sprig Wrapped and Pierced Beads

2011-01-24T12:55:00.000-05:00

I am in a quandary because I don't know what to call these types of beads I've been making. I roll them in my hands. I apply a sprig of clay. Sometimes I use stoneware clay. Othertimes I use porcelain. Sometimes I combine the two. I pierce them. It's fun. It's relaxing. I have to use 'granny glasses' to see what I'm doing.

The applying of under and over glazes is done after a bisque firing. The last batch I glazed has a transparent green instead of a transparent red. I will post pictures of those in the next day or two.

At the moment I'm trying to get caught up with other projects. I keep saying, "I'm almost caught up ..."

New Bead

2011-01-19T13:50:00.000-05:00

This focal bead is made from stoneware and porcelain ceramic clays. The sprig has been pierced with a needle and a black underglaze rubbed into the recesses and glazed with a transparent red glaze that takes on a coral tone on the stoneware clay.

This type of bead is fun to make. Each one is different ... even when I try to duplicate them.

I'm Back!

2011-01-18T14:05:00.000-05:00

Howdy! I've been 'off' the last couple of weeks. I've updated my main website to include the Artfire bead store. I also had a few other items to update on the main website and was able to finish everything. Every link pertaining to my pottery, is found on the main website. Well, almost. I left out some things like Etsylove and other self-marketing sites (like Indiepublic and linkLN) If you have never looked at my main website, the link is nkpdesigns.com.

I also updated the banners on all the stores, making everything more uniform. I've added a small watermark with my official business name to photos, etc ... I'm trying to use the same avatar on all the different sites. In short, my goal is to integrate, integrate, integrate!

Because yes, when I took a look around I thought, "Wow, here's a gal with a teeny inclination toward multiple personalities." Or rather, it was quite apparent I have no attention span. It is because I make beads AND pottery AND whistles AND whatever suits my fancy at the time that it makes it difficult to market myself. More than one artist has told me over the years to make what I love and not to worry about the marketing. That is what I have tried to do. I create what I feel like making and if I don't feel like making it, I don't. I am glad to have that freedom.

Above, in the photo, are some beads I felt like making last night. They are not quite dry enough to bisque fire. As you can see I am having a lot of fun poking holes in those beads (poke poke poke). Is that a teapot bead? Why yes ... should I have made a cup to go with it? Probably. But I didn't feel like it. lol! Have a great day and thanks for stopping by! Make something you love today!

Unfired to Fired

2011-01-03T13:55:00.001-05:00

Here are some glazed but unfired ceramic beads.

These beads are covered with small sprigs of clay. Some have been textured as well. All have all been rubbed in a black underglaze which I then wiped off. This left black glaze in the small recesses of each bead. I brushed on some Victorian Red Mayco glaze and left them to sit overnight to dry.

That day I put them on rods, fired them in the kiln, and the next morning opened up the kiln.

The great thing about the blog is that the reader gets to see the result immediately but I have to wait 24 hours. Lucky blog reader!

So these are some of the results. I normally use my photo set up to shoot pics but the pics I shot did not show up the 'shiny' at all on these beads. They looked very matte, and they are not matte. So I went outside and placed them on top of the kiln top.

Announcing the Winner

2011-01-02T08:00:00.016-05:00

Congratulations to Cindy from Cindy Dolezal Designs who is the bead winner of some of my favorite beads which I created in 2010!

Cindy, just email me (nkp@nkpdesigns.com) the address you'd like me to send it and they will be on their way! Put "Bead Winner" in the subject line! I hope you love these beads worth over $20!

Merry Christmas to My Blog Readers

2010-12-21T13:07:00.000-05:00

I was going to post a photo of the beads I am going to give away and then I thought, "Where's the surprise in THAT?" ... and then I realized that the last day before shipping would arrive for Christmas was yesterday.

Oh well .... (Shrug!) ... we are all busy busy busy this time of year so I'm going to give myself a break. However, I still want to share some Christmas fun with y'all!

SO ... leave a comment on this blog with a link to one of your favorite blogs (your gift to me) and I'll randomly choose a name and send that lucky winner some of my handmade ceramic beads worth $20. This contest is open through January 1, 2011 and the winner will be announced on this blog January 2, 2011, so write yourself a note and check back.

Show Beads

2010-12-09T16:36:00.000-05:00

These are just some of the beads I will be bringing to the 2010 Open House and Christmas Sale show this weekend. I have some loose beads that I am bringing as well as the Heart and Soul mugs I have been making. To see photos of those, jump over to my flickr page.

I am also bringing whistles, whistles that are in fancy boxes, some that are in porcelain eggs, others in little pinch pots I have made, and some that are free-hanging. I am bringing about 30 whistles in total. I haven't checked the exact figure as of yet.

I will probably bring a few pots as well. If you want more info about the show, all you need to know can be found here: click here

This is the last show I'll be doing this year. I did more shows this year than I have in years past, and enjoyed doing them very much. It is nice to meet customers, although selling online affords lots of chances to get to know customers too.

I have to say that all of my customers have been incredible to get to know, whether online or in person. It means a lot to an artist to have somebody like my work enough to say, "I want that for my very own!" Many times I make something and I am the only one who likes it. It is great though because that means I get to keep and look at it for a long time. However, eventually someone else likes it, usually about the time I'm ready to stop looking at it and look at something else. That's a good thing!

Right now in my pottery etsy store I have marked down quite a bit of merchandise to $10 and under. After December I am going to put them back to their regular prices. With this economy, especially during Christmas, I want people to own a bit of handmade, affordably! These are not pottery which I am ashamed of or do not like, these are items I felt would make great gifts.

I have quite a bit in the $20 and under category too. Go take a look if you have time.

Etsy Catalog

2010-12-03T13:19:00.000-05:00

I feel like Oprah when I sing out, "NOW EVERYONE CAN HAVE AN ETSYYYYYYYYYYYY CATALOOOOOOOOOOOOG!"

So how cool is this? Go to http://etsycatalog.com and set yours up today. It looks like you can add up to 100 listings. Maybe more can be added, I don't know. It seems like it is set to about 100. You can choose in which order each item comes in, you can exclude listings, you can choose which photo(s) are included AND you can edit what the listing describes. So if you have links inside your listing (like "Click here to visit the rest of my store http://nkpbeads.etsy.com", it is easily taken out of your catalog.

I am going to be doing a show next week and I'm going to be playing with this option. The expensive part will be printing it out, so I may only do one for my whistles. Or focal beads. I'm not sure exactly. It will be great to show my physical presence because after they flip through the catalog and have my business card, it will be a natural progression to my website.

Brown Sprig Beads with Beadcaps

2010-12-02T08:00:00.006-05:00

This also is a simple sprig leaf design with a simple brown glaze. This rich neutral color will enhance any jewelry design.

It was a bright sunshiny day and so I did not bother with lights as I took these pictures which have appeared in my blog this last week.

In case anyone was wondering about the location, they are on top of the kiln, outside in the shade of my porch.

The sun is so shiny that I did not need a flash. Even in the shade.

Victorian or Venetian Red?

2010-12-01T08:00:00.013-05:00

I have been doing a lot of serious whinning about Venetian Red being discontinued by Mayco and the othr day when I was glazing these I looked at the jar and lo and behold the glaze is actually named "VICTORIAN RED".

My bad ...

I regret I did not apply a black underglaze to these before applying the newly discontinued VICTORIAN red Mayco glaze.

Next time ...

Spiral Sprigs with Beadcaps

2010-11-30T08:00:00.027-05:00

I had the hardest time deciding what to glaze these. Now, if I had made 4 or 5 sets maybe it would not have been half as hard, but as it is, I only made this one set.

I glazed with a blue underglaze on top of the sprigs, and then put a Mayco Crystalites glaze (Monsoon Seas) on top of that. I'm writing this down so I do not forget. Because I will forget!

Pink and Purple Sprig Wrapped Beads

2010-11-30T08:00:00.010-05:00

These have wrapped textured sprigs and non-textured bead caps. They have been glazed with a purple underglaze, which was subsequently wiped off, and reglazed with pink.

Come Shop in Person

2010-11-29T11:33:00.000-05:00

Click on this photo if you are having trouble reading the text. I will be participating at a show hosted by Ron and Janel Hollister at 8304 Llano Ave., Benbrook, TX, 76116 on December 11 from 10 am to 6 pm. Please stop by and say hi and admire at all the beautiful pottery!

There will be four artists total. Ron Hollister, Stormie Parker, Barbara Throne, and myself. There will be lots to eat and drink so bring lots of friends. It's going to be a fun day! Mark the date on your calenders!

Circles

2010-11-29T08:00:00.001-05:00

These rounds all have round bead caps, and I impressed the circles via the help of the tip of a broken pen. I rubbed in a black underglaze and coated with pink.

One of the smaller beads has a small chip in the bead cap, so I won't be selling it. I'll make it into a personal necklace for myself. Eventually.

Wrapped Sprigs Rounds in Light Blue

2010-11-28T08:00:00.014-05:00

I rolled clay into a strip, applied over a round, then textured it. The texture helps it not to fall off as the clay shrinks and dries during the bisque firing.

This was glazed with a light blue, the new light blue from Mayco, the foundation glaze that is named simply "Light Blue".

I'm thinking that I am going to attempt to put other foundation colors on top of each other to see how they fire. Do they move around and melt together? I think they will not. At least that's the impression I get when reading the back of the jar.

Leaf Sprigs

2010-11-27T08:00:00.029-05:00

These are four rounds, approx 16 mm (I'm guessing, I haven't measured them yet), with a simple leaf sprig design. One of these beads has a 'bead cap', which has been textured for interest.

The clay is a iron speckled stoneware from Texas Pottery in Bluemound, Texas (www.texaspottery.com).

Alan and Debra Bray sold this company a few months ago and the new owners are also kind and helpful. I have long been a fan of Texas Pottery's clay, so go in and say howdy if you are a potter and haven't been there lately.

Alan and Debra were extremely helpful to me when I first got into pottery. Debra practically held my hand as she urged me to apply for a business license so I wouldn't have to pay tax for supplies. Alan fixed my little kiln on more than one occasion and refused to take the money I offered. One time there was about 100 lbs of hard clay that he offered me for absolutely free (I took it and watered it down and it was perfect). I have great memories of the two of them and am always thankful for their cheerfulness and willingness. When I first decided to fire beads, it was Alan who showed me how I could balance the rods on the kiln stilts. I, and all my bead customers, are especially grateful for that!

Newbie Beads

2010-11-26T16:08:00.000-05:00

I remembered to snap a quick photo of these after they came out of the first initial bisque firing. I tried to do sets this time, 4 smaller beads with one focal bead. That's about how long my attention span lasted until I got bored and thought of something different to do. Over the next week I'll be trotting out finished beads from this batch. Click on this photo to see these up close.

Whistles

2010-11-24T08:00:00.001-05:00

These whistles are whimsical, playful, and playable, too. They sport a hole for stringing a leather or fabric cord through. I don't recommend wire for stringing because it could chip the ceramic glaze.

For Days and Days

2010-11-23T09:00:00.008-05:00

...for days and days I've been rephotographing everything in the pottery store. I'm still not finished but I have decided to put it away for a few weeks. I'm trying to get a few more beads and mugs glazed before a show I'm doing on December 11th. When I have a flyer, I will post it here.

White Ceramic Beadcaps on Black Melons

2010-11-19T08:00:00.001-05:00

I have for a long time been fascinated with metal beads. Which is why a few years ago I took a workshop on wheel-thrown, altered and assembled pottery with Leah Leitson who is fascinated with silver teapots and serving vessels.

I don't know why it took me so long to make the connection that I should try to make ceramic beads in the style of what I like best about silver beads: the addition of metal to metal. It is no simple thing to add clay to clay. I often have the added clay fall off in an initial bisque firing, usually while taking them out of the kiln. Or sometimes, they are drying and a sprig falls off ... fail!

These additions are so little it is hard to slip and score the way one might do with larger pieces. But when it works, it works nicely.