GlassMigration's Blog by Tanya Floyd

I finally got a chance last night to fire up my torch and make some beads.  It has been a few months since I've made anything.  I guess you have to start again somewhere.  

I thought the Mike bead from Monsters Inc turned out extra cute.  I've seen previews that a second Monsters Inc is going to be released within the next year.  I love the first movie and can't wait for the second one to get here.  I just hope I can start making more beads on a continuous basis now, versus there being no time.  Enjoy the beads....

Mike Zakowski from Monsters Inc

Pinky the Penguin

Sparkles the Snowman Tanya Harness-Floyd      Owner Tel: (919) 818-1026  www.glassmigrations.com

This silver striking glass, Clio, almost got the best of me.  After a few months of getting nothing but a brownish amber color, I was excited when I pulled this focal bead out of my kiln.  Finally, colors!!  My next goal is to make a complete set using this silver striking glass. 

I have always loved these beads and of all the beads I have made in the past four years, this set is still one of my favorites.  Something about the the etched rainbow colors, drizzled with Fine Silver (.999), has a beautiful effect.  It was hard letting this set go when it sold,  but I knew I could always make it again. That being said, it is a rarity for a lampwork artist to buy another lampwork artists' beads, but I was flattered when this happened with this set.     

Even though I'm working with a better torch now, I still sometimes feel my beads were prettier when they were made with the less powerful torch, the Hothead torch. The HotHead torch was solely driven by propane, no oxygen involved, resulting in a cooler flame.  A HotHead could mainly only melt the softer glass rods, COE104(Coefficient Expansion) and COE96.  I have since upgraded to a BobCat torch. The BobCat torch creates a hotter flame since oxygen and propane are mixed at the surface of the torch.    Since the BobCat torch burns a hotter flame, I am able to melt the soft glass as well as the harder glass, COE90(BullsEye) and COE33(Boro). 

I intend to post about my studio in my next post, showing pictures of my studio setup and also all my different glass rods from Italy, Germany, and Switzerland.  I will show a couple of pictures here right now,  for those who would like to see the glass in rod form, before being melted into beads.

I never thought in a million years I would be doing anything artistically related, especially in a profession, being the sole owner of my own glass studio.  I graduated for East Carolina University with a 4-year degree in Business Education/Information Technology.  I worked in the medical software field for a long time, as a software and technical analyst.  Needless to say my life led me down an unexpected path, leading to my interest in making lampwork beads.  I should have realized I was bound to show some type of artistic creativity in my life, being my parents are both natural artist's.  It was kind of interesting having a father who double majored in Physics and Math, overseeing a nuclear powerplant, yet when he was home, he would paint some of the most amazing detailed shrimp boats I have ever seen.   My mom was fluent with many art mediums; however, was most well known for her water color pictures.  To this day, anything my mom touches turns into a beautiful work of art.

Since I have already written more in this post then I had originally intended, I better leave the rest for later, in regards to the set up of my glass studio.  My fingers hurt from typing anyway, so until my next post.............................  (:

The other day I was looking at my past work and ran across some of my very first penguins I had made with glass.  It is interesting how many different styles of penguins I have achieved over the past few years.  I thought it would be fun to post them here in my blog, if for anything, for my own enjoyment.






How Does My Garden Grow........?

I love gardening and growing flowers as much as I enjoy making lampwork beads. I like to take pictures of the flowers around my yard to inspire my bead art. I get all kinds of ideas for my beads as a result.  Maybe other artists will find these pictures just as inspiring as I have.....
There is a link under these pictures if you would like to see all the pictures I have in my photo album of my flowers.

I just added a floral set, ASpringGarden.  Wow!! It has been quite a while since I made flowers.  There is so much small detail involved.  I used to hate making flowers because they were so hard to encase.  I guess practicing does pay off.  I also added another bling set, BubbleGumBling.  I hope to add more over the weekend. 

I just finished posting this set, PrettyInPink on eBay.  More sets will be posted before the end of the week.

Here are the latest sets of beads I just completed , adding to my "Bling Series" on eBay.

When it came time to provide a title to represent my lampwork bead website, I wanted it to be more then just another title.  Afterall, this title would be my website's initial introduction, representing my passion of creating lampwork art and where my imagination comes to life.   With that in mind, I also had another interest that was just as important to me as making beads.  I wanted to incorporate both of my interests in my title.

I am an animal lover at heart and four years ago, when I first saw the Lady Gouldian finch, I couldn't believe the vivid and bright colors this little bird displayed.  I have always been drawn to colorful things and this little finch had the most beautiful colors.  I also learned this type of finch has different color combinations based on its genetic makeup.   That meant more beautiful colors and I instantly became a huge fan of the Lady Gouldian.   I immediately began to research the Lady Gouldian, and soon after, I also became the owner of my own Lady Gouldian finches.
 
With my birds and glass in mind, deciding on the website title "GlassMigrations", actually did not take very long.  Scientifically, molecules of glass must move, or migrate, from one location to another when melted to produce a bead.   And of course, we all know most birds relocate, or migrate, during the cold seasons to a warmer climate.  I felt the word "migration" within my title name would capture both aspects of my birds and glass.  A simple idea, but it works for me.