Owls by the Light of the Silvery Moon

In early March a friend who loves animals, emailed me some cute pictures of owls she had come across. One of them was this funny looking fellow who to me seemed so dignified but ridiculous. I called him Mr Fancy Pants and was inspired to make a bead - the bead also made me laugh. I kept at it, using different glasses and stylizations. Some were scary others offered whole little stories. It seemed appropriate to gift the first one to my friend as a pendant.
Below is the development of some of the owls. The first on the left is the pendant I gifted to my friend. The first two were 'raised' on the surface of the bead (note the monster owl with scary legs). The next couple were made a week later and were smoother. The third one I etched, except for the eyes, and he has a lovely feel. Definately one of my favorites. The fourth reminds me of Monte Burns emerging from the forest in a drug-induced stupor. The last four were done two days ago, some have raised eyeballs some are in line with the surface.
The first one of this next group was from March and indicates the direction I decided to head in. The following six in the group I made yesterday - I had gained momentum and gotten excited by some of the background effects and choices. I decided I liked the eyeballs raised. The fourth one is is probably my favorite of the bunch, I really like the colours and contrast. The image after it shows the back of these beads, basically a mystical tree-type figure. Notice the second one has a scary face peeking out of the branches, like a skull. oooOOOooo eeek!

That's all in this series so far. I still have work to do on it, there's a few things I want to adjust and play around with.

What came out of the kiln?

Three owls that's what! On the left is Maree Dubois and on the left is Lady Willow. Maree has a little french flavour and Willow has a little chinese crockery flavour. I finally committed to selling something on ebay again and these two are the first.

When I go to the torch to create something, there's always a dash of mystery involved. The heat turns the colours of the glass to incandescent orange or red or clear, so it takes some visualizing to predict what's going on as you apply various colours. Then you have to wait for them to cool down in the kiln, and that usually means going to bed and looking at them the next day.

I have always loved the kiln unveiling experience, but I have to say that the more time and labour involved in each bead, the greater the elation and excitement when they are successful (and the greater the disappointment when they fail).

Little Harriet below is nothing like what I thought was going on in terms of her colouring, and while she has some merit, well, I'm afraid she was determined to win one of those 'worst dressed' awards. Like Bjork with a dead swan slung around her neck.