Welcome again to Friday dear readers - it comes around so quickly !
I am happy to be having some time off over the next week, to rest and relax before a change in jobs, same workplace but the job I have been doing for the past 2 1/2 years has sadly come to an end. It will be a time of reflection and adjustment for me personally, but I will adapt to the new challenges that come my way. I intend to head back to bed shortly (it is a very chilled 9 degrees here this morning) and bury my nose in the Aurora Teagarden Mystery Omnibus v1 by Charlaine Harris.
This week I am thrilled to introduce to you Maxine
from Glass by Girl Friday
Maxine is a fellow Australian ETSY seller, a glass artisan and a Roller Derby Girl. Maxine's glass creations are whimsical, full of their very own personalities, some are a little weird and unusual but they are always completely wonderful.
I want you to meet Puck. He came to live with me after leaving his home at Maxine's studio. Puck sits on the craft shelves in my creative space most of the time, observing and making sure things are going along well in my crafting world. Although sometimes I am sure he is living up to his namesake; the mischevious Puck (a.k.a. Robin Goodfellow)from a Midsummers Night's Dream; the clever and mischievous elf who personifies the trickster or the wise knave; when things go wrong for me when I am creating.
I also want to share with you a couple of my favourite pieces from Maxine's ETSY store.
For example, the Very Cherry Blossom Geisha Lampwork Glass Pendant (which I love simply because of an ongoing fascination with all things Geisha)
the Oh Mummy Glass Lampwork Pendant which is just a little on the spooky side with his glow in the dark eye (yes singular eye not plural)
and this tantalisingly juicy Red Apple Upcycled Recycled Tail Light Lampwork Pendant
Well my lovelies, I implore you to make a cuppa, and to immerse yourself into the magical madcap world of Glass By Girl Friday - read what inspires and how Maxine creates her amazing pieces. Wishing you all a fabulous weekend xo
The Marvellous Glass by Girl Friday Mystery
I would love to tell you all about my long and illustrious career as a self representing lampwork artist... but that would make me up myself right? Plus it would be totally wrong. I never set out to make a full time job out of this. I never would have forseen meeting and dealing with the most amazing clients on the planet, and I never in my wildest dreams believed that others would get my sometimes warped sense of humour. Well to explain things a little better, let me start at the beginning.
I have never exactly fitted 'inside the box' (square peg, round hole, yadda yadda...). When I was a kid, I wanted to be all sorts of things girls weren't supposed to be... a rainswoman or a jockey, amongst them. But the one thing that has stayed with me from my childhood is my love of cartoons.
I ALWAYS drew and doodled all over any blank space available when I was little. Even my bedroom walls when I was 2, but we won't talk about that here. I loved the classics, the fact that each piece was drawn by hand, the fact that these kooky characters sprang forth from peoples imaginations... I guess that's what lead me to this artistic endeavour. That and the fact that I love the idea of making stuff from absolute scratch... like clothes, food, etc.
Jump forward a few decades, and I am wandering aimlessly around our local book shop (remember those? :P). I happened to be amongst the Art and Craft section and I came across a book on Glass Bead Making. I was caught... hook line and sinker! The thought of taking a raw material (other than 'traditional' mediums) and creating. The whole thought process and techniques behind these miniature artworks cleverly disguised as beads.
So a lot of you know about beading, right? Well Lampwork (as it is officially known) is the art of glass bead making. It isn't taking a marble and drilling a hole, it isn't necessarily glass blowing (although this can be incorporated). It is the art of taking a glass rod, melting it and shaping it around a mandrel (erm... basically a stick coated in a clay type goop so you can get the bead off once made... hence the hole). After many hours of research, I discovered a lady that sold lampworking supplies which was just a quick jaunt up the freeway from where I live... lo and behold, she also held classes too! CRIPES!!! THAT'S ME!!! I HAVE TO DO THIS. To say it became an obsession would be an understatement.
As I became more proficient, I started showing my pieces on various forums around the world. I was inspired initially by the work of other artists. Then I slowly started to incorporate my love of cartooning into a lot of my pieces... mainly for my own therapeutic reasons! My pieces became quite popular in some of the online galleries, which was how I was lead to offering my pieces up for sale on ETSY.
I became known for my bad pun pieces, as well as doing stuff for a dare. I looked at my early cartooning, and also drew on my inspiration from anything like aliens, bugs, cute stuff, silly stuff, and pieces made purely because people said it wouldn't work. Some of my most popular pieces were my little Doodlebugs, and my Tenpin Bowling Pin set titled "STRIKE!!"
and was exhibited in the Sydney Royal Easter Show Arts Exhibition. (hehehe... basically lots of stuff you can put googly eyes on!). My cute little geisha girls became quite popular too.
I am now starting to play with 'recycled/ upcycled' glass. That is, if a pint glass breaks in a pub, I am normally the first to scoop down and pick up a piece to melt into a bead.
I have also made beads out of wine bottles, beer bottles, and my current ones I have in my ETSY store are those made from the broken tail light lens off a 1920's Chevrolet. Kinda rare but funky with the story behind it.
It is to the point now where a lot of my friends and customers say, "I have this coloured glass bottle... do you want it?" Yes please is inevitably the answer.
I think that's enough of me rambling for now. But feel free to join the Glass By Girlfriday madness on my Facebook Fan Page, or stop by my ETSY STORE.
Ooh and don't forget to look out for me in Cecilia Cohen's Book
"The Glass Artist's Studio Handbook"
where I humbly feature a small sampling of my work amongst some amazing artists from all over the world. That's one hell of an infomercial, don't you think???
Here's how you can connect to Glass by Girl Friday :
Browse the glassy goodness in the Glass by Girl Friday ETSY store here :
http://www.etsy.com/shop/girlfriday1962
and become a facebook follower here :
http://www.facebook.com/GlassByGirlfriday#!/GlassByGirlfriday
Great feature girls. Love Maxines work, it's always funny, original and/or cute.
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