Hot hot hot....

So its been a bit warm.  The sun has been shining, the skies have been blue, the breezes have been out of sight and I have been down the river with my dogs every morning, except Tuesday morning when my son had a wee accident on the farm and damaged his back, resulting in a trip to Accident and Emergency, some pretty potent pain killers and he is at home with me...driving me nuts already...not helped by the fact that its almost too hot to turn on the torch and the kiln.  I did try this evening, but having forgotten that I had taken a Piriton anti-histamine for the horse fly bite I got yesterday morning down at the river, I was nodding off in the heat of the studio...not a good plan!

This morning the horse fly bite has grown in size and I am rivalling my son for moaning about my bad back, my shoulder blade being twice its normal size and bright angry red and itching.  Its still too hot to torch, so I had a little look in the bead box this morning and found some Christmas and Halloween beads, not that I am trying to wish the summer away but more trying to think cold!

This Count Drag-ula I put up on one of the Facebook selling pages for lampwork beads and he immediately found a new home.  I am feeling the urge to create some dragons and dogs when the sun cools enough for me to not melt faster than the glass rod in the flame of the torch whilst in the studio.




Down hill ski-ing champion of the Polar Bear Ice Games 2014

This ski-ing Penguin is on eBay and looking for a new home.  Already number one of the salom down hill ski race in the Polar Bear Ice Games, he is working up to being the best down hill racing skier of the King Penguins.

 

This is the Christmas frog, a bit like the Christmas Grinch, he hates Christmas cheer, all that fresh frost on the river making it skiddy to hop from lily pad to lily pad..honestly anyone would think its a holiday.

He is still looking for a new home on one of the Facebook selling pages, click here for the link to the Lampwork Bead Market its free to join up to the page and lots of lovely beads to browse.

Right back to finding something constructive to do...might do some writing.....

 

Flower frenzy....

Cocktail ring on Etsy

Having a weekly round up :)  A comment kept being said about cocktail rings with my roses so I had a little play :)  This one is a lovely orange rose with copper wire and coral semi precious stones, its adjustable so will fit any finger...just imagine how fab this will look at a summer do :)







Cocktail ring on Etsy



Coral and teal flowers on eBay

 I am still very much on my flower frenzy, I just can't seem to get enough glass flowers and real ones in my garden. 


The beautiful poppy is from some seeds given to me by a friend last year and they are glorious,  big blousey flowers, my favourites.

The teal and coral flowers are have a lovely beachy feel to them.  I do like contrasting colours.


Coral and teal flowers on eBay



 

Orange mog for Halloween



Poinsettia flower on eBay

 I think I am thinking ahead already with fabulous Halloween cats, inspired completely by the wonderful and most favourite book of mine Slinky Malinky by Lynley Dodd.  I love Slinky Malinky!  The blue bead has found a home but the orange mog is still waiting for his fur-ever home in my Etsy shop.  The Poinsettia flower and buds are my reminded that Christmas isn't too far away, still plenty of long hot summer days to look forward to though...hopefully.

Jupiter Storm roses on eBay

It is most rare for me to use neutral colours, I am drawn to those bright primary colours, but this glass is new to me, Jupiter Storm and its a soft creamy ivory pinky colour, totally gorgeous.

 

So...that's this weeks round up. I do have some Gordy stories to tell but I really must get on and hoover up this house!!  Have a great weekend.

 

Laney x

Unpleasant little man.....

This morning started out as any other, beautiful sunshine, blue skies and dogs eager to go down to the river.  I hung the washing on the line to blow gently in the warm breeze, got dressed, pulled on my trainers, grabbed the dog leads and watched the sun hide behind the dark clouds...got a jumper...and headed out.

The wind had turned a decidedly cooler and stronger kind of gust but still was a pleasant morning to be going to the river and having our daily walk.  I get to scratch a couple of young calves on their noses whilst their mothers looked on approvingly or just thankful that someone else is paying attention to their young and demanding teenage offspring, whilst my two dogs jump and splash in the river.  Nearing the entrance to the river, through the kissing gate, the dogs were getting excited, Iz was trying to get the ball from me before we could get to the field and Defi was beginning to annoy with his constant weeing on every single blade of grass he could drag me too, when I saw a friend.  This friend is an older gentleman, a man of standing, a retired Captain with a lovely dog Dennis.  Usually the wife is with them but this morning the two boys were on their own and just leaving having had their walk. As they drive to the river, not being as close as me, they were already in their car.  As good manners dictate, Captain, as he shall be called, stopped to say good morning.  Defi was beside himself, we were stopping to chat, didn't I know there were blades of grass that needed his urine?  Iz couldn't contain her energy and my not quite 8 year old Golden Retriever started jumping up at me like a naughty puppy of 32kgs.  We chatted for a moment or two through the open car window, Captain having pulled up next to me on the lane. 

Our lanes are narrow, one car wide or two very small cars with young drivers or those that are just obnoxious and rude.  We get tractors, cows and sheep being moved from field to farm, cars, joggers, walkers, all manner of traffic on our quiet lanes few and far between but mostly considerate.  Today is bin day.  The local refuse collection lorry comes down our quiet lanes on Wednesdays so everyone's bins are out and ready, when the peace was shattered by a cyclist careering round the corner in the middle of the lane at top speed yelling 'there's a car' to his partner, who turned out to be a woman going equally as fast.  I would guess that they were married, or at least a close couple due to the fact both wore matching black lycra clad bodies, identical cycles the kind with paper thin tyres and lightweight frames and those ridiculous looking helmets, which do protect the head but which those speeding cyclists seem to think that they need a long pointy bit on the back, which, in my opinion, just serves to give passing folk a good giggle as they look completely like idiots.  This lycra clad, testosterone fuelled man then started to swear loudly using plenty of obscene words, both Captain and I couldn't contain ourselves and both blurted out 'slow down then' to his torrent of abuse, it was at this point that the second lycra clad blurr whizzed past.  Mr Lycra, whose clothing left nothing to the imagination and I can only assume that he cycled so fast to make himself feel like a real man as his skin hugging attire was lacking in any lumps and bumps, then threw himself off his bicycle in a fit of toddler screaming tantrum and started to behave in a manner most aggressive and unbecoming.  Thank goodness my dogs were behaving and with me as I do believe that he would have approached both myself and Captain such was his fury.

After a few minutes of him making hand gestures from his forehead and using words that a good woman...maybe not me...would blush at, he got back on his bike and flew away.  I can only hope that around the next bend was the bin men in their rather fetching bright green truck.

When life throws a curve ball.

lampwork flowers on eBay

 

Summer has been with us for the last few weeks,

glorious sunshine and almost cloudless skies.

I don't have Sunflowers this year

except in glass but I do have

some gorgeous Poppies that have burst open.

 Its been a funny few months.  So much has stayed the same but so much has changed.  I am still creating my beads although the genre I create in has changed to flowers, the glass animals seem to have left me for the moment.  I am not worried about my animal muse leaving me altogether as it is still there just in a different art form.




Sunflowers and Sweetpeas



available on eBay

 I have been following my writing muse this year and attending a workshop in Brecon every Tuesday evening.  Its been brilliant.  The drive from Hereford to Brecon is about an hour but its a lovely drive through leafy country roads. 

 

I promised myself this year I would write again.  I have written on and off throughout all my life, long winded journal entries, sad and lonely effigies that have been my therapy when life isn't quite going as planned.  This year I made a quiet promise to myself to try and be more upbeat with my words, thinking the blog was the way to go, I put in more effort and started to enjoy detailing some of my more memorable sagas, like the trip to the supermarket and bra shopping with my daughter.  The workshop was a surprise.  Someone I have met through a craft fair at the Community Farm Open day who is a published writer and on FB put up a notice that she was running this workshop through Take pArt Community Arts Workshop in Brecon.  I at first said it was too far for me but Adele convinced me that it wasn't and so I went.  Anyone that can pronounce the name of the Industrial Estate its on is a better woman than I!  Ffrwdgrech Industrial Estate for any that wish to try!

 

Its a small group but we are doing great things, not least finding out about Maen Llia (pronounced Mine Clear or thereabouts).  In a small twist of fate I have managed to land myself the very important position of writing a monthly column for a magazine.  When the first one is published I will let you know.

 



Tiger Lily flowers.  SOLD.

 

As well as writing and getting out in the sunshine I have been volunteering at the Community Farm at Warham which is just across the farm yard from me.  Once a week I go and get involved with craft themes, beads and jewellery and at the moment big papier mache pig and chicken which are works in progress and they will be for Hereford in Bloom next month.

 

So life threw a curve ball.  Whereas this time last year I was here, alone with an elderly cat, Claude and two mad Golden's Iz and Defi just making beads quietly in my shed, now I am writing, looking after my sweet Gordy and mopping up dribble, charging down to the river with Iz and Defi in the sunshine, being over at the farm and looking forward to creating a fabulous column in the magazine where my animal muse is featuring heavily and creating beautiful gardens in glass.

 

How happy can one girl get?

 

Laney x

English Gardens

A white picket gate

The smell of Summer rain

Butterflies and bees

 

 



Available on Ebay for auction

Cut grass and fading lilacs
Buddleia dances in the gentle breeze
Reds, purples, yellows and greens

Rambling Roses and

Waving Lupins

Tiger Tiger.....

 

Tiger! Tiger! burning bright
In the forest of the night
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

In what distant deeps or skies
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand dare seize the fire?

And What shoulder, and what art,
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And when thy heart began to beat,
What dread hand? and what dread feet?

What the hammer? what the chain?
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? what dread grasp
Dare its deadly terrors clasp?

When the stars threw down their spears,
And watered heaven with their tears,
Did he smile his work to see?
Did he who made the lamb make thee?

Tiger! Tiger! burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?

William Blake

One of my all time favourite poems is Tiger Tiger by William Blake.

 



This tiger head bead is available in my Etsy shop.

 

Some more flowers are now available on eBay.

Starting in the middle.

I have started writing, again.  I have doodled and written poetry and odd lines ever since I could hold a pencil.  I am being brave and showing a few extracts on my blog, I am starting small!

....................................................................................................................................................................


She stood on the balcony, a little girl barely reaching the top of the solid wooden rails around the edge.  Wearing a full length cream dress with chocolate ribbon trim and tiny delicate peach blossoms embroidered on an over frilly bodice, small leaves of pale green, each one a tiny stitch of silken thread.  She watched over the distant field, a sea of crimson.  Waves of rich red tulips, dancing to the tune of the setting sun.

You can find my flowers on eBay

 

Just click the link.

 

Laney x