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Welcome New Members!
Welcome to all the ISGB members who joined in March:
Arizona
Adriene Buffington
British Columbia
Diane Brinton
California
Kathryn Tucker
Elizabeth Pourat
Elaine Ceballos
New Jersey
Elizabeth Hopkins
Susan Bailey
New Mexico
Fran Hahn
Nova Scotia
Shannon Gough
Ohio
Heidi Clous
Pennsylvania
Susan Kennedy
South Carolina
Diane Brierley
Virginia
George Mitchell
Cheryl Peasley
Western Australia
Dale Snyder
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Rakow Research Library
A world of glass knowledge is at your fingertips. Check out the Rakow Research Library at Corning Museum of Glass!
Click Here
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Bead Release Archives
Looking for a back issue of the Bead Release electronic newsletter?
Click Here!
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Contact Us ISGB Sarah Riggle, Administrator 85 East Gay Street Suite 707 Columbus, OH 43215 614.222.2243 admin@isgb.org :: |
 Use your creativity to help a child through a tough time.
Beads of Courage! |
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President's Message
by Angie Ramey, President
Greetings, Everyone!
Spring has sprung in my corner of the world, and I find it the most inspiring time of year. Daffodils and forsythia are in full bloom and mimic the warm sunshine we've been enjoying. I hope each of you has something beautiful to inspire your creativity this month, as well.
The second quarter of the year heralds exciting things for our organization. A new coldworking issue of Glass Bead Evolution has just hit your inboxes, and the work displayed by our featured artists and members who submitted to the Encore section is nothing short of phenomenal. Gathering registration is now open to everyone, and we couldn't be happier with the excitement and feedback we're receiving about all of the events we're offering this year in Albuquerque. Barb Svetlick is sharing some terrific things on the ISGB Gathering page on Facebook. There are tons of things to do and see on your own while you're there in addition to the conference related events.
As you know, spring is also election season for our organization, and we hope that you'll take time to read the candidate surveys on the ISGB forum in preparation for casting your ballots in May. We have a tremendously talented and capable line up of candidates this year, and I know you'll join me in thanking them for volunteering their invaluable skills to the organization we all love. We'll also be making a couple of announcements in the upcoming weeks that I think you'll be excited to hear about, so stay tuned!
I hope you enjoy this issue of the Bead Release, and that you're finding the new format and all of the great articles beneficial. If you have an idea for a topic or would be interested in sharing an article with our members, please contact Kris Schaible at midatlantic@isgb.org as she is always looking for fresh content. We'd love to feature YOU in an upcoming issue!
Flame on!
-Angie
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Why People Make Glass Beads
by Karin Webb
Many facets of this art grab us in ways we can never really explain. Often it starts as a means of saving money rather than spending. Instead of buying lots of beads all the time, you can make your own beads. This only works up to a point because once you have taken your first class, you buy your own equipment and then you progress from soft class to boro, oh and then you need a kiln and so on and so on. I certainly fall under the category of wanting to save money and have spent a great deal more than I was hoping to save.
But what really makes us want to make our own beads? One thing a lot of bead makers have in common is that they feel so at peace when making beads alone in their workshop. Here are a few stories about how some bead makers started making beads.
Larry Scott is well known for the precise dot placement he does and works with soft glass. He did not get into bead making until he met his wife in 1976. Kathleen is known for making stained glass, but that did not interest Larry at all. He enjoys working by himself while listening to music. Larry says: "The big challenge of heat control is my personal goal."
Olga Bott discovered lampwork a few years ago and was simply smitten. For her it is like meditation, making her feel calm and happy.
Ellen Howse says she is fascinated by how glass changes from solid to a liquid in the flame. She compares opening the kiln to Christmas morning- there is nothing better!
Marcia Seever adores the way the molten glass swirls and flows and makes the most magical designs. It is never the same, always changing, always intriguing and it makes her smile.
Wendy Hitchins loves the journey the colours take her on and feels a sense of accomplishment when she manages to produce something new and challenging. She wishes she could spend every day at the torch.
Debi "DebiDeaux" Dufrene was attracted to glass as a child when her parents had a collection of handmade glassware. She started collecting her own as she got older, but was drawn to smaller sculptures. One day she took apart an old Mardi Gras necklace to restring it and realized that it was made of small glass beads. Her glass collection grew to include glass beads. Debi got some truly beautiful beads that would just break for no reason and she started investigating why this was happening. Her research led her to her first class with a local lampworker.
Whether we started making beads to use in our own creations or to sell, we all have a very special story why we make glass beads.
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Using Instagram To Promote Your Art
by Rashan Jones
Instagram (or IG) is an amazing photo sharing app and platform. It was originally released in 2010 and in 5 short years it has changed the way people see and share their pics and their lives. It's a simple idea. Take a picture with your camera phone, and share it with friends. What began as a visual way to stay in touch and share has become a valid artisan market, online gallery, idea incubator, and business tool. With the click of a cell camera you can take a pic, edit it, price it, share it with friends, and even find a buyer. All from the comfort of your phone screen. When I first began as a flameworker, if I wanted a friend on the other side of the country to see my work, it was a process. First I'd make the piece, find my table top light set-up, take the pics, load them into a photo editor for cropping and light balance, THEN log into a forum, and post it in a "Show and tell" group. It would literally take the better part of a day to get the pics I wanted up and out there, and then I'd email it to a specific friend, or wait for feedback from my peers via an online forum. Then came IG and its hashtags.  
Signing up was a breeze. I just downloaded the phone app, and you have to have an email address to sign up, which becomes your log in. You have the option of signing up using Facebook or Twitter as well, and your existing friends and contacts will be added to your IG stream. Your stream is just that, a constantly changing view of pics your friends have shared. My stream is a healthy mix of work from all mediums, images that inspire me, intrigue me, and brighten my day. You can log in and see what the studio up the street from you has going on, or you may catch images from a friend's recent vacation or studio session. There are literally millions of images to see everyday, and in that great crush of visual information, how can you sort through it? How can you find the stuff you want to see, while making sure your own pics fall to the right eyes? It's easy, just a simply pound sign, also known as a hashtag.
The hashtag system is just that, a system. It's designed to help categorize all the images shared everyday. Think of them as section headers, or like the index tabs on your old 3 ring binders. If you want to see all the beads recently posted search for #beads. But that's still a lot of images. Maybe you want to narrow it down- maybe only see glass beads? Then #glassbeads it is. Or search by colors #red, #blue, #green and you will open yourself up thousands of pics of just #red things, or just #lampworkbeads. It amazing how many different styles, shapes, colors and techniques you can discover. Hashtags can relate to anything you'd like. There isn't really a set list of them, and you can create your own. And each picture can have a multitude of tags so there is no reason to limit yourself. #beads, #lampworkbeads, even #isgb or #isgbgathering will easily send you down a never ending rabbit hole of images and pictures of your chosen tag. When adding your own pics it works in reverse. Lets say you just finished an awesome, blue and green, bi-cone bead? How to get it noticed and seen? I'd go with a nice description in your own words, and then hashtags #isgb (so all your Society friends can check it out), #beads (so anyone just looking for beads can stumble into them), #lampworkglass, and maybe #highdesertflameworks (or in your case, your own studio/artisan name). This combination helps make sure that if some is looking for your work specifically, it's easy to find. If someone is just randomly looking for "beads" or something "blue" they will also see your work and hopefully fall in love with it. Because it is just a photo sharing platform there is no real way to make sales through the app. There are comments and Direct Messages (DM's) so folks can reach out to you and from there it's usually just a quick email and a Paypal or credit card purchase. In the last 2 years there has been a surge in buying artisan direct and IG has lead the way in exposing new artisans to hard to reach areas. Because there is a certain amount of anonymity to Instagram, I would recommend doing business with people you know and trust or making sure you're familiar with PayPal's seller/buyer protection rules.  Instagram has helped to level the creative playing field. People are able to show off their work easily, simply, and in great detail. The app itself features a really good photo editor so cropping and such are a breeze. It has lots of eye-catching filters to enhance your photos. They are a really fun way to turn out dynamic Macro photos and play lots of fun color tricks as well.
Go ahead, try it out. Here's some really fun hashtags to get you started:
#glassbeads, #isgb, #beadsofig (the "ofig" literally means of Instagram so you're searching for all the "beadsofig"), #glassofig, and of course #petsofig (huge fun, huge time waster). There is no limit because everyday folks are coming up with new tags to catch your eye and tickle your brain.
It's also easy to stay in touch with your favorite creative artisans. IG has become not just about products, but a way to share the life experiences that inspire the makers. You can check out what @GlassKris has cooking, or marvel at how she creates while it dumps snow on her. @LoriGreenberg is another talented ISGB member and she shares her beads, you can literally watch her transition into a milli maker, AND check out her newest food creations. Watch your favorite #borohustlers concoct their next idea, or see what's happening at a local glass studio like #highdesertflameworks. There's a whole new world of photos and inspiration out there, just a pound sign away.  
As an artisan, IG is a great tool. I can quickly snap shots and collect them all in one place. Post pics of your work, your studio, your process. Show off things that inspire you, or your favorite animals. Even your food. By sharing more of yourself, your customers and collector can go with you into your creative spirit and see what drives you.
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Industry News & Opportunities
Kendra Bruno, Executive Director
AmazonSmile benefits ISGB and as an Amazon customer, you can select our organization. Support ISGB while you shop!
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HOT TIPS
By Kiersten Kern
Easy Cleaning of Hollow Beads by Penny Dickinson A few years ago I was making a bunch of transparent hollow beads for a necklace I wanted to make. I decided to make the hollows on 1/16" mandrels, as I wanted to string them on a thin bead wire. When all the beads were completed, I went about cleaning the beads and found that with such small bead holes, it was next to impossible to get all the chunks of bead release out of the beads. If these beads where opaque it would not be an issue, but with transparent glass, I needed to thoroughly clean out these hollows. I tried soaking the beads and even tried to blow the water and bead release out of the beads with no success. Then I had an idea - I had an old WaterpicŪ stashed away, from when my kids where in braces. With the water-pick full of water, I turned it on and put the tip to the bead hole, and within 5 seconds all the bead release was blasted out of the bead! If you want to clean hollows out quickly and easily, try a WaterpicŪ! Have a handy tip, fun technique, or helpful bit of advice for your fellow beadmakers? Share the knowledge! Email Kiersten here. Thanks!
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