Littlecrow Glass

I would like to present the next featured Artfire artist: Littlecrow Glass!

Deb is the owner and artist behind Littlecrow Glass. She is a mother of 5 and has been married for 21 years. Her husband is such a huge supporter of her lampworking and glass work that he built her a studio in their home!

I asked this artist a few questions about her work and here are the answers she shared with me!

How did you first get into your craft?

I started doing hot glass work many years ago after seeing lampwork beads in a gallery. I fell in love! I just had to know how to do this. My husband surprised me with a lampworking started kit from a local stained glass shop and I just dove in. The flame was mesmerizing! I started with a simple Hot Head torch setup in my basement but soon upgraded to a, oxygen set up on a Minor Torch and my own glass studio. I have never taken a class though there are many I would love to learn from.

Is there any particular artist or person in your life that inspires you?

I am inspired by many things. My family, nature, fashion, color, all that glitters and shines.

What are your favorite materials to work with and why?

Glass of course! I haven't met a glass I haven't wanted to melt yet. I have even used recylced glass from church windows and glass bottles from weddings. Oh and I can't forget the silver, lots and lots of fine silver for sparkle!

Is there anything that you do that you think makes your creations stand apart from similar ones/ your competitiors?

There are so many wonderful lampworkers out there! I think everyone develops a style of their own. The glass community is full of wonderful people who are willing to share and learn from each other. I have learned so much from my fellow glass artists at places like wetcanvas and lampworketc online.

You can find Littlecrow Glass online at http://www.artfire.com/users/LittlecrowGlass

Featured studio piece 4-7-10

I haven't been able to keep up with my studio featured pieces lately... life and my day job tend to get in that way sometimes.

Today I would like to feature a necklace I made with blood quartz, cherry quartz and some copper wire. I made some little floral designs and attached them to a larger copper wire frame, then added some copper colored chain and some fresh water pearls for extra sheen. A lovely piece that is large enough to make a statement but with just the right amount of feminine touch! $40

End of the torch

Here's what's been at the end of my torch thus far this week.

This is my new favorite color combination... and these beads are some of my new favorites. I tried to make a few more this evening but over torched the teal glass so it changed color. But these.... these are GREAT! Well, in my opinion they are great.

I'm still working on finding the perfect balance in my flame to not over torch the colored glass but its difficult only using a hot head torch. I think I can do it but need more practice.

I will have more lampwork pendants and other jewelry listed in my shop withint the next few days so be sure to drop by and check it out! You aren't going to want to miss these.

Cindy's Creative Crochet

Today's featured Artfire artist is called Cindy's Creative Crochet!
Cindy started crocheting about 5 years ago. she's a self taught crocheter and still can not read a written crochet pattern. She also has begun making creative things out of pop tabs! Cindy is the mother of 5 children between the ages of 6 and 12 and is happily married. she also enjoys belly dancing, baking and making ice cream.
I asked Cindy a few questions about herself and her crafting. Here are her answers.
How did you first get into your craft?
The crocheting I saw a friend crocheting and figured out how to do basic chain stitches and the rest followed. I began with the wire after seeing a very simple chained copper necklace, and decided to try. I have very large hands and can\'t get a bracelet off the rack that fits me, so this was a great thing.
Is there any other particular artist or person in your life that influences or inspires you?
I love to make jewelry with beads made by my friend Elaine of Tooaquarius (mailto:www.Tooaquarius@artfire.com ) and my kids and husband are a huge support.
What are your favorite materials to work with and why? Well Elaine's beads as mentioned, they are so cool as soon as I see a new batch of them i have ideas on what other beads to use, colour wire ect and copper wire, it just has a nice warm natural feel to it.
Is there anything that you do that you think makes your creations stand apart from similar ones/ your competitors?
Not too many people use the pop tabs or crochet wire! I make up my own designs so they can\'t look too much like other peoples designs. I also do a lot of custom orders so people can really have what they want.
Anything else you would like my readers to know about (sales, coupons, other services you offer)?
As I just mentioned i love to do custom orders so if you see something in the shop that appeals but you want a different colour scheme, like the design but want it as a necklace rather than bracelet or a larger or smaller size, please feel free and welcome to ask! Currently I am working on making pop tab belts, not sure when I\'ll have them up, but hope for it to be within the next couple weeks.
You can find Cindy's lovely crocheted creations on Artfire at
Cindy's Creative Crochet

The entire purpose of this blog post is to give you a sample of the beads I've been working on. Mind you these haven't been kiln annealed yet so some may not make it through to being finished beads but... its a sneak peek at what has come off my torch lately.

A couple close-ups here... I did these to represent a few of the 4 elements.

More new pieces!

I have been very busy the past week or making new items with a bunch of lampwork beads I had created a few years ago. They have been sitting in my stock for what seems like ages with no inspiration to utilize them anyway. Then I saw some ideas at the art auction walking around on other women and I discovered what to do. Simple chain pices with mismatched lampwork beads.... how bohemian! And fabulous!

I also did a a few pendants from some of the larger and more abstract beads. I think they turned out pretty cool. I am hoping to get them listed today as well... sometime after lunch but before I get upstaris to torch some more beads.

This one looks like a glowing heart. I wrapped it with brass wire and added an AB faceted glass drop for added color.

This one is a littl more fiery looking.

Again I added some faceted glass beads at the top and bottom for color and wrapped it with brass wire.

This is one of favorite beads becauseit uses a stacked dot technique that imitates fish scales or the petals of a flower. I use silver toned artist wire on this one to enhance the color of the blues and also added more faceted glass beads, this time for sparkle.

Featured Studio Piece 4-1-10

Today I would like to feature a few of my wire wrapped crystal pendants. Not all are listed in my studio yet, but they will be soon. I go to visit my grandparents in MT every year or so. There are wonderful parks and forest up in the Rocky Mountains that we visit each time we are there for the fishing and camping... but also for the quartz crystal digging. So, I end up with LOTS of quartz crystal points to play with.

Lately I have begun wrapping and weaving wire around them and adding on little beads to brighten things up. These crystals range in price dependent on their size and wire wrapped complexity.