Beat It!

Desert Topo Glass Lampwork Bead Set

The heat – that is, what did you expect? (Well, I’ll have the Michael Jackson song stuck in my head now that I think about it!) I’m talking about the scorching heat in the summer, and how do I cope with torching in it.

Well, first of all, I know that I need to get things done, and done now. That is a great motivator! I have a “three season” studio – it’s basically outside, so spring and fall are fabulous. It’s nearly impossible to torch in the winter, so I have to put up with the heat somehow.

First, I wear lighter clothing, but I still wear my leather apron – hot glass in my lap is very, um, undesirable. As soon as a bead or a set (on a single mandrel) is done, off comes the apron.

I work in the night, typically it is cooler then.

I have a gallon jug of water, and I drink, drink, drink. No extra potty breaks are needed, because I am drenched after each torching session, and I’m not spilling the water onto myself. Although that is a thought…

If I’m working while there is light outside, I will turn off my work light whenever I can, because it generates a lot of heat itself. I turn it on if I have to do something intricate, but it goes back off as soon as possible.

I wear my Crocs. There. I said it. I love my Crocs, and if my feet stay cooler, the rest of me is cooler too.

My hair is put up on top of my head. No ponytail down the back – it is too hot.

I have a fan that generates a cross breeze. I am very careful to make sure that it is not blowing the torching fumes toward me though.

I wash my face between beads.

If I get too “soppy”, I change clothes. (I’m not painting a pretty picture here, am I?)

Rosemarie Hanus cheerfully melts glass in the heat in her Northeast Ohio studio. Check out her glassy things on Etsy and her website.

Feeding Frenzy

Bees on Thistle

Are you tired of reading about my thistle yet? I hope not, because I am thrilled at each new visitor – or visitors. I shot this set of bees peacefully sharing one flower.

I also saw a goldfinch on the weed yesterday, but wouldn’t you know? I did not have the camera with me.

Hey!  I just wrote a post about the birds and the bees.  It is still safe for work!

Falling Camera

Beads from the Perspective of a Falling Camera

When I photograph my beads, I have the f-stop as high as my camera allows, and the “film speed” as slow as possible. Because of that, a long exposure time is necessary, so I always set the camera on a tripod. It is a tiny tripod, and when I was taking this picture, I guess that I did not have the camera balanced well – it fell over while taking the photo.

Rosemarie Hanus is glad that the camera is fine. Check out her non smeared bead photos on Etsy and her website.

Almost Done!

Food on the Grill

Yes, it is that time of the year again; here is picnic food almost ready. I’m getting hungry again looking at the picture.

Actually, this is mid picnic season for us; we start as early in the year as we can stand, and extend the season well past when others have packed it in for the summer.

Hungry Visitor

Swallowtail on Thistle

Here is one of the reasons that I wanted to allow the thistle to grow in my yard – a very large yellow butterfly.

I ‘m not a butterfly expert, but I think that it is an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail.

Swallowtail on Thistle

My Thistle

I have allowed this large thistle to grow in my front yard; I hope that my neighbors don’t mind. It is next to another large bush, so it is pretty discrete.

It is at least 6 feet tall and has dozens of flowers on it. I love having these around because the goldfinches and butterflies love it too. I’m looking forward to the show.

I noticed the small critter on the flower only when getting close enough for the photo.

More Weeds

Weeds in the Lawn

Here are some more weeds.  They are so tiny and delicate!  Each flower is a quarter inch in size.

I shot these while waiting for our annual township parade to start.  It was a sunny day, and I think that I tripled the number of freckles on my arms and face.  Not that this has anything to do with weeds – just a random thing that I knew that you needed to know.

Maybe I’ll work on some beads with tiny yellow flowers.  And freckles.

Glass Class

Dragonfly at Judge's Lake, Hinckly Reservation, Ohio

One of the great joys of lampworking is learning new techniques – whether by design or happenstance in your own studio or in a classroom with another lampworker. I am very excited to be enrolled in a class with Michael Mangiafico in his Dragonfly class.

Here is a dragonfly that I photographed while “fishing” at Judge’s Lake. Fishing, for our family, entails casting out a line and waiting. That’s it – we never catch fish. If we should happen to do so, it would be immediately released. It is a relaxing pass time.

Rosemarie Hanus hopes to be making glass dragonflies in the very near future! In the meantime, check out her glassy things on Etsy and her website.

Oh NOZ!

Gray Storm Bead

I just noticed that my RSS feed widget was incorrect – for, hmmmm, months?

I have corrected it. Since nobody told me, does that mean that nobody tried to use the feed? I subscribe to lots of content with the RSS feed and read it in the Google reader. It is so easy to keep up with sites – both those that change a lot, and those that do not.

The picture is of a bead style that I have been developing lately.  I’m really happy with them; what do you think?

See more beads on Etsy and Spawn of Flame website.

Who Says?

Orange Weed

Who says that weeds are ugly?

Rosemarie Hanus sells glassy things, and nothing ugly, on Etsy and her website.