Rounded Heart Pattern

A lady named Patricia emailed me some scans of a heart pattern, passed around by the New Westminster Beading Club (yay). This is my gift to her and any other member, to clarify the instructions for the "rounded shoulder". Hopefully this is helpful to this group. The rest of you, check out my online shop (click on the title of this post) if you would like to purchase my new book; a clear, concise introduction to Japanese-style right angle weave.

sapphire studio!

PICT4141.AVI

GRAD SHOW Winter"08

This is the second grad show, and me and Kim at Eclektica (568 Seymour Street) hope to make this a tri- annual thing! I have to give props to Kim for all the support she has given my students since we've met!

This term the Digital Media students are joining us for the celebration! So we have been working together, making up advertising and selling raffle tickets to raise money for the rental fee. You can purchase fresh students work at great prices for quality work and ingenuity... a small display will continue on display and for sale until Dec 21st. A great way to spend your christmas cash, supporting the budding local artisans!

Drinks will be available for the evening by donation. Also, you may purchase draw tickets for this peice of jewelry I designed and made... a great gift for yourself or your favorite classy dame.

See you then! Thanks for your support!



wow these colors are a little messed! if you go to http://angeadair.com/Port.html
you can see the real colors of the piece until I fix this pic!

Woo! the cover for my book!

How lovely to hand the layout and design over to someone else... im really exited by this project, Spicebox has done some nice-looking publications in the past...

So you'll have to stay tuned for the launch and hopefully a little party... Kim at Eclektica has already offered her art store on Seymour...

Keep your fingers crossed for me, I'd like to do at least another book with these guys, and my fantasy is an advanced version of the right angle weave, with fewer but more elaborate projects...

My online shop is back!

Featuring original designs from my new book coming out early next year!

Tiger headress....the process ...

This WAS going to be the entry for the swarovski contest this yearm but one Saturday afternoon, after working chainmaille for about 5 hours until I was sweating, I lay down in exhaustion and realised I didnt really want to enter the contest this year. I normally feel very inspired by contests and motivated by deadlines, but I think it might be a deeper issue... Id like to actually keep this peice, and unlike the chessboard last year, not have it taken away from me...so Ill take my time and I'll upload the next set of instruction as I progress in the project... I want it to be monumental, not rushed...

Making Beer with Cory!

Yup you heard me right I make my own beer..Curious? Well to be honest I dont care to drink and bead (never quite... looks the same heheh) but I do enjoy a nice brew, and of course I enjoy even more the satisfaction of making something myself. If i do say so, my friends have been raving about the taste of the beer! Im on my 5th and 6th batch; so far Ive made lager, nut brown ale, draft, cider, and im waiting on a pilsner and a cider...

Wanna make your own beer? Follow the link of the title and go visit Dan at his brew shop. Ill give you a briefing on the basic process... then you can see how easy it is!

For 60-65 bottles, it costs less than $25 for ingredients, thats less than 30 cents a bottle...

Ths kit costs from $100 - $150 bucks, so not a bad investment....




Ok! So...collect yourself some beer bottles...use the dark kind, the less light that gets into the bottle the less "pissy" the taste...

if you can rinse them out in advance it makes bottling a whole less painful. In fact, get into the habit of buying dark bottled beer when you party at home, and RINSE OUT THE BOTTLES!

Buy the kit and the ingregients from Dan. Buy some disinfectant (Diversol) (the pink stuff). Dan will help you with all the odds ands ends!




Would be nice if your kitchen was larger and you have a dishwasher! But if you're ambitious youll make do...

STEP 1

SO disinfect everything, every surface where you wil be making beer. Organic material is actually probably worse than inorganic grit, so be thourough.

Add ingredients to boiling water and boil according to instructions. You will add activated yeast, and more water. Seal up the Plastic Carboid for a few days!



The plug in your carboid has a little contraption half filled with water that will start to bubble as the beer carbonates! You let it sit for a few days to let the sediment settle...

You will transfer the beer using a siphon into another carboid, this one glass, and let it sit for at least another week. DOnt worry this is not as hard as it sounds and you get to taster the beer...

Bottling comes next, try to collect bottles with hinged corks it would make it easier...

Well go see Dan, and Enjoy!

Adventures of a Swarovski Contest...

Check out the link (title) to see the 2007 contest finalists while you still can...



Hmmm well I guess Im not SORRY I entered this contest, but it was hard to justify entering again this year. My piece is on a tour, it was in Hew York, at the Tuscon Show, and in Thailand...so I cant complain...

At the same time, I'm glad I kept the tiger mask for myself...



The picture on the website is not very detailed so i thought id share a closer view of the chess pieces in case they may inspire you to make your own little structures...



I used 2 strand right angle weave for this peice, let me know if you have any questions about this skill or if you know of any cool links...



All of the pieces are very strategic, I placed every bead precicely with meaning... All the men, including the pawns, are the same size...only the headgear makes their rank...the queen of course has a larger stature...and a carries an unborn player if you look very closely...(WOOPS! no close up of the queen! D: )



I learned alot from this contest...i think when doing such a work, the focus needs to be more on the product and less on the tiny details of the peice. The beautiful thing is, I can make a chess set out of beads anytime i want, and use whatever beads I want, and I have many ideas for that...but in the future if I were to enter such a contest again, I would begin with the prouct elements themselves, and then work them into a creation, rather than try to conform the product into my idea... well good luck beaders!