Sarah Downton Beads and Jewellery

Monday evening.
What a joy to walk down to my studio today without getting wet feet. Bliss.
I made a few dichroic focal beads today and can’t wait to see them. Some funny stuff happened because I was experimenting with different colours and frits, also a rod of what I thought was pale amber was actually rhubarb green (a shift tint colour that changes depending on the light source, or what glasses you’re using!) only my didymiums (lampworking specs) made it look amber. Woops. Should be interesting.
Ah, but it’s those mistakes and unusual reactions that make hot glass work such fun. Also I love the anticipation of waiting for the beads to anneal then cool. Sometimes it’s like Christmas morning……wake up, get dressed, rush downstairs and out to the studio to see what the kiln fairy has for me.

OOO, and I forgot to say I made my very first post on one of the American based lampwork forums, I’m officially not a lurker any more. Take a look at Lampwork etc. if you’re intrigued by the glass bead stuff.

Saturday evening…
Of course we didn’t get to Kew today. Something rather more important came up and our plans had to change.
We did however manage to get the all important stepping stones laid down which lead to my studio at the end of the garden. So hopefully no more muddy boots and squishy lawn when it rains. I get to try them out for real when I will parade gleefully down to the studio Monday morning to turn on the kiln before a fun days play at the torch – yipee!

Hi there. Welcome back to the more appropriately named bead log. So much for half term being a break, I think I’m more exhausted from this week than normal. I’m looking forward to a rest when my daughter goes back to school next week.

We had another successful recording session last night, and just need one more session to get the tracks down, then it’s the final mix, a bit of mastering and we should be able to go into production of the new CD. I just love all this recording stuff, not as much as Rick, who whiles away many an evening tinkering on the computer with Sonar, but I really enjoy the recording and production process.

We’re thinking of going to Kew Gardens tommorrow to see the Dale Chihully Gardens of Glass exhibition. It just remains to be seen if we can get up early enough to go, we’re all so shatterred!

OOOO and some exciting news for me anyway, I bit the bullet and decided to do a bit of advertising. The publication is called The International Flame Guide and will be a bit like the yellow pages of glass, and we have put in a small ad to advertise ….me….dah dah. So I’m now waiting with baited breath for the release date and wondering how it will affect my website hits. The book will be available 1st January 2006, but will also be available to view on the net.

Well, I got my skid lid on Sunday, lovely flatering one in a sort of lilac purple shade, perfect for me as anyone who knows me would tell you. Actually it was the only helmet that fitted so the colour was just a coincidence, cool. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

This week is half term so I’ve thrown caution to the wind and not done any beading yet. Instead I was up till the wee hours last night with CE and some musical friends of ours, crammed into our back bedroom, otherwise known as the recording studio/CE’s office/spare bedroom. The aim was to finish off a recording we started 1 1/2 years ago, my, how time flies. We had great fun achieving a full choir sound and small baroque quartet with just 4 female and one male singer, a keyboard, cello and recorder. The wonders of modern technology!!!! Needless to say I’m a bit spaced out today but looking forward to our next session tommorrow night.

I’m lounging here on the settee enjoying a nice glass of white wine and enjoying a fab evening of music courtesy of Robbie Williams and the Fashion Rocks with Swarovski Crystal. What a stunning show of fashion and what a catwalk too… no, I mean it! The catwalk was a river of crystal under sheets of glass. I want one! Actually I’m wondering whether I can do a bit more with the crystals I own, after all I do have a bit of a vested interest being a crystal user myself (ooo,that sounds a bit sus!) …. should I customise the new push bike I bought today with rows of Aurora crystal along the wheel spokes so it sparkles as I ride along in my effort to get fit? Thank you Rick (CE) for so nicely pointing out how many beautiful women there are around (well there would be, IT’S A FASHION SHOW). We did notice that several of the male artists were rather distracted during their performances by the gorgeous babes strutting their stuff along the catwalk (no reference to a top make of glass press here!).

I have the unenviable pleasure of going out tommorrow to choose that most essential item of fashion for cyclists – a helmet – woohoo, not. I’m so looking forward to riding my new bike, but I just dread the helmet thang. When I bought my first bike 25 years ago we never had such stuff, and I have to admit I’m not really looking forward to donning said safety item. Ah well, better than losing my head, so to speak.

Hellooooooooooo,
welcome to my blog or should I say ‘My world’.
I’m sitting here typing this while I wait for my kiln to heat up. Why?
Well, maybe I should introduce myself…….my name is Sarah Downton and I make glass beads and jewellery for a living (or is that really for fun with a bit of dosh thrown in for good measure?).
You can take a look at my website sarahdownton.co.uk for an idea of what I’m up to.

So here I am, Friday noon (just), typing my first blog. I’ve been cowering indoors all morning cos of the rain that was tipping down earlier, but I’ve just squelched out to my studio (12 deg C in there) to fire up the kiln and will be popping of out there later to make beads – woohoo.

I thought I should make my debut today, or Richard, Mr Webmaster and Cybergeek Extraordinaire (otherwise known as my husband), who’s been champing at the bit to do my first entry, would loose patience with me and pretend to be cyberme (actually he has done everday but I caught him in the act and made him take it off…I mean delete it).

So what’s new? Well this blog for a start, obviously, and also I changed the blurb on the front page of my website at long last, now that I can – thank you CE (Rick – Cybergeek Extraordinaire).
There’s lots to do on my website which I won’t bore you with, but I will say I hope you’ll come visit my site regurlary as we change things and this blog again for my inane (or is that insane) ramblings on life, the Universe and everything (by the way the answer is 42).

see you soon……………………