Welcome to Studio Saturday! Each week one of our contributors gives you a sneak peek into their studio, creative process or inspirations. We ask a related question of our readers and hope you’ll leave comments! As an incentive we offer a free prize each week to bribe you to use that keyboard. The following week we choose a random winner.
This week’s very lucky winner is Arline(abeadlady)! Congratulations! Please send your postal address to the ABS Suggestion Box to receive a fused glass charm by Lynn Davis.
This week we take a peak into the Jangles studio, literally!
Hey, Hey It’s studio Saturday and here we are almost two weeks from Christmas. Things are starting to wind down here at the Jangles studio. It’s been a busy holiday season here. It also seems to have flown by. I thought this week I would show you my studio in it’s crazy holiday state. The whole sha-bang, mess and all. I can guarantee there will be a big clean up at the first of the year. The photo above is what it looked like a few months ago when it was just finished. You’ll notice things have changed a bit.
You may have seen my book, Ceramic Bead Jewelry, 30 Fired and Inspired Projects, if you have you might be familiar with the process of ceramic bead making. If not…well you’ll get to learn about the process today too. I will show you the stations of my studio in the order that I use them to make a bead.
Here we go…
First is my making table. This is where I form all of my beads.
Here on my table you can see all of my cutter’s. I make most of them myself.
After the beads are dry they go to the kiln. My kilns are out in the garage. The fumes that the clay lets off when it is heated aren’t great to breathe, so that’s why they aren’t in my house. I have three kilns. We call them mama bear, papa bear, and baby bear.
After the beads come out of the kiln, they are glazed. Here is my glaze table. Messy. I know. This room is separate and out of the main house, for the reason of mess. Glazes when dry and loose can make dust that isn’t good to breathe. I keep it out of the house as much as I can.
Here are beads waiting to be glazed.
Now the beads go back into the kiln. This time they go on stilts and wires. Since you have already seen a picture of my kilns, here is a picture of all of my kiln furniture. It takes a lot of these bars and wires to get all my beads in the kiln.
Now, if I were making jewelry, the beads would come back inside to my jewelry table and this is where I would assemble it. This might be the messiest part of my studio right now. Yikes, that looks bad!
If I am getting ready for a show or making stock my beads they would go here to my bead table.
If my beads are going in an order then they go back out to the glaze studio. I have my packing table out there.
There it is the official Jangles studio tour. I hope you enjoyed it. There’s not really an appropriate question to go with my tour today. I have to ask something so you will be able to answer to win a Jangles Pendant. Here we go….
Have your beads taken over your house like mine have? Leave a comment, I would love to hear about your studio.
Happy Holidays,
Jennifer
Heather Powers
December 13, 2008 at 1:45 pmthanks for sharing a tour of your studio jennifer. your bead table looks like mine!
My studio is contained in one room, everything stays there and the door gets shut when I’m done working for the day.
We won’t mention the sewing mess taking up half of the kitchen table…
SABALE
December 13, 2008 at 1:48 pmque kilombo eso mami, habria que ordenar
http://sabaleplus.blogspot.com/
JenniferJangles
December 13, 2008 at 2:18 pmOh good Heather! I hate sorting beads and putting them back, don’t you? I try to sort as I go but it doesn’t always happen. That’s obvious.
Jennifer
Maria
December 13, 2008 at 3:57 pmGreat tour Jennifer!
If you want to see a real mess, you need to visit my studio! I would like to say it’s all because of the time of year (we are all extra busy right now, right?) BUT truth be told…once I clean up the mess and make things pretty again, it doesn’t stay that way for long. After all who really wants to be cleaning when we could be making beads?! Not me! Thanks for sharing…
Happy Holidays!
Maria
Jennifer Farley
December 13, 2008 at 5:17 pmThank you for the studio tour! My beading mess was limited to one room until fairly recently. A couple of weeks ago, I inherited my great Aunt’s beads. These awesome vintage beads more than doubled the size of my stash! I have been sorting and organizing ever since, and beads have officially taken over the house.
cindy
December 13, 2008 at 6:18 pmNo, I won’t let them. I work in limited space, and when things start to pile up I sell/destash beads that I haven’t used, don’t like any more, or are extras. Thanks for the studio tour!
Cindy
http://www.devinedesignsjewelry.etsy.com
Mary Sullivan
December 13, 2008 at 6:52 pmYour stations all look pretty organized to me!
I have now taken over a big round coffee table in the living room but I try to put at least half of it away (under the table) when I’m not working on things (hmmm…except last night).
I clean up partly for my own sake – otherwise, kids, kids’ friends, and cats start to explore what’s on the table and then I can’t always find what I know I have.
Thanks for the tour and for your great work!
Gail W.
December 13, 2008 at 8:17 pmMy beads and supplies are taking up space every where.I hang strings of beads or finished projects on the walls with a thumbtack.Kitchen table,we can't find it.I hate to vaccum,I'm afraid I'll suck a bead up.Yes,some people might say my house is over run with jewelry&beads,as for me,I like looking at everything because it's pretty & makes me happy.
Jamie
December 14, 2008 at 12:42 amWow what a studio you have going Jennifer!!!
I try to keep my things contained to a large desk with tons of organizers and those clear and white rubbermaid drawers. Easier to find that way. 🙂
Jamie
Creations by JAE
http://creationsbyjae.etsy.com
http://creationsbyjae.blogspot.com
http://www.creationsbyjae.com
rosebud101
December 14, 2008 at 3:19 amJennifer, your studio looks great! Mine is not so clean, but I love it!
:-) MaryLou
December 14, 2008 at 3:57 pmLet’s see… I have a room, dedicated to all my craft endeavors. But it’s overcrowded. So I moved some of the things to the guest bedroom. And there wasn’t enough space in there, and I don’t like to work in there. So some things moved to the living room.
I’ve pretty much taken over the entire house. I’m surprised my husband doesn’t wind up with bead sprinkles on his food sometimes.
I loved your studio tour!
🙂
Debrasdezinez
December 14, 2008 at 4:55 pmThank You for the tour! But to me that looks pretty standard in my work station it gets a bit messy but I clean up and a few minutes later its messy again. But I try to keep things a little organize because I want to be able to find my stuff! I think I have bead greimlins in my work room !
Happy Beading !
Debra
[email protected]
Valerie C
December 14, 2008 at 6:17 pmThanks for the tour. I wish my studio was that big but it is not and I do have to live with what I have.
My house is spotless my studio is not. If I dare venture out of my studio I would never here the end of it. I do love my studio and it is my favorite place to be after work and on weekends.
I now have 3 shops selling my jewels so that keeps me busy after work. I need at least 3 more before I can quit my job. YEH!!!!
OH and my studio? It is a MESS all the time. I try to clean it but do not get far when I come up with an idea that has to be done now or put down on paper.
SueBeads
December 14, 2008 at 6:22 pmYes, and while my friend Jill mentioned one day, “There are beads all over this house”, my loving family has never said one word about it except “COOL”!
JenniferJangles
December 15, 2008 at 2:55 amMaria,
I hear ya! I don’t clean my space often but there comes a time where the mess builds up and I can’t take it. I have to clean, I am really close to that point again. Once I clean it won’t be long until it’s messy again.
Jennifer
JenniferJangles
December 15, 2008 at 2:56 amOh Jennifer, I am so jealous of your new bead collection…wish I could see it. I bet it’s fabulous.
Jennifer
JenniferJangles
December 15, 2008 at 2:58 amI love hearing about all of your studios. I wish I could visit them all!
Jennifer
Gaela
December 15, 2008 at 1:27 pmI really enjoyed the tour. Compared to how I operate and the way my studio flows through my house, in & out the windows and doors, this looks like a breeze. However, I'm picking out a schulte freedom rail system for the part that needs to be inside my house and the kiln and messies will have to go in the shed. I wish I had room for a studio all my own, complete with a sitting area. But somehow it all gets done.
Cindy
December 15, 2008 at 3:51 pmThanks for the tour and wonderful pictures. Yes, my beads/projects have taken over the house too! I don’t have a dedicated space now since we are living in temporary quarters, but I’m dreaming of my future studio….
Gaea
December 15, 2008 at 7:52 pmThey invade places no beads should go! “Privacy Please”? Yes. The bathroom.
Kiwiken
December 15, 2008 at 8:14 pmYes, they definitely have taken over – the computer table was turned into a “polymer clay molding table”, the desk is used to assemble jewelry, the kitchen oven is used for baking and the windowsill for drying beads after glazing… so, yeah, they are everywhere.
Shaiha
December 17, 2008 at 5:57 amMine hasn’t really taken over the house but how about 1/2 my living room. I have a huge living room wiht an arch in the middle. The tv and furniture is all crammed in one side and the other is my studio.
Tari of claybuttons
December 18, 2008 at 3:08 pmLove your new studio!! Beads? What beads? We don’t have any beads….