Barbara Becker Simon

Shopping cart woes

Barbara Becker Simon — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 13:29:00 +0000

A tale of woe: desktop dies, laptop takes over, all is transfered except shopping cart decryption doodad, website boss says a new one is needed, while we wait customers must email directly to Barbara for orders. boo hoo really sorry

G'Day, Mate!

Barbara Becker Simon — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 19:58:00 +0000

I have been invited to teach in Australia this October. The PMC Guild of Australia will be hosting classes in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide during the month of October. I am so excited to see that part of the world and connect with friends old and new. I may also be teaching at the Bead and Gem Show that takes place in October in Sydney. I will post the final schedule on my class page when it is settled.

In another arena, I am almost done writing my book, Making Metal Clay Beads. Next it all gets sent to the editor at Lark and it will magically be transformed! Photo shoot in April and then other stuff (never wrote a book before---how am I supposed to know what goes on?!). Publishing date is April of 2009. It will be here before we know it.

Okay, enough procrastination, gotta get back to the book...........

PMC Technic (and other Stuff)

Barbara Becker Simon — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 21:24:00 +0000

Tim MCCreight has edited a new book called PMC Technic and it is a real winner. It is chock full of knowlege about some specific PMC techniques like syringe work, hinges and an article by yours truly. My chapter is about building lampworked glass around PMC "spools" to create a "hybird" bead. (I have a picture of a necklace done with this kind of bead.)
I have some copies of the book which I will put my John Hancock on my chapter page and send to you for $30.00 plus $4.00 shipping. Email me if you are interested.
I just returned from 4 days of PMC workshops in Columbus,Ohio. What a great group of wonderful Midwestern folks! We really had a fun time and I dispensed all kinds of info about clasps and textures and hollow forms. I saw their poor heads spinning! Thanks, Ohioans!

Call for Entries

Barbara Becker Simon — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 15:21:00 +0000

Okay, here it is: TA DA! Lark Books has sent out the call for entries for the tome that I am authoring (is that a word?), Making Metal Clay Beads. Here is the link: http://www.larkbooks.com/submissions/ArtistEntryForm-Metal.asp

Please send in some great stuff to be included in the Gallery section.

I have been working hard to create some, in my humble opinion, kick butt projects for the book.

I have certainly been in a PMC mode lately. Got back a couple of weeks ago from teaching a lovely group of folks in PA. They turned out some great PMC/Champleve enameled pieces. And, I got to gorge myself on homegrown garden tomatoes--Oh Lord, they were good!

I am heading to Columbus OH next week for some more PMC workshops.

I have to get back to the torch and make 45 teacups and assorted teapots for a teapot show at the Morgan Gallery in Pittsburg. Yikes!!!!

I gotta go work! Now!

Penland Pictures

Barbara Becker Simon — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 22:02:00 +0000

Here is the meadow as seen from the porch of Craft House and a shot of the flame studio with some of my students from the 2 week class I taught here recently. See the next post for details

Back from Penland School of Crafts, NC

Barbara Becker Simon — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 21:42:00 +0000

After two weeks in the NC mountains, I returned on Saturday, July 7 to the real world. Yes, being at Penland is like a visit to another planet. A beautiful world where you are surrounded by people who love to learn and to make stuff. All you have to do is get yourself up in the morning and toddle on down to the Pines for a yummy breakfast (Penland has got to have the best bacon in the known world....) and then up to the studio for as many hours as your mind and body can handle. Then back to the Pines 2 more times. Just think, you don't have to make your own meals,--it's like living with mom again!!

My class had a beginning beadmaking curriculum with a PMC kicker thrown in for good measure. So we covered the basics of lampworked beads and the ABC's of PMC! The class made PMC beads and clasps that hopefully will be combined in the future with their glass beads to make fabulous jewelry!

My fellow instructors were completely off the charts with talent and generosity. Wow, what beautiful work they created. Their students followed suit!

At the scholarship auction I bought the most amazing ceramic piece created by Sharif Bey's class. I will post a picture of it when I get it set in place in my house. It is unreal!!

I had a great time and hope to go back and teach again. Of course I will post it on my class page. Go to Penland to learn anything; the experience is memorable.

A Real Honor

Barbara Becker Simon — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 20:24:00 +0000

Recently I was awarded second place in PMC for the Saul Bell Design Awards, a jewelry competition sponsored by Rio Grande. I submitted a necklace called "Big Links." It is lovely to be acknowleged for your efforts and to be among such talented people. You can see all the winners on http://www.saulbellaward.com/.

New Book

Barbara Becker Simon — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 19:55:00 +0000

I have been remiss with my blogging!!

I have posted a picture of my cat Witty with the 60 roses that I received when I turned 60 last December.

I have been very busy with teaching and working in my studio. I have been to St. Petersburg FL for a Certification class. Hectic but lots of nice people and lots of fun. Went to Rhode Island in February for a Cert. class that Kate Fowle Meleney hosted. What a great group and a great time. Not to mention the fried clams and the lobster rolls! OMG!

I have been builing up inventory for the Big Bead and Button Show in Milwaukee in June. Yikes!

I am in the early stages of writing a book for Lark Books. It is entitled "Making Metal Clay Beads." It will cover some basics of metal clay but more importantly, the many ways and means of creating beads using metal clay. To me, this has always been the outstanding quality of metal clay; the ability to easily create hollow forms. I will also include a chapter on making texture sheets using various materials such as polymer clay and photopolymer plates. I will be presenting about 20 projects, too. So far, so good considering I have never written quite so much at one time before. I remember writing my last art history paper in graduate school and gloating that I will never again have to write a research paper. Hah! Was it Sean Connery as James Bond who said, Never say never! I think the book will be available in the Spring of 2008 if all goes well. I will keep you posted.

Also, if any of you are in the San Francisco area and need to have your hair done, my daughter works at Oxenrose (448 Grove St.). She is presently an assistant and can only do hair on Tuesdays but she is getting rave reviews from her supervisors and clients. Ask for Sylvie. After May or June she will be a full fledged stylist ready for her own clients. She has cut and colored my hair many times and it's been great. Her artistic side finally has an outlet!

I pledge to be more timely with my blog from now on. Ciao!

At Wm. Holland School, GA

Barbara Becker Simon — Sun, 03 Sep 2006 21:39:00 +0000

Just got back from north Georgia and the Wm. Holland School in Young Harris, GA. Florida Society of Goldsmiths hosted the Mountain Metalsmithing week. Our class was a 5 day PMC extravaganza in which the "girls" had lots of fun, produced lots of great pieces and the students have lots to chew on for many moons! The landscape is the view from my bedroom window. The rest of the shots are the busy bees in the class! I am home now for the whole month of September and will be working on various projects. Wahoo! No traveling for weeks!!

Stuff!

Barbara Becker Simon — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 20:15:00 +0000

I am honored to be the "cover girl" for The Crafts Report this month. Larry Sanders took that really kick butt photo of my Rainbow Chips necklaces.
I just returned from a three day retreat at Rio Grande in Albuquerque with the 8 other senior teachers with the Rio Rewards Certification program. We had so much fun and learned so much from one another. Let me tell you, they are a mega-talented bunch! Tonya Davidson and I sat next to each other and tormented poor Fred Woell---he loved it! We even tweaked the curriculum for the Certification class and it is going to be fabulous!
I stayed in NM a couple of days with my good buddy Eleanore Macnish, the lovely and talented beadmaker/jeweler. We had a lot of laughs and I got to see her new jewelry. It uses kitschy found objects and is really great. Try to google, I know she has a website now.

Marathon Beads

Barbara Becker Simon — Tue, 21 Feb 2006 00:53:00 +0000

Just thought I would post a picture of some new PMC beads that I did. i have had the desire to make objects with running figures on them for a long long time. I love looking at classic Greek pottery with the same motif. On one bead, I used the Aura 22 material to highlight the figures. These beads took FOREVER to do. Oh well, it's the doing that's the fun part. I will post more pictures of some really wild box rings that I am working on at the moment.

Back From Pittsburgh

Barbara Becker Simon — Thu, 12 Jan 2006 19:30:00 +0000

It was with some trepidation that I accepted a workshop in Pittsburgh in January. Hey, I live in Florida! I don't have that many warm clothes and no boots! But the weather and the people were warm as can be. I taught an advanced beadmaking class at the Pittsburgh Glass Center and what a fantastic facility that is! WOW! Anything you want to know about glass can be learned there.

The flameworking studio is right on a busy Penn Avenue and covered with big windows. (That's the scene behind me as I am demonstrating in the photo above.) It is a well laid out space with roomy work stations with kilns at every seat. What a pleasure to hold a class there.

We covered hollows and sculptural beads mostly and of course, I had to throw in a little stringer control with some "hairy" filagrano! We also talked alot about creativity and how a piece of jewelry comes about. Several students brought in finished work and works in progress for me to give my two cents. I think everyone had a successful time.

We talked about my return to Pittsburgh in this year or the next to teach some PMC and some wirework. Stay tuned to my class schedule page for further details.

PMC Certification Class

Barbara Becker Simon — Tue, 06 Dec 2005 14:38:00 +0000

This past weekend I held a PMC Certification class in my home studio. Class members learned a lot and while we were on lunch break we saw manatees frolicking in the lake behind my house! How cool is that for the students from Indiana and Ohio??!! Here is a picture of their happy faces! For the past 2 years, I have held a Rio Rewards Certification class in my studio in early December. If you want to participate next year, keep it in mind 'cause we'll try again in '06!

PMC Clasp Examples

Barbara Becker Simon — Sat, 12 Nov 2005 15:38:00 +0000

Here are some examples of clasps made with PMC 3 and sterling silver that has been imbedded and fired with the PMC. Hook and eye, toggle, and what I call Double C's are pictured. The next PMC Clasps one day workshop will be held as a preconference class at the PMC Conference in Layfayette, IN in July 2006. Check my class schedule for more info.

PMC Clasps

Barbara Becker Simon — Fri, 11 Nov 2005 21:50:00 +0000

Just returned from teaching a workshop in San Antonio, Texas at the Southwest School of Art and Craft. I like Texas and Texans and I especially like the metals studio at the School. It is without equal for equipment, space, and layout, thanks to the lovely and talented Claire Holliday the metals chair. This is the first time that I have taught this one day class and I am pretty sure everyone learned how to make clasps and related findings with PMC 3 and sterling. I will post some pics as soon as I am able.

Witty

Barbara Becker Simon — Thu, 03 Nov 2005 17:04:00 +0000

I am overhauling my website--sheesh was it boring. Anyway, Sadelle from Spectrum is helping me and recommmends that I make some real posts not just tests. In addition I thought that I would try out the image download. Soooooooooo.........I think a pic of my cat Witty would be appropriate. So here goes........

The Venerable Hot Head

Barbara Becker Simon — Thu, 03 Nov 2005 16:14:00 +0000

Just this past week I have been revisiting an old friend--my hot head. Cindy Jenkins is writing a new book about this torch that has introduced so many to the world of beadmaking. That's how I started making beads and continued for about a year. I also teach beginners on the hot head. I like it because it forces beginners to take their time. I find that newbies rush the process too much.

Anyway, it was a real trip to return to the days of yesteryear and slow down myself! Cindy asked if I would contribute something to the book so I needed to play around.

I made some pretty nice hollows with tiny stringer decoration. Some hollows I made the traditional way and others benefited from the "puffy mandrel."

This is the mandrel that is actually a length of stainless steel tubing with a tiny hole about 2 inches from one end. One dips that end in bead release and blows to unplug the little hole. (I always redip the very tip to re-plug the end of the tubing--otherwise the whole process of blowing up the bead is for naught.)

So with the puffy (created by Neil Fabricant, lovely and talented husband of Jeri Warhaftig) it allows me to make a bigger and, frankly, more shapely, hollow bead that one normally could with the hot head. Pretty cool.