2010 -  JULY MEETING

ANDREA WINKLER - PURPLE HEART DEMO - Part 1

 

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One of the most important beads that the Beads of Courage children receive is the purple heart.  This bead is given to each child when they complete their course of treatment.  In order to help members make purple hearts, Andrea Winkler and Sylvie Lansdowne did a combined demo.

Andrea made the basic heart shaped bead and then handed it off to Sylvie who decorated it. 

 

The photo shows Diane Kovach video taping Andrea's demo. Videotaping allows members are really close up look at the bead as it is being made.  If the videois tranferred to a CD,  a copy can be kept in our resource cabinet for members to borrow.

   

 

Andrea used a Zoozii's Sweetheart press to form the purple heart.  What was wonderful about Andrea's demo is that we not only learned to make a purple heart, but we learned some good techniques for using presses.  Making good beads using a press requires, as many of us have found out, a great deal of finesse.

      

 
Andrea started the heart as she starts all pressed beads by making a tube the width of the press.  She then added glass bit by bit to the tube and used the bottom of the press to gradually shape the glass into a heart.  Only at the end of the beadmaking process, did she use both sides of the tool to actually press the bead. And she made a perfect heart.  Here she fire polishing it.

 
When Andrea was done with the heart, she warmed it one last time and handed off to Sylvie Lansdowne for decoration.  You can see Sylvie's partof the demo on the next page of the scrapbook.a
 

After the meeting, the Web Mama went home with a Sweetheart press borrowed from the Resource Library and made two - if not perfect, at least credibly shaped hearts.  The the one on the right was made with transparent glass which Andrea recommended for beginners because it is stiffer.  Both hearts are decorated with frit.

   

 
Andrea brought some of her copper and lampwork jewelry to show us.  You can see more at her website Four Tails Lampwork.
Copper and lampwork earrings.

    

A close-up of the bracelet Andrea made and was wearing - it was a really fun piece.

  

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