Inspired!

Grape Cluster Necklace, originally uploaded by EmbellishYourself.

I am very fortunate to live in a beautiful place. I live on the Central Coast of California surrounded by beautiful vineyards. They have always been an inspiration to me and my artwork.

I started out getting certified in Artclay Silver, and wanted to learn to make glass beads to compliment my work. One of the first beads I ever tried was a grape cluster. What a disaster that was!

The most important skill you need to master as a lampwork artist is heat control and making a base with a lot of little dots all over isn't easily done when you are just starting out, the dots would touch each other and then melt into big blobs or some would melt all the way in etc. I was very frustrated!

I am happy to say that I have come a long way since then. This grape cluster is a huge improvement from those days!