Day Three - Barrel Beads

Nothing super fancy so far.  Again, simple beads are where the foundation skills happen.  I really appreciate that this 21 day project includes the simple, basic beads.  If you can't get those right, it is almost impossible to expect to get anything else right.

The barrel beads for this project are just seed beads that have been rolled over a flat surface.  This surface is called a marver.  We have marvers made of graphite, real marble, and aluminum.  My favorite is the basic block of aluminum.

The challenge each day is to make 3-6 of each bead.  I think I need to make a few more of these just to get the consistent shape I want.  You can see that a few of these are lopsided and wonky.  My personal temptation is always to dismiss that sort of mistake, saying "this would have been perfectly acceptable back in the day."  Technically true, perhaps.  But it doesn't display the level of skill I intend to achieve with my glass work.

In the future, I may show some of my favorite bead making tools.  It is a hobby that requires remarkably little in the way of start-up equipment.  We've upgraded our own setup in several ways, but it really isn't a very complicated shop setup.