organic beads

[olivia]

what does organic bead mean????
thanks
Olivia

still learning --i hope

[kimberly]

You will get A LOT of different answers. For me, "organic" means beads that are reminiscent of something natural - stone, bone, wood, plants, flowers, etc. Also, something that is non-geometric. It can be symetical though. Non-Mondrian I guess. Fractal art is often very organic.
Shapes can be organic, too.

Organic beads are often thought of as "easy" beads made by mishmashing a lot of colors together. In my experience, nothing could be further from the truth. Good organic beads require a lot of thought, good execution, knowledge of the glass and its properties, etc. I find making encased florals easier and more relaxing than making a good "Organic" bead.

[hummingbird3172]

That's what I think of as organic too :) , as if found in nature.

Kimberly makes some of the most amazing organics that I have ever seen!

Take a look at these, Olivia: http://www.naosglass.com/ . These are Amber's --she does "organic" very well!

[Karen Hardy]

When I make a round bead and it comes out looking like a badly
formed buttermilk biscuit....then it's organic.

When I "experiment" with bright festive colors, and the bead ends up
looking like something that I forgot in the back of the fridge
last December....then it's organic.

When that nice smooth surface comes out all pitted and grainy...then it's organic.

[Kevan]

To me, organic means a bead that is made by using the nature of the glass when in a liquid state to move and react according to it's nature as opposed to sculpting it or creating a uniform design.

This would be organic -

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o53/konact/DSC_0010-6.jpg

This would not be -

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o53/konact/DSC_0064-4.jpg

And I guess I'm the opposite from Kimberly, I find organics more relaxing than encased florals. Which is why I don't make encased florals, I guess. lol

[olivia]

wow thanks guys i am leaning soooooo much from all or you i know nothing about this and terminology is really getting me but i will keep learning -i better i have already spent a looooooooot of money
thanks
Olivia
all the beads are so pretty

[kimberly]

I forgot something. I was looking at some of Christina Logan beads this morning. Very symetrical, geomtric designs. Perfect. Also very "Organic". The color in the beads that she makes pushes them to the organic side for me.

[Heather/Ericaceae]

Organics are fun - especially when you're learning because there's no "right" and "wrong"! It's a great way to experiment with how colours react together. Here are some colour theory tips to get you going...

Copper Family: Turquoise, all greens (especially copper green, mosaic green and petroleum green), sky blue, EDP (254 orchid purple), and rubino all have copper, silver, and/or gold in them. They play well with each other no matter how much you heat them (well, the EDP might not always play well but that's because the E stands for EVIL). They also take silver leaf without going black.

Sulfur Family: Ivory, red, yellow, orange, and most browns contain sulfur to make their warm colours. You can mix these colours together as hot as you like and you won't get swampy muck. Silver leaf will darken them quite a lot.

Now, when you mix colours from the Copper and Sulfur families together you get crisp black outlines if you just melt them together. (Ivory and Turquoise look very cool this way!) But if you get them *really* hot for a long time, you get swampy brown muck.

Non-Aligned Family: Violets, cobalt, black, periwinkle, white, gray, and opal yellow are "non-aligned" families and they can mix with any colour without the outline effect.

So if you want to play around with hot swirling a bead it's best to stick with one family and non-aligned colours - OR, add the colour from the opposing family as a final step, so it doesn't have time to react too much.

Intense black is fun to play with in organics - add random stripes over a soft base, like ivory, pea green or periwinkle, and then super-heat it until it starts to spread into delicate veins. Silver leaf or foil is also always very fun - but only use that if you have a very good exhaust fan. Try making silvered ivory stringer and adding that to beads - it looks very rocky! Enamels are fun too, but again, you need great ventilation so any particles that get suspended in the air are sucked away immediately and not breathed in.

Have fun!

[bead crazy]

Organics are fun - especially when you're learning because there's no "right" and "wrong"! It's a great way to experiment with how colours react together. Here are some colour theory tips to get you going...

Copper Family: Turquoise, all greens (especially copper green, mosaic green and petroleum green), sky blue, EDP (254 orchid purple), and rubino all have copper, silver, and/or gold in them. They play well with each other no matter how much you heat them (well, the EDP might not always play well but that's because the E stands for EVIL). They also take silver leaf without going black.

Sulfur Family: Ivory, red, yellow, orange, and most browns contain sulfur to make their warm colours. You can mix these colours together as hot as you like and you won't get swampy muck. Silver leaf will darken them quite a lot.

Now, when you mix colours from the Copper and Sulfur families together you get crisp black outlines if you just melt them together. (Ivory and Turquoise look very cool this way!) But if you get them *really* hot for a long time, you get swampy brown muck.

Non-Aligned Family: Violets, cobalt, black, periwinkle, white, gray, and opal yellow are "non-aligned" families and they can mix with any colour without the outline effect.

So if you want to play around with hot swirling a bead it's best to stick with one family and non-aligned colours - OR, add the colour from the opposing family as a final step, so it doesn't have time to react too much.

Intense black is fun to play with in organics - add random stripes over a soft base, like ivory, pea green or periwinkle, and then super-heat it until it starts to spread into delicate veins. Silver leaf or foil is also always very fun - but only use that if you have a very good exhaust fan. Try making silvered ivory stringer and adding that to beads - it looks very rocky! Enamels are fun too, but again, you need great ventilation so any particles that get suspended in the air are sucked away immediately and not breathed in.

Have fun!

WOW this is a great explaination of the colors, This will help me alot I have not learned about the colors yet so I just experiment this will help so much so I don't get such crappy beads.
Thanks so much Now I have to print this off to have at the torch.

[gubnavnania]

Thank you for starting this thread :)

[ellyloo]

I mixed opal yellow together with ivory (thinking buttermilk streaks...) and got a great 'organic'.

[hummingbird3172]

Pretty bead, Elly-loo! :)

Heather, that may be the best explanation that I've ever seen!

EDP can actually make a bead have an even more of an organic flair BECAUSE it devitrifies...sometimes it is fun to just let it do what it wants.

[ekkc]

Wow! Heather, thanks so much for all that information about colors. It is going to really help me out!

[Toni Lutman]

OK, I have a question for you all. I've always considered my beads to be "organic". Many of them are obviously organic (at least to me), but there are some that I'm not sure if others would agree. Many use reactive glasses, but not all. Many are fairly brightly colored. It won't bother me at all if anyone disagrees, I'm just really curious. If you don't consider them to be "organic", what would you call them?

I haven't actually posted any in ages, so here are just a few examples.

Sorry to hijack the thread a bit, but I've wondered about this many times.
67965 15682
37073 6005

[Firebrand Beads]

I think in the old days, "organic" might have referred more to colors than style. I remember when we called the borosilicate beads "organic" looking because of the caramel and other earthy colors that came from fuming; plus the reactiveness of that glass that was not exactly "controlled". The soft-glass candy-colored beads always stood in stark contrast, partly because of the palette, and partly because so many of the early beadmakers did dots and flowers and other fairly balanced, or repeated, patterns. But that was then, this is now: boro now comes in bright candy colors, and we have all kinds of new reactive "organic" looking soft-glass. I think your beads look very organic, Toni, (and pretty BTW) because of the perception of randomness -- even if you planned every one of your lines or dots. ~Jenny

[kimberly]

Toni - I think your beads are very organic. Also, very beautiful!

If you look in the natural world, where things are truly "organic", there are many things that are brightly colored - flower, some reptiles, coral and reef fishes, butterfly wings. Nature has a very deft hand when it comes to color. I wish I could do 1/1000th as well!

[mnoelker]

Toni-Organic and stunning.

[prairieson]

what does organic bead mean????
thanks
Olivia

still learning --i hope

Tink and I used to teach an organic techniques class, which I affectionately subtitled "Symmetry is Highly Overrated". As in the statement, "It's not wonky, it's... organic."

Heheheh.

[Karen Hardy]

Heather - EXCELLENT info on glass!
I'm printing that out for ref.
I always get them mixed up in my head (which colors get along with others).

[olivia]

thank you thank you
i am just learning and all of this really helps
Olivia

[Kevan]

Toni, I have the same question about my beads like this. I think of them more of a "fusion" bead, not a true organic or a..I'm not sure what non organic beads are called....designed bead? I love your beads no matter what people call them!

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o53/konact/DSC_0006-1.jpg

[Lisa]

Okay, beyond totally gorgeous beads and all, Toni, totally organic, with kick ass high heels.
67965


Kevan, organic/fusion with SPIKE high heels.

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o53/konact/DSC_0006-1.jpg

[olivia]

thanks again
Olivia

[josielv]

ok i insist that you send those all to me for immediate up close and personal inspection for true organicness!!!!! Hee heeeeeeeeee
Kevan Toni and Ellyloo, your beadies rock ladies!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am lucky enough to own one of Toni's beads and they are fabulous!!!!!!!!!

[Kevan]

I would kill for one of Toni's beads.

Seriously. Where do you live, Josie.;-)

[josielv]

Bwaaahhaaaaaaahaaaaaaaaaaaaa Way out in the Alaskan bush, come and get me!!!!!!!!!!! Make sure and bring some beads with ya though!!!!!!!

[beadysam]

For me organic beads are bead that look like they have evolved naturally, like something from nature, stone/rock, earth, landscapes, seas etc
Toni and Kevan I'd think tend to describe your beads as 'created in an organic style, inspired by nature'

[Toni Lutman]

...perception of randomness.

~Jenny

I think this is my favorite description ever of what I try to do! Really, very few of my beads are truly random mixtures of glass. The trick for me is finding the right balance of design and negative space.

And thanks everyone else for the comments. I often see people asking about organics, and I think my idea of what they are has changed over time. For me, it used to be about color. Now it's much more.

[Toni Lutman]

I would kill for one of Toni's beads.

Seriously. Where do you live, Josie.;-)

Wait a minute Kevan! Please leave her alone. I need all the support I can get!

Is your address in the RAOGK list current? I'll see if I have something around here I can send you. :razz:

[Kevan]

Wait a minute Kevan! Please leave her alone. I need all the support I can get!

Is your address in the RAOGK list current? I'll see if I have something around here I can send you. :razz:


Yes! OMG!! Oh, oh....peeing in my pants here. Wanna trade?

[Toni Lutman]

Yes! OMG!! Oh, oh....peeing in my pants here. Wanna trade?

heh. Better wait to see it before any peeing is done. :-P And yes! I'd love to trade! My address is in the RAOGK too. Just be warned, I don't plan on going out into the world again till after Christmas, so it won't get mailed for a few days. There's crazies out there! Ack!

Sorry Olivia, no more hijacking. :oops:

[Kevan]

heh. Better wait to see it before any peeing is done. :-P And yes! I'd love to trade! My address is in the RAOGK too. Just be warned, I don't plan on going out into the world again till after Christmas, so it won't get mailed for a few days. There's crazies out there! Ack!

Sorry Olivia, no more hijacking. :oops:

Well, me neither. lol

This is too cool. I'm as happy as a little girl.

[kokeshikitten]

Your beads are incredible.

[josielv]

Heeeeeeeeeeyyyyyyyyyyy now ladies!!!!!!! Now I am going to have to hunt you down Kevan, I don't have one of yours yet!! Heeee heeeee

[steph1214]

When I make a round bead and it comes out looking like a badly
formed buttermilk biscuit....then it's organic.

When I "experiment" with bright festive colors, and the bead ends up
looking like something that I forgot in the back of the fridge
last December....then it's organic.

When that nice smooth surface comes out all pitted and grainy...then it's organic.

:biggrin: That is too funny!!! i loved taking a class from jen geldard, she also does organic beautifully!!! i love the ivory and intense black shards! i am also taking andrea guarino and i have a feeling i will love hers as well. kimberly does awesome work! learn how to do shards, and micro mini twisties! Also murrinis that can look like barnacles!! there is a mini twisty tutorial back on the 1st page of tips,techniques and questions. it just came out by kimberly affleck!!!! imagine that, we are talking about her in this thread! it is http://www.lamworketc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3450&highlight=seahorse!! these make really cool fossil looking lines that are organic. Thanks kimberly, i made one with light gray base with intense black, coral and light sky blue! it turned out cool in twisty form but we will see when it comes out in the morning!!!

Play around is the key!

steph

[steph1214]

this is a bead using a shard! i used vetro odd lichen and a ivory and black intense piece of shard. the right end is rounded but the overall color is cool! kevan and Toni, i love your beads! Tony i love the reactive murrini!!!! i feel like you could just jump into your beads and swim around in a little submarine!!!

steph

[Donna T.]

My DH asked me "Whatcha reading about?" I replied "organic beads"
He wanted to know if we were eating them!!!!
Non-glass people just don't get it!

[Mary K]

I would seriously love to know what Kevan used to get that copper sparklie look in that wonderful bead. Please tell what that is.Please...........
All these beads in this thread are very inspiring. The information is extremely valuable.
Thanks for the sharing.

[Kevan]

Mary, I will tell you anything anytime, all you have to do is ask.

It's gold stone ribbon.

And thank you so much.

http://www.mikesfreegifs.com/main4/christmas/xmas5.gif

[steph1214]

OK, I have a question for you all. I've always considered my beads to be "organic". Many of them are obviously organic (at least to me), but there are some that I'm not sure if others would agree. Many use reactive glasses, but not all. Many are fairly brightly colored. It won't bother me at all if anyone disagrees, I'm just really curious. If you don't consider them to be "organic", what would you call them?

I haven't actually posted any in ages, so here are just a few examples.

Sorry to hijack the thread a bit, but I've wondered about this many times.
67965 15682
37073 6005


i thought i had seen the bead on the left Toni, did you all know that Toni has her bead in the last Bead Review book? Way to go Toni, i submitted a bead for the beginner group, i am crossing my fingers, but i am sure they received so many good submissions. If you have not bought these books, there are two and they are "WAY FABULOUS"!! Small table talk books with so many inspiring beads in them. They also have to explain there bead and then two of the jurors (ie. Brad Pearson, Deanna Griffin Dove, etc..many more) will write why they loved the bead. Fun books, only 15.00

steph

[effemess]

Thank you so much Heather - your colour explanation makes such sense... I have saved it in my 'lampwork file'

Fiona - only 1 week into lampworking .