View Full Interactive Version Of This Page : Jellyfish Seascapes Tutorial by Moth
Tropical Heat
2008-07-13, 11:56am
http://www.marylockwood.com/ - This is a new tutorial put out by Moth
and it is excellent! It's loaded with pictures and it is written so that every aspect of making the bead is so easy to understand.
For those of you who have gazed into mary's marvelous beads and wondered how she did it...now's your chance to learn all her secrets. No kidding, she describes beautifully all of the steps to make these beads complete with loads of pictures. She has even included a Glossary at the end.
A quote - "The key to these large, complex focals is preparation. A lot of work goes on behind the scenes before you can start making an actual bead. The first part of this tutorial is a cane-building bonanza. The second part focuses on color theory, composition, and perspective. The third part pulls it all together."
I also put a thread in the Gallery but wanted to put one here where it won't get buried!
suzanne
2008-07-13, 12:01pm
I bought it too and it's amazing. I have always loved Mary's work!
Carmen Isaacs
2008-07-13, 3:27pm
I agree it is wonderful. I am amazed at how thorough it is, well worth the $$$. This one is a winner!
msritaa
2008-07-14, 7:16am
I purchased this tutorial and it is a beautiful, informative treasure. Mary share's her knowledge generously in the techniques she uses for the jellyfish bead. She also touches on color theory, and the cane-making lessons are themselves are worth price of the tut. I love it and can hardly wait to try her beautiful bead.
Wendyki
2008-07-14, 7:27am
This is an awesome tutorial It gave me soo many ideas for more complex beads Thanks Mary
jessicajane
2008-07-14, 8:05am
Just bought it - Can't wait to try it out! Thanks Mary!
Jessica
swamper
2008-07-14, 8:31am
Wow, just purchased it - how easy was that? And so many tutorials all in one - can't wait to try.
thanks,
Linda
Thanks you guys!
It had a bit of a rocky start yesterday, didn't it? LOL
Oh well, everything is completely fixed and officially for sale on both my site and Etsy. On my site you can direct download, on etsy you have to wait for me to email it to you. Both are paypal integrated.
I honestly can't wait to see what everyone makes and I hope you post here and share!
Take care!
~~Mary
jeepinwelch
2008-07-14, 12:48pm
I love the quick download when you buy it. Instant gratification, that's what I'm all about!
Tropical Heat
2008-07-14, 1:29pm
Thanks you guys!
It had a bit of a rocky start yesterday, didn't it? LOL
Oh well, everything is completely fixed and officially for sale on both my site and Etsy. On my site you can direct download, on etsy you have to wait for me to email it to you. Both are paypal integrated.
I honestly can't wait to see what everyone makes and I hope you post here and share!
Take care!
~~Mary
Mary, Remember when......! I knew something was amiss with #8 but I worded my question wrong when I emailed you. Sorry about that! I'm glad it's all better now! I just need to remember to use green trans. instead of clear when I get to that part! Hahaha!
Hi Pam! Yep! I did send everyone the corrected file and it is actually opaque green, not transparent. :-)
I'm just glad it's behind us and everything is as it should be now! Nobody has reported any problems since yesterday so that's cool.
Now we can just focus on the good parts. LOL
Thanks again for taking a look at it for me!!
~~Mary
Super Tut!
Thanks for making it available to us.
di
jeepinwelch
2008-07-15, 1:12pm
I spent my evening last night pulling cane. I think I got a little carried away and I have enough for 100 beads.:lol: I got way too much glass on the dicro one and had to have my husband stand across the room with one end while I pulled it out. I thought the 1 inch gather meant diameter and that turned in to a uge honkin blob of glass! I had to use almost an entire length of dichro for that baby. One twistie to go and I'm ready for action. I haven't anticipated making a bead this much in a long time.
Thank you Mary!:love:
Way to go!! Yes, it is a lot of prep work but the great part is that once you have the canes made, there is enough for lots of beads. If I had to do all that cane pulling for each bead I don't think I ever would have made a jellyfish bead. LOL
Can't wait to see it!!! I think I'm anticipating your bead as much as you are! At least I feel like I am. LOL
~~Mary
jeepinwelch
2008-07-16, 8:43pm
I just got done with my first one and I have a paperweight in the kiln right now, not a bead. No sane person would wear the hunk o glass that's annealing right now!:lol: The tutorial was super easy to follow. I think besides the size issue, and the fact my glass wasn't quite hot enough for the jellyfish, it's going to turn out much better than I expected.
I do want to share a few of my mistakes. First, start out with a pretty narrow bead. It grows beyond expectations. Second, don't use your R4 diamond clear on your first attemt. This baby takes a lot of clear and you don't want to waste all that expensive glass.
I'll post pictures tomorrow.
Hahahahaha, I can sure relate to that.
When I first started making them they were really huge. It takes a few tries to get them sized down and to know what to expect.
The good part is that big is easier to make on these because when you go smaller on them it is harder to see. (I need glasses and I'm in denial.) It's a great start!
Can't wait to see it...you'll be the first one to share!
Did you do any practice jellies (from page 10) before you started the actual bead or did you just go for it?
~~Mary
jeepinwelch
2008-07-16, 9:03pm
I just went for it. I had my mushroom phase so I'm familiar with that. I've just never tried to insert one sideways in the side of a bead. I think I didn't heat a large enough area. I was afraid of messing up any decorations.
Ah, well that's excellent!
Can't wait to see it!
~~Mary
theglasszone
2008-07-17, 12:07am
PICTURES! PICTURES! PICTURES!
DeAnne
PICTURES! PICTURES! PICTURES!
DeAnne
Yeah...what she said!!
~~Mary
jeepinwelch
2008-07-17, 8:07pm
PICTURES! PICTURES! PICTURES!
DeAnne
http://www.lampworketc.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1963920#post1963920
KJJames
2008-07-18, 8:06am
I JUST GOT MINE!!!! (The all caps are me happy!)
Mary it is amazing. If anyone is on the fence, get off and purchase this! It is not only informative, it is beautiful.
I have several books and booklets. This tutorial easily puts some of those booklets to shame. It just has so much information, so many pictures and is so well organized. I don't know what else to say.
Wait, I know....make more tut's Mary!!!!
Thanks Karen, I really appreciate that.
Hope you have fun working with it and share pictures soon!
~~Mary
simvet02
2008-07-18, 12:44pm
Just finished pulling my stringers. The jelly was interesting, had to have hubby for that one. I ended up with some that are too small and then about 2 feet that is just right. (does that give you an idea of how big of a blob of clear I had on the mandrel?)
I'm fairly new to pulling stringers so this was great practice for me. AND the using of the clean mandrels makes all the difference. I have tons of great stuff. Tomorrow is jelly day....wahoooooo.......
simvet02
2008-07-19, 10:09am
The jellyfish seascape bead is in the kiln. Suffice to say that mine is more like a 55 gallon aquarium. It will sit on it's own that's for sure.
I know what I did wrong, when you say that you use a full size rod to encase each time, well mine are 10mm so you can only imagine how much glass that added each time. One jellyfish looks so cool, not sure about the other one. We shall see tomorrow. Can't wait until it comes out of the kiln.
jeepinwelch
2008-07-19, 10:25am
Huge can be good. I figured out mine was the perfect size for a wine stopper. This is one winestopper I will keep even though I don't drink much wine. Hmm ,if it were a tequila stopper I would use it all the time.
ShellyD
2008-07-19, 10:37am
It's on my to get list. Woohoo!!!
It is really great to have all these tutorials available. Thank you.
simvet02
2008-07-19, 11:16am
Wine stopper, er....no, mine is more like a stopper for a maonaise jar! I'll post tomorrow when it comes out of the kiln, that is if I can get it down to 640x640.....LOL
Seriously Michelle, it really is worth it, it comes with instructions for about seven different stringers, that alone was worth the price. It really made me stop and think about how some other things are done.
ShellyD
2008-07-19, 11:31am
Jan, payday is next weekend. I can top up the CC then :grin: For now I have to patiently wait. :( Well as patiently as I can :grin:
simvet02
2008-07-19, 11:47am
Well, the good thing about these tutorials is that they don't run out....LOL You will love it. Well worth the wait.
Carmen Isaacs
2008-07-19, 12:13pm
I have it and cant wait to try it, it looks amazing. I will be back in South Africa week after next and hopefully will get to play.
I am so happy to be reading this thread about jellyfish playtime!!!
You go!
Can't wait to see the 'Deadly Weapon' beads...that's what I call 'em when I make huge ones.
Yeah...10mm is what I like to use, but I strip them clean and pull them down into 4-5mm rods for encasing these beads.
So...yeah...encasing them with the full 10mm rod (even though the sound of it gets me all hot and bothered because I'd love a torch I could melt 10mm rods for encasing with), will make huge beads. At least it would for me. I guess some people could encase thin with a rod that thick...but I can't get them hot enough to do it at this point. It would take me lots of practice, that's for sure!
~~Mary
GlassFirenze
2008-07-19, 5:17pm
Mary! Congrats on your Tutorial... Having had you teach here in March I KNOW that Tut must be FANTASTIC!!! I'll have to tell anyone who missed out on your class to buy your tut! I too am looking forward to everyone's endeavor...
P.S... I saw the Fish made into a Seascape in the Gallery... BEAUTIFUL!!!!! SOOO VERY COOL!!
Your Alaskan Friend,
Deborah :-)
Just downloaded mine! Away from home for a spell (but with my computer) so won't be able to try it for a while. But I sure am anxious!
simvet02
2008-07-20, 5:40am
OK, In the interest of sharing and warnings about what can go wrong, I have many examples. First, is something that I have been strugling with, the oxygen output on my torch. I have an M10 so I really don't have enough to really melt the larger rods of clear. Obviously I had it turned up too much, I can see the slight black film in many of the photos.
This first one was just my practice poking piece. I backed it with blue so I could see the jellies. I really like the second one, it looks like it is swimming away from me and I can see up inside of it.
129303
Ok, the big one, This was the second jelly that didn't go in right. I love the boro look of the kelp. I have to look up what combo of glass I used for the kelp. The second frit stringer in the foreground lost all of it's color. I had used a mix with elektra frit in it and should have reduced it prior to encasing.
129299
The second one shows the pink frit stringer that looks like a giant monster. I love the fine look of the tentacles. Notice the fine line from one of the layers of encasing that smoked.
129300
Another look at the boroesque kelp and the smoked inner encased layer.
129301
This one just shows the poor little barnacles that kind of got swallowed up by the encasing.
129302
All in all it was a good first try. I love the jellies, the tentacles are so cool. Who would have thought that I could do something like this. Mary, thanks for being so sharing with your tallents.
jeepinwelch
2008-07-20, 8:51am
Wow Jan! I love the tentacles on your jellyfish! Please share what you did for the kelp. I can think of a few thing that would look great in. Thanks for sharing!
KristiB
2008-07-20, 12:36pm
I have one of Mary's very first jellyfish beads :D I LOVE it!!!
I've never tried one myself, I may have to get the tutorial
Kristi
simvet02
2008-07-20, 2:23pm
I wish I could tell you. What I had written down was Kiwi with med green transparent over it but it sure doesn't look like that. I'll probably never be able to repeat it again.
I tried another one today and all I can say is that I'm just not capable of doing anything but large beads. I did another one that was so large that I couldn't get it hot enough in the end to smooth it completely. It's in the kiln right now so I won't have photos until tomorrow.
Wow Jan! You are really running with this! What I love about your beads is it looks like you are having fun and you have a very realistic approach to trying new techniques. You are truly looking for the personality in the jellies too...love that.
=D>=D>=D>=D>=D>
Don't worry...they will get smaller as you get more comfortable making them.
I really like your boroesque kelp too. Ethereal!
Great job and I can't wait to see what you do next!
~~Mary
Hey Jan, I didn't know you had posted pics here until now. Thanks for sharing. (Some people are posting in the gallery in case you didn't catch that yet.)
Your bead is great! There is so much to look at. Along with the kelp, I love the color of pink/white translucent in the second pic. And of course the tentacles are magical.
I know what you mean about being able to make a bead like that. If I can come even close, I'll be thrilled.
Angela
kbinkster
2008-07-22, 10:23am
What cool jellyfish, everyone! Mary, I think you are awesome (and have thought so for several years, now)!
What cool jellyfish, everyone! Mary, I think you are awesome (and have thought so for several years, now)!
:koolaid:
Thank you!!!!
~~Mary
In case anyone would like another opinion on this tutorial, I think it's so worth the money and even more. That says a lot coming from somone who is on a tight budget and is very frugal.
I am learning so much in a very short time. It's great for beginners, yet goes way past that for sure. You can pick and choose what to learn. It's not just about making jellyfish.
It's challanging me in many ways. You can set goals. I'm working with larger amounts of glass than ever before, practiced more encasing than I ever do on my own, and building lots of different canes. I finally see why my color wheel never worked for me! I now understand how beads get their depth and interest. It opens up a whole world of design possibilites. And it's a blast.
And I REALLY appreciate (and am having more fun) because Mary has made her self available on here to answer questions and give suggestions! Not sure how long she can keep that up though especially since she plans to write an add on tutorial for advanced cane techniques. At least that's my understanding. Sure hope so.
Angela
OMG, Angela...I'll send you your check this afternoon. LOL
I could not have gotten a nicer endorsement even if I had paid for it. Thank you so much!!
It thrills me to no end to see people getting so much out of it. Yes, it is more than one tutorial...but you can't make the jellyfish without being able to make the canes, so I had to include all that information in there for anyone who might not be familiar with building some of the canes and twisties. It opened the tutorial up to more skill levels and I wanted it to be suitable and helpful for as many people as possible.
And yes, there are lots more canes that I use when I'm making these beads and I'll be coming out with a tutorial on those later. I haven't even started it yet. There are at least 8 more that I can think of off the top of my head, but they are a bit more complex and produce very specific results. I kept them separate from this tutorial because I figured not everyone would want them and the jellyfish tutorial was already getting pretty long even though I had it arranged tightly.
So, THANK YOU again for letting me (and everyone else) know that you are happy with the tutorial and learning a bunch. Makes my day!
~~Mary
ps- for anyone who doesn't know it, I have free tutorials for other stuff on my site. They are all the same as the ones I have posted in the tutorials section here at LE, except for one of them, which is more jewelry related, not glass.
Mary, you read my mind! I was thinking about my post a little later and thought maybe I should edit it to say you didn't pay me to write it. :lol: I'm glad it made your day. :-)
Angela
theglasszone
2008-07-26, 7:01pm
The depth of information in Mary's Tutorial, from pulling canes and stringers, proper applications of mille, layering of glass to create depth and use of color is just fabulous! There's a world of information here - perfect for beginners through the seasoned glass vet - something for everybody and she makes you feel with her step-by-step instructions and excellent use of pertinent photos that she's right there beside you guiding you along. The inclusion of "Trouble Shooting" tips is practically Svengali - I almost said aloud "You read my mind"! Thanks for sharing so much of yourself with us, Mary!
~DeAnne in CA
BeadMaven
2008-07-29, 6:01pm
I just got my copy too and I must Ziggys sums it up very nicely!
In case anyone would like another opinion on this tutorial, I think it's so worth the money and even more. That says a lot coming from somone who is on a tight budget and is very frugal.
I am learning so much in a very short time. It's great for beginners, yet goes way past that for sure. You can pick and choose what to learn. It's not just about making jellyfish.
It's challanging me in many ways. You can set goals. I'm working with larger amounts of glass than ever before, practiced more encasing than I ever do on my own, and building lots of different canes. I finally see why my color wheel never worked for me! I now understand how beads get their depth and interest. It opens up a whole world of design possibilites. And it's a blast.
And I REALLY appreciate (and am having more fun) because Mary has made her self available on here to answer questions and give suggestions! Not sure how long she can keep that up though especially since she plans to write an add on tutorial for advanced cane techniques. At least that's my understanding. Sure hope so.
Angela
I had to jump in and give Mary kudos....its a nice tut Mary! Vewy nice!
I love it! :D
artic^wolf
2008-08-13, 6:38am
For your inspiration :)
http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/enlarge/long-sea-nettle-photography.html
Thanks DeAnne and BeadMaven (I'm always inspired to make murrini when I see your avatar)! Hope you are enjoying it and that you share what you're up to!
Thanks for the link, Lori! I'm gonna go look at it right now!
~~Mary
Wow, Lori. I sure wish I could do that in glass. I don't think my skills are quite there yet. LOL
I did make it my desktop wallpaper though. Really beautiful...thanks for sharing.
~~Mary
artic^wolf
2008-08-13, 7:41am
I believe you can! It is gorgeous, if you give him a go please let me see.
NLC Beads
2008-08-14, 10:49am
Just got my printed copy in the mail today - there's something too irresistable about paper instead of online. :lol: Love it, great work Mary, thanks for all the time you put into it. You're a great, patient teacher in person and it translated beautifully to print.
:love:
ziggys
2008-08-15, 11:47pm
For your inspiration :)
http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/enlarge/long-sea-nettle-photography.html
Wallpaper on my 'puter too now! :-)
Thanks!
I just got the tutorial, and it is beautiful!!! I can't wait to try it out!
You will have hours and endless hours of fun with it! It's the greatest thing since sliced bread!
imagineshelties
2008-10-06, 7:50am
This tut is jam packed with great information and very well written!
I spent 1/2 the day doing the prep cane work and here is my first 3 jelly beads.
1st try staying close to instructions
140110
2nd bead I ventured out a bit
140112
3rd bead playing more with shape
140111 140113
Since alot of time is spent making canes for this bead I used what I had made so they are similar but now I can't wait to really play with colors!
Thank You again Mary for sharing this wonderful process! I felt just like I was taking a class at home. Jellies are so fun to make and I only held my breath on the first one :biggrin:
Maria
Those are fantastic, Maria. Thanks so much for sharing your success right out of the gate.
Your canes look great, your jellies are awesome. Well done. Can't wait to see more as you experiment and play.
Take care and thanks so much for getting the tutorial from me.
~~Mary
theglasszone
2008-11-28, 6:02pm
Finally had a chance to use this wonderful tut - if you haven't bought it yet, I can't recommend it enough...there are so many useful and interesting techniques in this one!!! Jam packed!!!
More pics. in the Gallery under the "Jellyfish Seascape" thread:
http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x280/theglasszone/Ocean%20Beads/LtJelly4.jpg
http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x280/theglasszone/Ocean%20Beads/BlueJelly2.jpg
http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x280/theglasszone/Ocean%20Beads/DarkJelly2.jpg
DeAnne in CA
Mary I got a question for ya.....
Here's my first attempt at a jellyfish.
146725
The second one (using colors in your instuctions still)
I tried to make a lentil bead (large) and everything kind of squished.
How can I avoid this?
146727
and 3....
I haven't been able to do it since. I warm up the clear and stick the jellyfish in ...wait a few seconds but when I push....just the clear moves and it totally moves out of shape but the head of the jellyfish guy doesn't spread. I have no idea what I'm doing wrong but have tried on about 4 other beads.
Any advice????
I think you aren't heating deeply enough into the bead. What is happening is that the jellyfish head isn't getting hot enough to soften. It has to soften for this to work and since you aren't getting it to work now but you did before, that tells me that you just aren't heating deeply enough for that hot clear to actually soften the jellyfish mantle. Go hotter, deeper and let me know how it goes.
As far as the lentil goes, any time you are trying to form a layered bead into a lentil, you kind of have to roughly shape it as you go, like I would make the very first layers of my bead thin tab shaped. Then build from there. As you build up enough glass, press it in the lentil mold even if it isn't big enough to fill it yet. This will help you not to have to squish all the layers all at once.
Once you have added the jellies, did the final encasement and are ready to press, this is a heat and practice thing. Here is the best I can do at describing the timing.
You want to heat the whole bead to glowing, not soupy soft...but movable (pressable temp). Give it just the slightest press...not much mind you...not even half the amount you will have to press it. Now you want to let the bead cool down to the layer where the jellyfish sits, which as you know is not deep down into the bead at all.
Then, squish it the rest of the way. By letting the glass layers that you don't want to distort firm up a bit, you will be able to control them better. Repeat this however many times you need to to get the right shape.
You want the inside core of the bead to be HOT, the layer with the jellyfish in it to be not so hot, but still moveable, and the outer layer of clear almost too stiff to press. Almost.
This kind of locks everything into place so it doesn't smear and smoosh around in there.
Same goes for florals or encased designs of any type that you want to shape into a pressed mold. Let them cool just a bit more and you will need to experiment and practice to know just when is the right time to do it. But you will get it.
Good luck!
~~Mary
I just wanted to add that this is when having one of the trio presses comes in handy.
You can press the core with the smallest size, the mid layers with the medium size and the final bead with the large size. Helps with not distorting these encased pressed beads.
Now, you certainly don't have to have a trio...careful shaping with hardly any tools at all will work just as well...this is just another nifty way to use your trio press if you have them.
~~Mary
theglasszone
2008-11-29, 4:42pm
...Here's my first attempt at a jellyfish.
146725 The second one (using colors in your instuctions still)
I tried to make a lentil bead (large) and everything kind of squished.
146727...
Ooo, Irene!!! These look great!!! :)
DeAnne
designsbykurato
2009-01-02, 8:41pm
I need to get busy with this tut now that I can get back to the torch. I love seeing all the different styles from everyone.
Tropical Heat
2009-01-02, 8:45pm
I've put off making this bead because it is so difficult with a HH. Can't wait to get my new big girl torch!
jazz's glass
2009-01-02, 8:50pm
Mary, I'm going to add this to my list of tuts that I want to get in the future. It looks a bit more difficult than your bird tut, for a newbie anyway. Let me know what you think.
simvet02
2009-01-03, 4:18pm
Mary, I pulled my tut out again today to use for the fancy stringers. I love it. A wealth of information.
Thank, Jan! I'm really glad to see you are enjoying it.
Janet, well, it is considered an intermediate tutorial mainly because if you have trouble with encasing, it is not going to be as successful for you. These are heavily encased beads in general, with lots of depth and layers. THAT said though, I did break down lots of areas and classified them as either beginner or intermediate and even noted how long those portions should take you to do. So even though you are a beginner, there is still plenty for you to learn from this tutorial. Especially in the cane making portion.
I really tried to keep different skill levels in mind when I wrote it, so it will grow with you as your skills progress. That is what I would have wanted for myself.
Best of luck!
~~Mary
That's great, Pam! Please share when you get into it!
simvet02
2009-01-03, 7:18pm
Mary, I'm going to add this to my list of tuts that I want to get in the future. It looks a bit more difficult than your bird tut, for a newbie anyway. Let me know what you think.
Janet, I'm pretty much a beginner and felt that this tutorial really helped me understand how to do stringers, work with frit and encase, all of which can be used alone. I pull it out just to use one or two pieces of it.
You won't be sorry.
Another Janet:kiss:
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