First Giveaway Winner

The winner of my first giveaway is Mellisa of Chinook Jewelry. Congratulations Mellisa.

Fist Giveaway

These colored porcelain pillow beads are the first giveaway of the day. They were featured in "Beads 2009" editors' pick. I start with white porcelain and  color the clay with mason stains before individually hand forming each side of the bead. They are approx. 3/4" square and are hollow to make them lighter in weight. The lucky winner will receive all seven beads pictured.
Get you comments in quickly. I will announce the winner at 2pm.

OPEN HOUSE STUDIO BLOG EVENT INTRODUCTION

Hello and welcome to TGL Designs's first Open House.

My name is Tracy Isley, a self-taught artist, who has been involved in many mediums over the years. In the fall of 2004, I designed my first piece of jewelry for the employees of a local museum for a fundraiser and was later asked to put items in their gift shop. When asked to teach a summer camp on jewelry making to middle school aged children, I decided to teach the class how to make their own ceramic beads and pendants to use in their jewelry.

After learning the basics of ceramic bead making, through the beads-of-clay yahoo group and trial and error I feel in love with this medium and continue to work with it.

Today my designs use my own handmade exclusive beads, my own handmade stained glass pendants, semi-precious stones, fibers, sterling silver and 14kt. gold filled beads. I am continuing to expand my line of jewelry, ceramic beads and pendants, as well as refine my skills as a designer.

I am excited to participate in this Fall Open House Studio Blog Event with so many wonderful artists. Make sure you surf back and forth among the studio tours and chat Live with each and everyone of us. You can find a list of participating artists at Beads of Clay Blog. Each of us will have special giveaways during the event. To be eligible you must comment on the giveaway's post.

Shop with me all day today and tomorrow on my etsy site and my website TGL Designs.com where everything is 25% off. On my website you must use the promotion code Fall to receive your discount.

Here is the giveaways I have planned for the Open House tomorrow. All pieces are porcelain. The individual beads were featured in "Beads 2009" editors picks published by Interweave Press. The necklace is one of the new fall colors that came from the mis-firing of the kiln. Make sure you comment on the giveaways tomorrow during the Open House to be eligible for them. I look forward to meeting you all tomorrow starting at 1pm.

Fall Studio Open House

Join a number of Earth Clay Artists as we open up our creative studio spaces through our blogs on Sunday, October 25, 2009 from 1-4pm EST. Updates on the event schedule and list of participating artists will be listed on Beads-of-Clay.Blogspot.com


TGL Designs will have great giveaways. I will post pictures of these giveaways at the end of next week before the open house. To be eligible for the giveaways you must be a commenter on the post describing the giveaway during the open house.


I am currently working the International Furniture Market in High Point NC until next Thursday but have been keeping things moving in production during this time. I am currently working on porcelain snowflake ornaments for my wholesale accounts. Maybe one can slip into the giveaways for the Open House. We shall see.


I look forward to meeting everyone at the Open House.


Plan To Hang Out on Sunday, October 25, 2009 from 1-4pm EST

Update on Kiln

I had an electrician come out to access the damage to the kiln and determine what actually happened the night the main 200amp breaker was tripped. As you can see by the picture of the burnt wiring inside the wall socket, we had an arc of electricity. Apparently, the screws that hold the wiring in place will over time be vibrated loose by the electricity running through. As you can see in the picture, the screw that is attached to the burnt area of wiring is out much farther that the other two screws, this caused the arc and power surge. I now have to have the wall socket , the power supply cord to my kiln, the wiring running from the socket to the breaker box, and the 60 amp breaker inside the breaker box replaced. I am waiting on the shipment of the power supply cord to arrive before having the electrician come back out. Once the replacements have been made, I hope to have a working kiln again. I am however unsure if the elements were damage. A resistance test can determine if any are bad or will need replacing sooner than later.

Fall Show Schedule

Since my kiln tripped out a couple of weeks ago with some important pieces in it, I have successfully gotten them refired by other fellow potters. I needed all those pieces to make into jewelry for my fall show schedule and a wholesale account.

On Sept. 26th, I will be in Winston Salem NC at the Historic West End 4th biennial juried ArtsFest 2009 from 10am til 5pm. This years event promises to be an artistic experience like none other. Come enjoy an afternoon of the highest quality art, food, music and fun available in the state.

On Oct. 4th, I will be in Greensboro NC at the 7th annual Art in the Arboretum in Lindley park from 1pm-6pm. Fifty regional artists have been gathered in an outdoor art gallery selling jewelry, pottery, metal sculpture, glass, paintings, and mixed media just to name a few. Come by and say Hi.