Second Giveaway Winner

Congratulations to Sharon P. on winning the necklace. Sharon please make sure I have your email so that I can get your address and let me know what length you would like your necklace.

My Studio Space

Here is the picture of my studio. It is the fourth bedroom in our house. It used to be the kids playroom when they were little. After they stopped using the room for a year, I took over the space in July of '07. It all started with the "L" shaped desk that I found at a local office supply warehouse sale. It is really a receptionist desk without the bar height countertop. I also got the table with the same matching top and the two side chairs were in my husband's office until he needed to move his office into the house. (He got my old very small studio space as his office, the chairs didn't fit anymore). I have a walk in closet lined with shelving as well as the open book cases for storage.

I have divided the space up into three work zones. The computer side of the desk is used for office work, entering inventory into Quickbooks, blogging, website, etc. The other side of the desk is used for making finished jewelry. The third zone is the six foot table that is for all clay work. Rolling the clay, forming items, sanding, and glazing.  I store the glazes on the wall in the closet behind the table.

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.