Craft Gossip

The largest independent craft review site since 2007

Artist Profile: Bronwen Heilman – Ghost Cow

by

tikisA woman of many talents. Glass…music…metal…mom…creative dynamo! Her glass work is an inspiration to so many. And with good reason. It rocks!!! So allow me to introduce you some of the many facets of her glass work, with using bottle glass as her newest adventure. Check out the tikis…so cool. I have a tiki collection so I have a sweet spot in my heart for tikis. And these are made with bottle glass. So cool. Wait, I said that already. But it’s so true. Recycled glass…go Bronwen! And eco friendly! Check out her web site www.ghostcow.com. You can find out more about Bronwen, her glass, shows and of course her band, Ghost Cow. I’ve seen them play and they rock too!

Bronwen is based in Tucson, AZ, but does make her way around for shows and classes. Her next class is at Blue Moon in Austin. She’s going to teach you about enamels. Check out this other piece…n570264301_1103399_7773

This is made in multiple stages with glass painting and fusing. Just awesome. Can I gush about her work enough? It’s just that it’s so unique and cutting edge. And the beads she makes with this painting technique and then doing roll-ups are amazing! Needless to say, if you get the chance to check out her work or one of her classes you really need to. And her band too! One last piece of hers here to swoon over. From her beach glass series. Simple beauty.

n570264301_745807_7847

Read These Next

Have you read?

Cross Stitching on Wooden Blanks

One of the fun things about cross stitch is all the different surfaces you can stitch on. Of course regular cross stitch fabric is the most common, you can stitch on anything with holes (and even sometimes on things without holes, if you use water soluble cross stitch fabric. 

An option that has become more popular with the widespread availability of laser cutting machines is wooden blanks, which are often cut in shape to be bookmarks, holiday ornaments or other simple shapes. They can be keychains, picture frames or necklaces. 

(While not wooden I even have a stitchable journal that I cross-stitched on.)

Stitching on wood or heavy card stock isn’t the same as stitching with regular cross stitch fabric, so Craft with Cartwright wrote a post about how best to work with these wooden blanks. 

The main thing to know is that you don’t need a sharp needle because the holes are drilled. She also has tips on how to manage your thread (she recommends one strand of embroidery floss folded in half) and finish your project if you need help with that. 

Check out the post at Craft with Cartwright for tons of tips and ideas for working with wooden blanks. 

Ready to try it out for yourself? You can get rectangular pieces your could mount to a journal yourself from Toms New Old Things. 

Fiore Designs has square blanks that come in different sizes and colors for your crafting needs. I am putting some stamp shaped blanks from Lunari Woods on my wish list (they also have gift tags in different sizes and colors).

You can get stitchable keychains from Millions of Stitches, circles from Geniuses of Wood, baubles from Pip and Chip and Christmas ornament shapes from Happy Stitching Time to name just a few. 

Have you ever stitched on a wooden blank? I’d love to hear any tips you have!

[Photo: Craft with Cartwright]