Geometric Jewels / 1 Million Karats

January 18, 2010. 2010 has started off pretty well considering the first 10 days here in Jacksonville were all in the 20s…..temperature. I know that some of you are laughing at that. Jacksonville median temperature for January is around 65 degrees for the high and 40 degrees for the low. I truly pity those of you who reside in the Northern tier of the country, I do not know how you can tolerate that kind of harshness for such a long period of time. I know many love the cold weather and you can get out the snow skis and sleds. Believe it or not I am an accomplished skier, but I visit the slopes for a couple of weeks and get to leave. I was married in Lake Tahoe, NV in December with 3 feet of snow on the ground and our Honeymoon was spent on the slopes. It was wonderful, but that was many years ago. Tahoe is about to get about six feet or more of snow over this week. I have been working on new designs for my marbles and continue to perfect my discovered technique for clarity in the lens of my work. I am particularly proud of my vortex marbles because they are so free of air bubbles and they have a very deep cone. I have not forgotten my button lovers and will be making more this year. You will also see more pendants too. I hope everyone's New Year has started well and continues to be healthy and prosperous.

12-19-09 Christmas and the Holidays are upon us and my production has slowed somewhat. I, just like everyone else must run around looking for gifts and attend the obligatory parties of the season which keeps me from spending time on the torch. I am looking forward to devoting more time creating beautiful marbles, buttons and faceted geometric jewels in 2010. My love of dichroic still burns brightly (pun intended). I will also try to produce more “How to” videos that I will put up on my www.photobucket.com site @ geometric jewels. Hope everyone has a joyous and happy holiday season. randall

11-22-09 Just put up a new How Its Made video to my Photobucket site on how I make a button with the silver shanks. Eight brand new buttons going up for bid tonight (Sunday). Sunday night at 9PM is my usual target date and time for putting up new listings. I just feel that it is probably the best day and time for the majority of my followers to take advantage and be at home to finish bidding if they need too (East & West coast). I try to have a least a dozen pieces or more if I can each week. I had to discontinue the FREE shipping. If I were selling my pieces for two to three times their starting price I could continue, but that isn’t happening …yet. I think people may believe that producing these little jewels is easy and profitable…. To the contrary, when one a 1 ¼ inch marble can take up to an hour or more to make plus all the fees that we pay to Ebay. 40% of the money taken in for one piece goes to Ebay and PayPal fees, shipping, the cost of the glass, and energy and fuel for the torch. One tank of Oxygen cost me $20 and I can make maybe 10 marbles from it. You do the math. I am not whinning about what it takes. I just want my customers to appreciate what goes into creating these little wonders. How much do you make an hour where you work? Frankly I do not know how some of these artists sell their pieces for $3.00 to $10. They must not be doing it for a living, or perhaps they can make 30 marbles a day, or maybe they just do it for fun and are independently wealthy…LOL. I haven’t figured it out yet. I simply want to produce a pretty piece at a fair price. Oh, by the way, I do have fun making my little glass jewels. Have a wonderful week. Randall

11-15-09 Hi everyone, I have just created a photo and video gallery at www.photobucket.com, please search for me at “geometricjewels”. I will be adding to it on a weekly basis and will have new videos as well. You will be able to view many of my weekly listings in video clips here. I have done this so my clients and customers can see all my work over the past years and also watch me create the pieces as well. I think it gives the uninitiated a glimpse into what it really takes to create a marble or a glass button using a 2000 degree torch while balancing a blob of molten glass on the tip of a steel rod…..it’s called “Lampworking” if you didn‘t know. I always like hearing from you, so don’t hesitate to leave comments or contact me with suggestions or ideas as I value your opinion and insight.

November 1st 2009 What did you do on Halloween? I went to a very large party in Orlando….now when I say large I mean 4000 people…Oh my Goodness what a zoo. I went dressed as a witch and I looked really good too....LOL....even if I do say so myself. I had some Henna tattoos done on my arms and hands which is really unusual. You may see them in future photos I shoot for marble pictures in my listings. I am starting to get used to my new torch and the increase in size of my marbles is already evident. I put up six new marbles last night and three already have bids…..what really amazes me is that I used to sell a lot of my faceted jewels here on Ebay but since the economy has taken a down turn, sale of my jewelry has slowed and my marbles and collectibles have taken off, so I cannot complain and I appreciate all who like my work and show it by buying some….Thank You!

My marble 2012 AD is a dichroic marble made with one of the many kaleidoscope designs that I use. I start with a solid clear spherical gather of glass and apply the hot design to the bottom of the gather then I cover the design with exterior decoration so you can only see the kaleidoscope by viewing it through its clear lens which also magnify’s the image. Dichroic glass is not used by to many artists because it is very sensitive to exposure to the flame and can char (burn) easily. Over the years I have developed techniques that have allowed me to overcome its problems and you will almost always see some dichroic in all of my marbles.

I finally received my new Mid Range torch (Nortel’s Red Max) I have been using it for about one week and I am still getting used to the flame characteristics and the increased heat it produces. I have already made some marbles in the 1 ½ inch to 2 inch range, as compared to my standard of around ¾ inch to 1 inch size. I am very happy with the results. My Vortex marbles will benefit the most as it used to take me 1 1/2 hours to make a 1 1/4 inch vortex. I can now make a 1 3/4inch in 45minutes. The torch will increase my over all production dramatically because I can melt glass much more quickly now. The drawback of the new torch is that it sucks up the oxygen like crazy. I buy the largest tank I can lift into my vehicle a #337. When you consider that I only get between 8 to 10 hours of flame time from one tank.....Oxygen is an expensive commodity and one marble takes me 30 minutes to 1 1/2 hours. Weather report: As of 10/24/09 here in Jacksonville Florida the weather continues to be quite warm even for this region. We should be seeing highs in the mid 70s but are continuing in the mid 80s. Still have not had any serious storms (Hurricanes) this year thank goodness but we sure could use the rain, having a drought here in Jacksonville. Until next time.

October 6, 2009 I have not done this for some time and I should do it more often…Blog that is, so check back once in a while. This December will be six years since I touched my first rod of glass, fused my first pendant and soldered my first silver bail. Many things have changed in those six years. The price of an ounce of silver has gone from $6.00 to $17.00. We have elected a new President (Thank God). The economy has crashed…..My single constant has been my passion for glass, that has not changed, it is still my primary thought pattern through out my day and into my sleep. Some of my best ideas come to me when I am taking a relaxing shower or lying in bed trying to go to sleep. When I first started playing with glass my primary fascination was wanting to make marbles. I quickly learned that you don’t just melt a glob of glass and Bingo you have a perfect sphere. It took me three years of practice and a few hundred failures to produce something I was proud enough to ask money for. I will say this, that I am self taught when it comes to making my marbles. The only classes I have taken were for making beads on a mandrel. I got most of my technique from a book by Drew Fritts called “ Torchworked Marbles” Excellent book. My love affair with “Dichroic Glass” continues and grows. I have even stated that I probably will never make a marble that does not have some dichroic in it. Who knows.....that may change, but my love of dichro won’t. I just can’t seem to live without the sparkle that it produces. Over the length of these six years I have sold my work to wonderful people and friends through out Europe, China, Australia, Canada and virtually every state in the USA. South America and Africa must not have the internet yet.....LOL Although I have done a few trunk shows my primary outlet has been Ebay. Ebay has had its ups and downs during that time, some good , some bad, but all along it has allowed me to make a living doing what I love.....melt glass and sell it to my appreciating fans.....YOU. Thanks! If you would like to see me make a marble go to YouTube and search for me under my alias "GeometricJewels" How to make a Vortex Marble.