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Ventilation is very important not just for comforts sake, but also for your health.

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This is where I all the magic happens. We live out in Arizona where the heat is pretty intense during the summer. Our garage is insulated pretty well though. I turn on the vent hood which draws the yucky hot air outside. I prop open the door to the house with a blower in the doorway. It pulls air from the house into the garage. We manage to maintain a comfortable 85 degrees in 115 degree weather. Not bad for the dry, HOT, HOT desert of Arizona.

Here are a couple views of my worktable. I use a minor torch to make my beads. I use an oxygen concentrator and gas tank to fuel my torch. And with all my beads I use my Jen-Ken kiln. Using a kiln for your beads strengthens them and makes them more resistant to cracking when they are cooling down, or if they are dropped later. |
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These are various left over stringers which come in handy when making beads. I have to admit stringers and murrini are my least favorite things to do, but without them, beads are just not as unique. Before each bead session, I find myself making them for the first 30 minutes or so. I guess I have to wait for the kiln to heat up anyway.......
Colors can inspire!! It is especially nice to work with all the rods withins arm reach. I tend to start out with a general idea of the bead I am going to make and sometimes the colors change from one minute to the next.
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