A New Year is Upon Us

Here we are, mid-January of a new year and so far we haven't seen a big difference from 2020.  We are in the middle of yet another lockdown trying to get our numbers under control.  December saw Christmas and New Years and those two holidays did us in.  As predicted, the number of Covid cases skyrocketed across the province with new records being set daily.  Last week we saw over 3,000 cases a few days in a row.  Here in Ottawa we have been fortunate.  We were doing very well with our numbers until the holiday season hit (consistently below 80) and although we slipped, our infection rate is much lower than those in the GTA and other parts of Ontario.  
This lockdown means no trips to the shared studio space and I do miss my weekly torch-time with my friends.  We share ideas, look at what each of us is working on and have lots of laughs over lunch.   For now I will have to be content torching in my home studio.  I count myself very lucky that I have this option as many  of my fellow lampworkers don't.
I took the time to clean up my home studio, reorganize my glass and tidy up my bench.  It's always so gratifying to start the New Year fresh.
I've been working on my tubular beads and having fun playing with frit and Double Helix glass.  I found a small tutorial on Instagram a few months ago  - Double Helix base, reduce, dot with clear, reduce again and encase.  Super easy and lots of beautiful results.

Home studio is all ready for a new year of creating beautiful beads

Some examples of fun with Double Helix and multiple encasing

Making the best with what we have is going to be the new normal this year.  We have a vaccine (in fact, we have 3!) but we are told that it will be at least spring or even summer before it is widely distributed.  For now they are taking care of the front line workers and the vulnerable sector of the population (as they should) and we will patiently wait our turn.
In the meantime, I wish each and every one of you a very happy, healthy 2021. Here's praying for a time when we can all get together for a group hug because I really, really miss hugs!  Be safe everyone.