Soft glass... Hard glass...

Cat picture of the day… They love their treats!

Why I Like Fused Glass

Aka – I suck at organic art

Definition:  Organic art is things that you have to shape and form – sculpture, painting things free hand, etc. 

Brandie is really good at free hand things. 

I am not….

That’s why I really, really enjoy both quilting and fused glass work.  Use a ruler, cut your pieces to size and put them together using the method for that art/pattern/piece.  It works and looks nice.

Yet, I trying Torch Work – a more organic form of working with glass.

Beads: 

Every month, on the second Saturday (because there’s a price deal), I go to a studio in NE Minneapolis and work for three hours or so with a torch.  I took their basic bead making class and that’s what I’m practicing. 

I break a lot of beads – some shatter before I get them into the kiln to anneal, and some break after annealing.  Last time I broke fewer beads than I didn’t break – so it was a good month!

I’m collecting all of the broken bits.  At some point, I’m going to lay them out on pieces of sheet class and tack fuse it in the kiln.  I will buy a nice display stand and put the piece on display in my house with a placard that says:  “Mary’s Screw Ups”.  It will certainly be an original piece.

Here are the “broken after annealing in the kiln” beads from September.

But, in my defense – some of the beads I make DO turn out… they may not be the best, or prettiest – but I will do something with them someday and I’m proud that I made them!

Here’s the batch from September that DID turn out:

I am particularly enamored of putting dots onto the beads that stick out and I think I’m getting better at it!

Borosilicate

Fusing glass is pretty “soft” as far as glass goes.  You have to use glass that is all rated the same COE (Coefficient of Expansion) so that it behaves nicely in the kiln and doesn’t crack.  There are two COEs that people use with fusing – 90 and 96.  You can’t mix them and I take care to keep mine separate.  The glass rods that I get for making beads with is softer – 104 COE – and is often referred to as “Italian soft glass”. 

There’s another type of glass that is also melted with the torch and formed into shapes, etc., when hot rather than using the kiln – Borosilicate.  It is a HARD glass – 33 COE.  It is what paperweights and other things like that are made from.  I took a class in it from the same place that I make beads at.  They gave me a coupon for half off the classes and I figured since I like glass so much, it behooved me to try everything!

Again, I suck at organic art.

Here’s just some practice shapes:

Neither bad nor good – just practicing.

But, these are truly bad.  They are supposed to be icicle ornaments.  I have the technique down, but I have absolutely no control when it comes to evenness of shape!

They are still so going on the tree!  If I had to display bad ashtrays and coloring book sheets in order to be a good mother – these things are going on my xmas tree and all the kids better ooo and ahhh over them!!!

I was better at the mini paperweights.  I still have to work on my rounding of them, and get a little precision in there, but – overall – I think these are decent!

Plates

12 inch plates seem to have become my specialty in fused glass.  It’s a nice size, useful, and a large enough palate to really do something with.

However, I don’t usually use the 12 inch plate mold for them; I use the 14 inch plate mold so that there is a smaller border/edge/lip of the plate.  You can see what I mean in the following picture.  These are two of my plates – both using the “crackle” technique.  The purple one is done with the 12-inch plate mold, and the green one is done with the 14.  Notice the difference in the centers and the width of the lip?

Green Diagonal Plate

I’ve been playing with diagonals lately.  I saw a piece done in diagonals in a studio a few weeks back and I’ve just sort of jumped on it.  Diagonals are fun (and a little frustrating!).  The hardest part of it is that I buy mostly 12 inch squares of glass.  When I decide to make a 12 inch finished piece, I can’t cut a single strip of glass to make the longest diagonals.  Remember the Pythagorean Theorem from High School?  A squared plus B squared = C squared?  The middle of the 12 inch piece is a bit longer than 12 inches!  I have to carefully cut even width pieces and place them end to end.

Here’s a 12 inch diagonal piece that I did in greens:

I also did “My Style” embellishments on the top of it (stringers melted into shapes).

Green “Mosaic” Plate

I’ve also been using this technique a lot.  I put a border on a clear (or opaque) square of glass, sift powdered glass into the center, and then cut up lots of small pieces and lay them out.  It’s an excellent way to use up all those little odd bits that I wind up with! 

Here’s a picture of my latest fused mosaic.  This too is a 12 inch square plate slumped into the 14 inch plate mold.  Yes, I used some of the bits from cutting 45 degree angles on the green glass in the diagonal piece right about this.

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Shameless Plug

I now have an Etsy shop for my glass!!!

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The shop is FridayDesigns2012. 

And Another Brag

We had a dinner party at the house a week or so ago.  Four of my 12 inch plates were used to serve the delicious Middle Eastern food that out house guests cooked for us.

Didn't Cut Myself Today with Glass

I’m only going to post about glass today. 

I’m still behind on quilting, but retreat is coming and I WILL catch up on some things!!!

First of all though – Cat picture of the day… Bronx and Ariel

A New Technique

I spent a bunch of time looking through Pintrest last week and then went to the studio.  One can really, really lose themselves on that site!  I wrote down a few things on a note card and then tried something out.  I think it turned out well.

First, I took a clear sheet of glass, and I shifted powdered glass on it.  Several colors and random amounts…  Then, I dragged the end of a spoon (which I used to scoop the powdered glass from the jar to the sifter) through the glass to make some random lines.  Ironically enough, when I make plates with the crackle technique – which also involves sifting powdered glass onto a surface – I try VERY hard NOT to make lines in it; the opposite of what I did here!!!

Next, I cut out pieces of glass to match the basic color scheme (green in this case), and made the second layer of glass.  I didn’t worry about it being a solid top sheet, but rather pieces together enough to cover.  This made a patchwork look to the piece.  Now I had three design elements going – the sifted powder, the lines, and multi colored top.

I covered the top layer with a variety of pieces.  I threw organization to the wind!  Medium and coarse frit were sprinkled, a little more powdered glass, chopped up some stringers….. 

The kiln ready piece looked like this.

I really had no idea how it would turn out.  Would the powered glass show?  Did I put it on too thick?  Or too thin that it wouldn’t even appear?  What about the scraps on top?  Would they be just that – Scraps?  Was this a garbage heap of design?  Would this look like I just threw things on it?  (Ok, fair enough, I did just that)

Here’s the final piece – after slumping.

I’m happy with it! 

What do you think?

Blue Pieces

I’ve been working with blue a lot lately.  Not sure why… it isn’t really up there in my favorite color list.  I’ve been finding some good blue glass pretty cheap/reasonable at the shop, and I have several friends who love blue, so I guess that is inspiring me.

Here are a couple pieces with some different techniques.

Yes, I know I really have to take better pictures – these don’t do it justice.  I promise a nice photo shoot soon and I’ll give a link here to my photobucket site where I will store them.

Blue Nubby

This piece is made with a sheet of clear, border pieces and then scraps through the center making a mosaic.  Since I don’t have my own kiln yet, I let Karen – the owner of the studio I spend a lot of time at – make decisions on firing.  She usually fuses my pieces fully.  For some reason, this one was done with a “relief” fuse… maybe that’s the cycle she had room for it.  I wouldn’t have thought to choose to do it that way, but I’m really happy with it.

A relief fuse is a lower temperature/time, and the glass doesn’t melt out fully flat as in a full fuse.  A “Tack” fuse is even less temperature/time, and the pieces just round on the edge.  This one is smoother, but there are discernible lumps and a texture when you run your fingers over it.

Blue Diagonal

I’ve also been fixated on diagonals lately.  I guess I like testing myself on cutting 45 degree angles!

This piece was slumped into a deeper “sushi” mold and is dramatically curved.  I have a plan for it, but I can’t tell here yet; can’t give away a secret.  Remind me in about a month if you haven’t heard more about it.

I did a couple other little things on this – look for them.  I laid stringers and noodles – as well as marbles – on top of the diagonal strips.  Rather than doing my “squiggles and curves” on top of straight lines – I put straight lines on top of straight lines!

More with Stacked Pieces – AKA Scalloped edges

Look back through my posts and you will see several pieces – including a vase – where I use the technique of stacking a square on a square.  The edges round slightly and it’s a cool look.

This time, I learned something new.  It’s a smaller piece (6 inches) and I stacked a lot of squares on it, and fairly close to each other.  Now, if you remember from earlier posts – I’ve discussed that when glass is fully fused, it tries to melt out to ¼ inch thick.  It likes that level.  This piece has a single layer of base; it does NOT have a full two layers of glass at all points.  Then, some areas have four layers.

It had to adjust itself. 

What happened was that the white areas – which are single layer – between the stacks, pulled in closer to the center (to build up thickness).  This results in a scalloped edge to the pieces.

I really didn’t know that that would happen!

It’s cool!!

So now, I have a piece going into the kiln that is similar, but has even more layers to the stacks! 

Red/Black and Gold

Boring….

Just another of “My Style” pieces…

Ho hum….

J

I like it.  It’s a cool combination of colors.  I could make these all day!  I love cutting out pieces, fitting them together, and creating a unique design each time.

Can you tell I really used to love puzzles?

More Pendants and Semi Failed Experiments

Pendants

I had a tiny bit of the hand rolled glass left (actually, I found two more small pieces when cleaning up tonight, so you’ll hear about it again) and I made a couple more pendants.  They are just fun and easy to do.  These ones have channels done with fiber paper like the others, but they really tucked in at the openings!  I think they’ll look really nice with a chain run through them.

Beads – Set One

I took some small pieces of the rolled glass, put clear over, fiber paper inside, and tried to make beads in the style of the pendants.

They’re ok, I guess.  I’m not too impressed.  I’ll post some more pictures later when I incorporate them into a necklace.  Maybe I’ll be happier then.

The edges around where the fiber paper was were quite rough.  I need to use the grinder on them – else they’d slice up the neck of the wearer.  That’s probably jading my viewpoint slightly on them right now.

Beads – Set Two

Even less happy with these.  I put the left over squares from the scalloped plate on top of squares of white.  I off set them (45 degree turn), and put fiber paper through the diagonal.  My hope was that they would round out nicely.

They didn’t.

I ground the edges on these too…

At this stage, I’m hoping that they will make a nice abstract necklace…

Yea – I meant them to look that way…

Really…

I think they look like something out of a bad sci-fi show....

*sigh*

Taught a Class

Not really, but that’s my story and I’m sticking to it….

I was working in the studio today.  The only other person there was one of Karen’s staff who was manning the store and working on her own projects.  It was quite quiet. 

A couple came in and wanted to make some art.  Painting ceramics didn’t appeal to them. 

Maybe it was the fact that Karen (studio owner) was not there, but I was embolden and suggested to them that I could teach them to make a fused project.

That appealed to them.

I discussed glass with them, taught them to cut pieces, shared some of my scraps (they bought the big pieces out of Karen’s stock), and was impressed with what they created!

I didn’t get paid anything, but I increased Karen’s sales for the night, and hopefully got her a couple new customers!!  I really enjoy the studio, and think that Karen is really a neat person.  I loved the ability to contribute in a positive manner to her business.  Don’t worry though – I told them from the start that I wasn’t a teacher there; just someone who wandered in one day and now they can’t get rid of me.

Advertising plug:  The Studio at Rush Creek.  Click HERE for their website and click HERE for the class list.  Take a class, drop in and paint some pottery, take your laptop and have a delicious smoothie or coffee drink in the coffee shop part, buy a piece of readymade local art if you don’t want to create your own.  Just let Karen know that I sent you!!!

(Side note:  the husband actually caught on to cutting glass quicker and better than the wife – and he didn’t even want to do his own project in the first place; he was just going to watch!) 

My Dishes Put to Use!!

I will update this later when I get the pictures.

We have house guests. 

“Couch Surfers”

We’d never met them before….

Really!!!

I’m active in a community called “couch surfing”.  It’s a network of people who share their homes (often just a couch) with other like minded travelers.  I used the network when I went to London two years ago.  Although we’ve had lots of people stay with us through other networks (church, school, friends, and once another forum), this couple was actually our first request through the couch surfing network.  It’s not for everyone, but I like it, and this worked out very well.

Note:  if you decide to follow my footsteps and use/offer couch surfing, my biggest words of advice are to first meet the people in a public place.  I have a fantastic BBSI (Build in Bullshit Indicator) and sum people up pretty quickly.  That first impression in a public place is all I need to put my mind at ease.  Most people who participate in this community are open minded, honest people looking for more personality out of their travel experience.  Only once have I been contacted by a person (ride share actually, not house sharing) and decided to turn them down completely.

Ok, back on track

Our house guests - She is French, and he is Syrian.  On their profile, it states that they love to cook, and cook Middle Eastern cuisine.

So, I asked them to cook for a dinner party.  I bought the groceries at the local Middle Eastern Market, and invited a bunch of friends.  We had five ethnicities/heritages, and a similar number of languages represented.  A great evening was had by all.

How does this fit in my post about glass?

Well, I’ll tell you!

We used four of my 12 inch plates for the serving dishes for the Syrian/Saudi Arabian food.  We piled them high with rice and bulgur dishes and laid them down the center of my 1920s American crafted table, on top of my very Italian looking 8 foot table runner!

I will show a picture when I get one….

Promise

I’m going to post twice in a weekend!! Woo hoo! 

This post is going to be a little shorter though…

Over Scheduled!

I didn’t realize when I signed up for things, that TCQ Block of the Month, the Glacier Star class and Open Torch (glass bead making) would all fall on the same Saturday…..

Normally, I go to the 10, or even 11 am session for Block of the Month.  The Glacier Star class is 10-2, and Open Torch starts at 1:30… so, 9 am session it is.

I call the Second Saturday of the month:  Busy Saturday.

Normal “Busy Saturday”

·         8:00 – get up

·         9:00 – Block of the Month

·         9:45 – leave TCQ

·         10:00 – Glacier Star at Glad Creations, start on the new month’s technique

·         1:30/2:00 – leave Glad’s

·         2:00/2:30 – Open Torch

·         5:30 – done

Today

·         12:15 (night before) – return home from dinner and finish the blocks that have to be brought in to get the new fabric

·         4:00 – go to bed after writing blog post and other stuff

·         4:45 – while reading in bed, discover lump in breast (cyst most likely, but still annoying and worrisome), use ipad and Allina ap to schedule appointment

·         8:15 – get up

·         8:30 – discover that the milk has gone bad

·         9:00 – block of the month

·         9:25 – sudden realization that all the fabric for Glacier Star is sitting in the living room

·         9:30 – grab handout for Block of the Month and race home

·         10:00 – Glacier Star  (Note, I’m doing two – one in Batiks and one in Black and White)

·         12:00 – casual conversation while sewing… I ask the group when “Scrap Tamers” starts up… the answer is NEXT SATURDAY… Yikes!  So not prepared!!!  I haven’t even told Michelle that I signed her up!

·         1:00 – finish up LAST month’s blocks for ONLY the Batik version (yea, I’m behind)

·         1:10 – Start on last month’s blocks for the Black and White version… discover I don’t have enough back ground fabric with me (it’s at home).  Set that aside

·         1:15 – Start on the current month’s technique for the Batiks quilt.  Discover I’m five inches short on one of the fabrics I want to use…. (I don’t need to find more of it, just pick another fabric)

·         1:20 – admit defeat on Glacier Star for the day

·         1:30 – leave for Torch work

·         2:00 – discover that the majority of my beads from last month didn’t turn out.

·         2:30 – noticeable burn on my wrist

·         3:30 – burn on my thumb (not as bad)

·         5:30 – done…..

·         Spend the evening trying to cut out and organize the Glacier Star blocks…. Decide that I need to go to the fabric store and don’t achieve much more than making a mess in the living room.

Beads

I lead into beads, so I better show them here!

Let me give some context around this first.

I’m not an “organic” artist.  My daughter, Brandie is.  She can sketch, draw, paint, make things look real, etc. 

Ana and I are geometric types.  We function well when math and ratios are involved.  That’s why we quilt.  That’s also why I’m drawn to fused glass.  There are people who work with it who do very organic things, but I cut straight lines and organize to my heart’s content.

Beads are far more organic, and I will never be very good at them.  However, I enjoy playing with a 2500 degree torch and making an attempt to make round and cylindrical things that I can wear.  I figure I do a lot of bead stringing – I need to make a few in my lifetime!

Plus, a woman wielding a torch is hot….!  (No pun intended)

Torch work, also called Lamp work, is expensive.  The studio I do most of my fusing at charges $12 an hour to use their equipment….  That’s a lot for something that I’m not good at.  I had a bead failure last time, and only have six or so beads to show for over three hours work… you do the math….

Another studio that I’ve taken classes at is in North East Minneapolis, and as part of an Arts initiative/Open Studios at their building day, they offer “Open Torch” once a month, on the second Saturday.  This special day is $15 for up to four hours of time.  It’s a much better deal for someone like me who is just wasting time and materials doing this!

The studio is in NE Minneapolis – about 6-7 miles from my house, and out of the way for my normal travels.  After making beads on the torch, they are then put into a kiln to “anneal” overnight; they don’t come home with me.  This means that I generally pick up my beads from one month when I go in for the session the next month.

July Beads

In July, I went gung ho with playing around with color, decorations, etc.  Here are the beads that I made that day:

And here are some close-ups of some of the beads:

August Beads

After picking up those lovely beads (some are pretty darned good if I may say so myself!), I set about making more!

I knew even before I left the studio that things weren’t right…. I didn’t feel good making them, things didn’t feel right….

I should know to trust my instincts…

But, before I go there, let me tell you what happened in/out of the torch work session….

First of all, while at the studio, I attempted to burn off the tip of my finger.  A ¼ inch x ½ inch strip on the top of my pinkie on my right hand turned completely white and hurt like hell.  The cause was touching the hot end of a glass rod by mistake. 

It hurt for hours… I hand to wash my hands with my pinkie extended – like in drinking tea from fancy cups.

Before I left, I picked up some of the failure of glass.  Sometimes, when trying to melt a rod and get a good gather to make into a bead, one turns the rod wrong, or something, and drops a chunk of glass.  These bits cool into interesting shapes and I’ve got a few of them.  Some day, I want to take them, and all the broken beads I’ve got, and tack fuse them onto a 12 inch piece of glass.  Said piece will then become a hung piece of wall art entitled “Failures”.

I digress… so, I picked up the chunk and put it in my pocket.

Left the studio, and went out to a movie with Daughter Brandie and Son-In-Law Matt…. As we were standing around talking, I’m doing my usual thing of fidgeting, etc…. I’m playing with the chunk of glass in my pocket, and my thumb starts to feel …. Wet…. Hmmm… pull it out…

My thumb has a good sized gash on it and is bleeding quite well….

I found the one little sharp spot on the chunk of glass…

Luckily, I carry Band-Aids at all times….

All this was simply foreboding…  

I picked up the beads from that day, today, and there were several broken ones.  I started to take them off the mandrels (steel rods) and more than half that were still intact fell apart easily.

Take a look at the picture of the few that survived:

Notice the one in the bottom right?  It’s visibly cracked and probably won’t last long.  I think that this was actually more of a kiln/annealing failure or something else than just me.  I guess when I pick up beads from Today’s session; I’ll have more of a clue as to the blame.

A Bunch of Updates

The obligatory cat picture.

Bronx, or Bronxie as I call him, is a F1 Bengal.  Some states ban such hybrid breeds (one parent was an Asian Leopard cat).  Apparently, regardless of anything else, ALL F1s will eventually turn on their owners, are vicious, and dangerous.

Yea, right….

Bronxie is somewhere around 14 (we were the second rescuers) and such a big baby.  I often photograph him on my fabrics.  The above photo was taken at my Memorial Day party.  What you don’t see is that there were some 10 or so other people in the house.  He just plopped down on Chris’s lap; I think he was jealous of Chris paying attention to other people besides him.  Bronx does think he’s a person.

See here for some Bengal information.  http://www.breedlist.com/bengal-breeders.html

Sewing More

Retreat is Coming

Most people who read this blog know me pretty well.  For those who don’t, I have to clue you into a part of my personality.  I am a capable, mature woman, with several degrees, and consider myself very smart.  That said, I’m also should never be left alone in my own house or be responsible for keys.

Seriously….

We have an electronic lock on the front door.  It controls the deadbolt. 

Several months ago, my hubby had a business trip out of town.  He left me alone for two nights.  One the second day, I came home after work and discovered that I’d locked myself out.

Remember… keyless lock…

I must have gotten a little nervous alone, and I locked the doorknob lock on the door as well.  The deadbolt opened with the electronics, but the door still didn’t.

An ex-marine friend of mine came over, put a ladder against the house, and got a second floor window open.  (for the record, I had phone calls from neighbors all around me as soon as he did this, so don’t think about it as a way in!)

What does this have to do with retreat? 

I’ll tell you…

Hubby just told me that he’s going out of town for a weekend for a race in Cedar Falls.  We discussed, and he made the comment:  “Probably safer if you stay in a hotel while I’m gone”.

I slapped him, but, he’s actually right….

I then looked up the weekend on the calendar and discovered that he’ll be gone over retreat weekend, so I won’t be left alone in my house!!

Which also made me think about retreat weekend….  and I’m starting to get very excited about it.  I haven’t been doing a lot of sewing lately.  When I do get a little time at home, there’s so much else calling out to me – other hobbies and, of course, the need to pick up the house.  I’ve got a system of sewing a certain number of pieces, and then doing putting away/cleaning for a set time, then cycling again.  Boring, but necessary to keep my house clutter from taking over.  It’s going to be very nice to JUST sew for days…. 

Sewing Projects

Jo’s Little Women Quilt Group

I finished the quilt top for the project for August.  The pattern is called “Raspberry Swirl”.  It was supposed to be scrappy with reds and tan backgrounds for the blocks.

If I haven’t mentioned in here yet – I put together a plastic tote box (project box) of fabrics that I consider suitable for small quilts.  It’s a bunch of tiny prints, small stripes, etc.  There are fat quarters, small pieces of yardage, the fat quarter bundle that I had to buy for the group and a bunch of small piece collections that I picked up various places.  I’m applying a Scrap Tamers ™philosophy to this group as well… USE SCRAPS!! 

I decided Raspberry = Red, Red = Pinks.  All nine blocks were originally going to be the darker pink, but I didn’t have enough, so I decided on an every other.  The brown sashing was strips that I already had cut.  So here’s the picture.

I think it sucks.  Its precision piecing and my points are awful.  Here’s my whiny excuses…

I missed the July meeting, it was one week before the August meeting when I got started on this, I didn’t want to go in empty handed, I had a hard few weeks at work and just needed to sew rather than sew and rip….

I am proud of the border though.

The border is from a striped print from a Jo Morton fabric (the woman who designs the classes and for whom it is named).  I bought a couple yards of it.  It’s alternating – one strip is pink, then the next is brown.  I’ve cut it lengthwise, and used the stripes themselves as borders on a couple of the small quilts.  I actually like doing mitered borders.  The border was discussed in group when I showed the top, so I feel a little better.

I’ll finish quilting it and it will go to one of the daughters of the women I work with.  It’s a good 18 inch doll sized blanket.

Monthly Packages

Early this year, I signed up for a “Club” from one of the quilt stores.  Each month, I get a package that costs around $20 and has bits and pieces of some sort:  die cuts, charm pack, etc.  The main impetus behind this was to give myself an opportunity to work outside the box.  I figure that I would challenge myself to do something unique with each collection.

Like everything else, I’ve been behind on that, but I’ve worked on a couple!

One of the packages was a set of (I think 40, I didn’t count) 7 inch squares in yellows and greens.  I do a lot with green, but yellow is not a normal color for my palate.  Having a bunch of yellow squares combined with green is a good thing – making me work outside my paradigm!

I decided to do a pattern – don’t know the name – which I’ve done before based on seeing it in a shop.  I cut each square diagonally twice (working with bias – another challenge!) and am reconstituting them with 1 inch fabric strips through the centers.  There’s also a “corner stone” in the middle.

Here’s an in progress picture.

The stripes are a deeper pink – almost a fuchsia – with black polka dots.  The cornerstone is a lighter pink, with white polka dots.  I haven’t decided on sashing for the piece yet; I have to lay it out before I decide upon that.  Right now, I’m considering reversing the pinks – make the sashing light pink, with the darker pink as cornerstones.  Unlike some people, I don’t plan ahead.  I wait until I’ve got the blocks done, and then let the pieces “speak” to me.

10 year anniversary ME quilt

The first full sized quilt that I made was a Mary Englebreit quilt for my daughter Ana.  She loves ME things.  I collected fabrics for several months and then put together a log cabin type of block.   I also purchased an embroidery CD of ME designs.  I collected both large print and small print fabrics and divided them up.  Each block has a 6 inch center and then three rows of small print fabrics framing it.  Some of the blocks have an embroidered center and others are the large prints.

I used polyester (*wince*) batting and did some simple “stitch in the ditch” quilting.  It’s really NOT a piece of art…. Simple, rudimentary, and a work of learning. 

This was a 15^th birthday present to Ana and she’s used it non-stop ever since.  It is starting to fall apart.  I’ve repaired a couple spots, but more crop up all the time. 

This year is Ana’s 25^th birthday…….

I think it’s time to make a 10^th Anniversary version of the quilt…. 

Open call:  I need ME fabrics!!!  Send me links, 6½ squares of big prints….

I may have to brace myself and go to a Walmart with fabric (just not the best quality) because they always have ME prints.

Glass Updates

Diagonal Plate

In my last post, I showed some pictures of works in progress – before I put them in the kiln.  This was one of them:

After the fusing, I slumped it into a “square in square” dish shape.  If I remember right (not running downstairs to measure), it is 9 inches.  Here’s a finished picture:

I like it, but I don’t find it super special.  The diagonal stripes versus the squared off shape is pretty cool, and up my alley for style, but, it’s pretty simple otherwise.  However, I’m getting a ton of compliments on it!  For art, Brandie is the opinion that I respect the most.  She, and a couple other people, zeroed in on it when I brought it home and let me know how cool they found it!

Pendant Update

Shameless brag….

Last post, I talked about all the compliments that I got about the hand rolled glass pendant.  Well, I put several – smaller versions than mine – into the kiln and gave one to the cafeteria girl at work who complimented it.

OMG….  She loved it!

She’s said it was the nicest thing anyone has ever done for her!  She even went on and on about it to mine and her coworkers in the hallway one day at work!

I’d have the decency to be embarrassed, but I’m danged proud of myself!

Using dishes

I mentioned having a Memorial Day party earlier.  Note:  Fused glass pieces are food safe, and dishwasher safe.  We used several of my pieces as serving dishes.

·         The large hand rolled, mosaic, 16 inch plate was used as a vegetable tray

·         The clear/green leaf bowl was a bread tray, with a small bowl placed in the center for tapenade

·         The red “brick” sushi shaped plate was used for shrimp (also with a bowl in the center for sauce)

·         One of the tiles that will be part of a wind chime was used to hold down the napkins that were blowing around due to the fan.

Another Large “My Style” Piece

This one is also 8 inches x 24 inches.  Take a close look at the topical designs made of stringers.  I made some triangle shaped pieces rather than just random squiggles.

I *may* have one of the large pieces sold.  Someone I work with is interested.  I’m a little wary of selling to people I work with. 

Leave me comment if you have an opinion on pricing.  The large pieces are all 8 inches x 24 inches.  I would say that each has somewhere between $25-$50 worth of glass in them.  The 24 x 8 inch base is the most – a 24 inch square piece of clear is $25 if I remember right, and white is a little more.  Each yields three “bases” for my large pieces.  The rest of the glass is scrap and small bits.  A 12 x 12 square runs from $6 - $40 depending upon color, properties (irradescent) etc.

One of my teachers suggested $250, and my friend Cathy suggested $300.  She’s a watercolor and other mediums artist – serious amateur – and I believe she’s sold pieces.

Off on a Tangent

There is actually fabric mentioned here….

A couple weekends ago – Chris and I went on the annual Grandview Lodge Pilgrimage.  The room that we stayed in had a stuffed (fabric) fish pillow on one of the beds.  We amused ourselves with it….

Here is my hubby showing it off as if he caught it…

And here he is “sleeping with the fish(es)”

And, in complete juxtaposition…..  My lovely daughter, Ana.