Meditation on Fire

When I'm working on the torch everything else begins to melt away. For a few hours my stress leaves my shoulders. The running list in my mind of things I should have done or need to do stops playing, and all the chatter in my head goes quite as my focus narrows to the sweet spot in the flame. After a while I find a rhythm as I repeat the same motions over and over. This stillness in motion becomes a kind of meditation. For me it is a way to pray and praise. I'm grateful to Sam at Dream Fire Glass for introducing me to this skill set. Working with glass in the flame has increased my understanding of this material and in some ways of myself. Thank you Sam.

A hop skip and a holiday away

The holidays are not very far off. It's time to start preparing for gift  giving  shoppers  looking for a bit of sparkle.

a little time at the torch

I am still working through that batch of Czech glass I was given  last summer. I spent a few hours this holiday weekend over at Dream Fire Glass studio making donuts and discs. It may sound boring but it certainly was not. The crazy weather we have had here lately comes with unpredictably electrical. We lost power twice today while working. The first time came just as Sam was contemplating what we might do if a power outage were to occur. Good thing she was thinking about it. When it happened we were able to act to keep the kiln temperature from dropping too fast. Every piece of fiber blanket on the table went in the kiln and around the kiln.  My beads were all small and would survive fine in a fiber blanket but I'm hoping it was enough to save the four BIG beads Sam had put in the kiln this afternoon. After the second such event we packed up our bags and called it a day. It was enough excitement for one afternoon.  

P.S. It's kinda weird when the room goes completely pitch black with just the torches on and something half made in the flame.

 

I wouldn't want to forgot how...

It has been so long since I have worked on the torch, I was afraid I might have forgotten how. The communication between my head and hands was a little off.  Doing the repeated exercise of making icicles helped to brush off some of the cobwebs. It's a great way to practice heat control and reignite ones mussel memory. I know if I got back on the torch again tomorrow I would be 10 times better.  Practice, practice practice...

The Power of Powders

I recently facilitated my first workshop for 2015 at Roadhouse Arts. It was two days of nothing by powder techniques for the fused glass artist. We had a blast filling the kiln to capacity with the various techniques being taught and a few test tiles based on questions or ideas.

 

The workshop space at Roadhouse is fabulous. I am looking forward to my next workshop there Sunday, February 15th, cast glass flowers. This is a great class for  experienced fusers as well as complete beginners. Check the entire line up of workshops at RoadHouse Arts.

 

in progress student sgraffito

 

sgraffito tiles after their 1st firing

a full kiln at the end of day 1



day two with new tiles or peices going in for a second firing

student powder wafers

 

Rolling pin or wine bottle does it really matter?

What do you get when you ask me for a rolling pin? A wine bottle seemed appropriate. Jackie came over to make apple crumble and needed a rolling pin. She did just fine with the wine bottle and the crumble was super yummy.

Testing testing 123

Yesterday, I filled a kiln with sample tiles for various techniques and materials. I can't wait to see how they all turned out.

A Visit to Bullseye

Lately it seems impossible to get a day to focus on glass. A full week I truly a gift. I am getting back to basics, picking up a few new skills and refilling the well. Thank you to everyone who his making this possible, specifically my husband who is holding down the home front while I am away.

Learning to "go with the flow" 

I'll be interested to see how this turns out tomorrow

And to think I thought I already knew how to cut circles, silly girl

Keeping Busy

Trying to keep my hands busy as sit and keep shop at Roadhouse Arts for the evening. At this pace I should be just about be done with this scarf before the evening is over.

Czech Glass Gift

 

 

This Sunday I had a chance to sit and work on the torch for a few hours over at Dream Fire Glass Studio. I was thrilled when I arrived to find a package of Czech glass rods, left for me as a gift from a friend who focuses on working in borosilicate glass. It was a case of "one man's trash is another man's treasure". Working in borosilicate he had no use for soft glass. I on the other hand was thrilled to receive such a wonderful assortment. This will be a bit of a stretch for me since I generally work in COE 90 and this glass ranges from COE 104-115. I took three transparent rods and made icicles to get an idea of what to expect. The transparent colors are absolutely beautiful, so clear and vibrant. Now I can apply the notes I took about working with Czech glass from Lisa St. Martin's lecture at this year's ISGB Gathering. Perfect timing.

 

 

I immediately took inventory noting the color name, number and COE of each rod. Now I can take notes along the way about what I use and how I like it so I can make educated decisions about if/how to use this material in the future.  What an opportunity. I am as excited as a kid with a new box of crayons. The BIG box, you know the one with 64 colors and the sharpener in the back.

Hope 1993 a work in progress

Sewing was one of those things my mom and I fought about. She tried patiently to teach me while I would rush, make mistakes and get frustrated. My mom would rip the seams, hand it back to me and ask me to do it again. I hated sewing. But like most things our mom’s make us do, like eating our vegetables, I was grateful later. Who would have thought I would be putting my basic sewing skills to use to finish one of my pieces for the She’s Got Issues show.

 

I knew what I wanted the finished pieces to look like, the figure mounted on mirrored glass and surrounded by quilted fabric. The cast glass sculpture was finished, now for the fabric portion of this project. I dusted off my mom’s sewing machine and read the manual to remember how to thread the machine. Using the machine for the quilted protion wasn’t too bad since it was just straight lines. Then I had to figure out how to make room for the glass to come through the quilted fabric. I made a pattern on newsprint, pined it to the quilt and did a simple slip stich straight through the pattern and fabric.  Once sewn I cut out the inner part of the pattern and removed the remaining pieces of paper. With the fabric complete, I mounted the relief sculpture to mirrored glass, apllied the fabric over the casting and framed the entire piece so it would hang from the wall.

 

The finished piece will be one of two pieces (Hope 1993 and Hope 2010) on display as part of She’s Got Issues at HighWire Arts from June 13-20.

Getting Ready to Visit Artisans

 soda lime glass - work in progress

 

With the pieces for the She’s Got Issues show completed and delivered, I have been spending this week getting ready for my June visit to Artisans in Fredericksburg, Texas. Using a layout I have favored in the past, I started cutting transparent glass for plates, platters, draped vessels and ring dishes. I’ve been firing these layouts every night since Monday with the plan to have a new series ready to deliver to Artisans on Saturday. So far so good, I appear to be on track.

Getting Ready for a Visit to Artisans

I have been working on more peices in the cross fire series to take to Artisans this Saturday. I had done a couple of kiln loads of  plates but wanted to do something with just a little more presence, so I started work on this 20" bowl. Here it is just before its' first firing. It was cold worked last night and went back into the kiln to take shape.

I look forward to taking these peices up to Artisans this Saturday. As we approach the two year anniversary of the Bastrop fires, my heart continues to go out to hose impacted by that tragedy. Working on these peices I recall that September in 2011 when fires dotted across the Bastrop County. I am reminded of the impacts of severe drought, and am grateful for the little bit of rain that fell yesterday.

My May Visit to Artisans

20" Transparent Glass Bowl with Weave

I learned Saturday this bowl had sold. A bit of sunshine in an otherwise gray and rainy day. Warm yellows, orange and reds in a patchwork of color centered around a glass weave would brighten just about any ones day. This piece is tactile and decorative. An enjoyable piece to make and hopefully own.

After stretching myself to work in bright colors for a little while I am returning to a color pallet that comes more natural to me. I think this series suits the world around me at present; wet rainy days, morning commutes to work and ever expanding urban sprawl. 

Tiles in the Kiln Ready to be Slumped

I was still hard at work on these pieces during the heavy rains  this weekend that lead to a minor flood in my home studio. An opportunity to clean and organize I kept telling myself. Other then a bag of plaster there was very little lost.  Despite the craziness, I was still able to complete this series in time for my trip to Fredricksburg.

 

A beautiful Memorial Day Monday made for a great visit to Artisans of Rocky Hill. The town was full of visitors enjoying the Nimitz Museum in honor of the Holiday.

Morning Commute - Flameworked and Kilnformed Soda Lime Glass

Dichroic Glass Earrings II

Step two: Cut, grind, clean and back in the kiln for a fire polish.

Dichroic Glass Earrings

Step one: select, cut and clean glass. Here is a batch of glass getting ready for its' first firing on the way to becoming earrings.

A Work in Progress

Green is not a color I normally gravitate towards. Yet for some reason I decided I wanted to make a bowl from various shades of green. I had originally planned to place the top layer on a clear base but it just didn't pop. Nothing I had worked quite as well as the white paper I was using to create my personal pattern. So today I stopped at Wired Designs Studio to pick up a sheet of lacy white to serve as a back drop. Problem solved the piece was set for a firing just a couple hours later. This will be the second firing for some of these pieces which were made in advance.  If all goes as planned tomorrow I should open the kiln to a 19" round tile ready to be cold worked.

Twisted Cane

With all my time at the torch,  I have acquired quite the assortment of twisted canes. It was time to put some of these components to work. So, I decided to create some colorful kilnformed pieces featuring these flame worked elements. Here they are going in for their first firing.

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I always loved how cooking shows on television could put in an an uncooked chicken and at the same time pull out the finished product. Inspired by the "magic of television" here are those same pieces just out of the kiln after their second firing.

Not long after that they were packed up and sent to Artisans of Rocky Hill in Fredricksburg, Texas

Practice, Practice, Practice

When it comes to flameworking you can't just understand it conceptually you have to be able to execute it physically. I find this terrible frustrating. What! You mean you can't just sit down at the piano and play Chopin! Having made a somewhat focused effort with my time on Firey Fridays, I think I have finally gotten the twisted cane thing down sufficiently to move on. So Sunday I spent time taking a murrini workshop at Dream Fire Glass. I had made simple murrini before but was very pleasantly surprised at how much of a difference this full day of focused instruction made. I think I might actually be getting this heat control thing down. I don't want to get ahead of myself though. Practice, Practice, Practice... already contemplating murrini making with my time next Fiery Friday. Little by little my hands will learn what my head knows. 

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Twisted Cane and Latachino

Twisted cane and latachino ranging from 6-24" in length.

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Last night I had the opportunity to sit for just a couple of hours at the torch over at Dream Fire Studio. Torch work can be very relaxing and even meditative. For that window in time you concentrate on just what is in front of you forgetting the other actives of the day. This was just what I needed. With no specific plan in mind I selected a color pallet of emerald green, Egyptian blue, and black. Laying the colors over a white center I pulled a handful of latachino and a few twisted canes. These seem to be begging to be used a piece of stringer fabric or a glass weave. I'll just have to come up with some special use for them.