More Beads and Quiet

Last weekend I got to do something I've never done before. I drove up to Mendocino by myself and took a flameworking class at the Mendocino Art Center. What a fabulous place! This was supposed to be an intermediate class to continue from what I had done before. It was with the same instructor as well.

The class was great and I learned some new things. I'm not entirely sure my results are much improved over what I did before but I do know I was able to get more comfortable with the glass and how it moves and reacts.

Mendocino is beautiful and it was soooooo quiet. I loved being close to the ocean and did go and just sit and watch the water a few times. It was great to get away for a few days on my own.

Sunrising

I'm really happy with the fusing results. The pieces kept their shape relatively well and didn't change much size wise. From all the possible middle sections the ones I liked the best were the bullseye pattern. I had the red from the other part, found an orange I really liked and then the light gold color.

Here Comes the Sun

The sun project is underway. The pieces that I want to have fused with gold leaf have been prepared and are ready to be fired. Hopefully they will come out as I am picturing them. Otherwise there will have to be an alternate plan.

The middle part of the sun is not totally decided on. I've come up with a few versions and color schemes. Have to see how the fused pieces come out and what looks good with those.

Final Destination

The leaf panel has been completed and has arrived safely in England. I am so relieved that it got there without any cracks, chips or dents!

Lizards and Snakes, Oh My!

The glass work has been making slow progress of late as there have been some other things underway. A small carnival came to town bringing lots of little boys and girls to visit. There was also a special guest that brought more guests with her. The Lizard Lady paid us a visit with many interesting and wonderful creatures. After her show the kids played some carnival games, ate hot dogs, whacked at the pinata and had some cake.

A great time was had by all.

Getting close

Yesterday I finished putting the came between all the pieces. A few more steps and this one will be done!

Going Quickly

Since this panel is much smaller than the previous ones it seems pretty natural that it is coming along much faster.

Next project

The new panel has been started and since it is much smaller it is going pretty fast. So far. This piece will be done in lead vs the tiffany foil method I used before. This means there is no foil or long soldering lines but lead came between the pieces of glass.

The panel pieces are already cut out and I have started putting it together with the lead came.

The Toucan has Landed!

Finally! The toucan panel is done and home. Everytime I went back to it to finish there was something else to fix. I'm not sure if it had anything to do with how it was hanging in the studio while it dried or just stuff that happened. But it is done, framed and home now. Just need to actually get it put up where it is supposed to go so it doesn't get moved around anymore.

Now to the next project which will be my first leaded piece. That one will be going to a friend in England. Shipping will be the issue on that one I'm sure.

Egg Round-up

Time for coloring eggs again so the fuzzy visitor will have something to hide. I did the blow out thing with the insides again this year. I do like that so I don't feel like the eggs have to be stored in the frig all the time. We can have them out and enjoy them quite a bit more.

Bit of a false start last night as Sam was a little confused on the visitation dates. He thought the Easter Bunny was going to come last night and he cleared off the table and put out the eggs, his basket and a glass of milk. We will do it right tonight and make sure there are carrots.

Hot Beads - 4th Class

Last class of the set. Learned a few more techniques and got some more practice in. I have the basics now and mostly what is needed is practice, practice, practice. There is plenty more to learn of course. Perhaps some intermediate courses are in the future.

Not quite there.

The toucan panel is almost done! Last night I fiddled some more with the solder and decided that was enough so I washed it and did the patina step. Hung it up and immediately found a couple of issues to fix. Oh well. It'll dry and then I can do the repairs. So close!

Hot Beads - 3rd Class

This past week was the 3rd class of flameworking. I can see some improvements and a little more coordination with the glass. We learned a few more techniques and I am generally happy with the results. I had a bit more success with my shapes and techniques this week. The results were more of what I expected.

Hot Beads - 2nd Class

Beads from 2nd class. We worked on barrel shapes and adding some shapes to the desings on the beads using a pick to rake across dots or lines. I tried to be a bit more mindful of the colors I was using. Generally I am happy with the results. It is a balancing of coordination with the hands, tools and temperature, a bit of a delicate dance that I am trying to finesse.

Creative Sunday

I needed to make a quilt square for a community effort quilt. Finally got to it today. I had some fabric samples that had the nice jewel tones I wanted and some white on white for the neutral. I made the small squares and then played with them to come up with a design that I liked.

On the Flip Side

The toucan panel is coming along. I have flipped it over and now am soldering the backside.

This panel is meant to be hung in a bathroom window where the back will not be visible to anyone. It definitely has a back and front compared to the wisteria panel.

Hot beads!

This week was a new adventure in glass. The glass studio is set up for flameworking now and they are having classes. I signed up for a beginning class to get an idea if this was something I'd like to add to my growing list of glass hobbies.

I'm still not sure if I like it, but it was an interesting experience at the very least. While I was working with the glass I lost track of the colors as they change quite a bit when it is hot. I'm pleased with my initial efforts. The beads came out better than I thought they would; not the greatest but not completely horrible.

Here are pictures of the beads of the other students and instructor's and then my five beads. The flatter, disc type beads and fancier ones are the instructor's.

Sad Good-bye this week

Last weekend was a tough one. We had to say good-bye to our last circus dog. Barnum and Bailey are both in puppy heaven now. It was two years ago that we said good-bye to Bailey and this past Monday it was time for Barney.

I keep thinking I have to let him in the house or try not to step on him when I get out of bed, but then I catch myself and remember that he isn't there anymore. The house definitely feels different. We've always had a dog here. Bailey was born the day escrow closed on this house and we picked him up 6 weeks later. About a year and a half after that we found Barney.

All Cut Up

I reached the end of a step last night on the current panel. The glass is all cut now. The eye was another fusing project and it came out pretty well, I'm happy with it. Hopefully when the light hits it, there will be a bit of light coming through the pupil. This is a big contrast to my first panel with all the colors in this one.

Unveiling the pieces as I went along was a lot of fun. I wanted to make sure the grains of the glass were going the right ways for the leaves but it sure made it a pleasure to look at as I was working on each section.

Last night I finished cutting background. Now onto the foiling and then soldering.

It has a beak

This week's progress has been a lot of fun. The small bird at the top was finished with glass that was procurred from fellow studiomates and the beak on the toucan was fused. Previously all my fusing efforts have been a lot of experimentation and very eclectic in style.

This was the first time I was trying to do something precise. It had to be a certain shape and fit in the designated spot. My instructor gave me some directions and pointed me to the proper glass and I was on my own. When the pieces were ready we put them in the kiln for an overnight firing. I was hopeful. But sometimes things don't always go according to plan.

When I got back to the studio the next morning I made a beeline for the kiln to find a great surprise. I am extremely happy with my results.

It's a sssssssssssssssnake!

The newest project is a jungle scene with a toucan as the main subject or at least that was the main idea for the panel. Hidden in the pattern was a snake on one of the branches and very easily missed in the picture and the pattern itself. I decided the snake needed to have a little more presence.

Thanks to my fellow glass enthusiasts I was able to beg a few small pieces that I needed and came up with a great glass for the snake so he will stand out on his branch. Here's the progress so far.