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.