Jim and Bing
May 28, 2009
The cat rode Jim’s shoulder like a mahout, warily eyeing glassland as it crashed around them.
I’d thought at first that the work-worn man in the tan leather vest sported a coonskin cap; its lushly banded chestnut and sable tail dangled down his back almost to his waist. Then the cap moved, the man turned…and there was a cat on board.
They were peering through the window of Fireborne, my friend Becky’s downtown glass gallery. It was my afternoon to mind the store–a bunch of us pooled our free time this week to babysit the gallery and give Becky and her hubby a much-needed vacation–and part of the fun is watching the slice of Portland that strolls past that window.
Rose
May 25, 2009
Rose growled. I’d been aiming for a nice angled shot down the tracks and unwittingly stepped into her personal space.
We were waiting on the platform for MAX, the Portland city train. It was raining, and we were the only ones not under the crowded canopy. My hooded raincoat kept most of the water off me, but this lady perched hatless on a metal bench, out in the rain, clutching a soggy MAX pass. The notice said we had 15 minutes before the next train, and I figured it was even money whether she’d jump the tracks and flee before it arrived, or drown.
When automation don’t work so good…
May 24, 2009
Yesterday I got a corporate credit card statement from American Express. Problem is, I haven’t had an Amex card for three years. The company listed was my old employer, it showed a zero balance and then told me payment was due immediately or I’d have to pay a penalty.
Huh?
Everything new is old again
May 23, 2009
Every time I think I’ve invented a startling, refreshingly innovative glass technique, I thumb through one of my art books and…there it is. The pate de verre sculpture technique I’m playing with right now, for example, was old hat to the ancient Egyptians. And don’t even get me started on fusing and slumping glass.
May I: The decanting
May 21, 2009
“Marge, she’s at it again and it’s only 7 AM,” he groaned, peering blearily out the window, “She’s doing that thing with the waterpik. On the back deck in her bathrobe. And fuzzy pink slippers.”
“Harry, she’s an artist. Artists are weird. Go back to sleep.”
OK, so my neighbors aren’t named Harry and Marge, they’re undoubtedly up and about long before 7am, and although they do give me some wary looks now and then, they’re far too nice to say anything about squirting glass with a waterpik. And the fuzzy pink slippers were the first ones handy when I ran for the kiln this morning.
Who cares? Castuary is over and May-the-first is out!
Packing May
May 21, 2009
The clay model of "May," nearing her finished look.
May won’t be out of the kiln until tonight, so I’m occupying my time with about a million things (including work, other sculpture, buddies, etc.)…and documenting the whole process of making her. So far I’ve covered:
The inspiration for the sculpture “May”
The constructing of May’s clay model
The making of a silicone mold of May
Planning May’s mold
Making May’s mold
Packing May’s mold (this post)
Decanting May’s test run
May the second (final version)
Taking the girls for a stroll
So now, the last step before firing: Filling the mold with glass.
Investing May
May 20, 2009
With May in her second day in the kiln (of a projected five-day firing), I’ve been busy documenting the steps I’ve taken so far to produce her. I’m slowly refining the techniques I use to produce deep bas-relief portraits in pate de verre (what I call Vignettes), and getting closer and closer to reproducibility with any of these portraits.
May is one of the larger portraits I’ve done so far, and she’s the subject of a number of experiments to solve nagging problems in background color, mold integrity and better rendering of facial features. I’ve got several experiments going on with her that somewhat change the construction of the mold and packing techniques, so I thought I’d detail them here.
(BTW, in case you haven’t figured this out, these posts serve as my lab notes. A blog is a great way to create a searchable, illustrated journal of studio processes, with the added bonus of making it much easier to share with experts who can help–or to show someone else how it’s done. If you’re into documenting your glasswork, I recommend doing it in a blog–and please send me the links!)
Refining casting techniques with May
May 18, 2009
I’m in Castuary* again, this time for May, and trying several experiments with her.
Design by the Book
May 18, 2009
Just a quickie: Cool project with the New York Public Library, called Design by the Book. It’s a collaboration between the library, a group called Design Sponge and five New York artists:
- Mike Perry, an illustrator and author specializing in hand-drawn fonts
- John Pomp, a glassblower
- Julia Rothman, a fabric/wallpaper pattern designer
- Rebecca Kutys, who runs a small printing press
- Lorena Barrezueta, who makes table and body ware in porcelain
The idea is pretty simple: Turn these artists loose in the stacks of New York Public and see what inspires them…and how it changes their work. The results aren’t really revolutionary, but it is interesting. Design Sponge videotaped the process, and incidentally reminded us that libraries are a precious resource and more than just a collection of words that can be put online.
If you’re into Apple iTunes, it’s available as a podcast there, or you can pick up episodes directly from the site. And the librarian in the series, Jessica Pigza, has a blog called the Handmade Librarian that’s well worth a visit even if you’re not interested in the project.
And go visit your library!
Spellbound
May 17, 2009
Short one: For those who miss their school spelling bees, play a round or three at Visual Thesaurus and let me know how you get on.
Tips: Plug a headset into your computer when you’re doing this–computer speakers, even good ones, may not give you as much nuancing as a headset, and the computer’s pronunciation can be a tad confusing without them.
BTW, Visual Thesaurus, for those of you who haven’t tried it, is a good resource in many ways. The columns are well-written, and interesting, however, and the site is a great idea generator. I very much enjoy its semantic-mapping thesaurus although it rarely adds much; it usually shows me things I’ve already considered and rejected. (Maybe there just aren’t words for what I’m seeking 
)