Favorable (glass) reactions
November 22, 2011
If you mix frit colors–as all pate de verre and frit painting artists do with abandon–you quickly learn about reactivity between colored glasses. Try warming up chill BE Salmon Pink with a little BE Medium Amber, and the resulting sludgy grey-brown will stick in your mind forever.
Or so I thought. At a beginning casting workshop recently, one of my students complained that it was tough to simply remember what reacted with which. Or worse, when they combined glasses from two manufacturers, they couldn’t find any reactivity info at all, which apparently resulted in some unpleasant surprises.
I gave them some rules of thumb I go by when I don’t have access to a reactivity chart and/or have no time to check. [Read more]
The missing link in my studio
December 6, 2010
Thinking of designing a glassmaker’s studio? Or remaking the one you already have? Here’s a tip: Design your studio for the ENTIRE glass process..which turns out to be a lot more than just the “making” part. If you don’t, the day could come when the mess literally locks you out of the studio.
Last year I pretty much emptied the garage and, with the kind help of friends and family, turned a dark & nasty garage into a very nice glasscasting space. (You can learn more about it in some of the posts from that time.) We repurposed stuff I already had (for example, a set of rickety old garage cabinets turned into some extremely usable lumber), bought from local rebuilding stores and the Goodwill, and kept the entire price of the renovation under $500.
Billet plus mold equals …
April 14, 2010
Remember awhile back, when I was petting a huge shipment of glass? (And in my best non-denominational mode had included most all of the blues and greens sold by Gaffer, Uroboros AND Bullseye?) [Read more]
Lessons in artsmanship: Dealing with galleries
March 28, 2010
It’s official: I’ve had my first “me” show in an art gallery, where I was one of the attractions instead of one of the crowd. And boy did I learn a lot, mostly about what NOT to do.
(For the record, the show is at Guardino Gallery on Alberta Street in Portland–if you missed the reception you missed a really nice party and a really beautifully laid-out show, including Leah Wilson’s wonderful paintings. It’ll be up until April 27.)
Biggest lesson: It’s one thing to send a couple of pieces to somebody else’s show. It’s quite another to BE the show. [Read more]
Back to work!!
February 17, 2010
I’m SUPPOSED to be working. Instead, I’m petting crystal, which either means I’m a glassist who’s finally gone over the edge…or that the nice delivery man just dropped off a big honkin’ Gaffer shipment.
Lordee, these things are gorgeous. How are you supposed to chop them up?
Weekwhacker
February 13, 2010
Why does there seem to be so little time when you’re facing the future, and so much when you’re looking back?
It’s mid-February already? How did that happen? Eeek. I’ve got to get on the ball. Now. I’ve got a show at Guardino’s in late March/April and another, OGG’s Spring Glass Gallery, at the end of April, and I’m not nearly ready.
Compound eyes
January 16, 2010
This was a week of contrasts, of suicide bombers and gems, art and armor. A rich week of brainstorming and artstorming and talk, one that brought home the value of new and shared perceptions.
Hey–whatcha workin’ on in twenty-ten?
January 1, 2010
The new year is a time for lots of new direction, projects, ideas, etc. So I’ll show you one of mine, if you show me yours. 
This is roughly 18 inches tall, another one of those “won’t fit the kiln” projects that’ll get silicone master-molded, filled with wax and stuck on the shelf somewhere. It didn’t start out this way, BTW–originally, this was a long, flowing shape for another project, but I discovered a tragic ancestor* and all of a sudden it grew people.
The sculpture that wouldn’t die. Part III. Period.
December 20, 2009
OK, so where are we? Oh yeah. At the end of the first firing of Triangle, this was the tally:
- One destroyed clay sculpture (getting it out of the mold kills it)
- No silicone master as a backup
- One spent plaster/silica mold
- About 8 pounds of unfused frit mixed with talc and hence garbage
- One giant glass donut that should have been a sculpture
Drat. This stuff should really come with an undo button. Fortunately, *I* come with a REdo button, so after a buncha work this is what I pulled out of the kiln:
The sculpture that wouldn’t die, part II (of 3)
December 17, 2009
In Part I, I wandered through a lot of creative angst and a clay sculpture I called “Triangle.” Now, in part II, I pretty much wreck the whole thing in seven deadly mistakes.