Broken Handkerchief Vase
Oh so sad. Someone please pass me a hankie! My handkerchief vase is broken.
This handkerchief vase came out of the kiln last Tuesday. It was made from a beautiful purple opalescent glass with one side that was iridescent. I brought it into the house and placed it on my kitchen counter. I put in a votive to see just how beautiful the light shimmered in this new vase. During the night we had one of those really loud thunderstorms. It woke me up; enough for me to think that I should go to the kitchen and get a flashlight in case the power goes out. Unfortunately I wasn’t awake enough! I stumbled into the dark kitchen groping around on the kitchen counter with my hands. You’ve probably guessed by now, that I knocked over the vase. When I heard the crash, I knew immediately what I had just done. I was so discouraged, I didn’t even turn on the light to see what it looked like. It wasn’t until the morning that I say the results.
Recycled Glass Soap Dish
Today my recycled glass soap dish was featured on topetsyfinds.blogspot.com. This eco-friendly soap dish is made from recycled glass. I take wine bottles, remove the labels, clean well, and break into small pieces. The pieces are then put into my kiln to fuse together. The next day the flat piece is put on a mold and placed back in to the kiln. It is slowly heated to form to the mold and then slowly cooled down. Add a bar of soap and you have a great upcyled hostess gift.
Valentine Glass Heart Bowl
Here is a picture of the finished fused glass heart after it was slumped in the mold. I’m quite pleased with it. It’s got a modern shape and the red just pops! You can see more pictures of this bowl in my 1000Markets shop. My one of a kind heart bowl will be available for purchase until Valentine’s Day.
These pieces came out of the kiln this morning. Today they will go back into the kiln to be slumped into a heart and leaf mold. These are new molds that I’ve never used before. Can’t wait to see how they turn out.
The New Year is a week old already. I didn’t make any New Year’s resolutions, but I have been reflecting on the past and the future.
In looking back at last year, most of my focus was on fused glass. I’ve come a long way in my fusing. I started with a small 8 inch kiln. I made some pendants, ponytail holders, and pocket vases. I also learned a lot about firing schedules. I quickly outgrew my small kiln, however, and by midyear I got a bigger 22 inch kiln. This is when I really learned about the importance of a good firing schedule and proper annealing. I made sushi dishes, platters, and handkerchief vases. I also explored recycling glass making flattened wine bottle cheese boards, and soap dishes. I’ve just barely scratched the surface of this art. There is still so much to explore in the world of glass fusing.
Looking ahead this year, some of the things I want to explore are pot melts, screen melts, pattern bars, and maybe drop vases. I’m sure at some point; I will want to consider making my own molds too. There is a glass convention that I plan to attend this year. I always come home from these energized and my head spinning with all kinds of ideas and things to try.
I also hope to blog about my glass adventures more regularly this year. My goal is to post at least every other week about something going on in my world of glass. It might be about something I’m working on, great tools, or a fellow artist.
So stay tuned, and if you have questions about stained glass, or fused glass, let me know.
