Making a staked glass plate has been on my list of things to try for over a year. Last month I finally got around to it. Rather than layout a design and color scheme, I decided to be totally random. I have been fusing glass long enough now that I have quite a collection of…
When I full fused this stacked glass piece it looked great when I took it out of the kiln. I slumped it the next day and it still looked great. I was giving the plate a final cleaning getting it ready to take some pictures when I noticed a few tiny little specks. They were…
On a recent trip to my glass supplier, I looked for a book titled The Joy of Coldworking. This is an oxymoron to say the least. Coldworking in fused glass art usually involves expensive machines or diamond hand pads and a lot of manual labor. It is the process used to make the edges of…
Why is it that something I’ve done many times before all of a sudden doesn’t work. The last two vases I made were disasters. The first one I knew I over cooked because I missed when the kiln reached the process temperature. This last one, I thought I watched closely and stopped in time. But…
Today I am sharing a failure. Let me just say that it is so much more fun to share successes! But I do learn a lot from the failures. And since I promised to share the journey, this is part of it. A few months ago I made custom handkerchief vase for someone. She loved…
This fused glass bowl is one of those pieces that evolved into the finished design. The original design was from the Bullseye Glass website Tint Tone Plate. This is a great website for technical information on glass fusing and design ideas. I used strips of glass in a bronze cathedral, opal ivory, and clear. Mine…
I am not sure what my fascination is with making fused glass snowflakes. Maybe it’s because I have fond memories of snowy winters in New York. Maybe it’s because snow is such a rare event where I live now in Houston. I don’t know, but I do know that a lot of you share this…
Pin It
Lately, things just aren’t working out in my life the way I had expected them to. The plan which was working nicely suddenly changed. The picture I had in my head about how things would look is different now. I am going to have to make some adjustments to my way of thinking and hopefully…
Today I was photographing a new fused glass tooth fairy plate that I made for my Etsy shop. This proved to be frustrating. I could not get a true color in the photograph. The border of the plate is a very pale pink with a hint of purple. I’d call it a pink blush color….
Pin It
Here is the first fused glass Tooth Fairy plate. I used Glassline paints for the name and face of the tooth. Next time I will try frit for the eyes and mouth. Or maybe leave them off all together? I hope Brendan likes his “first edition” Tooth Fairy plate.
I haven’t been able to get into my glass studio much lately. As I posted on my Facebook page, I tend to get cranky when I don’t have my creative time. Today I finally had some time, but much of it was spent just staring at my supplies. The arrival of a grand-nephew has me…
A few weeks ago I participated in the Kingwood Women’s Club Holiday Marketplace. This show raises funds for local charities in the community. It is the one and only show I will do in 2011. Which is actually one more than I said I would do. Every year I say this will be my last…
Last week was the one and only show I will do this year. I’ve got a blog post on that adventure planned for next week. But in the mean time, suffice it to say that I made enough profit to go on a small shopping spree at my local supplier Hollander Glass. They just happened…
I’m still working on items for the Kingwood Women’s Club Holiday Market. I made a batch of these fun fused glass bobby pins. A perfect stocking stuffer these hair pins add a fun touch to your hair. Pull back some bangs, or adorn a braid. I should have some of these posted in my shop…
Sharing some pictures of what I’ve been working on for the upcoming Women’s Club Holiday Market that will be held on October 25. Since the economy is pretty much in the tank, I’ve been trying to come up with some gift items that are economical. These are glass nail files that I have embellished with…
I’ve been going a bit crazy making fused glass coasters lately. Coasters are really fun to make. I usually don’t have a plan when I make these. I just go into the studio pull out my box of small glass pieces and start creating. I have a show coming up in October and will be…
Yes, I know it’s still too early to think about the holidays. But no matter how hard I try to keep ahead of the things, Christmas always gets here before I’ve done everything I want to and I definitely wanted to make a holiday serving plate this year. I made this channel plate a few…
I finished this fused and slumped sushi tray titled “Cobblestone” this week. The design was inspired by some glass I saw while in Venice earlier this year. It is 14.25 inches long and 6.5 inches wide. Here is a closeup of the colorful detail.
I’ve done a lot of blogging about recycled wine bottles lately. Partly because it’s this time of year that I start to build up inventory for the Holiday Market I will be selling at in the fall. But enough is enough! Here are some pictures of the handkerchief vase I made last week. The camera…
Last week my husband and I spent some time with friends at a wine social. Cedar Landing, a local restaurant, hosts a Wine Social on the Patio the third Thursday of the month. The restaurant has a great patio where you can sit outside and catch the breezes from Lake Houston. Unfortunately, with the crazy…
I’ve been experimenting with a wine bottle swirl mold for a few weeks now. I finally have it the way I want it. Lessons Learned - Use light colored bottles. The swirl pattern will not show through dark glass. - Fuse flat first. I got the best results by fusing the bottles flat before slumping…
The good news is that the paint stayed on the bottles perfectly. The bad news… well you can see the bad news in the picture. Wine bottles are not weighted evenly. Before placing wine bottles on my kiln shelf, I always place them on a flat surface first. When they stop rolling I make sure…
I am really close to achieving the look I want with the swirl bottle mold. The bottle in the picture above wasn’t the best shape for the mold, but the color was good. It is light enough to allow the swirl pattern to show through. A few more tweaks to the firing schedule, and I…
Well phooey on the instructions! I often wonder if the people that make these things actually ever use them. The last attempt to melt a wine bottle directly in the swirl mold was a disaster. It slumped down into the mold until it was very narrow. Not at all the result I wanted. Since then…
… Read the instructions! If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter, you know that I have a new bottle mold that I’ve been playing with. It is a spoon rest/dish shape with a swirl pattern in it. The sample bottle I saw looked great. It never dawned on me to ask for directions on…
It’s so hot that I think my dad is feeling sorry for the poor little birds that can’t find any water to cool off in. A few weeks ago my dad stopped by my workshop and asked if I could make him a bird bath. I think he said, “You can use any old glass.”…
It would be great if someone could invent a web cam that I could put in my kiln. There are times when I really just wonder what the heck is going on in there! I’ve been fusing glass long enough now that I feel pretty confident when I put things into the kiln they will…
Whenever I fuse glass together in my kiln, I put the pieces of glass on a kiln shelf. The shelf must be prepared with a separator, called kiln wash, so the glass doesn’t stick to the shelf when it melts. Sort of like flouring your pastry board before rolling out a pie crust. What you…
Here is the final piece. I sand blasted both sides to remove the tin bloom. Then I put the dish back in the mold and fired the kiln with a slump schedule but only held at the slump temperature for about 5 minutes. This was to soften the look of the sand blasting. You can…
I am experimenting with float glass. Float glass or window glass is less expensive than the glass that I normally use for fusing. That’s a good thing. But, working with float glass has some challenges. The dish above is the result after my first experiment. I created the pattern in the first firing which turned…
Fused glass bas relief experiment in the kiln.
I attended a class this past weekend at Hollander Glass in Houston. Boyce Lundstrom was in town to teach us about using copper and metal inclusions in kiln fired glass. The class was based on two of his books, Kiln Fired Glass (Copper & Metal Inclusions) and Raku Glass. I wish I had read his…
A few posts back I posted a picture of a stacked glass piece I fused. It has now been slumped in a rectangle sushi plate mold. It is a very simple shape so it doesn’t compete with the design of the glass. Thought I’d share some pictures of the finished piece. If you look at…
When I take a fused glass class, I make technique pieces. They are pieces made to learn a new technique that I can incorporate in my work when I am back in the studio. They are not pieces that I sell. In fact, sometimes they don’t turn out well at all and end up being…
These are the cabochons I made the other day playing with my glass. I think one or two will end up as a a pony tail holder. Not sure what I’ll do with the others.
This is the result of of the stacked glass piece I fused in the kiln yesterday. It consists of a layer of clear glass (3mm), a thin layer of black (2mm), and then the stacked pieces.When I put it in the kiln I debated whether or not to dam the sides. I knew the extra…
I just put these pieced in the kiln. The top piece is an early holiday piece. The bottom is a stacked glass piece. I’m pretty sure everyone who has ever fused glass has made a stacked glass piece. This will be my first. It has 98 pieces of glass in it.
Today as I prepared the kiln to fire a few plates, I looked at the empty space on the shelf. It’s really hard for me to push the start button on the kiln when there is empty space staring at me. I just couldn’t let it go that way. What to put in that empty…
Today was my first day back to the studio in almost 5 weeks. That’s a long time to be away from creativity! It’s been a busy hectic time with great things happening. We took a 30th anniversary cruise to the Mediterranean and our daughter graduated from medical school. Lots of celebrating, company in town, and…
I haven’t had a lot of studio time in the last few months. It’s been a busy time with several family celebrations and events that have kept me busy. But I did finish one project that I thought I would share. I received a request to create four custom fused glass soap dishes for a…
Last week I was in Charlottesville, Virginia with my daughter. We took some time to tour Monticello. I don’t know what Charlottesville looks like the rest of the year, but last week was absolutely beautiful. The weather was perfect. Trees were budding. The tulips were overflowing, and the views from Monticello were breath taking. Even…
What a great weekend! I took a three day class at Hollander Glass with Michael Dupille. My brain is on information overload right now, but it’s a good thing. We worked mostly with frits (powder, fine, and medium) and learned about using CMC to make a glass paste. With the glass in this paste form…
The fused glass candle bridges that I make can be used with a variety of candles. Recently I found some candles that are small square candles. They are called Candles on a Rope and have five candles in a range of colors all attached by a wick. So cute! I can envision this one in…
Last week when I went to my glass supplier I bought a new glass mold that I used to create a candle shelter. I love the way it turned out.
You may have heard of the t.v. show “What Not to Wear.” Well I’m seriously considering a blog series called “What Not to Do.” In the kiln, that is. Here are some pictures of what happens when you, or more correctly I, try to put too many wine bottles in the kiln. I usually put…
The glass used to create fused glass pieces can be very expensive. A square foot of clear fusible glass costs about $5. Colored glass is between $7 and $10. Then there is glass that is a combination of colors or patterns that can go up to $20 a square foot. And I’m sure there is…
I should really, really know better. And I should definitely know by now that I need to listen to that small voice in the back of my head. I have a custom order for some fused glass plates that I have been working on. I put them in the kiln yesterday, and because I really,…
I should know better than to design something in a hurry. I was running behind on some pieces I wanted to have ready in my online store before Valentine’s Day. My heart stained glass panel that I am working on still needs to be framed as I type this; hopefully tomorrow. So while I was…
This fused glass sushi plate with the Droid guy on it was a Christmas gift I made for my son. He has been an avid Android fan from the beginning.
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
