February 2023

 February creativity has taken me in a new direction.

My husband has been doing trim work in his shed and had some ends and pieces of boards that were cut offs and too short for his purposes. He asked if I wanted them. 

Well yes. 

I have combined them with some recycled fused glass, with a bit of enamel, using thinset.

I kind of like the results.

This one still needs more work, but it is a start.

~ Julie

April

The weather has been nice this week, so not much glass. I did finish a fused and stained glass garden piece last week. I used float glass and enamels to create the circles and then put them together with copper foil and solder. I think it turned out really nice.

 

I also played with murrini and created a small round of just murrini. I'm not sure if I will create a bowl with it or not. Right now it's hanging in my studio.

Other News -
Both bee hives are still alive this far, but one is very weak. I ordered another package of bees just in case I loose my weak hive. I still want at least two hives going into summer. We, my husband and I made new hives and I painted them last week in the warm sun.

We are still sheltering in place except for groceries. I got my sewing machine out and dusted off to make masks for myself and my husband so that we could be a bit safer in our travels outside the house.

We are fostering a dog from the local Humane Society. I may fail at this foster business. Sam, our foster dog, is very easy. He stays close to me on walks, doesn't get up on furniture, rarely barks and is somewhat calm.

He may have to stay with us.

Spring is here. The frogs are singing. Some flowers are blooming.

Stay healthy!

~ Julie

Drawer pulls and more

 

I had a wonderful time making drawer pulls for my new for me glasswork area organizer. I relished making each one different.

I'm biased, but I think the new storage dresser is magnificent.

I also have worked on a new pendant. A bit of red, white, and blue for the upcoming 4th of July.

And a new fused glass bowl made completely out of strips of glass.

Keeping the kilns warm.

~Julie

Reactions & New Mold

      

I have really enjoyed playing with reactive glass. Above is the latest reactive dish slumped into a subtle curved shape.

I splurged this week and purchased a new glass slumping mold - a ball bowl.

      

I love the shape and have been waiting to slump this glass into a shape, but didn't have a mold large enough.

~ Julie

New Work

The birdbath bowl worked well for a large slump.

Sometimes I have issues slumping large projects. I used a conservative kiln schedule and it seemed to have worked well.

I am still into reactive glass.

This is a new color for me. It's Salmon Pink. 

I don't see the pink, it is a very pretty brown/tan.

It is finishing the slump into a dish right now in the kiln.

I also have been playing with more recycled glass and enamels.

I love the tie dyed look.

Keeping the kilns warm.

~ Julie

New Year

2019 has been snowy in Wisconsin.
I was able to get out and continue walking which is good. I prefer snow over ice.

I have been both lampworking and fusing this past week.

I made simple beads for a new bracelet. The colors don't show well in this pict, but they are a pinkish with green - lovely. I am using a purchased frit blend from Val Cox to provide the color.

 

I created a recycled plate/dish with recycled glass and enamels for color. I think I'll call this one the starry night. It is dark with the black on the one side.

I finally slumped this dish and it turned out better than expected. I had created the glass round for slumping in a summer class that I took last August. I like how the colors work together.

Another project that has been sitting on the back of my bench was this vase. I created it by dropping glass through a drop out mold at least 5 years ago, but never cut off the top to make the vase.

I fixed my glass saw this week.

I loved it and was excited until is broke as I was smoothing/sanding the top to finish it off yesterday. I will have to drop another vase/glass now that my glass saw is fixed.

Keeping the kiln warm.

~ Julie