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

Winter Solstice is next week -

Next week we will experience the Winter Solstice. December 21st is the shortest day of the year and soon we will see our days getting longer. I look forward to that.

I recently completed this star made from recycled window glass. The window was an old house window from my childhood home. It was a great way to use this old glass. This was modified from a Jim Mathews project,  Glasshoppa.com.

This is a closeup of the star. I love how the glass catches the light.

I also completed a new electroformed flower stem/sepal that I inserted a small, red & yellow, blown glass bulb into. I created the glass to fit and it does perfectly. I am very excited about this project. The glass reflects the light in interesting ways. All three of the following pictures are the same piece.

Keeping the kilns warm,

~ Julie

Recycled Glass

I have been working with recycled glass. This glass had former life as a house window.  This glass is called float glass because of the process of making it. It melts at a different temperature from art glass and tends to be 'stiffer' than other glass that I work with.

If color isn't added, recycled glass has a greenish tint after fusing it.
I love to color this recycled glass with enamels.

Here are a few of my latest items out of the kiln -

This shallow bowl is lovely. Here is the Etsy listing for it.

This bowl is smaller and has an organic shape. I love how the colors are bright and engaging.

I also have been playing with recycled glass and suncatchers. Each petal needs to be colored and then fused.

I find it fascinating that the flower's orange center looks very different in different lights.
Both pictures above are the same glass flower. Etsy Listing.

Here is another - 

Keeping the kilns warm,

~ 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

Two Warm Kilns

I have been both making beads and some recycled glass items.

Thus far this year I haven't made any Christmas items in glass. Until now. . .

I just couldn't not try to make a snowman. 

My beading skills are improving;-)

I also have been working with recycled (float) glass and enamels.

This is a small dish with bright enamel colors. I love that enamel will give the very subdued greenish hue of recycled glass very bright colors.

~ Julie

Progress

Today brings progress.

Some good and some not so good.

The first project I'm going to share is one that I thought wished should would have turned out better

I experimented by cutting and placing scrap glass to fill a Patty Gray dam mold in a circular pattern.

The project fused nicely with only a few issues that I thought would disappear when it was slumped into a dish. After fusing this glass piece is about 1/2 inch thick and will require some heat to slump it.

So, I slumped the piece into a drop out mold. A drop out mold is a mold with no center, so the center of the glass drops into the mold and onto the kiln shelf making a dish.

My slump didn't correct all the flaws and it added a few. In the picture above - you can see that the edge of the glass hung over the mold when slumping and will need to be removed. I have a few options for removal, but I haven't used my methods with thick glass. 

Until then this piece may just serve as a plant stand for my Thanksgiving Cactus that is getting ready to bloom.









Another project that I'm working on is garden flowers. I have been fusing the petals and slumping the flowers into a Creative Paradise mold. The next step will be to get these mounted and ready for the garden.

I did an initial mount of one flower, but I'm missing a washer to keep it level. Once mounted I will extend the flexible tubing and 'plant' the flower in my garden or a pot.

 

I can't wait to get a few of these flowers finished. I think they will be a stunning addition to my garden.


Another project . . .

Recycled glass with enamel power slurry.

The enamel offers great color -

Here is the recycled glass right after applying the enamel powder slurry. I have it sitting on my grinder to dry before fusing it.

The project in the kiln. 

This project was fused to adhere the enamel on the recycled glass and then put back into the kiln and slumped into a shallow mold to give it some curvature/dimension.

I love how this project turned out. It is stunning with or without light shining through it.

Keeping the kiln warm.

~ Julie

Spoons - 

                           I have a new mold. 

I have a new mold that will slump spoons. 

I'm trying to up my game by creating spoons that match my bowls. 

View of the kiln: Fused glass ready to slump into the molds.

Recycled glass with enamel dots.

Spoon and bowl made from recycled glass with enamel dots.

This spoon and bowl have cobalt blue enamel dots.
Enamel allows many color options with recycle glass.


~ Julz

More recycled glass with emamel color

Window glass turns a fine ice-blue color after being fired in the kiln.

I love the ice-blue color, 

but adding a bit of enamel can bring a new dimension to my glass pieces.

I ordered a sample selection of enamels from Thompson Enamel 

and have loved experimenting with the opaque and transparent colors.

Pre-fired glass blanks in the kiln. 

The enamel colors don't really show themselves until after firing.

The bowl below was made from the bottom right blank.

I love the color.

~ Julz

Recycled glass w/ enamel color

I am really enjoying the use of enamels with recycled glass to add a bit of color.

 a bit of color brightens the cold days. . . 

This square dish will be great for organizing my desk.

The yellow and orange colors really shine through on this wonky bowl.

I still need to smooth the edges of this blue bowl. I can't wait to get it finished.

~ Julz