Reduction Frit

I have worked behind a flame today and made some beads. Practicing with some new reduction frit.

If all goes well they will be a bracelet tomorrow.

Keeping the kiln warm.
~ Julie

Etsy Shop - Crystal Lake Glass Studio

I have a number of my pieces for sale on Etsy. I chose the name because my studio is located on a small lake called Crystal Lake. Today Crystal Lake is frozen over for the first time this fall and truly resembles its name. This past week in Wisconsin has been cold.

My Crystal Lake Glass Studio has been open for about a week and has seven items for sale.

I am excited and anxious to offer some of my work for sale.

Keeping the kiln warm.
~ 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

Happy Saturday!

It is a beautiful day today in front of a possible snow storm in Wisconsin.

The kiln has been cooking recently making glass flowers for the garden. I have made five this week and now I just need to get mounting hardware. My goal is to get these in my garden before the snow falls so that I can enjoy them sticking out of a snow bank this winter.

The above flower is in the kin pre and post slump on the CPI flower mold. I hope to show more about the flowers once they are ready for the garden.

~ Julie

October 2018

Beautiful fall day.
Enjoying the mild weather.
Spending some time outside.

~Julie

New Jaws Project

The weather here has been really nice and allowed me to finish up the outside projects before the real cold and snow hits. I do love to take walks with the sun shining and the leaves crunching under foot.

I used the Patty Gray Jaws technique to create a project. Partly to refresh my memory of the process and partly to use up some scrap glass.

I have a 8" Patty Gray dam that I can use and if I use this dam I will be able to slump it because I also have a slump mold that will fit the 8" dam project.

I started with a clear base with two layers of black glass for the sides.

I then started adding yellow, red and clear scrap.

Here is the jaws scrap glass before fusing.

Here is the project prior to fusing it.

Here is the project just after fusing - still in the kiln.

Here is the finished project in a sunny window. 

The center section (jaws) really pops with the black sides.

Love this technique and the project.

~Julie

New Work

This past summer I was able to retire.

Yes. I retired from my day job.

It seems impossible that I could be entering this new stage of life, but I am very much looking forward to spending more time with glass. Last spring I signed up for a few glass classes in Madison, WI during August that would get me back into fusing and slumping. The classes worked. I hope to showcase a few new projects in the coming weeks/months that show off my new skills.

This piece is a favorite of mine from the class. It was a new technique for me using a new mold. This class was taught by Patty Gray and the mold we used for this technique was a 12" Round Patty Gray Dam Mold. The technique is called 'Jaws'. Until this class I had only used dam molds limitedly. I only own a small one.

 I started with a clear bottom layer and then the top two layers were circles with a center portion removed.
Three layers.

I used scrap glass to cut triangular pieces from various colored glass.

All the various triangular glass pieces were then put into the gap in the circle.

The project was then full fused.

I love how it turned out and need to find just the right mold to slump it. I'm thinking a mold that will give it a gentle rounding or curve. I will post again once I have it slumped.

~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