Before and After

Here a couple of shots of all the pendants below before firing and after. I love how the edges go all soft and round.

Fresh From the Kiln

The Kiln is On

Yes, the kiln is on! It has been months since I've made some pendants. I spent yesterday afternoon pulling strings of glass, leaves and cutting. I'm really happy with how they looked going in. Fingers crossed they come out well. I'll post before-and-after pictures when they are done.

Success!

Sweating Like a Lampworker Sitting on the Sun

Yesterday is was 92 degrees and 90% humidity, and I volunteered to demo lampworking at a nearby studio. When it is 10 below in the middle of January, the torch will offer absolutely no heat. You will chatter and struggle to keep your twirling hand steady. When it's 90 degrees however it seems like you are sitting near a campfire. Maybe it's all in my head, but the owner of the studio actually turned her torch down a bit because she was feeling it too. I was sweating more last night sitting still than I do working out. You know when you can feel it pooling in your eyebrows? It was like that. Suffering for my art, hehe. I made roughly 20 beads and can't wait to see them. They stayed at the studio overnight to cool and anneal, and I'll get them later this week. Something to look forward to! I felt really good about how they looked going in, but until you see it finished you just never know. I tend to be my own worst critic.

The easy bake oven is on right now. I wonder how many other people who didn't have that childhood toy now have kilns?  

I've have some beads I made that cracked perfectly in half due to thermal shock, and I've been meaning to make fused pendants out of them for some time. I think these happy little accidents are going to come out really cool. I'll probably hope I can make more beads crack in half and won't be able to do it. It's that last thing you strive for as a lampworker.  

More Glass for the Show

Here are some new pendants I made that I'll be bringing to the show in a couple of weeks. Read more about how I made them here.

I was in a green, watery, naturey sort of mood. I'm in that mood a lot. I went kayaking last Tuesday with ADK on the lake and what a blast that was. Two hours of battling waves is really tiring though. I'm usually that person that wants to hike just a little bit farther, snowboard down the hill just one more time, come on let's stay out a little bit longer, but I was ready to go in at about the hour mark. It was barely 60 degrees out, and I went straight after work so that'll account for the energy zap. I'm sure I'll get stronger as the season progresses.

Mountain biking tomorrow! Now that's all a state of mind. The best state of mind is to take chances and no second guesses - within your capabilities. However, thinking you can is more than half of what will make for a successful run or that lack of which will send you tumbling down the hill.

Things Mom Warned Me Not to Do

I was cutting glass to make fused pendants tonight, and I'll admit I'm a bit challenged with the cutting.  I've seen people do it online, and I've seen people do it in person, but sometimes it's hard for me to get a clean, straight break.  My cut looks perfect, but the break not so much.  The glass I'm working with is very thin so that could be part of the problem.  Yeah, blame it on the glass.  This one piece was so stubborn I got my nibbler pliers out and was just chunking and pulverizing bits of it to get a straighter edge.  That's when I started thinking about two fundamental things that I do that my mom always told me not to: 1. Don't play with fire.  2. Don't touch broken glass.  

I sit with a lit canister of MAP gas at about torso height to make my beads, and I wasn't just touching broken glass, I was breaking it and biting it into bits...with pliers.  Aren't the things you're not supposed to do the most fun?  

I was also using scissors this evening, but I didn't run with them.  

One Fish, Two Fish!

Here are my first fused fish. These pictures show them cooked and raw. Mmm, sushi!

Success! My first fusings!