Remember my failure with the Coral Orange Basket Bowl earlier this month???
Well . . I set it aside for a week or so . . couldn't bring myself to chuck it in the scrap bin! Then I had a bright idea . . I get about 1 a month! :o) . . so I got back to work on it and managed to rescue the bowl . . fused it up some more, deep slumped it, polished it and finally etched it!
I'm dead chuffed! . . its turned out fine! See my Flickr photostream for some pics of it!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cooking-with-glass/
Today's Tip
Don't buy expensive Mullite dams for containing your work whilst firing! Consider buying a small kiln shelf and cutting it into strips using the guide fence on your diamond bladed ring saw or tile saw! Approx 3.5 cm wide strips are great for most work pieces. When set on edge during firing they are 3.5 cm high.
A small 6" x 6" kiln shelf will cost you around £7.50 and give 5 strips (thats £1.50 per strip/dam), whereas a set of four 6" mullite dams (Hot Damz) will cost you around £13.00 and thats £3.25 per dam . . more than twice the price!
A small 6" x 6" kiln shelf will cost you around £7.50 and give 5 strips (thats £1.50 per strip/dam), whereas a set of four 6" mullite dams (Hot Damz) will cost you around £13.00 and thats £3.25 per dam . . more than twice the price!
New Basket Bowl On It's Way?? Total Failure!!
Total failure isn't the word for for it really . . it's completely buggered! Several of the glass "tines" or "spokes" have cracked and broken off and the centre area has cracked. It's just not repairable/recoverable . . so I'll have to post it up to "experience", put the glass in my scrap bin and give it another go!
On a brighter note, my new piece of kit finally arrived on Saturday . . so I'll be setting it up today and getting on with making good use of it!
On a brighter note, my new piece of kit finally arrived on Saturday . . so I'll be setting it up today and getting on with making good use of it!
New Bit of Kit!
Not really! . . Just a very relaxing weekend watching the motor racing! Still a petrol head . . despite it's current price!!!
I've just bought a new piece of kit . . a diamond bladed band saw . . for cutting glass and glass shapes and for shaping my bowls. With a bit of luck it will be here tomorrow and I can get a slightly off-shape, 12" x 9" deep bowl, re-shaped and ready for display!
Off up to the studio now to continue making my new basket bowl. I'll be publishing photo's later this week when it is completed.
Beer Cheaper Than Gas?? Where??
A friend sent this to me today by email! Very good of her I thought . . only she didn't say where! :o)
Still . . its sounds good to me!
Off to the pub then . . by Shanks's Pony (to save on fuel!) . . to save some money . . on beer!
Digging Holes!
Nothing to say?? . . Say nothing! :o) . . otherwise those holes you dig with your mouth might open up and swallow you!!!
No Glass Work Today!
Well . . the title says it all! Unfortunately, like a lot of artists these days, I have to go to work to pay the bills and subsidise the glass art work!!! . . Ah well . . nobody said it would be easy! :o)
On the plus side . . its a lovely day . . and I shall be outside for most of it! . . Mmmmm! Must remember to put some sun cream on! . . and take my sandwiches with me!
Have Fun Y'all . . I'll be back tomorrow . . hopefully with some witticisms from today to relate to you!
On the plus side . . its a lovely day . . and I shall be outside for most of it! . . Mmmmm! Must remember to put some sun cream on! . . and take my sandwiches with me!
Have Fun Y'all . . I'll be back tomorrow . . hopefully with some witticisms from today to relate to you!
Another Basket Bowl on It's Way!
Had to get up early today . . plumber coming to fix the boiler!! £400! . . so . . could someone out there please buy one of my more expensive pieces! :o)
Started up in the studio after making the plumber . . and his mate . . a cuppa and leaving them to it!
Working on a basket bowl! Spent all morning cutting circles for the base and strips of glass for the weave and drawing out the project on Thinfire Shelf Paper. Have now cut the 1st layer strips of the weave . . Oh! . . and my thumb as well! Will now have to wash all the glass . . and my jeans!:o) . . and the colour? . . well . . clear and a light coral . . the Coral will look like this:
Having a cuppa myself . .to recover from having had to spend the money on the boiler!
Off back to the studio this afternoon . . more cutting! . . and hopefully not me this time! :o)
Started up in the studio after making the plumber . . and his mate . . a cuppa and leaving them to it!
Working on a basket bowl! Spent all morning cutting circles for the base and strips of glass for the weave and drawing out the project on Thinfire Shelf Paper. Have now cut the 1st layer strips of the weave . . Oh! . . and my thumb as well! Will now have to wash all the glass . . and my jeans!:o) . . and the colour? . . well . . clear and a light coral . . the Coral will look like this:
Having a cuppa myself . .to recover from having had to spend the money on the boiler!
Off back to the studio this afternoon . . more cutting! . . and hopefully not me this time! :o)
Welcome to Cooking With Glass!
Hi All!
Welcome to the Cooking With Glass Blog! The title is a little bit of a pun . . but I think it suits the blog perfectly :o) Its a new blog and I'm new to blogging . . but we'll give it a go and see how we get on! . . and for those of you that got here by way of searching for recipe or cooking blogs, many apologies, but this blog is about glass art! You're welcome to stay around and browse though :o)
My intentions with this blog are to give you all a little insight in to my glass art work. What I do. How I do it! Why I do it! What inspires me! My cock-ups along the way! My successes . . and failures!
I came into fusing and warm glass work quite late . . after already spending 20 odd years establishing a career. I've only been fusing glass since early 2006 . . started with dichroic glass jewellery pieces and moved on to larger pieces earlier this year after aquiring a new, larger, kiln! . . and that was a bit of a story in itself!!
". . . . . I had to wait three hours with the kiln in its packaging and on its pallet sat outside till my helpers came home from work!
Fortunately it stayed dry all day that day . . so apart from someone nicking the kiln (it would take the worlds strongest man to do this mind you!) there wasn't much to worry about! The only thing was . . the kiln was going in a 1st floor room!
. . It took a Fireman . . I like Firemen :o) . . an electrician and an experienced Pickfords removals man . . after unbolting it from the stand it comes with . . turning it on its side . . and carrying it through 2 front doors, up a flight of stairs, across a landing and through another door! . . it being the kiln weighing 75 Kg!!! . . and it took two of them to bring the base/stand up!! . . . . ."
Well . . having gotten the new BIG kiln installed it took me a few weeks of playing with it to get used to its little quirks and ways . . but since then its been used quite a lot to produce some of my best glass art . . and some of my best failures!:o)
Welcome to the Cooking With Glass Blog! The title is a little bit of a pun . . but I think it suits the blog perfectly :o) Its a new blog and I'm new to blogging . . but we'll give it a go and see how we get on! . . and for those of you that got here by way of searching for recipe or cooking blogs, many apologies, but this blog is about glass art! You're welcome to stay around and browse though :o)
My intentions with this blog are to give you all a little insight in to my glass art work. What I do. How I do it! Why I do it! What inspires me! My cock-ups along the way! My successes . . and failures!
I came into fusing and warm glass work quite late . . after already spending 20 odd years establishing a career. I've only been fusing glass since early 2006 . . started with dichroic glass jewellery pieces and moved on to larger pieces earlier this year after aquiring a new, larger, kiln! . . and that was a bit of a story in itself!!
". . . . . I had to wait three hours with the kiln in its packaging and on its pallet sat outside till my helpers came home from work!
Fortunately it stayed dry all day that day . . so apart from someone nicking the kiln (it would take the worlds strongest man to do this mind you!) there wasn't much to worry about! The only thing was . . the kiln was going in a 1st floor room!
. . It took a Fireman . . I like Firemen :o) . . an electrician and an experienced Pickfords removals man . . after unbolting it from the stand it comes with . . turning it on its side . . and carrying it through 2 front doors, up a flight of stairs, across a landing and through another door! . . it being the kiln weighing 75 Kg!!! . . and it took two of them to bring the base/stand up!! . . . . ."
Well . . having gotten the new BIG kiln installed it took me a few weeks of playing with it to get used to its little quirks and ways . . but since then its been used quite a lot to produce some of my best glass art . . and some of my best failures!:o)
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