Butterflies are Free…

…If your name is Diana and you’re my sister’s Best Friend!

Diana has been patiently waiting for her butterfly since August.  She happens to be my sister’s best friend and asked me casually while I was visiting my sister if I’d make her a butterfly.  Not one to turn down any opportunity to add original art glass to someone’s home, of course I said yes, knowing full well that I had a hectic schedule awaiting my return home.  Butterflies are small and I knew I could easily fit them into my work schedule.  Couldn’t I?  I love these colorful butterflies and my stock of them was almost extinct, so it was time to make some new ones anyway.

Notice how I say them and these, not it?  If you’ve followed my blog, you know that I can’t just make ‘one’ of anything, so finding a day to make up a kiln load of butterfly bodies, just couldn’t be done!  I wanted Di to have a good selection to choose from so I needed to make not just one, but a kiln-load of butterflies.  Diana saw three prototypes from which to choose the style and color she wanted; then waited again until I could finally find a day to get the bodies made.

Fitting them in between projects became problematic because they require a different firing schedule than the rest of the work that generally ships out of my studio.  Oh, I got their little bodies made up & fired; it was the final firing with the color and wing patterns that took some time to work into my schedule.  Here they are after the first firing joining the wings to their bodies.  My canvas ready to ‘paint with glass powders’.

Working with glass powder is a fragile way of working with glass.  The slightest puff of wind or bump in the studio can ruin your design, so I had to fit them into a day where nothing else was happening and I had an available kiln ready to accept them immediately after building each one.  I didn’t want them lying around my studio waiting for disaster to happen.  When working with powders I like to have a color reference and all my tools within reach.

The glass powder is sifted on.  Lines are drawn in.  Diana wanted yellow, orange and lime green.  I used Bullseye glass 1120, translucent Canary yellow as my base color with 0025 Tangerine and 0126 Spring Green opal (not translucent) accents.

I also wanted to duplicate the model in my Butterfly Encyclopedia, so used translucent 1122 Red with Tangerine opal.  Then I began wondering how it would look with 0334 Gold Purple and 0147 Cobalt Blue opal accents.

Not to mention how would it look as a pink using 1332 Fuchsia with 0334 Gold Purple accents; or a blue using 1464 True Blue with Spring Green accents; and 1442 Neo Lavender with Gold Purple accents!  Alas, after that I was out of bodies again since I’d only made nine blanks, so my explorations had to end.  For now anyway.

And here’s how they look after firing.  All they need now is a signature and they’re out the door.  My original versions pretty much stuck to depictions straight out of the encyclopedia, mimicking true-to-life butterflies.  My approach this time exploring color and line was less tedious and much more fun!!!

Diana plans to hang hers in the dining room for wall decor.  I like to place my butterflies in my garden strategically where I need spots of color, wrapping the copper spirals around small branches of trees and shrubs.  I also keep one in my ‘Pretty Powder Room’.  Other glass butterfly owners have hung them in windows, set them in planters, and rested them on counters.  Where would you keep yours?

Pittock Mansion ‘Artists After Hours’

Saturday, November 7th you’ll find me at Pittock Mansion in Portland, Oregon as a featured artist in their second ‘Artists After Hours’ special event! The hours are 6 pm to 8:30 pm ~ Fabulous refreshments, wonderful music, lots of fun, and you can enter to win artwork donated by participating artists!  $Free for Pittock Mansion members; $10 for non members. Bring a friend! Tell your friends!!

The other participating artists are: Nora Daniel, principal designer at Color Muse, Laura O. Foster, author of Portland Hill Walks and Portland City Walks, Deborah Polonoff of Polonova (hand screen-printed trouser socks), multi-media artist Aaron Wilson, historical photograph expert Alex Blendl, ceramic artist Dale Pope, Cari Quistberg of Crystal Quest Jewelry, and Jude Cornwall of Judee Moonbeam Fibre Art.  You can see I’ll be in fine company!  Please join us!!

Portland, OR ~ City of Roses

Pittock Mansion is a fascinating historical home overlooking the City of Roses, filled with furnishings and decor of the era.  Please enjoy these photos I took of the mansion in preparation to create specific work for the museum gift shop.

I am inspired by so many details in the architecture and furnishings.  You know I love gold, so adding it to my designs is a given!  You’ll find a variety of my work at the museum gift shop from wall pocket vases to wooden boxes with glass tile inserts.  The designs I created depict some of my favorite features of the mansion.

 

Pittock Pockets all hold water for fresh flowers. 22k gold design drawn on & fired into the glass. Available in many colors, sizes, and shapes from 2" to 10" long; ranging in price from $24 to $60. Available at Pittock Mansion Museum Store or via Steider Studios.

22k Gold Rose on Iridescent Red Glass Tile insert in Alderwood Box. Many glass color choices available; alternate wood choice Rosewood. $48.00 Available at Pittock Mansion Museum Store or via Steider Studios. Smaller size also available: 2.75" square by 1.75" tall, $32.00

 

Commitments and inspiration

Sunrise...

Another day begins…

After taking a skip down my road I had to settle in and finish up some commitments I’d made in the studio.  Earrings, bracelets, butterflies, and beautiful glass boxes are finished and delivered or underway and nearing completion.

Earrings coming to 1000 Markets ~ Steider Studios

I also had some upcoming teaching commitments that include my basic six-week kilnforming class.   I’m hoping we have ten new converts to the wonderful world of kilnformed glass via The Dalles Art Center!  My students are having fun with their projects so far!  Tomorrow I’ll be hosted by Georgia at Glasshopper Patterns, the Queen of DICRO SLIDE for a glass clay class in Portland.   I’m packed up and ready to have a full day of fun with a great group of students that Georgia has invited into her studio.  Next weekend I’ll travel to Cascade Glass Art Center near Seattle for my ‘Powderology’ course. There might still be a spot open if you’re interested!  Join us!!

For order inquiries, linda@steiderstudios.com

More commitments coming up include participation in another Pittock Mansion Artist Spotlight, and working with local elementary age students in an after school program.  My local art galleries are already preparing for their holiday sales, so the next round of glass work will no doubt be geared for them.  And somewhere in between I’ll have my annual studio sale.  Would you like an invitation?  Send me a note so I can add you to my invitation list.  I turn my entire house into a gallery setting filled with sparkling beautiful glass for your shopping pleasure!

Sunset along the Columbia River Gorge

Between commitments I try to keep breathing & every once in a while remember to look up and enjoy the incredible vistas that surround me every day.  I take great inspiration from the landscapes of the Columbia River Gorge. The majesty of it gives me energy and spirit to move on to the next round of projects and the next set of classes.  Sometimes I have to stop everything and just breathe it in.

Sometimes ya just gotta skip!

Hollyhock

Skip work and chores?  Skip meals?  Skip the meeting, or blow off practice?  No, I mean take a friend’s hand or your dog on a leash and skip down the street.  Like you did when you were a kid.  That joyful giggly way of getting down the road a little quicker yet slow enough to take in the sights around you.  Caution:  This activity may cause anyone seeing you to smile or…even laugh.

Autumn Leaves

This week begins a new 6 week entry-level kilnforming class and I looked forward to leading a new group of students into the world of kilnformed glass.  As I sat at the computer printing up handouts, mentally preparing the steps I like to take new students through, I looked out the window and just had to get outside.

Elderberry

Outside into one of the most gorgeous, windless, warm fall days ever.  Outside, into quite possibly the last beautiful day before autumn rains and (shudder) the snows of winter hit.

Treasure

My heart begged me to leave the work at hand for a little while, take my beautiful dog who’s not had enough attention for too many days in a row and go for a walk.  A long walk.   It felt so peaceful, not a car passing, no loud lawn machinery, no one else around, just me with my dog, the birds and blue sky.

Elderberries lush & full

Ready for harvest

My heart singing, I notice my surroundings with acuity.  It’s so beautiful I have to breathe in with all my senses.  I see the glory of fall surrounding us as we make our way down the road.  Really see it, the sharp lines of each leaf turned red, the achingly bright blue sky.  It’s so still I can hear the silence and the fresh crisp air is intoxicating.  The allure of an elderberry draws me in to touch it.  I feel the texture of the bark and the smooth round berries.

Goldfinch

As we continued down the road, joy overtook me and I began to skip.  Yes, as in “skip, skip, skip to my Lou, skip to my Lou, my darlin’. I laughed, my dog looked at me as if to say ‘what’s up with that woman now’, but went with the flow and joyfully danced alongside me.

Catching some Rays

An hour later I was back to my class preparations, renewed with fresh excitement and tingling energy .

Bumble bee drinking Cosmos nectar

For some, the electric energy of a city, people and cars moving at a fast pace at the feet of skyscrapers are inspiration and gets their blood flowing.

Chickadee

For me, it’s the song of nature in her many forms.  What inspires you?  what makes your heart sing?

Overlooking the Columbia River

Will you skip down the road with me?

Progression of a Project:

Insert for Japanese garden sculpture. Project for Tom Hererra.

Fellow artist and sculptor Tom Herrera had me make some glass inserts for his metal work recently.  I’ve made dragonfly wings, a couple sea turtles, a deco style guitar replica, and the latest was an insert for a sculpture he’s making for the Master Gardeners’ new Japanese Garden.

He brought me a drawing of his sculpture and we discussed his vision which included the use of triangles and warm rich color.  He wanted a half inch thick  7″ square that would be finished with a half inch metal frame.  Translucency was of utmost importance.

After researching Japanese Garden Design, I chose to concentrate on water and stone as my elements and sketched out a few possibilities.  My color choices representing stone are in keeping with Tom’s vision.

Building the layers

In the photo above, I’m building the layers of ‘water’ using Bullseye’s 1116 Turquoise on top of  clear irid with the irid up so it will sparkle without the glare of the coating being so obvious.  I use this approach often as I love the sparkle of irid but it’s a more subtle effect.

Capping the triangles with more irid.

Next I clear capped with more iridescent clear glass, but this time the irid is facing down.  Again, this is for subtlety and so the face of the project matches the back.  I frequently check my notes and sketches making sure the design in my head translated to paper is corresponding with the glass (turning out the way I want it to).

Filling in the stone path.

Now ready to fill in the ‘path’, I’ve mixed 3 to 5 colors each of gray & brown -02 frit (medium) in translucent and opaque; purple and pink -02 frit in translucent and opaque; and a couple off white opaques.  I mix them ahead of time for a more even application of color, alternating between the mixes as I fill the path.

Ready to fire.

The final step is topping the path off with clear frit (I used -03, course) so it matches the front and back with a layer of clear glass to look through before the eye sees color.  You can see the set up inside my kiln, just prior to firing, surrounded with fiber paper and held in place with cut up kiln shelf.

Finished.

Forgive the quality of the final image, I was at the end of my deadline so this was taken atop a neutral canvas bag as I delivered it to Tom at Starbucks where we meet for deliveries.  The top image shows how the piece glows in the sunlight which is how it will be viewed.  In this photo I wanted to capture the iridescence.  Tom promises to get a photo to me when it’s installed and I’ll post it here.  When Tom gets his blog going, I promise to link to it so you can see his work!

Play Date with Pastels?

I’ve been playing with pastels since high school.  I love using them and was always on the lookout for a way to get the feel of pastels into fiber or glass.  With fiber, you can saturate cloth with thinned acrylic paint, then draw into it with pastels and the pigment becomes embedded into the cloth.  With glass, it was close to impossible until a few years ago to get this effect.

If you’ve taken my ‘Exploring Glass Powders’ class, you know I try to fit a lot into one day.  There’s precious little time to really explore any of the avenues possible, other than trying everything we can and then playing further with each application after you’re back in your own studio.

Glassline atop BE French Vanilla, White, Black & Clear with clear powder tacked onto substrate. Lower right, white & black sandblasted.

I want to share my tests from one of my favorite products from two companies, Underglaze Crayons and Glassline Chalks.  A shameless plug as I sell the Underglaze Crayons on my website and Glassline has given their chalks to my students at the Glass Craft & Bead Expo!

Underglaze Crayons on BE Clear, White, Black with clear powder tacked onto substrate. Additional test of clear capping (thus the distortion)

Both products work like pastels on a toothy, or rough surface.  The usual surface treatment for glass is sandblasting it to get a rough surface, but what if you don’t have a sandblaster?  Powdered glass!  Sift a thin layer of clear powder over the entire surface of your sheet glass substrate, then tack fuse.  In my kiln I fire to 1325º and hold for 10 minutes to achieve a toothy surface.  When the glass is cool I can start drawing on the now roughened surface.

Before & after firing: White base, fired atop 2 layers.

You can use clear, white, or any colored sheet glass as your canvas.  To get the toothy surface without a blaster, you can use clear, white, or any color of powder fired on for texture.  Once you have your ‘canvas’ readied it’s time to play with these fun chalks.

Test on clear substrate then placed drawing side down atop clear base.

As you know before I begin a project I do a series of tests.  I use the smallest size glass possible that will let me put as much information as possible on each test.  For me, this is a two inch surface.  I’ve pre-fired a dozen small clear ‘canvases’ with clear powder and am now ready to play.  These photos show my tests of the colors as well as differences (none noted other than color choices) between Glassline Chalks and Underglaze Crayons.  I also wanted to explore how they look clear-capped compared to fired on the top surface of glass.

Clear substrate, drawing side down on top of white base.

I applied water with a paintbrush to see if I could get the same watercolor effects that you can with pastels.  I also wanted to know if there’d be any chemical reactions between the pigments & glass like there is with certain colors of glass.  Also, how does it look clear capped; clear capped with irid; or left alone & fired on top of the glass.  I always test with clear, white, and black bases to learn how any given experiment will look against a light and dark background.  The clear is to audition the surface treatment against any other color of sheet glass.

Clear substrate, water brushed onto drawing, fired uncapped on top of white base

My results after firing:

No chemical reaction atop French Vanilla.

The sandblasted substrate has a smoother line than the tack fused powder substrate.

Colors are difficult to see on a black background.

If the pigment is on the surface of the glass, the excess will wipe off like mica does.

I like clear capping with iridescent glass, irid side down.

You can tack fuse (not shown).

I like the watercolor effects.

Water brushed on surface, white sandblasted substrate, clear capped with irid.

Both products fired the same for me in my kilns; each set of products has different colors; and not enough colors available in either product!

Test: landscape, sunflower ~ not enough color selection for either! Yellow too pale, can't see detail.

Have you played with these chalks?  What do you think of them?  If not, give them a try!  Make a play date with yourself to try something new.  I’d love to see your results!

Creativity…What is it and how do you get it?

Wall of collaged studies, tests, doodles & trinkets from friends.

I was recently interviewed by Erika Pitera for the Designer Spotlight on My Shopping Connection.  When asked “What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?”, I knew the answer immediately.

“My greatest accomplishment is having inspired others…  To reach further & push themselves in a new direction after taking one of my specialized courses in powdered glass; or simply inspiring students to find the joy in their own work.  Some of my beginning students have gone on to set up their own glass studio after taking a basic kilnforming course I offer locally.

Part of that accomplishment is proving – especially to women who say they have no talent, that they’re not creative or artistic – that we’re all creative beings & their work is indeed worthy and beautiful.”

You can read the entire interview here or here.

Pastels.Texture

So, what is creativity?  According to my dictionary it’s a noun…  ”the use of the imagination or original ideas, esp. in the production of an artistic work”.

Fairy for trading with the young artists I know & love.

The use of imagination.  I think that’s the key.  I’ve always been imaginative.  Had the ability to play, or put myself into an imaginary circumstance and carried on imaginary conversations.  If reading a book or watching a movie, I’m transported to that time and place, I’m able to put myself into the story while everything around me dissolves, disappears into an other world.  It’s the same when I’m working on a project in my studio.  I go to that place where time stands still, and my entire being is consumed with the project, nothing else matters and the energy is incredible.

Embroidery.Sampler

I wonder how anyone can say they’re not creative….   Don’t you have to be imaginative to use up those leftovers for dinner tonight?  Don’t you have to be creative to come up with holiday & birthday gifts when you haven’t the extra cash?  How many different ways have you come up with to say ‘I love you’ to those you love?  I’ve seen some amazing gardens, fabulous homes, and incredible fashionistas all designed by someone who believed they weren’t creative or artistic!  That my friends is a travesty!  These creative spirits do not believe they have the power of imagination. They do!  Believe it.  We ARE all creative and imaginative!  I believe the difference is some of us take more time to practice.

Airbrushed canvas

That brings up another observation for those who say they can’t draw.  They’ve never taken a drawing class because they believe they can’t draw & don’t want to be embarrassed in class.  I understand, it can feel intimidating, but guess what?  Nobody else taking a beginning drawing class can draw either!  YET!!  Can you speak French without having ever taken a class?  Or any language?  Drawing is a visual language.  Can you tap dance without lessons?  Someone taught us how to do almost everything we know.  You take the class to learn how to draw.  Then it’s simply a matter of practice.  Did the Olympic swimmers gain their medals without practice?  Was the World Series won without practice?  Does the concert pianist perform without practice?  I think not, and the best of artists will tell you they practice to stay at the top of their form

Sketchbook

How do you get creative?  Take a class!  Learn something that you think is creative and let the energy and fun factor pour over your spirit.  Walk into an art store and buy some interesting paper and some color to put on it.  Watercolors, Pastels, Oils, Inks.  Splatter, smear, and moosh it on then scrape lines out of the color.  Go to a florist and instead of a bouquet, buy individual flowers.  Take them home, pull out your prettiest vase and arrange them.  Snip the stems into different lengths & arrange them again.  Add ribbon, marbles, rocks, or weave sparkly thread around them.  Explore your local fabric or craft store & take something home that makes you smile…what can you make with that pretty fabric, some glue and glitter?  When it’s finished, make another one!  Gather some rocks, moss, pine cones and sticks.  Arrange them in an empty garden spot.  Add something new to it every day.

Glass scraps

Spend time practicing.  Have FUN practicing.  Leave your ego out of it and just play.  Make as many, play as often, practice as much as you can.

8 year old Granddaughter's rendition of ME!

Then send me a picture of what you made & I’ll post it here!  Take a chance!  Believe in yourself!  Any questions?

6 year old niece's fairies

Remember, HAVE FUN!!!

Happenings of late….

Glass Clay, Pate de Verre

You might wonder what I’ve been so busy with that kept me from posting for the last couple of weeks.  Welllll, I’ve been compiling my fall class schedule and you can see all the new additions on my Upcoming Classes page!

A surprise venue thanks to a VERY interested potential student, Joyce, will be held at the studio of GlassHopper Patterns in Portland, OR.  I usually only see Georgia at the Glass Craft & Bead Expo in Las Vegas, even though she’s just downriver from me.  Georgia is a joy to be with so I know this class will hold unlimited fun for all and look forward to teaching there!  If you’re interested in having fun with ‘Glass Clay’, join us!

I’ve also been gathering work for an upcoming show in September at the The Golden Art Gallery in Goldendale Washington!  It’s a show of Oregon Glass Guild members, and the gallery is a delightful spot to showcase glass, with great lighting and visual space.  I’ll edit this post when I know more details for  an opening reception date and time.  The show runs through the month of September.

Working with local metal sculptor Tom Herrera, I’ve been producing glass inserts for a few of his sculptures.  I will post photos here as soon as he retrieves them from his camera.  He likes what I’ve come up with to fit his criteria and I like his sculptures, so this could be the beginning of many more.

I’ve written a magazine article for Glass Craftsman which will be in their next issue if all goes well.  It’s about the way I make color charts for referencing various thicknesses of powdered glass.  The editor, Judith Conway of Vitrum Studio is fabulous to work with and makes my words flow!

Last but certainly not least, I’ve been filling orders here and there, always grateful for that steady ‘bread & butter’ that keeps an artist’s head above water!  A hearty thank you to those who buy original artwork for gifts, home & garden decor, and personal adornment.  Also thanks to the artists who buy tools and supplies from me.  I appreciate you choosing me as your source for mica, liquid gold, tools and glass!

Next I’ll be working on adding jewelry to my 1000 Markets shop!

Inspiration~Garden~Painting~Fiber~Glass…

Up near the road

My garden is a constant source of inspiration.

Black-eyed Susan

It’s slowly expanded over 25  years, consuming about an acre.  It’s my sanctuary and I love photographing it’s progress along the way.

Cupid's Dart

My first camera was a Kodak Instamatic that I received as a birthday gift when I was ten.

Verbascum

Over my lifetime of picture taking I’ve spent a fortune on film and camera accessories.  Now I’m grateful for my easy to use point and shoot digital camera!

Delphinium

I use a Nikon Coolpix P80 which is fairly small & lightweight for travel.  It also gives me a lot of features that I used to have with my old 35mm Nikon.

Daylily

I love detail shots, to really see the flowers in my garden.  To submerge myself in the wonder of color, design, pattern, and texture that nature has provided in each and every flower is one of the ways I utilize all the photos I’ve taken.

Gayfeather

I am then compelled to turn those photos into paintings.  Can’t help myself, I have to.  It’s a yearning, a craving, a need to portray the lines, the color, the darks and lights, as well as the ever present question “Can I convey what I see?”.

Pink Iris

For me, painting is an exploration of the flower, seeing it with a critical eye, exploring it’s depth, following the movement of line and wondering if I can render that color with my pastels.  It’s joyful to place the first colorful line then immerse myself in the progression.

Sunflower

When I’m painting, time is endless, a vortex of one hour or twenty.  It’s not even me painting, as I’ve gone somewhere else.  Difficult to describe, that sense of being lost in the painting, yet one with it.  No sense of time or place.  A feeling of being lifted to a higher plane, in a lighter place without fatigue and leaving my woes behind.  Nirvana?

Cosmos

When I worked with fibers, I turned the paintings into quilted wall panels with beads, threads and charms as textural enhancements falling away from the hand-dyed fabrics.

Fairy Garden

Pansies

Poppies

Now I translate them to glass.  Directly or indirectly.

Steider.Wildflowers

Cake Platter

Window Wildflowers

Flower Pots

A couple of my photographer friends, Toni & Chris have inspired me to take more photos and get better acquainted with my camera; and even to post my photos in places like Flickr and Facebook.  So why not here too, sharing with you more of my creative process!

Newest seating area

Chris even nudged me to submit photos to Shutter Sisters‘ One Word Project and guess what?  They chose the photo above for August 6th representing ‘Home’!

Notes on making a pair of earrings:

Please forgive the lighting!

I’ve been too long in my garden, but did get my imagination refreshed and my creative spirit reloaded. If you’d like to see what’s been going on in my garden you can see I’ve done a lot of work out there and I am rewarded each evening as I stroll through!

Back in the studio, I’ve been working on orders, most of which are overdue. One is a pair of earrings for a wonderfully patient woman who I met at Pittock Mansion during their Featured Artist evening. Most people would simply make the pair of earrings for her. We discussed what she wants, I understand her desires, yet my mind starts wandering and wondering what if…..

What if the red drop is longer or shorter, skinnnier or wider. What if the black square isn’t entirely square. What if it’s offset? How will it look in opaque glass or will it look better in translucent glass and if I use translucent glass should I use irid? If I DO use irid, should the irid face front or back? And look at the gold and silver on that black irid! What if I put together some black irid facing back with some black irid accents facing front; and what if I arrange them just the opposite of that! THEN let’s reverse all those queries & put red squares on black drops & follow the same questions down yet another path!

Before firing

Normally for a larger project these questions are all answered in a set of tests on a small scale before beginning the project. Since the project in this case is already small, I explore all the possiblilities in my earring format of choice and end up with an entire tray of new earrings. Not all of them turn out to my high expectations, but enough do that I’m busy for the following 2 days cleaning, attaching findings and finishing with all the ear wire choices I have to make! The rest go into my ‘dump box’ and will eventually be recycled when I find a good project to include them in.

Red earrings not yet fired

Black irid before firing

Black earrings not yet fired

I hope to get all my new earrings properly photographed and added to my shop at 1000 Markets soon … very soon! If you can’t wait, please send me a note & we can get them to you sooner rather than later! Yes, this was an obvious commercial plug!!

Translucent red fired

Thanks for stopping in, you’re welcome to leave a comment, and I’m always happy to answer questions. It’s fun for me to see who’s been here reading my blog!

Dimensional view