Triple Red Success!

Preparing for ‘Red: From Alizarin to Crimson’, at Columbia Arts, my second attempt at the red bowl was a success.  Not that I had any doubts, of course, as I returned to my usual drop ring style instead of a bowl mold.  ’Red Cells’ is a shallow bowl, with a one inch drop.

The detail shot shows 22k ‘cells’.

If you remember from my last post, the first Red bowl blew a very large bubble right in the center while slumping, so I put it aside and started over.  Usually it’s easier and faster to just start over than it is to try to repair something.

I also had a second piece, ‘Plan B – Back to Square One’ underway, cutting squares to assemble into a bargello design.  Plan B came out of it’s first firing with devit.  Drat!  I had cleaned and dried thorougly, yet all of the dark red opaque squares were devitrified.  Plus I could see marks from the klyr fire (a glue for glass), a first for me, as I’ve always had klyr fire burn out cleanly.

Instead of a quick fuse & slump, I now had to mask the devit and refire.  Most people choose an overglaze for this task, but I advocate the use of clear powder.  Dusted with a fine layer of clear powder, back into the kiln it went.  At the same time ’second attempt ‘Red Cells’ was slumping through a drop ring in another kiln.

Once ’second attempt’ (as I fondly called it) was in the kiln for it’s final shaping, and Red plan B was in the kiln for it’s second firing, I turned my attention to the failed piece to see how I could resolve that big bubble.

Instead of letting heat and gravity flatten it onto a kiln shelf, where I might then have to grind the edges again into a perfect circle, I decided to place it into a shallow mold to see if I could get away with only one firing instead of two.

Firing slowly at 100 degrees per hour, I had to schedule it so I would be there viewing the bowl at process temperature.  There I was at 10pm monitoring it’s progress every five minutes, ready to reach in and push the bubble down if necessary (suited up with protective gear for the task).  After 60 minutes at 1200º, it had slowly slumped into the platter shape with the large center bubble finally settled snugly down into the mold.

So my success is threefold:  My second try at the red bowl, ‘Red Cells‘ turned out and was delivered in time for the show; a second piece, ‘Back to Square One’ turned out quite well, although not in time for the show; and my first attempt, which became ‘Red Cells II’, was saved and delivered just at deadline but still in time for the show!

If you’re in Hood River for February’s First Friday (Feb 5), do stop in & say hello!!  Columbia Arts,  Cascade and Third; from 6 to 8 p.m.  Oh, and wear RED!  Red ribbons and red prizes will be awarded for “Best of Show” and “Best of Dress.” Plus, you’ll be able to enjoy creative red refreshments!!  Hope to see you there!

What’s Up?!

Thanks to Doris for prompting me to get another post out.  I think about my next post all the time, but the kiln gods sometimes have a way of interferring with my plans.  Like the above bowl.  If you follow my ‘365 blog, you already know what happened here.  Giant bubble has me starting this project all over.

So here it is again, my second attempt at perfection.  Not that I really think I’ll ever achieve perfection, but we can try, right?!  In the meantime I usually have a Plan B, so besides playing with powders I’ve gone back to ‘Square One’, which you can see below.  Stacks of squares ready to arrange into a sushi plate.

Both of these projects will go to ‘Red’, the February show at Columbia Arts in Hood River.  That is if they turn out!!

Invited to participate in another Hood River show at The Pines 1852 Art Gallery, titled ”The Red Alert” I already have these smaller bowls ready to go.

Preparing for two art shows, making hearts for friends, more glass boxes, and photographing one image every day for my 365 project, not to mention posting occasionally on  my garden blog has kept me tremendously busy.

Although I still consider myself inept at all things computer related, I am slowly educating myself a little each day.  Sometimes it’s an ‘aha’ enlightening moment and sometimes it’s a red-faced ‘I hope nobody saw me do that’ moment.  It’s a good thing I can laugh at myself, because believe me I spend a lot of time laughing!

The two current Red projects on my workbench.

Bumbling my way through blogging, I rarely change any parts of my format because I don’t want to mess things up.  I recently discovered I could subscribe and have my blog delivered in an email each time I posted!  I think you can subscribe too! Please let me know how my new subscription service at the top right of the screen works for you.  One new thing learned on the computer today, so I can get back to the studio!

Had to set up an extra table to work on glass boxes and hearts!

But first I want to share why I added my third blog, 365 One Day at a Time to my already overfilled schedule.  A long time friend who happens to be a photographer and recent inductee to the Shutter Sisters Blog pulled me into taking and posting one photo a day for 365 days.  After consideration I decided it might be fun because I love taking pictures but I wondered if I could stick to it.  I have to tell you, I am having so much fun with it that I’d rather be outside photographing than in the studio.  Yes, I said it, there’s somewhere I’d rather be than the studio!!  Well sometimes.  When I don’t have a deadline looming.  Anyone can join in.  You can do it just for yourself too, without the pressure of posting daily.  Give it a try.  A couple friends you might know who’ve jumped in are Terrie,  Barb, and Katie.

I am so honored that you stopped by to read my blog.  I truly appreciate it and hope I’ve made you smile or given you an idea about something new or beautiful.

Taking the Scenic Route

After a quick half-day Glass Clay class yesterday at GlassHopper Patterns, I decided to take the scenic route home on the old highway along the Columbia River.

It was a cloudy, misty, gray day ~ perfect for photographing landscapes for my 365 One Day at a Time project.

I thought it would clear my mind and provide inspiration for this week in the studio where I’ll be working towards a gallery show, “Red“, opening in February at the Columbia Art Gallery in Hood River.

I know, I know, these shots are all forest-filled greens and white waterfalls; try to think ‘after-image’.  And look at all the red branches and twigs!  Not to mention all the color you can see when squinting your eyes at the falls and forest floor!!

It’s been awhile since I’ve been to the waterfalls and I’d forgotten the powerful sound of  water roaring down the side of a mountain.

When standing in front of a serious waterfall, the roar is deafening, your heart pounds, your eyes are mesmerized by the water dancing downward while the mist cascades over you.

I finally took the lens cap off and started shooting.

Trying to capture the entire landscape as well as smaller, interesting parts of it, I was looking for an interesting angle that hasn’t been noticed before.

In the end, of course it’s all been documented by many others before me, but I had a wonderful time photographing my personal view of a day in the Pacific Northwest.

I hope you enjoy my results and can find inspiration from them.

The top and last photos are Multnomah Falls, in the middle of where I started my tour – at Wahkeena Falls with the rocky bottom; and ended it at Horsetail Falls with the ultra mossy trees.  If you click on the photos you can read the photo titles telling which is which.  Please feel free to comment as I love knowing what you think about what I’m posting.  Whether inspirational landscape photos, glass news and info, upcoming classes or anything else!

Personal Adornment ~ Earrings

After a week of reclaiming my house after Christmas & New Year celebrations I am finally putting earrings into my 1000 Markets shop.

I’ve been talking about adding earrings for months but always dread the photo edits as I am terrible at photographing glass!

When adding merchandise to my online  shop I’m told I need multiple shots so my customer can appreciate all angles of the object as if they were holding it in their hands.

You already know that when I make earrings (or any jewelry for that matter) I cannot make just one set because there are so many variations to be explored.

So you see the same earring in at least 3 different lengths…

…and 3 different angles for the camera.  I generally shoot  7 or more different angles, then choose the easiest to edit!

Then I change to horizontal texture instead of vertical …Oh I forgot I sold out of that style…..

So I move on to a different color and style because I can’t take more of the same today….

The Pantone color for 2010 is Turquoise, so let’s go with that…Turquoise and Cobalt dichro.

Turquoise and Purple dichro.

Turquoise and Silver dichro.

Then I start over again with different lengths.  And different ear wires!

I have a great photographer in Hood River, Denise at Photosensitive Portraits, but it means packing everything up and driving down into town.  In retrospect, that would’ve been faster!  Got any time next week Denise?

Cobalt for Christmas?

Or just reliving my Studio Sale in cobalt colors!  Seriously, this is a post for an old friend, who wanted to see COBALT. (You know who you are, Gil!) Looks like I’m way low on cobalt at the moment, but here is what I have on hand….  The detail shot above is current work done with powdered glass on sheet substrate.  Most have 22k gold designs drawn & fired into the glass.  Gorgeous pieces for home decor, don’t you think?!

I love these festive candleholders and make them in many color combinations.  I usually adorn them with botanical designs, my favorites being lavender & lilacs.  Most of my custom orders have been themes based on the client’s home decor.

I’m very low on handkerchief vases at the moment.  Those I have in cobalt are the two on the right and the very dark blue (back, left) with red accents.

This shot makes the blue vase appear almost black, but it’s a gorgeous cobalt iridescent glass

Here it is in front of a window with bright light.

And here’s the cobalt vase with white accents as viewed in front of the same window.

A set of cobalt wall pockets.  Please forgive the white price stickers, I shot these on the fly just before my studio sale opened!  The left pocket is a botanical design and the others are all from my ‘I’d give you the stars and moon’ series.  The moon is hand cut silver dichroic glass and the stars are all the scraps I made while trying to cut perfect moons.  By the way, if you’d rather learn to make you own wall pockets, come take my class (Build a Better Pocket) at the Las Vegas Glass Craft & Bead Expo in April!!

Not so cobalt but I love these pieces so included them for your viewing pleasure!

Lastly the same shot from the beginning of this post uncropped.  Cobalt is included in a couple of the pieces here because I like a contrast of lights and darks.  My current favorite for home decor is the turquoise and purple combination with gold, but it’s a bit tricky to work with.

Merry Christmas to all!  Hope your holidays are filled with light, love and laughter!!

Studio Sale, Before and After…

My studio sale was the last show of the season for me and I thought I’d share some of the details with you.  Jean & Angela have helped me set up and run the sale for many years.  A couple of times I’ve been close to not having it due to time constraints but they’ve insisted and I’m always grateful afterwards.

My very first studio sale was small with everyone I knew invited, including my doctors, dentists, and those I did business with.  I invited another artist to bring and sell work which gave our customers a wider selection of artwork to purchase.

Eventually as I realized I had more work to display and less room for co-exhibitors I began having solo events.  There is only so much room in my little cabin in the woods, turned gallery for a day; and as you can see in the before & after shots, I have a lot of work to display.

Thankfully my friends are always willing and ready to help because I couldn’t pull it off without them.  They’ve helped me clean, clear out my personal collections and have moved books and furniture.  They’ve baked cookies and made hors d’ oeuvres for me.  They’ve washed windows, swept off my deck and even dusted off houseplants.  They’ve kept me sane when we were out of time and almost ready.

Angela and Jean have helped me for the last five years.  They insist.  They love unpacking my stored glass and arranging it throughout my house.  Before them I asked different friends for different types of help each year because I didn’t want to take advantage of them and I wanted each person to enjoy the task at hand.  Yes I DO have friends who enjoy cleaning, although I try to set aside time to do that part myself.

Angela and Jean are both fabulous with displays.  I try to not be so controlling as they are creative women who open my eyes to new possibilities.  Each year we start out together surveying the space and our available display tables, then after an overall plan is developed we each take a section to set up.  Over the years it’s become easier to simply let them set up their way.  I end up with a fresh new look for each sale.

Angela always does the flowers for me because she happens to be a great floral artist.

Jean is a fabulous administrator and keeps us on task.  Also an artist she is usually the one with vision for the overall set up.

When we have the main area almost complete, we shift our attention to my studio where experiments and seconds (not up to my perfectionist standards) get displayed.

I’ve stashed all my work equipment outdoors, or in cabinets and under my workbench.  I put up barriers so you won’t see the mess.

Usually the guest room, aka shipping/receiving and storage room gets our attention last.  It’s a small room with a lot of work to display.

This is the room with the closet that you don’t want to open.  I’m guessing you know what I’m talking about.

We put all the discontinued work in this room.  Some of my older series I’d love to get back to one day, but I have to admit to myself it might not happen.

When that room is ready we call it a day, get a good night’s sleep and come back to finish the following morning with fresh eyes.  We prepare the food and flowers, then throw open the doors to welcome our guests!

Auctioning Bowl to Benefit Fire Victims

This beautiful bowl with 22k gold is up for auction at my annual studio sale.  I’m opening the auction for those of you who can’t make the studio sale but would like an opportunity to bid.  All proceeds will benefit the artists whose work was lost in the summer fire downtown White Salmon.  I will personally deliver or pay shipping for the winning bidder.  Participation is easy, all you have to do is state the bid you’d like to make in the comment section below.

Details:  12.5″ diameter, the bowl stands 2.5″ tall.  An iridescent sparkle shimmers atop the unusual combination of cinnamon representing fire and pink shades representing hope and new life.  Composed of powdered glass atop a sheet glass substrate, the continuous line drawn through the powders, creating the design represents the spiral of life, our connections and relationships with one another.  Retail price is $350 for this multi-layered hand-made kilnformed glass bowl.

Notes:  Thirty six artists lost their work in the fire that completely destroyed a 100-year-old building and 2 businesses in White Salmon, Roz Gallery and Blue Ackerman Photography Studio.  Two neighboring businesses also affected with smoke damage, Artisan’s Jewelery and Gallery and Everybody’s Brewing on either side of the fire were able to quickly clean up and reopen.  Everyone in White Salmon hopes that Blue and Roz will be able to reopen.  Someone will correct me if inaccurate, both Roz and Blue were uninsured or had minimal insurance that didn’t cover the majority of fire damage.  The artists won’t fully recover the loss of their work, but some of us would like to help make up some of their loss.  Most artists are uninsured.

The bowl will be placed prominently at my sale on December 6th from noon until 5pm for studio guests to bid on.  I’ll post updates in the comment section here along with your bids.  The bidding will close and winning bidder announced, here on the blog and at the sale at 4:30 p.m., Sunday December 6th, PST.  Good luck to all, may the bidding begin!

New Display at Hood River Jewelers

Last week was spent producing new work and ornaments, then packing up and delivering in time for the holiday season.  New work is now available at Fireborne Glass, Pittock Mansion and Hood River Jewelers.  Next week watch for new work at The Dalles Art Center, Columbia Art Gallery, and a new venue for me that I’m excited about, Mystique in Pioneer Place on the lower floor.  It’s a beautiful setting and I can’t get my work there soon enough!

Shown in this display are (from top to bottom) works from my Celestial and Big Bird series and a couple botanical candleholders; SunDrops series, more candleholders and Puzzle vases; Celestial and WindDancing series with candleholders; Coasters, Boxes, and Earth series; and ColorPlay series on the lowest shelf.

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