Some show and tell, finally !

So eager readers....

Here is the eyecandy that I made the other day. I melted down some boro into marbles. These are two marbles I made. I was using techniques I had learned about in a magazine and I honestly cant recall which it was in. Both of these are great glass magazines. The flow and glassline anyone interested in lampworking should get both of them to round out their library.

So these two marbles, one a colored dot marble (to the left and right above) and the other what I will call a honey comb (below) are both made from borosilicate glass tube. The process I will never be able to describe as well as its done in the magazine, a virtual photo tutorial which is why I love the magazines. Id say for the first and second time trying the technique, I did pretty good.



The same day, I also made some warring states style beads. This type of bead is time consuming in the precision placement of the dots. As you can see from the photo, the one bead on the right, I messed it up last minute. I always put the center dot in the florettes last. Im not sure why but I do. I accidentally bumped the dot and it pushed into another dot, just barely and when the two touch, they begin to melt together and that in my opinion ruins the bead.

Hopefully this mini-photo show and tell is a welcomed contribution to what has otherwise been a rather bleak blog.

Today I Melted Glass !

Today was the first day in months that I melted glass and didnt melt myself.

I woke today after a full day of 4th of July festivities to a blissful 78 out. Yesterday, was full of the local parade, 4th activities at the local park (I won a skateboard in a raffle !), social gatherings, fireworks. All in all a wonderful 4th of July.

It rained last night (we are officially in monsoon season now) and when I woke at 6am it was 78 out, a temp not seen here in months. Of course, I grabbed my java and went out to the studio. I quickly made two boro marbles, and a small batch of about 6 beads before the temps soared again over 105, this time with some nasty humidity.

Working in the studio today was tougher than normal. We are mid-tumble on a batch of 12lbs of desert quartz that we are trying to tumble polish up to something neat. So Im making beads over the sound of rocks tumbling, slosh, slosh, slosh over the steady whirr of the motor.

Perhaps if the marbles and beads come out well enough, I will photo them and post them up here.

It was fun and difficult at the same time to get back the knack of working glass. Its kind of like riding a bike, you dont forget but you do loose some fine technique skills that need to stay honed.

At one of yesterdays parties, I was reminded that Im one of several local artists "featured" on the Curley School site. They are working away furiously on the school. I think its hot and then Im reminded that Im not up on the 3rd story roof, working on the roofing of the Curley school when its 110 out. Ugh ! They have gutted most of the classrooms from what I can see as I drive by and are really making some progress.

Well, thats about all for now, when the kiln cools down tonight I may be able to put up some new photos!