New Glass Necklaces

Okay I finally got these precious puddles listed in my Etsy shop. I have been keeping these treasures here in my grasp - I thought it was due time that I listed them in my Etsy shop. Deliciousness.

These necklaces are a colaboration between myself and the amazingly talented Judi of CurlyGirl Jewelry

Chakra Circles

Okay, this picture is really pretty terrible... but its all I've got at the moment.

Anyone that knows me, or sees me in the Aquila Glass Studio all the time, knows that I am forever cutting circles. One of the many things that I do with these circular glass puddles is make these straight hanging suncatchers - I call them my "Chakra Circles". I want to put them up in my Etsy shop and website for sale - but I don't have any good pictures of them. I need to take the time to get creative with them and take some good pictures. Most of my mobiles are more asymmetrical, so it makes a nice compliment, the lengthwise hanging of the glass... all the discs spin freely and it catches the light really well. I can do them in any particular colors, this particular 7 circle arrangement is symbolic of the Chakras. My mother is a healer and she has taught me a bit about this, so the mobile is inspired by her. Heres a link for her website: http://marypellegrini.com/
.

Organics Produce Home Delivery

Yesturday I received my first ever box of produce delivered to my door by Organics to You.

The picture doesn't really do it justice, I got the least expensive box (I'm cheap and my eyes are usually bigger than my stomach, so I thought this would be a good place to start) and it was full of all sorts of goodness. I started putting things away in the kitchen before I stopped to take a picture!

Heres what I got: 2 Nectarines, 3 Black Plums, 2 Peaches, 1lb. Red Grapes, 1 head of Lettuce, 1 bunch Chard, 1 bunch of Celery, 2 white Corn, 1 bunch Cilantro, 1 Onion, 1 bunch Green Onions, 1lb. Red Potatoes, 1lb. Zucchini and a whole bunch of sugar snap peas!

All of this delivered to my door (delivery included in the price of the produce) for $27.

I love all the local organic farming around Portland and the farmers market is one of my favorite destinations... but honestly - I really don't have the time very often to go. For years I have meant to sign up for Organics to You, and now I have - and its making me smile for ear to ear.

I am cooking at home tonight!!

P.S. If you would like to sign up too - use me as a reference :) I get a bonus box of produce I think!!
.

Sungold Cherry Tomatoes Update

My upside-down tomatoes are doing fantastically well. These pictures were taken last Tuesday, and it was super hot this weekend... but I kept them well-watered and they are doing really well.

.

Why Pyrex?

I baked a pie today in a pyrex glass baking dish. Have you ever wondered why Pyrex is bake-able when art glass is usually so fragile and easy to break? Even if you haven't wondered - heres the reason why! :)

Glass is hot and molten at temperatures well over a thousand degrees Fahrenheit. Thermal shock is a big threat to glass, more stressful than brute force, and every type of glass has a particular temperature that triggers the release of stress. This temperature range is called the "stress point" and for most art glass its around 150 degrees Fahrenheit. For Pyrex, the stress point is up around 950 degrees Fahrenheit - this is drastically higher, and this is why you can put Pyrex glass on a stove burner and heat it up without breaking the glass. If you did this with art glass the piece would certainly break. But with Pyrex, there is no way you are going to heat the glass up anywhere near 950 degrees Fahrenheit in the kitchen, so there is much less of a chance that you might break the glass.

Although if you take a hot Pyrex dish and throw it in the sink and run cold water over it, be careful, any introduction of stress will probably cause the glass to break (the thermal shock of getting hot than cold so fast is very stressful, even for Pyrex).

.

so what now...

okay, so now that this big conference is over, the question lingers

what do I feel inspired to do now?

I'll tell ya all that time spent watching sweaty glass blowers ... I feel compelled to play in the hot shop. I do think I might rent some time with a friend down at Elements glass.

But that is just play. I am inspired by the pattern work of Klaus Moje. My grandmother loves quilting and I'd like to make things for her that remind her of quilts. And I somehow think that doing pattern work in fused glass, like how quilters do pattern work, would look really neat. Let alone the idea of maybe taking these into the hot-shop and maybe rolling them up.

I also happened to locate a lot of my borosilicate dichro glass last week when I was emptying a box for shipping (I was going thru a box emptying out the peanuts and found a few sheets of dichro) so I am all inspired to make a big batch of rings.

Life is good, my torch is calling out to me to use it... my body wants to get back into doing yoga again (I have been lazy) and tomorrow I am going out fruit picking on Sauvi Island.
Its interesting, the balance of keeping up with work and orders and current projects abounding - I am grateful for the business and excited about make a living doing what I love and enjoy. However there in lies a challenge to balance work with play - time management. How do I find the time to do all that I am now inspired to do?

.

Venetian Torchworking

The most amazing demonstration I watched this weekend was the two venetian men making a candelabra.

Lucia Bubbaco made these amazing glass figures, a woman and a satyr playing a flute and an angel playing the violin. Diego Bottacin made the spectacular candelabra that held all the figures. In the end they even put candles in the candle-holders and lit them and let them burn away. Its amazing to see soft glass wielded with such grace and finesse - and then even more so: to see this huge piece just set on the table and left there for us all to check out. It was annealed later that night to later be sold at the auction.
Above is a picture of Diego Bottacin lighting the candles.

Lucio Bubbaco also made an "Eve" figure for the demonstrations (she was not put on the candelabra) that was a beautiful ivory colored figure (he even did the hair!) that had amber colored snakes running up and around her. That is what the videos show him making. This blew my mind, it takes a lot of experience to work softglass in the flame like this. In this next video I am being blown away that he can make the snakes around her without causing cracks and blow-ups. Amazing.



This last picture is a shot of their torches. They were beautiful, ran a pretty big flame that seemed kinda fluffy and kind to the glass, not so forceful, but still neutral. And they are pretty torches to look at too, those Venetians :)