Walking the Rim

Here are some pictures from a recent collaborative piece - "Little Women" - my studio mate Dennis McConnell made this beautiful glass "saturn" bowl and he asked me to make ladies to attach to the bowl. The bowl is 22" in diameter and the little ladies I made are less than 2" tall.
Some of the ladies are walking around, some are sitting... there is one that is trying to pull another out of the hole in the middle.
They are very simple, these little ladies, but I enjoy the detail in the animation that is achievable. I like to make them doing things, seems to add a human character, a humor value.

There is one lady that is waving to another lady... a couple of ladies are looking over the edge and one lady is sitting on the bottom looking at the lady that is trying to scramble out of the hole...

Thanks Dennis for asking me to collaborate with you!

Fly Fishing Mobile

I had to take a screen shot of this listing on Etsy - it simply turned out really nice. I love it. Suiting to fit a beautiful mobile. I am glad I finally listed it online! :)

New Plates from LeJa

Images on Glass IV

The printing images on glass experiments with my artist friend Jan resumed today. And we today added Copper Powder to the mix. You can see I wore a mask, and I used an exhaust hood right above the powder... protection is a must.




Its been a while since we've gotten to play... after a small hiatus due to weather and the holidays, we are starting back anew with new tests. My notes were pretty crappy on the early testing, so we never really could figure out how we achieved the results that we liked. So its sorta back to square one.

I did some tests with applying fine black powder to wet oil based copper/gold ink.

Jan mixed the oil based ink with a transparent white ink that we had been using, the transparent white is really weird stuff.
I am not sure if we will use any more of this transparent white, it made a huge mess and you can see in the picture if you zoom in that the white makes funny patterns on the transfer. In the end we chose to use the blue instead of the transparent white.


We did lots of testers with this copper powder that Jan bought. After printing onto the glass with the blue oil based ink I applied the powder to the wet ink. We used one block (the heart) that was very solid, and one black that was very detailed (a ginko leaf, not pictured here). I then applied a clean piece of clear glass on top of this for a fuse fuse fire.

Then we also did a batch where we mixed the copper powder in to the ink. And we did all of these copper tests twice, once with a -100 grade copper powder and again with a -325 grade copper powder. I am intrigued to see what the copper powder does. It may not be impressive, it may be really neat! It was fun stuff to work with too, I took some pictures of the patterns it was making:

links to other Image Experiment posts:

• http://leahglass.blogspot.com/2008/11/images-on-glass-experiment.html

• http://leahglass.blogspot.com/2008/11/images-on-glass-ii.html

• http://leahglass.blogspot.com/2008/11/images-on-glass-iii.html

Images on Glass III

The experiments with printing on glass continue...

A lot of these samples I am slumping into molds to make them into "sandwich plates".

I will take better pictures of some then!

In the meantime, some interesting observations:

-when we mixed glass powder into the ink and then printed on the glass the print turned out splotchy, like the ink stuck to the glass and turn out splotchy

-when we dusted glass powder onto the ink print that had more glass powder mixed in the ink, it was as if the two did not mix! The glass powder on top didn't actually fuse into the glass



- lastly, and most importantly, we found an ink and a process that we like.
unfortunately my note taking skills the other day were somewhat lacking, left a little sumthin to be desired - so I it was hard to decipher the differences between all the samples...

However - hopefully by the end of November we will have some sample plates available for sale so we can see what prints people are attracted to purchase on glass.

Images on Glass II

The experiments continue - my friend Jan and I made 22 more samples of printing onto glass. Do you see how amazing these blocks are (in the picture above)?! We used Rubber Duckies, a Hammer, Birds on a Line, a Benson Bubbler (water fountains in PDX), and a set of Hearts.

We were very methodical, trying 5 new types of ink (one image for each type of ink so its easy to remember!), an oil based ink (last time we used a rubber based ink), a lithograph ink, an etching ink and an oil based ink that had metal in it (it was called "Copper Gold"), and lastely a transparent Rubber based ink that we mixed colored glass powder into it. We also tried different colors of glass powders/frit (last time we used only black powder and frit).

Interesting observations: glass powder mixed with ink is possible, but it behaves weirdly. The ink sorta seems to cling to the glass particles and create fractal patterns. See: (pictured below is ink under a magnifying lens)
Okay, its come to my attention that the last video I posted from my on-going project of printing on glass, it was not a complete video. :) This was entirely my fault.... the video ended because I hadn't set up the glass for Jan to transfer the ink onto, so I had to stop the video to put down the camera and be helpful and arrange the glass. Jan has been doing the inking and I do the glass. So this next video is much more complete - although I am once more leaving out the end - sheesh! Because inevitably I have to put down the camera in order to pick up the glass frit/powder...



my apologies for having a volume control issues - enjoy the music :)

so if you watched this whole thing (its 3 minutes) and wonder what comes next... basically its simple, I take some glass powder or frit and dump it onto the glass, covering the ink, then I turn the glass over and tap it to knock off all the excess powder/frit. Sometimes I have to take a paint brush to dust off a little clingy stuff, but mostly thats it. Then I fire the glass at a full fuse and the ink is burnt away, completely, leaving behind the print made by the glass powder/frit.

See here for our first results after kiln firing.

And the last experiment of the day was transporting all this glass - we worked at Jan's printing studio this time (the glass studio gets a little busy on the weekends and we need lots of space) and made two trips with the car to carry the inked glass to Aquila. It worked out very smoothly, although I really didn't push things, I just folded up my back seats and laid it all out on trays.

Enjoy!

Mobile Collaboration

This mobile was made in collaboration with Matt Richards of Ekko Mobiles. He designed and created the mobile, I supplied him with the glass for this custom order. This was a first for both of us.

I really enjoy how this turned out - Matt and his family and really great people, his Ekko Mobiles are incredible and I cannot express what its like to have another mobile artist to talk to and work with - its a rare experience in my little world.

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Images on Glass Experiment

I finally took pictures of some of the samples that Jan and I created in our printmaking meets glass experiments.

Today I played hooky from the Portland Saturday Market (the weather was howling and rainy, not weather to sell artwork outdoors in my opinion) but I had to wrap up these glass pieces and take them down there to show Jan. She was bubbling with excitement and apprehension. It was quite cute really, I do believe she did a little jumping up and down when I arrived in her booth. And many other artist neighbors and friends stopped in to say hello. Everyone wanted to know why I wasn't selling (wasn't it obvious!) and what the glass looked like. It got pawed over and looked at by many artists, this was quite fun. Tomorrow we are doing experiment #2. I'll take more pictures and videos. It makes me smile to hear from friends who read my blog - so I'll keep the pictures coming.

So here are the pictures from the first batch... everything was printed on clear, so I put white paper behind the glass to take pictures:

the ginkos:The print above was transfered using wax paper and then dusted with glass powder, not a whole lotta detail, and the black powder is kinda boring... but interesting none the less...

The print below was transfered using vinyl (which was much easier and produced no wasted wax paper to throw out, the vinyl could simply be washed!) and then dusted with glass powder.
The 3rd ginko (below) was dusted with glass frit, this was much easier (the glass powder clung to the glass due to static and had to be brush off gently with a fan brush, but the frit was heavy enough to just fall right off the glass with a little tapping)

You can see in the pictures above and below the differences between using glass frit and glass powder. The frit was much easier to use and much more apparent, but the powder caught the detail. In the picture above you can really see its stars and circles with the powder, but not with the frit. In the picture below you can see the carved lines in the leaf with the powder, but not with the frit.

In the picture below you can see the same leaf printed and then dusted with black glass powder, and then a ghost (aka the ink left after the first transfer was picked up and used for a second print) of that same inking was taken and dusted with glass powder as well. The leaf on the left in the ghost.All the glass so far was fired with the ink printing right on the surface of the clear.

In the picture below all three samples were fired with a second piece of clear glass on top of the ink/glass powder print:

from left to right, the ink print was dusted with frit, the middle was dusted with powder and the right had no glass powder/frit at all, just ink. What is strangely cool is that even though the glass appears perfectly clear, the hop print is very visible, sorta, under certain light. Its very subtle and beautiful.

Below is the same piece of glass as the "clear empty" piece of glass on the right in the picture above. The ink leaves a permanent mark on the glass just like a fingerprint.In the picture below the flower print is first on the left dusted with black powder, the middle piece of glass is no glass powder, just ink, the glass on the right is the same piece of glass as the one in the center, just held at a certain angle you can see the beautiful detail.

The last pictures are of the paper-clip print. Both the pieces of glass below are two layers, you can see the bubbles that got trapped from the frit catching air in between the sheets of clear. The clear piece of glass on the left is simply inked, no glass powder/frit. Below is a picture of the paper-clip when its visible, I just think this is neat... but its super duper subtle.
The ink we used was a purple rubber based ink. Tomorrow we've got some oil based and some that has metal flakes in the ink (copper and gold) which I think will get interesting.... I'll try and take a better video tomorrow that doesn't cut off right when things get juicy :)

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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

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 :)

Collaboration Mobiles

I have been collaborating with another artist friend of mine, Amanda of Bread and Badger. Amanda is an incredible artist and she free-hand etches her designs onto glass. Check out her Etsy store to see more! Shes got a fun blog as well! So... Amanda etched the pieces and I made the mobiles. One is ocean themed and a second mobile is forest themed.

Heres a little video diddy of one dancing.




I really enjoy Amanda's work and it's a great combination, bringing her artwork to life in my mobiles. The first two are now available for sale on Etsy - go check them out!

there is an Ocean Mobile

and a Forest Mobile

More Photos

I made these cute little slide-top boxes and took some more photos of these beautiful pendants... the box shows how it comes packaged, as well as propping up the pendant for a good view. Better pictures than the ones I took yesturday, I think.

New Glass Jewelry

This set is for sale in my Etsy store.

I'm pretty darned excited about this collaboration (is it obvious)