Inspiration: Plant Starts

A great use for my Handmade Glass Lolipop Vase - a little sprig of your favorite plant!

Put in water or sand, give love, water and sunshine... watch it grow!

Snaily Snail

The mini glass globe fun continues! I went to the pet store and stocked up on some knowledge, and some aquatic life to put in my tiny glass globes. Snails and plants that can live together, a nice relationship really: the plant causes algae to grow and the snail eats the algae and keeps the glass clean. The snail also eats this particular plant, so it won't starve, rest assured! So hopefully I've created a micro-ecosystem.

Actually I've created 2 micro-ecosystems so far, the one pictured above sits on table like a tiny fish bowl, the other one (in the video below) hangs and is more tear drop shaped. My little experiments. We'll see if the snails survive and make babies! Who knows, someone asked me if they will crawl out of the globes. I have no idea? So I keep checking to make sure they are still in there :)

For sure they are super cute! I find watching them move to be really fun. Go figure. Here is a video for your viewing pleasure - proof these snails are alive (as opposed to glass snails, which I could make, that would be cute as well...)

Sheer Potential

I have been making mobiles of glass jars. The jars are things I have made, blowing the forms using a torch. Each one is just a little bit different. They are simple round shapes with round openings, no flat bottoms. They do not sit on a table - they float! I wrap a bit of steel wire around the lip of the jar and attach a swivel. When you touch one (which how can you help but touch that enticing glass globe and wonder what you can put inside!) it dances in response to your fingers!
You can put anything inside the jars in this mobile - that is why I called this piece "Sheer Potential" - the content is all yours. You could put little words written on paper, love notes and inspiration. Or small feathers or flowers you picked up on a walk. The glass washes out easily, its made of Pyrex glass, so it is not a problem to wash it out (although it is attached to a mobile). Here are some more ideas: plants, snails, moss, feathers, small toys, fake flowers, shells, plastic animals, sparkly things, jewelry, small candles (you could pour wax in there and put little wicks and make them candles!), LED lights, used computer chips, sewing notions, bobbins, buttons... oh my. I'm getting carried away. I had a lot of fun taking pictures of different objects in the jars, today I am going to the pet store in search of a snail to put in a jar :)

I love these shapes and how they hang in the air waiting for interaction. This is a very impressionable mobile! Not only does it move if you blow at the pieces or touch them, it holds whatever you think of putting in the three little jars. Reflection and interaction - a lovely little bit of art to share with the world. Thanks for checking it out :)

"Sheer Potential" mobile on Etsy

New: Hanging Lolipop Vase

Check out these new hanging creations I have been making - now you can buy them in my Etsy shop! (they come with a 3M sticky bit that will hold up this vase just about anywhere indoors)

I make the little glass jars, using a torch I blow the glass. Each one is unique, small subtle eccentricities... but really they are all the same, small simple vases. I think they are just scrumptious! I wrap a bit of steel wire around the lip and attach a swivel so it will dance.

Round little spheres, with round openings... you can put plants in them (they are just the right size for a little starter plant or a small cactus or a lump of moss) or other living things (like a tiny snail in water!), or little trinkets, keepsakes and mementos... a button, a key, a coin, a feather...

Your imagination is the limit! I have them in my Etsy shop now, and I'll bring em' with me to the Portland Saturday Market as well...

Love...

I love this picture. Love. Something about the round bump of moss in the round hanging jar. While doing a photo shoot this afternoon I took this shot... I have been making more vessels, for terrariums and such things... simple forms, some don't even have a flat bottom, so they can only hang.
I've been thinking about making mobiles using these hanging vessels... I ordered some nano Marino balls to put in the vessels - I will tell you more about that when they come. Until then, check this mobile out! I put some preserved moss that is bright red in a little jar and made some glass panels and voila - a sweet little mobile! The most enchanting part about this mobile is that it is very interactive... if you touch the jar it spins so easily, and if you blow at the glass discs the whole mobile moves.
This last picture is just a bit more eye candy from taking photos today. I love these jars. Sitting or hanging, they are just the sweetest little things. So simple, so happy, so much potential.

Lets Make Buttons

My mother had a basket of buttons with her sewing supplies. I used to love looking at them all, savoring all the little details and differences between them. Did your Mother or Grandmother have a button collection? I have one of my own now, and my collection is made even more amazing by all the handmade glass buttons I have made. A couple summers ago I created a dress that used one of these buttons as a simple clasp on the back of the neckline. It made the dress even more impressive. I've also made some purses that used glass buttons... and a little sock monkey with handmade button eyes... I'm always looking for fun ways to use these buttons.

Want to make some glass buttons of your own? I'll teach you!

Do you make clothing or know a designer who would like to use handcrafted buttons? Do you want to take your craft to the next level with some handmade buttons? They could embellish a purse or a book cover or a handmade doll... They could be the perfect finishing touch on some clothing! Why use store bought mass manufactured buttons when you could make your own! The potential is endless.

There is no pre-requisite for the class.

No experience necessary.

Yes you will play with fire.

No you will not hurt yourself.

I promise you'll have a great time!

Call 503 240-9449 (the Aquila Glass School) to sign up for class

registration is required

May 9th 2011 . Glass Button Making Class . 6-8pm . $124

(all materials and tools provided)

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!

Glass Fungi

Why invite a mushroom to the party? ... cuz he's a fungi!

I've been making these tiny glass mushrooms to go in my little terrariums... thinking about just selling little packs of these in my etsy shop... little glass mushrooms for all your terrarium needs... for now its just a thought...

Aren't they cute. Quite the fun guys. :)

BOO!

I made this little ghost a few years ago... dug him up to take a picture because my friend Deb was at the glass studio the other day and asked if I'd ever used glow in the dark powder in my glass creations. Indeed - here is an example. I mixed some of the bright green glow powder in with Borosilicate Kryptonite colored glass (cuz this color already looks like it should glow - I think it makes a great combo) and made these little ghosts. The more powder the better, and you have to mix it into the glass, as it will not stick to the surface really - but if you get enough in there it really glows quite powerfully!

here are a couple links for the powders:

http://glowinc.com/SearchResult.aspx?CategoryID=3

http://www.sundanceglass.com/glow-glass-powder.htm

http://www.lampworketc.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3146795

Little Terrariums

A few days ago I taught a class in miniature glass blowing - I couldn't help but play around a little near the end of class and my mind starting wandering to mini terrariums... this afternoon I put some plants in two of them! First some small glass beads in the bottom, some dirt, a little water and then a few strands of my favorite little succulent plant...

Glass Frogs

Monday I taught a torchworking class at the Aquila Glass School - we made frogs out of borosilicate glass. Such fun in the studio - as always! If you'd like to come join me for a class like this sometime, and curious about what you will make - check it out! We made little frogs that I call "Coqui" because they are small and cute like little Puerto Rican Coqui frogs... Pictured below is a little handful of frogs I brought home to photograph so I could share in my blog what we made:Glass Coqui frogs and frogs on rocks (less fragile - no little feet that can break off) and frogs on pendants (wearable frog sculptures) - last night we also made some lizards on pendants (pictured in the first shot in this blog post)

Making Rings

I've been making lots of rings the past couple days... among other things... seems like the summer show season is ON and I've been running around shipping and shopping and creating things... my oh my. I had to share a picture or two of these rings. Unloading the kiln this morning looked so fun with 70 rings spilling out. I'll be restocking my Etsy shop and my booth at the Portland Saturday Market with rings, so if anyone is interested - come see if one fits! $20 each - made of borosilicate glass (very very strong and stress resistant glass) with dicroic sparkles... I love them.

Little Borosilicate Vessels

Little vessels - I love them.

My friend Poe made this last one (I made the two purple ones).

Introduction to Working Borosilicate Glass

Tonight I am teaching a class introducing the art of torchworking with borosilicate glass. Its a very fun medium - everything in the picture above was made with boroslicate.

Your imagination is the limit with borosilicate glass. Its very forgiving to work with and here in Portland we happen to live in the midst of the largest boro color producing companies! So there are many beautiful colors to play with. Borosilicate glass is well known for interesting color effects.

This class that I teach (Introduction to Borosilicate) is a great launch pad for any crafty person desiring to get into working with this medium. Knowing how to do a good glass weld is pivotal to most any boro creation - check out this video of James Minson making part of borosilicate chandelier! And working is color is what makes this medium fun!

We cover the basics - 1. Welding Glass and 2. Playing with Color

What we make? A 3-dimensional cube and some pendants
note: we do not make everything in this picture - the image represents a variety of things that could possibly be made in boro - the class is 3 hours long and introductory level :)

You could make a pendant like the one I am giving away this week!

To find out when this class is offered (if you aren't joining me tonight!) check out the schedule on the Aquila Glass School website

Making Candles Even More Fun!

Have you ever had a candle that had presents inside?!

You know, as it melted little treasures inside would become exposed and you can pluck them out... I remember getting some as a gift back in the 80's... the packaging included a little set of chopsticks to help procure the little gifts hidden inside the wax.

You can make these! (if you have candle making supplies and some borosilicate glass goodies on hand)

The borosilicate glass does not mind the temperatures of hot melted wax. So you can drop any kind of fun boro glass into the candle. These make for really fun gifts!


Here I've taken pictures of some small jars that I filled with wax...

I am also making some big candles in molds, but I thought these glass containers would show what is going on.


After pouring the wax, before it cools,


drop the little glass treasures into the candle.

If its a larger mold(not shown here in pictures), be sure to drop the objects close to the wick so that the recipient can get them out when the candle is burning. Also pour the candle in layers (1/3 at a time) to distribute goodies throughout the candle vertically.

Ideas of what to put in a candle:
Marbles, Pendants, Rings, LadyBugs, etc

if you are a lampworker that works in boro, just about any small creation will do!

Super Simple Borosilicate Glass Ornament

Clearly I could/should have decorated this glass ball... the point is, its easy to simply blow out a borosilicate point and create a simple Christmas tree ornament. The little metal caps (with the wire) are available from glass supply distributors... if you are an artist that uses the Aquila studio, they have the metal caps available for sale there as well. If you take my Ornament class, you make at least a dozen of these little imperfect creations, and I put the little metal tops on them for you, after they have been annealed.

Come take a class - learn to do this - or try at your studio at home!

Basically... pull a point of tubing, decorate the bubble, blow it out and anneal it. This pic-tutorial shows how to crack off the blowpipe afterwards and create your simple ornament:

Beginning with your annealed point with the blown out ball, blowpipe still attached

Done.

New Boro Color: English Ivy

This little lady is made with a new color from Northstar called "English Ivy".

Aquila Glass School (where I teach classes) actually played a part in naming this beautiful green silvery glass - there was a color release event at the studio where our members got involved in the brainstorm process and Northstar decided to use one of the ideas that Beverly thought of: "English Ivy".

It's a beautiful color. Translucent green in foundation and the more I work it, the more purple and silver tones can be brought out. This lady was made with a simple neutral flame. I enjoy the silver hue that evolves on the surface of the color.

the Story behind the Little Yoga Ladies

I do live demonstrations at the Portland Saturday Market with my glass torchworking. With no kiln present, I use borosilicate glass and create little bitty things so that thermal shock won't make them fall apart on the spot. Later I anneal them at home in my kiln.

I have made all sorts of things over the years in my demonstration booth... everything from frogs and teddy-bears to a whole baseball team (each player was less than half an inch tall and I also made fans sitting on chairs, kids sitting on benches, a water cooler, etc - sorry I have no pictures of this scene... the whole set could be arranged on a square napkin).

Well one day while making little fairies, I simply did not put the wings on the fairy and I made her meditating like a little yoga lady. Usually in the morning I would prefer to be doing yoga, not sitting outside in front of a bunch of gawking tourists, performing torchworking demonstrations. So I starting making these little ladies, living vicariously thru them. And it was fun to put them in various different yoga positions. Only a matter of time before I put one in the "downward dog" pose. Soo funny, and so incredibly small. I've done yoga nearly all my life and it has taken things to a new level of smiles to make these little ladies. A while ago I had to break out my old book of crazy yoga poses, thats where the pose from the picture above came from :)

Then my friend Danielle taught me how to make little bitty boxes out of old photographs, and the whole thing came together. Now when you purchase one of these little treasures, it comes delicately held in a bitty handmade box. Many of the boxes are made of old show postcards, as an artist I always seem to have too many of these around and I feel bad throwing them out. So now they become packaging boxes.

So anyhow... these ladies are for sale here in Oregon at the Portland Saturday Market in my booth (#421) as well as in my Etsy shop online.