Thursday, July 9, 2009

Happiness

I made a bunch of these small fused glass pendants quite awhile back with the intention of fusing the variety of precious metal decals that I've collected. Then, I had an inspirational moment...and Voila!! I absolutely love this new design and have been experimenting with color combinations. The amber chips on this necklace work perfectly with the faceted purple glass beads, and it truly makes me happy!!

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Looking at new techniques...

Have you ever looked at a piece of art and said, "I wonder if I could do that?"
Now mind you, this isn't the question, "I wonder if I could do that and make a whole bunch to sell?!?" That is copying....
I'm talking about the artist who is looking to expand the techniques in their repertoire, see's a new technique, and begins to wonder, "How could I do that?"
Then, the artist tries the technique and expands upon it, or moves on.

Well, recently, I was emailed a link to a video of hot glass artist, Cal Breed working on a piece:
(and if you have time, you should really browse his website, Orbix Hot Glass, because he's got some gorgeous stuff there.)
After watching the video, we had one of those moments that I mentioned above. I say "we" because if you've watched the video or worked with hot glass, then you realize that in order to make substantial pieces as a glass blower, you really need a team of people.
So, "we" studied the video and decided to try out the technique to see what we could come up with. And it was mighty successful, for a first attempt!
Check it out!
The outside:

The inside:

The bottom:

I really love how the addition of a bunch of globs of glass to the outside of the vessel really add to the dimensionality and depth of the piece.