Glassline Paints on Clear Glass

Got a bunch of clear glass scrap & wish you could dress it up a bit?

Need a bunch of color, but can't afford all of them?

I love using Glassline paints to create patterned glass and this technique is one of the easiest ways to get a complicated look. Shake the bottles well and add water if you need to thin them out. Use a skewer if you need to stir. I always start my line in an extra bowl, to make sure that the consistency is right. This bowl becomes my bowl o' brown. All of those colors mix and dry in the bowl, then when I want a brown wash, I add water and brush it on the glass.

Ivan Chan - "Out on a Limb"

Out on a Limb, oil on canvas, 36" x 12" NFS, originally uploaded by Ivan Chan Studio.

oil on canvas, 36" x 12" (NFS)

It is our intentions that take us where we will go, and even if it seems accidental to find oneself on the edge, it is no less purposeful.

What do we learn, and what do we offer, when we climb out on a limb?

I learned--and offered--my willingness to leap.

Thought that I'd share with you today one of my favorite Californian artists, Ivan Chan.
I love his "Here Kitty Series," a series of halo-ed cats caught in contemplation.
His technique consists of fingerpainting with non-toxic, professional grade paints.
Read his bio, here.
Check out his blog, here.
See more of his work, here.

Exquisite Corpse Part Two

If you're unsure what an Exquisite Corpse is, this post will get you caught up.

If you have already read that post, then you know that I was waiting for someone to finish the head.


While in Nebraska, I decided to start an Exquisite Corpse in acrylics and pass it along to my crafty friends, D and Lili to finish. After our first craft day, the "feet" were finished by me:

and D still had time to start and finish the body...

but by the end of the afternoon, our corpse was left headless as we ran out of time for Lili to continue. However, a few days later, we were able to go over to Lili's house for another craft day.

Although Lili wasn't fully inspired with this project, we were able to talk her into finishing the head:

So, after unfolding the paper, we can finally unveil "Ever Evolving," by Lili Merritt, DRTD, and Carrie Strope:

My pine cone inspired lips...

This piece is a couple of years old, but I was having a conversation with a friend of mine about painting and getting inspired...

This piece was started as an assignment for a beginning painting project. We were to find an object from nature. After we had our object, we were supposed to replicate the image over and over across the 3'x4' canvas.
I chose a pine cone. Can you see it?

Welcome to the Napa Valley La Strada dell'Arte Street Painting Festival!

The Mitcavish Glass Studio "Cherub" square. And then, of course the rest of the beautiful art:

La Strada dell'Arte, day two

I had to leave early during day one, so I was surprised to see how much of the background was colored in at the beginning of day two! When I arrived, Michele was busy blending blues and whites and green for the sky...
Sharon was keeping things together in the booth. Thankfully, today wasn't nearly as windy as yesterday. Due to the wind and the way we had displayed some plates (on plate stands), we had a couple of casualties on Saturday:( But, we picked up the pieces, and hopefully they will be incorporated into another piece.

Kaila showed up to help fill in the details. She had to work a double yesterday, so was anxious to get her hands dirty today.
So, after a bit of blending and definition, we took the tape away from the borders and Voila!

The proud artists: Carrie, Kaila, and Michele

Playing with Powders

Today, I played around in the studio and got quite a bit accomplished, I'd say.
First, I cleaned up a couple of mosaic-ed stepping stones and poured the cement for mine. I'll have pictures up of that Monday or Tuesday, I imagine. The cement we used, Quikrete, takes 24-48 hours to set, depending upon the size of stone made.
After pouring my stone, I UV glued the bases on some of the Intermediate Glass Class Final Projects. So, that means that mine is finished:) Here are pictures from all angles:

I used a quote from As A Man Thinketh, by James Allen, "Dreams are the seedlings of realities."
When viewed from the side or the top, you can see the layers of glass used. There were three 1/4" thick pieces of glass "painted" with powders, and two 1/8" glass spacers to add depth. It was on one of these spacers that the quote was written on.
The piece is translucent, and from the back you can still see all the layers, although it's not as impressive from that angle...
After gluing this piece to its base, I soldered up the rest of the pieces for my stained glass mirror. It is now ready to assemble, apart from the cutting of the actual mirror.

Lastly, after loading the kiln, I started on a "palette project." I have decided that I really like working with glass powders and the painterly effect that they offer:

I started this one as an example for my fusing student and it evolved into a princess and dragon scene with a few paramecium thrown in for good measure:)

I love the shadow that the piece cast, and I'm thinking that I'd like to make a series of sconces.
So, my "palette project" consists of using different powders together to come up with a palette of colors for use in future "paintings." I'll post pictures when I have the samples all finished and fired.

My first California Earthquake...

So, I was sitting in my bedroom, pruning back the poor peace lily that's been sitting in sub-zero temps in the back room all winter, when I felt a jolt like someone pushed the room from the outside. Everything moved for a split second, and then stopped. It really spooked me out until a few minutes later when Todd announced that there was just a 4.2 magnitude earthquake centered in Lafayette (about 30 miles SSE of Napa). Wowsers!!
Now I know.

On another note, I just finished writing out the quote, "Dreams are the seedlings of realities," from James Allen's book "As a Man Thinketh," on a 1/8" piece of clear glass to be fired with my dimensional "painting" project. See the pictures below for a better idea of what I'm talking about:



The three layers of 1/4" thick glass laid out side by side...



and the three stacked upon each other. Next week, I'll add the text layer. After that, a little UV glue to secure it to a base, and the piece should be finished.