A Good Day

Today was one of those run a million errands days! First, 2 hours in the car to take Will to school and then swing by Francesca's house, pick her up and head back to the studio.

While I did KilnFrog.com work, Francesca set up for her Etching and Metal Printing workshop this weekend. She did a cool new set up and we tested lots of samples. This flapper girl is from a photo that I manipulated in Photoshop and then toner printer and heat burnished onto the copper. The details are really great for an etching.

Flapper Girl Etched on to 24 Gauge Copper Sheet

So, then after we etched, we hopped back into the car and headed to the NEISD offices to get fingerprinted, so we can teach on any of their campuses. We're now "in the system." Ha! They took photos and fingerprints and I didn't even do anything wrong.....YET! I'm glad that's over! Then, back in the car again for another hour. Too much car time today!

I'm getting ready for my Kiln Forming I class. It's 10 weeks of wonderful glass fusing, plates, bowls, jewelry, and more. I have 4 students, so we'll be able to get so much done! We start on Thursday and I can't wait!  It's been a while since I've really had the chance to sink my teeth into my glass work. The move has been tough and taken way too long, but I'm finally settled in and comfortable.

I'll post pictures as we go! Tomorrow, no errands! YAY!

Screen printing on high fires!

I'm so proud of my great students. They worked really hard to get their images perfect! Way to go!!!!

What an awesome class!  My students were the best!  Here's a look at some of their great work!

Las Vegas Glass Craft Expo, and other musings....

This week I venture off to Las Vegas for the Glass Craft Expo! I'm teaching 4 classes; Printmaking Techniques for glass artists, Electroforming on Glass, Glass on Metals; Torch and Kiln Fired Enamels, Modern Jewelry; Beyond Dichroics. I love teaching at this venue because of the mix of students. There are absolute beginners, intermediate level hobbyists, and professionals who make a living selling their work. In addition there are industrial design folks who make glass for tiles, architectural installation, etc. The manufacturers are also present at this venue, so there is a sense of discovery of all that is new and exciting in the field. Being a tool junkie myself, I find it irresistible. if you haven't been to the show, and you are involved in glass, make it your business to go. It's a ball! Just make sure you have money in your pocket, because you will be tempted by all the goodies. See ya when I get back! If you are there...come visit me in Las Vegas! We're at the South Point Hotel and Convention Center  I am in classroom GBB1!  See you there!

This is titled "Good Girl." It's screen printed with enamels. I used Flexi-glass medium and french vanilla powder to create the "torn paper" effect for the background. On the final slump I rubbed some of the enamel from the front into the grooves on the back to color the back a little more of a blush tone. I think it worked out well!
Can anyone guess who this is?...and it's not Marilyn.

This piece is bronze, silver, and copper. It's kind of simplistic and organic.  I like it because it reminds me of the jewelry made during the Bauhaus period (1917-1929). It is true to the materials. It kind of looks like coffee beans, but that's not what I was going for. 

This is my first finished encaustic mixed media piece.
I got to play in my studio and I really wanted to try something new.
I'm still trying to figure things out with this wax stuff, but I really like it!

This piece is 8" x 8".  I love doing mixed media pieces. This is tissue, photos, stamps, wire, paint, and hardware.
I'm looking forward to dong this on a large scale, but I'm learning a lot doing these in these smaller scale.

Wicked Good Pattern Bars!!!

As my friend from Boston sometimes jokes, "Those are wicked good!" My pattern bar class was awesome!  Here are a few samples..... I'm excited to see the next step. And the saw was not clean all day!

Betsy's bookends! Tribal!

A progressive! Stone!

Another Bookend! This is very pacific northwest.

Art Deco Style Roman!

Another Progressive Bar. Hey Valentine!

Bookends!  Kind of Dutch!

Santa Fe Powder Printing Class

I had a wonderful trip to Bullseye Glass in Santa Fe! My buddy Lisa came with me and it was awesome. We had a fantastic meal at Luminaria at the Inn at Loretto. One of the best meals I've ever had in Santa Fe. Thanks to Perry for suggesting it, I should have been quick enough to invite him and Nancy to dinner with us!

Stacy Smith is a fantastic instructor. She made the class fun and inspirational! Erik Whittemore, the resident Studio Manager was the perfect host/TA/collaborator! A big thanks to Morgan and her team for their support. Bravo on my best Bullseye experience ever! In my humble opinion, Stacy is likely the best ambassador of the all the positives of the "Bullseye Spirit!" I hope they elevate her to the appropriate status she deserves. Enough gushing! (Seriously, I hope they'll let her come teach at Wired Designs Studios.....c'mon Jim!!!!)

My fellow students were great to hang with and gave me a wonderful perspective on all of the different ways to employ these techniques. We were all doing our own things, and they were all so great and different! Thanks everyone. I got to hang with Nancy Weisser, Perry and Colleen, and we had an awesome time.

Here are a few of my samples from the class. I'll be incorporating this technique into my Printmaking Techniques for Glass classes going forward.

This powder print was fired twice; once for the background at full fuse, and then once at a tack fuse for the foreground image. I'm using imagery from my Women's Roles and Identities series.

These were images that we were given to play with in order to learn the technique.The 2 on the left are full fuse on 6mm, the 2 on the right are tack fused on 3mm. Both have equal merit and use.

Very little distortion! Halftones work really well.

Part of my Women's Roles and Identities imagery. This is all powder.....no sheet glass. Cool huh?

This was all done in a single firing! Love the effect!

Yesterday I had a private Torch Fired Enamels workshop. My student is a wonderful lady who has seen and done it all! We worked on stenciled enamels, and component projects. I had done the centerpiece of this necklace previously, and just wasn't completely happy with it. So my student and I added some components and took it to the next level.

I'm teaching this technique in Las Vegas at the Glass Craft Expo next year. It's called Glass on Metals!
I know that all my glassy friends will love doing this!!

This piece is copper enameled and riveted with silver connections.
I love acid green and turquoise together!

We were going for something Asian. These look really great on!

Volume and Movement Class - Part 2

After the initial firing, here's what we ended up with...

This was the stack platter! The final piece is 8.5" x 16"

 Meredith decided to make this stack platter into a wall piece. She sandblasted and then matte polished all of the blue squares. It looks really cool!

This is a very large pocket vase, also known as a jardinière .

Here's a view at the back with the hanger set up and some of the batting.

Here's another view.

I'll show you the final end product when they are finished!

The new class on volume control and movement

Today I had a volume control and movement class. We did several lay ups of movement and volume control exercises to allow gravity and flow to effect the glass. Here are a couple of shots.

The first shot is on the shelf that is elevated on one side. I'll show you the finished slab tomorrow. The second is a high fire movement piece. We also did a great stack piece. More pix to come.

Last Class of 2011!

Today was, as the title says, my last workshop of 2011. It's hard to believe how fast the year has gone. Today's class was beginning soldering and my students were awesome!  I could tell immediately that this group of folks was just gonna "get it!" So I demonstrated a more difficult beginning project and they all did a fantastic job.  Here's what we made.... there are matching earrings which we made first! In this class students learn to cut and sand the metal components, pattern and texture them, solder the metals together using a micro torch, remove fire scale with pickle, set stones in bezel cups, and then final add depth and color with patina.

This piece is copper, nickel, brass, and bronze with a red garnet set in fine silver.

I always love teaching this workshop because it is the gateway to making beautiful jewelry. Once the students have soldering skills, they can do so many things. They are only limited by their imaginations and skill level. Some of the students have real potential! I hope they'll come back and take it to the next level. I love to see what they create.

After class I went to Mitch and Judy's house for some homemade tamales and a wonderful holiday get together. Mitch made the yummy tamales and Judy created the wonderful atmosphere and poured lots of wine. We sat around a fire in their yard with kids and dogs running around and adults laughing, all under a clear starry sky. It was a lovely evening to cap off a great year of teaching!

I am indeed a lucky girl!

An Awesome Day!

Finally, Peggy's bowl is done. It's slumped and looking good! I promised I'd show the hanging system fused into the back. If you look really closely you can see the lines from the 9 pieces where it broke. The hanging "tabs" will have wire through then so this can be hung like a picture!

Another upbeat note! Here's the fused disc for the Zion Lutheran Church Baptismal Font. Tomorrow is grinding day!

  

The white paper underneath will show us how the piece will look because the font has a base of white formica.  Can't wait to see this done!

Also, I was checking my Blog stats and saw that Lisa Meyer was following me, so I looked at her blog and saw this really cool stuff. She's one of my students and I am so proud of her! Check out what she's doing.

Tangerine Tabby - A Creative Life in the Texas Hill Country: New Work: This platter is a consignment piece for a friend. He and his wife saw a smaller piece that I had done and wanted one larger and in blue col...

Cowgirl Heaven!

Sometimes when I make something and sell it I kind of miss it for a while after it's gone. I've found myself thinking about this piece today. My sister, who's birthday it is today, is the proud owner of this necklace/art piece. I really enjoyed making it, and feel like I should make another in the same genre, but I'm not sure it will be as much fun to make the second time around.

This piece was made in a 3 day mixed metals workshop with 3 of my students. It was our every Friday private party and we had such a great time. This piece has etched copper, soldered brass and bronze, a bezel set turquoise, coiled sterling and bronze, resin capture of an image and pearls, and a metal chain necklace.

I'm kinda missing the fun of it, but it couldn't live with a cooler gal than my sister! I hope she enjoys her birthday in cowgirl heaven!

Here Goes Nothin!

This is my first official post! I've been really resistant to having a blog because I always think that no one really reads these things. I guess I though it was a waste of time. My best pal, Stacey has been bugging me to do this for years. She thinks it's a good thing since I am "in my head" a heck of a lot.  I thought it was stupid, that is... until I starting reading and following a few blogs myself. So my 2012 resolution is to blog every day. I'll share Wired Designs Studios related information as well as my own personal musings, and of course my progress with the Master of Art Education graduate course work at Texas Tech, and any art in progress or commissions.

This weekend I updated my website. It took a while but I'm getting there. Take a look and let me know what you think. MY UPDATED WEBSITE

This is what I've been up to this month:

 This bowl is for the Baptismal Font in the private chapel for the Sisters of Divine Providence Convent at Our Lady of the Lake. The bowl is 18 pounds, is 20" wide and 5" deep. It was one of the most calming commissions I've ever done. Even though it was heavy and hard to grind and polish, I smiled the entire time I did it. Hmmm?  I think I should continue pursing this kind of work, it's kinda Zen to do. Ironic huh? A big thank you goes out to Gini Garcia, who referred this job to our studio!

This piece is almost finished. I did this in Kate Mckinnon's workshop when she was here last week. This piece has fine silver metal clay components, copper enameled components, forged copper components, and bronze components, all cold connected with rivets, etc. This was so much fun to do! I was like a kid in candy land! Even though I was officially the TA for Kate, I did get to play with the students, and it was 3 days of perfection, fun, silly laughter, and great Kate'jucation. If you've never taken a workshop with Kate Mckinnon, get yourself into one immediately! I've been in 3 of her classes, and I learn something new every time! Follow her fun blog at KATES BLOG.