The Bowl is in the Sanctuary!

Font. n. 1. (Christianity / Ecclesiastical Terms). a. a large bowl for baptismal water, usually mounted on a pedestal. b. a receptacle for holy water. 

As promised, here are the pictures of the Baptismal Bowl/Font sitting on the stand.

It was wonderful to deliver it and see the happy faces of the Pastor and the church staff. They will be unveiling it on Sunday morning. I'm so glad they are pleased! I'm really liking doing these jobs 'cause they make me feel like I am going to be a part of every happy celebration at the church. I know that's silly, but I'm a sap!

I'm teaching beginning Soldering tomorrow to 7 students.  I'll share what we make!

Tah Dah! Here's the Finished Bowl!

The beautiful Baptismal Bowl for Zion Lutheran Church Font is finally done. The deadline is January 11th, so I'm totally excited that I'll be able to deliver the job early. That doesn't happen often! This bowl is 16" in diameter and about 4.5" deep.

This is the front view. I wish there wasn't so much glare!

This view is just a little further up.

This view is on top, looking into the bowl.

The rim actually came out very nicely. It's always a bit of a gamble, even when you do everything right. I'll take a photo tomorrow of the bowl in the font stand in the sanctuary so you can really see it in it's home!

Also, I cut a boat load of dichroic glass today... Here's a little bite to wet your appetite!

This is rainbow, granite, ripple on back- COE 90...YUMMY!

So much glamour in the glass business!

What an exciting and glamourous day I've had! I did get to sleep in and hang out in my PJs in the morning, which is always an awesome thing! Then it was straight to the studio to finish the Baptismal Bowl/Font for Zion Lutheran Church. 

So here's how it went; 1st Step; I measured the disc about 75 times to make sure it was a solid 18.75" perfectly round. I ground it about 4 times to make sure it was perfectly round. Did I say it had to be perfectly round! OMG! Finally had to pull out the old cut a circle out of paper trick to lay over it. That proved to me it was done correctly. This time I was determined to measure correctly. (The lip of the last giant bowl had to be ground, beveled and polished after the slump, because I didn't double check the measurements before the slump.) So OK...lesson learned!

Here is the very glamourous machine I used to grind the disc a billion times!

2nd step; I changed from 80 grit for the take down on the lap wheel, to 200 grit and did some refining, and a slight bevel on the edges. 3rd step; I hand padded with the 400 grit diamond pad 2 times...I should call that thing "old yeller" 'cause it's always there supporting my me, like an old friend...and it's yellow. BTW, that pad really works your biceps. I'm sore!

4th step; Sandblast the top with 150 grit silicon carbide to create a smooth silky finish. That also had to be done 2 times, 'cause it's easy to miss spots on a large surface. 5th step; A good hose down and wash. OK, I did that twice also. We just couldn't have any black grit showing up on a transparent bowl. That would just be wrong! 

This is the super high-tech level I use to make sure the disc is level on the mold.

The 6th step; spray coat the stainless steel mold with boron nitride spray. Remember to open the door or go outside...and you are supposed to use a respirator. I'm going to claim amnesia on that...I did open the door to vent the room and have air exchange. Kids, don't do this at home! Always practice safe glass! The 7th step; level the mold with a straight level - side to side, and then front to back. Then double check that. Nothing is worse then a wobbly bowl.

Here is the disc sandblasted and on the leveled mold, ready to slump!

The last step for me was to get the disc into the mold without disturbing the mold position and without hurting yourself in the process. I use 2 suction cups for this. Then I use the bubble level between the suction cups to position the disc in the mold so that the disc is level in the mold. Once that's done, all you have to do is clean the disc like crazy again with alcohol to remove any flecks of boron nitride that you might have disturbed, or any dust or errant molecules that might be lurking on the surface. At this point I'm usually ready to be drinking the alcohol!

Anyway, then you set the kiln! ....and Voila...!!! 2 days later you have a gorgeous big freaking heavy bowl that is 3/8" thick. Easy right? Sure, just ask the heating pad I'm leaning on....Also, imagine how glamourous I look while doing all of this. 

All in all, after all the steps, I feel happy and accomplished. Hundreds of little babies heads will be sprinkled with holy water and begin their lives surrounded by joyous parents and loved ones. They will hold hands, kiss, and rejoice...all in front of my bowl. It makes me feel like I'm a part of all of those occasions to come!

Try not to puke from all the sentiment ... I'm a sap!

The Best Last Days in the Studio at Wired Designs!

There are some days that go down in the record book! Today was the most wonderful day! As the year comes to a close, I am thankful for my friends and family, and the best students and clients!

Here's why:

• The folks from Zion Lutheran Church approved the blank for their Baptismal Bowl. They said, "we love it!" and that makes me so happy! We decided to make it thicker and heavier, so I added a 6mm clear layer behind the design. It's in the kiln re-fusing now. Cross your fingers...no pun intended!
• We are doing a new sink commission for a residence in Stone Oak. The client brought in their marble countertop sample, for us to match. They have some technical issues to figure out first though. They want to undercount the sink, but not back light it, so color might be an issue. The marble sample is a combo of grey, cobalt blue, with white and deep green flecks. This isn't going to be easy...YiKES! But I am up for the challenge!

• I got myself a holiday present! I've always wanted one of these super expensive riveting system tools, with all the goodies that come with it! So I decided to spoil myself and get it. Let's be honest, who else is gonna buy this for me, c'mon! So I have over a week of time off to play with it. It's stupid expensive ($100-for the basic unit, although it cost me $199 with accessories and shipping) but it's supposed to be awesome. I'm hoping that this is one of those times when you really do get what you pay for. I'll show you some stuff I do with it.
• My mom is turning 75 in 2012 and I want to do something with her that is on her "bucket list." She's never been to Europe, and she's always wanted to go to Paris, so I found a cruise that I think she'd love. London, Paris, Bordeaux, Lisbon, etc. I showed her and she agreed to go!!! So off we'll go....next year.
• I got to work a half day today and I went home a made a stuffed pork roast with cranberry and apples, sage and white wine, and some other stuff. It's in the oven roasting now and smells delish! Nicole is coming over for dinner and we'll eat, hang, and plot the future of glass as we know it!
• I am grateful for the staff/WD family; Judy (Who thinks she doesn't know what she's doing, but always does just the right thing.), Cathy (Who I miss while she's gone, because NO ONE can dish the dirt like she can.), Stacy (Who isn't arid as much since she's a full time student now-miss her!) Natalie (Who is the portrait of the perfect mom.), Nicole (Who juggles teaching, working, leading, and just being with finesse and style.) Stacey C (Who is smart, funny, and lately...made of steel!) I love them all!

More rambling about happiness and love later!

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...

Everything is Different & More of the Same

Today started with a bang! I emptied the big kiln of 14 various and sundry bottles that someone paid me to slump, just to fill it back up with more of the same.  Then, just one more load tomorrow of the little buggers. It's not the most artistic endeavor I've got going, but it does pay the electric bill. 

'Tis the season for bottle slumping, and the festive jingle of glass cheese boards! This is what they're planning to make out of those recycled wine bottles. They look cute all dressed up like this!

When that was done, I got to start the next commission. I'm now contracted to do the Baptismal Bowl for the font at the Zion Lutheran Church here in San Antonio. It's a very old congregation, with a a beautiful light and airy sanctuary. I'm excited to tackle another one of these projects!

Here's what's firing in the kiln right now as I write. It will take about 24 hours for this firing cycle. It's 15 pounds of glass with gorgeous shards of light sky blue, light aqua tint rainbow irid, steel blue, neo lavender tint, clear, and true blue. I have high hopes. I'll post the pix of the finished flat disc when it comes out. It felt really good to put it together and get the kiln going. Between the hammer and glass tile nippers my hands were very busy this morning. 

Another project that has been fun to tackle is "Peggy's Bowl." This one I created with the client. Peggy picked all of the glass for the job, and then told me what she wanted and we put it together as a team. We both loved how the piece turned out. We slumped it into a specially made mold that made it look like crumpled fabric and it looked beautiful as a focal point on her wall. Then, suddenly a week after hanging it it somehow fell off the wall and broke into 9 pieces. Yikes!

Peggy brought all the pieces back and we set out to see what could be done. I felt terrible for her. She had tears in her eyes as she handed me her beloved creation. Give the state of affairs with the 9 pieces, I told her that I had no idea what could be done, but that I'd give it a try.

I know it's kind of hard to tell from this picture because of the glare, but I was able to put the pieces next to each other, add some frit and stringer and Wallah!  You can't even tell that this disc used to be 9 separate pieces! YEAH!!!!  It does look great if I say so myself. Stacey came in and asked me if I had re-made the piece from scratch!  Not bad... if it could fool someone who knows what to look for!  

Anyway... I'll be slumping this tomorrow into it's final shape. We'll used the same mold so it will have the crinkled paper look again. But, this time we're incorporating a stronger, more secure hanging system right into the slumping of the piece. I'll take a picture of that when it comes out of the kiln so you can see what we did. I think it should work out better this time. Fingers crossed!!

That's all until tomorrow! Ciao!