Glass Studio

Yesterday I cleaned up the entire (almost) glass studio and thought this would be a good time to take some pictures. First I want to show you my constant pesky companions. Both boys delight in jumping up on whatever I'm working on, tail in my face. On the left is Biscotti, and on the right is his brother Prancer Dancer. It's hard to tell them apart unless you're their mommy. After that you'll see the studio as it will never look for at least another year when I get around to cleaning it again.

Also blogspot has its own mind with the pictures so if they are oddly positioned on the page, they didn't start that way.

Biscotti

Prancer Dancer
The table he's sitting on is a very nice oak table
I bought from a fellow on the street. The top was
marred so mosaicing it with Mexican tiles
worked out very well.

Usually I stand at this table but sometimes I'll sit on the
mosaiced kitty stool. 

Outside

This is the view looking in the front  door. There is also
another door in the back. The grinders and ring saws
are outside. I need a bigger studio.

Ipod, and storage for glass and molds.
I need more of these nice cubbies
my handyman made for me.

Non-fusible glass. I do my best to keep them separate
but since mosaics need small pieces,
I often bring them out here to cut on the Beetle Bits system.

My Paragon Caldera kiln on the left and the Paragon
Trio on the right. I have a Paragon Fusion 16 on
order! Since I only have juice enough for two
kilns, I'll move the small one into another area.

Beetle Bits system. It may not be called exactly that but I couldn't
do without it. 

Right side in closet. The molds on the
lower shelf are too big for the other holders. 

Left side of the closet. I buy these white glass holders
at Michaels. They are perfect for holding and making the glass
easy to see. 

An iridized glass plate right out of the kiln this morning. 

Mosaic Installation at Camp Ocean Pines

Camp Ocean Pines Workshop

Here is the workshop at Camp Ocean Pines! The new concrete risers were just installed, and there is a channel in each riser. Our job was to install mosaic strips into those channels. In my previous blog, I showed how we made the strips at Passiflora Mosaics in Grover Beach, California. Now we've all gathered at the installation sight in Cambria. There were about 10 volunteers in addition to Fred and Donnell, our leaders and creators of these strips (see my previous blog). 

They had set all the strips where they were to be installed. Fred mixed up many bags of thinset, and we were ready to go. I spent most of the morning on my side in the dirt gluing strips into the channel. I was hot and dirty and my back and knees were struggling to work properly, but it was a very rewarding endeavor. We worked all morning and by lunchtime all the strips were installed. 

At the front of the installation, Donnell created a beautiful design with tiles, stones and some pieces from (I think) a car that Fred used to own. It looked beautiful and very California! 

After a great lunch prepared for us by the talented chef at Camp Ocean Pines, I had to leave. Our show at Salon Patine had to be taken down at 4pm, so I jetted home to get out of my dirty clothes and meet my friend Gary at the salon. 

The taking down of the show certainly went faster than the putting up, thank goodness. At the end, I sold nine pieces and enjoyed the whole process. Thanks again to Rob Hofberg for allowing us to have a show at his shop.

Creation of Mosaic at Passiflora Mosaics in Grover Beach

In April I drove to Grover Beach to join the volunteer group creating the first part of a 250 linear foot mosaic. There were 13 volunteers, and we finished almost everything in one day. The design was created by Donnell and Fred Paison, owners of Passiflora Mosaics in Grover Beach. Fred had already prepared the mesh strips, and our job was to glue the various materials to the mesh. Each strip was about three feet long. Heavy plastic was taped to the tables and then mesh was taped on top.

An empty canvas

This is how the tables looked when we arrived. Fred and Donnell taped the mesh to the tables with marks to show the width the tiles had to be. If the tiles or plates or marbles didn't fit inside the lines, then they wouldn't fit in the channel that would be made at the final installation site at Camp Ocean Pines.

So we were given instructions and we started glue.

Donnell gives instructions

Starting to glue

I cut more plastic to go under the mesh

Fred makes more strips

Donnell glues

Lots of strips done!

Once we were finished, we removed the mesh pieces from the plastic strips so they could be transported to Camp Ocean Pines in a couple weeks. It was a very enjoyable and satisfying endeavor.

Next I'll tell you all about the installation.

March Blog Update

Well, once again I made a big mistake and had to find a way to cover it up. This frame is a cupboard door from my neighbors who own a kitchen design store. They give me the doors when the patterns are no longer for sale and I make them into mosaics. Now many of the doors have an inner raised area rather than just an inset where I can put the mosaic.

I loved the color on this one so I fiddled around and put Italian marble in the recessed area and thought it looked pretty good. I made some fused glass pieces in the shape of a wine glass and a wine bottle. I was liking it more and more! Then I filled in the rest of the background with an outdoor scene. I was quite pleased with my work!!

The Goleta Valley Art Association had an ingathering last Friday so I got out the drill to make holes for the hanging hardware in the back. And I drilled one of the holes through to the front! I couldn't believe my stupidity. Or carelessness!

So I remembered some little stars I had and used one to cover the hole! I put a few more to make it believable. And I think it still looks pretty good.

Sometimes I think I have too many geegaws but then something like this happens and I'm glad I have them.






I've been working hard to create new mosaics for my upcoming show in April. And I finished one of the two cat mosaics a friend has commissioned of her cats. I struggle mightily with these cat portraits. This is Charlie with Biscotti giving it a final rub. My friend was very patient with me but once I finish her second cat, I think it will be the last cat mosaic I make. At least for other people. I like the ones I've done of my Orange Boy and Patches. But making a mosaic really look like a photo isn't easy for me. I'm happier with a blue Patches!

Patches

Show at Max's Cucina

Gramma's Quilt

Today was my friend Mike's birthday so we went to the charming restaurant Max's Cucina where two friends and I are having our show "Appreciating Diversity." The meal was delicious! And as an added bonus, I sold Gramma's Quilt. The owner had called me yesterday to say the piece that was hanging in that spot, Sunrise Mirror, had sold and could I bring another to put in its place. So I brought the Quilt, and it sold right away. I have mixed feelings because I really like this piece.

Exciting Happenings

Here is the back room at Max's Cucina where Marie Arnold (collage), Jacqueline Vanderlaan (oil) and I have our show this month and next. The show started last week and we had a very lovely reception on Monday evening. The picture on the left has two of my mosaics on either side of the big mirror and one of Marie's collages on the breakfront.

Below is another mosaic of mine at the show. It's made of Italian smalti and ball chain.

So far three of my pieces have sold.

On the right is a hen I'm working on as a thank-you for friends of mine who put on a fabulous party last weekend. They have a very upscale chicken coop with several handsome chickens. The mosaic on the right is being modeled after a photo my friend Gary took of one of the hens.










And finally we have a picture of Prancer Dancer Valentine Vanderwilt looking rakish with an eye patch. Unfortunately he never backs away from a fight, and yesterday I noticed that his left eye wasn't opening completely. I could see he had swelling over his eye so I took him to the vet and she operated this morning. Not only was there the bite over his eye but you can just see the red string on his side where there was another abscess. The vet found bite wounds from all four teeth there! So his roaming is curtailed for a few days until I pull out the drains.

Grandma's Crazy Quilt Mosaic

I have a beautiful crazy quilt made my either my grandma or an aunt back in the early 1900s. A crazy quilt used up a lot of old fabric pieces left over from other sewing projects. The edges of the pieces were stitched with lovely designs, maybe a picture or two went inside the quilt somewhere, and the overall all look was warm and homey. 

So I thought, why not make one as a mosaic! Here I'm working on it, trying to get the perfect pieces and colors for the stitching and the "fabric" pieces. It was really fun to work on since I could mix and match colors of glass, Van Gogh glass, ball chain, Swarovski crystal beads, silver jewelry and leftover pieces of English Transferware china. 

Sometimes I would take it out in the sun and work in it too. Here it is almost finished. Below it is all filled in and ready for grout. I mosaiced the edges also using vitreous glass in the colors of the piece. And, of course, there is a little kitty in the middle. 

Grandma's Crazy Quilt

So next I have to figure out a grout color to use, maybe black, and finish it up. I'm really pleased with the way it turned out.

Keeping up with my Weekly New Work Goal

I have been working on new mosaics! The mosaic above is a tempered glass piece that turned out looking like a bird. I started with a bouquet of Tuberous Begonias (left) made by a friend of mine. Then I put it in Photoshop and did a little Liquifying on it. Only when I showed it to friends did I see that there was a bird in the picture. This hasn't been grouted yet. I think I'll do two or three colors of grout.

On the right is a mosaic I am making for the American Begonia Society convention coming up soon. The picture is a botanical of Begonia boliviensis. I printed the picture on my large format Epson printer.Then I cut out glass squares and glued them down with Weldbond. Unfortunately some of the pieces (especially the long bottom glass piece) didn't get completely covered with glue and have a ripple effect. Hopefully grout will help to hide it.













To the right is another mosaic to enter in the ABS convention show. It is Begonia luxurians. It seems a little dull to me so I may spruce it up with some glitter somewhere. Martha Stewart has glitter paints that are transparent with only the glitter showing. I may try something like that on the sky.

And below we have a couple more mosaics; a cat rock and a big gold mirror, Neither is grouted yet. And I've been making Begonia rocks. I'll post a picture soon.

Still busy working on my mosaics!