August 05, 2008

Learning something new

Last Friday I was able to participate in a fused glass class at the Art Cabin near Timberline Lodge. I decided to take the class thinking it would be sort of be fun. I LOVED IT!

We made fused glass tiles using left-over pieces of glass from other studio projects.

I got a little carried away and made four tiles.

There are always learning curves when trying something new....this one turned out looking lopsided as I used a clear piece of glass on the left (on top of a clear base glass) so my design doesn't go all the way to the edge. Lesson one.


On this tiny tile, the flower expanded a bit more than I thought it would when it was fired so the flower looks a little bit too big for the stem/leaves. I also added a copper piece in the middle of the flower....not such a good look. The copper blackened during firing and I haven't figured out a good way to polish it back up. I've tried a scritchy cloth, and a small brass brush. No luck. Lesson two.



I like this one. Looks very smart.



I like this one, too. A happy bouquet of lollipop flowers!



One of the things I liked best about this class was the fact that the glass we used was recycled from other projects. Some of the pieces were so tiny....1/8" maybe. Long metal tweezers were a must. I also enjoyed working with the other people in the class. It was fun to see the different ideas and styles we all had.

24 comments:

Anonymous said...

That does look like fun! I love the amber colored one as well as the bouquet. Great tiles!

Rosebud Collection said...

They are beautiful..What a great thing to learn..Hey, wonder if you could make windchimes with that glass? Wouldn't they look beautiful?

Anonymous said...

This looks like tons of fun. Half of fun with playing with new medium is making mistakes they teach us alot and let us experiment. Beautiful work.

LazyTcrochet said...

That does look like fun. Well done for your first pieces! I love the flowers too. Would catchup polish the copper?

Elizabeth said...

How gorgeous!
Working with glass looks fascinating.
i always enjoy your posts.

Ana said...

Great job! Learning something new is so much fun and meeting people in that sort of environment is so inpiring :)

ahnaleeb said...

Isn't it so refreshing to do something completely different once in awhile? Your pieces turned out lovely!

Lisa's RetroStyle said...

I love your last little flowers!! They are so cute! Classes are so fun:D

Unknown said...

Certainly looks like fun and you did well.

Tess Kincaid said...

Fun! The amber colored one is gorgeous!!!

Prairie Gothic said...

Will you ever stop? Like you needed another talent. I love it!

ppdesigns said...

they look so cool and its looks like heaps of fun. It's a toss up between the bottom as to my fav.

StaroftheEast said...

That looks like so much fun! Wish we had that kind of things here in our little town.

Anonymous said...

LOVE the lollipop bouquet!!

That's very similar to some of the ideas I was playing with, using those cute little millefioris... aren't they fun?!

*sigh* Maybe some day I'll get to fuse again...

Love your pieces!

Janell

Grizzly Mountain Arts said...

What fun! I love the little lollipop flowers! You know what this means, don't you Charmaine? You'll have to buy yourself a kiln now! :)

High Desert Diva said...

I know.

It's a sickness.

I've already started looking for a kiln online...I'm hoping to snag one off Craigslist.

Unknown said...

How much fun! It is great that you were able to learn as you went along and didn't just give up after not being happy with your first one. Although I think they are all really funky in their own way, happy accidents if you will, the lollipop flower bouquet and the other flower are my faves :)

Is this something you can do at home or do you need special kiln/equipment? Would love to see more of your work if you keep going with it :)

A Wild Thing said...

Oh yes...I love the third one too, looks like amber. They would be so cool as windchimes...wonder what they would sound like...a buddhist temple maybe.

sharon

littlebird said...

wow you glass make like a pro!
love the third one down : )

Claire said...

Wow, they look beautiful!

Cxx

Hey Harriet said...

These are really sweet! Sounds like a fun time :)

Unknown said...

Those are great for your first time out! Looks like you had lots of fun!

Judi FitzPatrick said...

Such fun!

Chris Stone said...

sounds like a blast. would love to play in glass! nice tiles!