How To Cut Glass: A FREE Demo!

This is what we use to cut perfect circles

I'll be demonstrating various ways to cut glass at the MJCC (6651 SW Capitol Hwy- Portland, Oregon) on MONDAY 
FEBRUARY 4th  between 10am- 2pm.

If you'd like to try your hand at it, I will have some glass available for you and will show you how to make simple cuts.

I'll also have some of my work available for sale...and if you mention my blog, I'll give you a discount!

This is part of a new program at Mittleman Jewish Community Center called ArtWorks.....each month an artist will be featured in a demonstration of their work!

Can't make it? Want some of my glass at a discount? Contact me by email (sparksofspirit@gmail.com) and we'll set up an opportunity for you to check out my selection or place a commission order. This offer is effective January 30th-Feb 8, 2013!

Serving Tray FInished

Ready to serve!

It's ready to go! (almost!)

All that's needed are four bump-ons on the bottom and this serving tray will be good to go. Delivery to its new home is scheduled for Monday!

Another Commission- early stages

In Process

It's a flat tray with raised handles. It's called After "Gee's Bend"....inspired by the remarkable quilts made by a community of women quilters in Gee's Bend (Alabama). Their history is long, dating back to times of slavery. Their quilts were made from scraps of material and then put together in artful and non western ways. This pattern is more western but is patterned after a quilt I saw in an exhibit and then later on line.

HOME!

The new owners are happy and report their initial reactions to this new installation!

"Not only is it constantly changing with the light, it is visible from the Dining Room table, from the kitchen table where we eat breakfast, and even from the spot in the kitchen in front of the sink, the better to enliven dish-washing moments. After all, we need to be fully present for all aspects of life. All activities, including simply being, invite us to affirm "hineni;" all are gates that can be open; all are part of HaMakom. Your vision in glass helps us remember."

Commission goes home

Here's the glass work mounted on the wall. French cleats hold the piece in place.  It's such a challenge to photograph glass. There are many details involved in this piece that haven't been explained but each section represents a portion of the biblical story including a river of glass with Torah text inscribed across the panels.

My husband came with me to install the piece. We both enjoyed seeing it on the wall in its new home!

ALUMINUM AND GLASS!

A trip to the scrap yard yielded some aluminum sheeting. A little elbow grease and some cleaning solution....and I had a beautiful, shiny piece of aluminum backing. Since the sinter board covers the center of the aluminum, I didn't have to work as hard! 

My first gluing attempt failed. I forgot that the glue needs some air circulation in order to cure.....so
on try #2 I laid up some spacers (probably overkill) and it worked! The finished product is something I am happy with. 

Check the next posting to see what it looks like mounted on the wall.

MOUNTING EFFORT

STEP 3 : I located some black sintra board and had it cut to size. It is a pvc foam board and a wonderful new discovery.

I used squares of clear glass and glued them to the board. After 24 hours of curing I added the glass panels and let them cure for 48 hours.  

HOW AWESOME! part 2

I started over with panel #1. A different tree with better leaves!
Hineni doesn't make an appearance as a word (or proclamation) in this parasha but it is absolutely implied!

Hineni means "Here I am" or "I am here". Jacob encounters God and God's angel.....It felt right to include this word here. The letters are made of clear glass and the leaves are made from dichroic glass.

New Commission!

THE CHALLENGE? 
Use the following phrase: 
"MAH NORA HAMAKOM HAZEH!" 
These are words proclaimed by Jacob in the Torah. "How awesome is this place!" is the translation. 
I was also asked to incorporate:
"Ein zeh ki im beit Adonai v'zeh sha'ar ha-shamay im" :  Surely this is the house of God and this is the gate to heaven.

Step 1: Create the Glass Panels

Step 2: Rethink Panel #1 (far right)....hated it!

I'll post what I did to repair the piece....tomorrow.

Chair Affair + PROJECT UPDATE

I'm taking a break from updating the Community Warehouse Chair Affair + project. I need new glass for the top of the dresser.....and the glass sale starts February 5th. Meanwhile, I will catch up on some long overdue commissions. I'll be posting those soon.

Some very messy construction to shore up our garage and deck have kept me out of the kiln shed....so hopefully Sunday, I will resume firing. Temperatures here in Portland have dipped below freezing.

It sounds a bit strange, but it is best not to start the kiln below 39 degrees! So I will simply assemble numerous pieces and head to the kiln as soon as it warms up. 

See you all again as soon as I have some photos to post!

Goodbye Fuschia, Hello Burgundy!

So pleased to discover some leftover paint....much deeper and darker......YAY!

It may require one more coat but then the burgundy paint days are done!

I'll be back at the warehouse on Thursday or Friday to get the other colors of paint going.

Tuesday will be glass shopping day and then I will begin making the stained glass overlay for the mirrors. I've enjoyed the break from painting but am totally jazzed to get back into it now that the dresser no longer screams 

PINK!!!!!!

MIRRORS GO ON VACATION

Taking off the mirrors was a 2 person job!

This dresser couldn't look much worse right now!
...but good times are ahead!!!!

I'm grateful that my husband could come help me. Once a few screws were removed, each mirror needed to be braced so it wouldn't fall. 

The paint color is still of great concern but I will get to that next week.....Wednesday?......maybe? Burgundy and burnt umber to the rescue.

I imagine the mirror work will take 2-3 weeks to complete, but if I can get caught up on my commissioned art work, I might be able to get the mirrors finished sooner.

On another note, the warehouse desperately needs some financial donations in these next few days....$5? $25? $100?

Every dollar donated is used carefully to support the needs of those who would like to have a reasonable home with a bed, a table, some dishes. Their goal is to raise $2000/day for the next several days....please help!

communitywarehouse.org  in Portland, Oregon

When 2 Coats Are Not Enough!

Magenta is not burgundy!

I want Burgundy!

                       

Two coats of paint on some of the dresser helped. I laid a first coat

on the drawer faces. The color definitely deepened, but the difference between magenta and deep burgundy is huge. Basically this color screams HOT PINK! I do not like hot pink!

So what's next? On the advice of an artist (painter), I will investigate streaking the surface with burnt umber. That should deepen the tone. If that doesn't work, I will mix my own paint and start again.

I still haven't had a chance to get everything coated with at least one layer of paint, so it's time to remove the mirror and have at the back facing of it. 

It'll be two weeks before I get back to the dresser. Meanwhile, my mirror plans are firming up. See you on the 19th!

BURGUNDY- no glass

A fresh can of burgundy paint was purchased and with only 40 minutes available to me, I started slapping the burgundy paint over the primer. I fear it will take at least three coats to get an even layer of paint to cover the primer. The paint is much lighter than the paint chip so I have my fingers crossed that subsequent coats will yield a deeper tone.

Next Wednesday I hope to lay down more burgundy...we'll see what happens. I'll also be taking mirror measurements so I can start designing the stained glass over-lay.

Shopping for paint at my local ABoy store, I again saw Shelinda, a dedicated Chair Affair Artist. She's just getting started on her project...an outdoor art sculpture made from a metal vanity stool. I can hardly wait to see what she does. When she's finished, I'll try to get some pictures and post those here on the blog.

A White Washing: necessary deed!

Today's work involved priming everything but the top in boring white primer. I plugged in my music, grooved to some Janis Joplin and the task was quickly converted to a pleasant....no, joyous experience!    

I'llbe back next week to lay down some color. I can feel the excitement mounting, although there is so much left to do. Check back next week. I'll have more pictures.   

In the meantime, you should get yourself down to the Tualitan Store and check out what they have in their estate section. This area is open to the public and you can get great deals on some amazing furniture. I was astonished at the bargains. I am picky! I found myself lusting over several beautiful pieces of furniture and I'm now trying to figure out where I could put some of it! I want to buy some!!!!!!!!

Getting Down and Dirty!

 There's me peeking at myself. I am so glad I remembered to bring along a dust mask!

                This piece may be old but it has "good bones!"

Today was a messy cleaning up kind of day. I washed down the mirrors in an effort to find out was was bad silvering and what was just plain dirt. All the drawers came out and were cleaned (yech!).

Sanding was the major effort today....just getting rid of bumps and heavy stains. Fortunately the Warehouse had a good shop vac so I was able to make short work of all the dust!  Next week....primer!

Pretty Beat Up!

Errand Day! Shopping at my local ABoy Hardware store for sand-paper and primer.

Next week will be devoted to cleaning up the shappy exterior, cleaning up the interior of the drawers, replace a missing drawer stop, and blanketing the whole thing in white primer. 

Ran into Shellinda LeMert, another local artist who has been a devotee to the Chair Affair. She's got a pretty nifty project going as well!

I have a few commissions in progress...need to finish those next.

Check back next week for more pix of my progress!

My Chair Affair Project 2013

I am so pleased to show you this piece of furniture I plan to rehab for the Chair Affair Auction in the spring of 2013.

This will be my 6th year working on a project for this special cause. I have never made a chair and it doesn't look like this year will be any different.

Last year the auction brought this amazing community agency $127,932! If you are unfamiliar with what they do.....check out their website.... Really.....go look!!!!!!

Project #1 was an old ladder-back chair that I converted into a water fountain. #2 was a side table I made from a bar stool. Project #3 was an old stool turned into an outdoor bird bath. My fourth project was a coffee table  and #5 was a small side table.

This year my attention will be focused on this very old and very well-used bedroom dresser.

It's big, it's old, it's beat up and it's heavy! It is currently living at the Community Warehouse, Tualitan Branch. My work space is too cramped to deal with it at home but the folks at the warehouse are sooooo nice- they are letting me work on it there. I am determined to get on it quickly.

Stay tuned. I will be updating my progress frequently!

My booth at Celebration of Art 2012

WEDDING BOWL

This fused glass bowl is the perfect wedding gift .  
I love working on commissions like this because the work is customized to suit the needs of the purchaser and the recipient. This large glass bowl is crafted with unique Bullseye glass. The beautiful rainbow dichroic glass used to form the hebrew letters were  also manufactured here in Portland, Oregon by Spirit Glass.

There are 36 (double chai) dichroic "dots" on this bowl. The dark blue river is actually sparkling aventurine blue glass and the names are cut from rainbow dichroic glass. Photographing glass remains the ultimate challenge for me....but this bowl really "pops!"

No two items are alike. Every piece is handcrafted with care and comes with a written explanation of the symbolism contained within the design.

You can contact me directly if you are interested in ordering a personalized gift :  sparksofspirit@gmail.com