GREEN!

The lament of a glass artist who insists on taking her own photographs....

"AAAARGH!.... taking pictures of glass is challenging!"

I was successful in eliminating glare, but the shadows....OY!

The darker green is a shadow and not part of the glass design!!!

Here is the finished bowl. It measures 15" in diameter and is the first bowl in my Tapestry series. 

It is available for purchase and will be on display at the MJCC (6651 SW Capitol Hwy, Portland) May 19-24.

The Bigger Picture

multi-colored glass stringers (the size of angel hair pasta) adorn the disc 

You saw a closeup of one of the design elements on my April 11th post.....well, I'm a little behind!
This is a photo of the design in process. I fused it and slumped it into a platter....then decided it would look better as a bowl.
I'll post the finished product tomorrow!

New Challah Tray

This was a fun design. The glass is a beautiful piece from Bullseye that casts a silver-gray glow as it streaks through the semi-transparent white. I cut out clear letters and coated the backs of them with blue glass powder and I also sandwiched a square of silver foil between the white and clear cap.

Eight and a half hours of heating to a top temp of 1435° and annealing at lower temperatures, then another 8 hours of cooling fused all the necessary parts into a whole. Cleaning, grinding edges, poilishing and then back to the kiln and onto a mold for another "sauna" session. 7.5 hours of heating to  1250°, annealing, and then 7 hours of cooling brought it to completion. 

This tray will be available for purchase at the lobby show of the Jewish Community Center-
6651 SW Capitol Hwy, Portland - the week on May 19-24.... Come see it in person!

Silver turns to Gold

It looks a little like a science experiment!

When you heat up silver foil it will often take on yellow/gold hues. It depends on the glass it's being fused on heat, and other factors in the kiln. 

This is a close up of a piece of silver foil between some white streaky glass and a clear cap.

Can you see various patterns on the foil? That's air trying to escape.....tiny bubbles are an indicator that escape was no easy matter! Silver foil is 4.8 times thicker than silver leaf. Supposedly it is easier to handle...but I must say, it is fragile and hard to work with !

Silver foil is ever so delicate, but should not be confused with silver leaf ! Silver foil is 4.8 times thicker than silver leaf. Supposedly it is easier to handle...but I must say, it is fragile and hard to work with ! This precious metal isn't cheap....but oooooh weeeeee....it is wonderful stuff and always adds a bit of eye candy to a piece.  

BLUE SHABBAT

clear hebrew letters coated with aventurine blue frit

My latest project is a new challah tray. I cut out the hebrew letters that spell shabbat (shin, bet, tav,) cleaned and dried them, then flipped them over. I coated the back of the glass with Glastac; a clear "glue" that lightly tacks things in place. I sifted the powdered glass over the letters and am literally waiting for the glue to dry!

When the letters are dry I will set them up on the glass tray I've prepared and will fuse them together. The clear glass will act as a cap and allow the aventurine blue to take on a "floating" quality.

The tray will be in the kiln for approximately 15 hours as it slowly heats up to 1425° and then cools down to room temperature. A quick cleaning and then the glass will return to the kiln to be slumped into a mold.

Aventurine makes an appearance as blue or green in the glass world. It has a sparkling quality to it. Aventurine Blue is the color of indigo. I'll post the final product at the end of the week. I'll also try sifting the powder into my next set of Torah Yads. It will be interesting to see how it reacts with the other bits of glass I've been collecting!

Happy Customer!

Hi Eddy,

I love the yads.  They’re beautiful, and all different, which is nice.  I hope to be able to take them to Temple this week.   I have no doubt that they will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for your prompt communication throughout.     CR- New York

              

MORE TORAH POINTERS!

Both yads allow "magical" light to pass through them....

SOLD!!!!!!
The green yad I posted last week has found a home in New York! 

SInce I have an upcoming show/sale in May, I have made a new green Pointer and a flashy friend to add to my display.

These are still in process. They need to go through a little more polishing and then back into the kiln for a fire polish. These yads are actually wet so you can see what they will look like when they are finished. Dry, they have a matte finish that is dull and lifeless.  It's amazing what a little scrubbing action and heat can do for glass!

Interested? Send me an email (sparksofspirit@gmail.com) or visit me at Portland's Mittleman Jewish Community Center the week of May 19th. I'll post my hours when we get closer to the date.

SNEAK PREVIEW

Here's a close up of a corner of a future round server. Copper mesh is sandwiched between two perfect circles. You'll just have to wait to see the rest of the dish when it's finished!

It will be one of several pieces of glass on display in the lobby show at the MJCC (6651 SW Capitol Hwy) - May 19th - 24.

Free Admission.....All artwork is available for purchase!

You'll also see beautiful painted silks by Diane Fredgant, beadwork by Esther Liberman, and paintings by Jonathon Lietz!

I'll be on site to represent my work periodically. Check back in a couple of weeks and I'll post my schedule!

Yad Yarok- fresh out of the kiln!

This is the newest prototype Yad to emerge from my kiln. The other Yads I've been making come from variations on a pattern bar. I create a square of relatively thick glass, then slice the fused square into strips....then lots of polishing using a flat lap machine and then a fire polish in the kiln.

This is a "one-off" I created trying to use glass stringers, large frit (vanilla), clear and green glass.  This still needs more hand polishing and another trip to the kiln, but I'm pretty happy with the looks of it!

So what does Yad mean? It literally means hand. In this case it means Torah Pointer. And what about yarok?  Green...of course!

SOLD!

A new customer saw this challah plate and fell in love with it. They asked me to round up the edges for them, which I did  (great idea!) and before I had a chance to take a photo of it, it was out the door on its way home.

Don't hesitate to ask me to modify a design or custom design a functional piece of glass. I want to be sure you are happy and have something of heirloom quality to hand on to the next generation.

In the meantime, Shabbat will be a little nicer for the new owners of this plate!

Journeys Seder Plate

Slumped and ready for a seder!

Yes, there are 6 spots on this plate for  traditional seder items....

....you just can't see them!

The color of this glass camouflages the dips. That means that this seder plate is also perfect for display on a stand. 

Some of the glass beads are translucent dichroic glass which give off interesting color shifts.

This plate is available for purchase and will be on display May 19th-24th at the MJCC (6651 SW Capitol Hwy- Portland) during the Jewish Arts Month Exhibit and Sale in the lobby.

A NEW GLASS SEDER PLATE IN THE MAKING!

Step 2 (see 5 steps below)

Fused glass blobs made from expensive scraps of glass help create this new seder plate. As I mentioned in earlier blog posts, glass is expensive. Glass is purchased by weight or by square feet. Every bit of it has value and it can be used! The glass blobs are made from salvaged dichroic, clear, and the white/silver scrap from cutting this circle.  This plate is currently in the kiln at Step 5 (see below)  It should be cool enough to handle before Shabbat tonight!

Step 1: Cut two circles from clear and from the patterned white/silver glass. Clean and stack in the kiln.

Step 2: Create various sized glass blobs by cutting salvaged glass into small rectangles and squares. Cut matching sized pieces of clear salvage to cap. Stack in the kiln.

Step 3: Full fuse to 1450° (about 6 hours to fuse and 6 hours to cool.)

Step 4: Clean all the glass, then arrange the blobs on the plate. 

Tack fuse (going MUCH slower!) to 1425° (about 18 hours in the kiln.)

Step 5: Clean the glass then place on the seder plate mold. Slump slowly to top temperature of  1250° and slowly cool for proper annealing (about 16 hours in the kiln.)

A Circle in a Square

Cutting a a 14.75" Circle from a 15"x 15" square

This is a great tool for cutting circles! A suction cup holds the unit in place. I hold it firmly with my left hand while rotating the scoring head with my right. It works just like the compass you used in your math class! It takes a little practice and a little finesse.....but then .... voila... a perfect circle!

After the circle has been scored, I score some break lines from the circumference score out to the edge of the glass. Using some pliers I then snap the edge glass from the circle.  

This is a transparent, colorless piece of glass that will be the base of a bowl I have been commissioned to make for a wedding gift. 

The top layer of glass will be green and will be cut to 15". When the top layer of glass is slightly larger than the base, the top layer can neatly cap off the base leaving a beautiful edge.

GOING IN CIRCLES!

Ever wonder why hand made fused glass bowls and other round glass items are so expensive?

I spent part of my morning cutting circles of glass for seder plates, bowls, and trays. It's a meditative thing but it can be costly if the glass breaks.  A circle is cut from a square. There is considerable "wasted" glass , even when you are careful.

My "circles" tend to be less expensive because I try to re-use all the left-over glass and only charge the customer for the actual glass used in the bowl or dish. It may not be good business, but I don't feel right charging  for glass you don't get. Whenever possible, I will try to incorporate the residual glass into my design. I'd like to see anyone who wants to own some nice art glass feel like they can afford my work.

Some of these new circles will appear in some judaica designs....but you can expect to see some other new works as well!

Stay tuned!

I'll be posting finished pieces in the next week or so. 

A New Scene from the Kiln!

Everything is loaded and ready to go...... what will it be?