Today's post is about the tedious! Glass artists have a few choices when it comes to buying our glass....either buy glass as you need it (expensive!), buy glass in large quantities to get a decent price or buy glass on sale and hope you are buying the colors you need!
Shopping is fun! It's comparable to going into a fine candy store! It's also time consuming! I'm fortunate to be living in a city with a Bullseye manufacturing plant and store. That said, I shop sales and it's never a quick trip. Even if I am deeply focused on just buying what I need, there is always something shiny and pretty that catches my eye....and then....I stop to rethink my shopping list. Do I need another mold? What about frit or stringer? Do I have enough kiln wash? And the cash register spits out along receipt. Folks who don't live near Bullseye have to order online and have it shipped....another added expense!
Those of us who live near a store have to transport our purchases. I literally seat belt my stacks of glass into the rear seat of my car!
Glass storage is the next issue. It takes up space! And what to do with the scraps? I buy glass in large formats so the size of each sheet is roughly 35"x20" and averages $100-$150 per sheet.... Safe storage is imperitive and making use of scrap glass in wise ways helps save money. I keep mine sorted by color in plastic bins the size of a shoe box. I spend a good bit of time curating my collection of scraps because I allow them to pile up and so once a week or so I have to spend time sorting the pieces......tedious!
