tallit clips commission

Many thanks to ORA photographer Bob Sorkin for taking this picture. It was a pleasure to make these Torah shaped tallit clips for a lovely young woman who celebrated her bat mitzvah today. Her beautiful tallit was a mixture of browns, golds, orange and beige.

Michael's Eyes

The kiln is too hot to open, but here is a glimpse at Michael Chandel's eyes, pre-fired.

Michael is a reporter who covers a variety of social justice issues. He is a tireless organizer for the Left. His politics make for insecure housing and risk taking that carries him to Guernica as a war correspondent.  

You might be wondering about the stripes on his face He was a supporter of the International Brigade during the Spanish Civil War. These were the colors of their flag.

If you are checking my blog for the first time, please scroll down to read about my mask project. 

Today I begin focusing on Jakob Daw. Jakob is a writer/story teller.
I have already cut out his face blanks...but now I have to commit to whatever design edits I come up with....and I need to make it happen now!Hopefully he will go into the kiln Friday.

Hats Off

Michael Chandon's Hat before firing

For those of you just "tuning in", I am working on a series of character masks for the Page-to-Stage production of Davita's Harp staged by Jewish Theater Collaborative right here in Portland.

The big "reveal" will come next month when the masks go on exhibition at Milagro Theater.  

In the mean time, I am sharing progress notes but won't fully reveal the masks until they are on display.

Michael's hat will be embellished with a hat band, press card and political button. I'll share it with you soon!

Saw skill put to the Test

Some of my most prayerful moments are when I need to use the saw to cut a very slender, fragile piece. This is part of an eye....Michael Chandon's right eye, to be precise!

Michael Chandon; reporter, husband, and Davita's father...goes into the kiln this evening!

Clearly Baba !

Base glass for Baba Yaga....

Commission Mounted!

KILN SHOT

MOUNTED ON THE WALL- LIGHTS ON

                                                  Lights Off

The wallpaper is textured with tiny glass beads.

Much gratitude to the owner who took these photos and gave me permission to put them on this site!

Not quite ready for prime time!....

It's attention to detail that I hope will make these new masks reflect the personalities of each character

This is Baba Yaga's left eyebrow. Yup, that's the only other detail I will reveal until she emerges from the kiln. 

It all feels a bit diabolical....like the Hansel and Gretel fairy tale. Hopefully Baba Yaga can adapt and "go with the flow" when she "bakes" at 1450º. 

Baba Yaga & Davita in development

Working hard to get both Baba Yaga and Davita into the kiln tonight..... They are shaping up!

Baba's teeth ! poor oral hygiene, I guess. Oy!

Baba and Davita need eyes and noses.....Baba is going to have some pretty amazing hair.....

Davita finally has some hair!

Scroll down to the earlier posts to learn about this project!

...stay tuned!

KILN CLEANING

I look like a space alien!!!!  Gotta clean out the dust and fired shelf paper before I can move forward.  The dust is toxic, thus the crazy mask. Dust is not welcome in the kiln, or other parts of my life.... grateful for the HEPA filter on my shop vac!

A little saw mishap today "cut short" my efforts to finish the Davita face...but I will resume her hair tomorrow and also tackle one other base... perhaps her father Michael, or her "Uncle Jakob."

More to post tomorrow!

Davita Continues To Evolve

Once the hair is in place, Davita will make her first appearance in the kiln. 

The white glass you see is the base glass for the piece. The purplish glass is actually a clear iridized glass with a tinge of pink-purple. It is a striker glass so the color should intensify a little when exposed the heat.

Once the base layers are set I'll begin working on her main features.

Just in case you haven't been following the blog...I am making a set of masks to be on display during the run of DAVITA'S HARP in the Page to Stage production by Jewish Theater Collaborative directed by Sacha Reich.  

The Masks Begin In Earnest! Davita

As mentioned in earlier posts, I am making a set of masks that represent characters from the Book "Davita's Harp" by Chayim Potok.

Yup, that's Vaseline! I'm prepping the pattern to "waterproof" the edges before cutting it on my ring saw.
I can cut most of this by hand, however the deep narrow cuts are impossible without the help of my ring saw.

The weather was stupendous today...about 60º in February!!!!!
I moved my cutting table and saw outside....I'm dog sitting, so my dutiful assistant brought his hedgehog along to cheer me on!

This was outdoor studio view today!

New Masks on the Horizon

Davita's Harp by Chayim Potok

I'm just wrapping up the drawings for my next set of masks.
                        Oh what an honor this is! 

Sacha Reich is the director of the Stage-to-Page version of Potok's book Davita's Harp. This wonderful production will be staged by The Jewish Theater Collaborative (JTC) here in Portland, Oregon at Milagro Theater.

Sacha saw my masks at the A.R.T. lobby last spring and asked if I would be interested in creating masks featuring the main characters of this book.  I am grateful for such an invitation. Of course, I said yes!

I have to say, it is a bit like studying Torah. One must "turn it, and turn it, and turn it again" to discover the layers of meaning and glean from the white spaces between the words and the lines.

I confess to having fallen in love with these characters. I have read and re-read the book. I sat in on the first reading by the actors, attended a book talk, and then returned to re-read again.

It'll be another few days before I can cut the glass and get everything rolling. First I have to work on Davita's eyes, Annie's lips, and Jakob's nose. This is the challenge for me. DRAWING!

Once I can get past this phase, I am certain I will discover new challenges....but for now I'm just going to pretend that it will be smooth sailing from this point forward.

I'll post photos of my progress and will also share how I thought about each character as I construct the masks.

I'll speak more about JTC in future posts, but for now I'll just direct you to their link because you must get tickets to this production!
http://www.jewishtheatrecollaborative.org

textures in glass

Mostly clear hand-made blobs with a few dichroic blobs add dimensionality to this substantial piece.

Coarse clear fit covers some areas of the whole piece while hand bent stringer floats along in  "calmer waters." 

The customer would prefer that I not show off the whole piece...so you just get a little snippet.

When Two Hands Are Not Enough!

I'm bending fragile 1mm thick glass stringers in a small candle flame. It takes patience and focus. I decided to do this work over the besheyrt words I make for healing services and various other small group uses. The words are reassuring and actually help me concentrate.

I wanted to photograph myself bending the stringers...but that requires at least one additional hand! Oh well......next time!

Carrying the finished stringers to the kiln proved hazardous....several snapped. I will reheat the ends and "glue them back together.

 The stringers appear black in the photo because  the flame deposits soot on the glass. Soot is carbon, so the soot will burn off when fired.... 

Time to return to the flame!

Tools of the Trade

My father was a skillful tailor. His primary tools were needle, thread, thimble, chalk, patterns, an old converted pedal Singer sewing machine, and a measuring tape. He would wear the tape around his neck the way a physician sports a stethoscope.

I never learned to sew. I tried! Dad was a perfectionist and I just didn't "measure up".

Today I rummaged through his sewing machine drawers and found an old tape measurer....I needed something longer than my T ruler.
After my measuring and marking I immediately draped it around my neck. It felt so right! Dad, you would be proud of my insistence on careful measurement. I get it now!!!!!!

When the Weather Outside is.....

When the weather outside is
Beautiful....Cold......Frightful.....
The kiln sits idle.

I have no excuses....I could be cutting glass, assembling projects, and filling that cold empty kiln but as first the snow fell and then later freezing rain and black ice, it became down time. A chance to rest, renew, reimagine.

Today I'll return to the studio. A little cleaning and then I will tackle the first of two commissions. I'm slowly sipping my coffee, and writing this entry as the 1st glass task begins to sort itself out. A friend's dog needs walking and I have to replenish some staple kitchen products (we've been indoors for several icy days), and then I'll begin.

I store my large format glass outside. I know that many folks cut glass cold. I'm going to bring it inside and let it get warm and cozy while I walk the dog and run errands. The anticipation will build and by the time I set out to score and break my glass, I will have visualized the whole piece. I won't be posting a photo of this piece, as requested by my patron, but I may be able to post a portion of it. 

In a few days I'll have a second item that I can share with you. It's time to walk that dog!

Time For a New Filter!

Utterly Clogged!

This is a thoroughly clogged and rather disgusting hepa filter for my shop vac. I only use it to clean out my kiln and kiln room. 

My husband was so kind to help me change it out. This dust is a hazard to breathe. We bagged it then sealed it in plastic.

Thank you Jeff for all your help!

He sounded a lot like Darth Vader in that mask!

Raindrops

clear glass blobs? splashes of water? raindrops? 

A small decorative element for a commissioned wall hanging. I'll make the various components ahead of time, then assemble the piece for a final fuse.

This is not an example of rocket science!
Small squares of glass are stacked and fused hot so the edges round up. If rectanges or triangles are used, a different shape of blob is created.

Torah Pointers (Yads) Revisited

These yads (Torah Pointers) came our of my kiln and were all sold the next day right here in Portland, Oregon!

I'm experimenting with different ways of making these pointers so that the colors can be vibrant or subtle, depending on the needs of the leyhner (Torah chanter.) 

I shifted away from the design that requires torch work. I felt they were too fragile and frankly, I just didn't love doing the open flame-work....I know....that's heresy in some circles!


My most recent batch was less exciting but I learned oh so much more...about volume, color blending, heat...and more.


I'll salvage some of these, polish them, shape the point and fire them so they will be ready for use,  but a couple will be chopped up and reused in my next experiment.

I have several commissions ahead of me so I may be absent from my blog for awhile.
I'll post  the commissions...with permission of the permission of my customers.

In the meantime..... HAPPY CHANUKAH!

Maria Simon's work of art on our wall!

We have been saving up our shekels for some time, hoping to one day purchase one of Maria Simon's bas relief clay sculptures.

Last winter we were able to commission this piece which was completed last spring. The photo doesn't do it justice. It is superb. We find ourselves sitting in the living room just staring at it. The color shifts are so subtle and so evocative.  

I can't believe it has taken me so long to post a photo!
Check out her website...fall in love and buy one of her pieces. 
http://mariasimonstudio.com

Be sure to also visit this site  http://mariasimonstudio.com/oregon-art-beat/
where you can see her at work in her studio in an episode of Oregon Art Beat.