Gnome on a Stick

 Just having a bit of fun in the studio. He was pretty popular at my last show....going to make a few more of him... I might have to start naming them....better yet, the new owners can do that!

Tree of Life: Aitz Chayim

 

This is the other commission I created, a gift of gratitude for someone who chaired a fund raising effort to benefit our community. Below is the explanation I provided.

Aitz Chayim, The Tree of Life is symbolic of so many things. Traditionally, it is a metaphor for Torah and also for knowledge and wisdom. In mystical Judaism the Tree of Life  demonstrates the essence of God ( as best we can understand ) and the manner in which the world was created.   

This glass plate  was inspired by a quote from the book of Proverbs (referring to the Torah) where  it says:

דְּרָכֶ֥יהָ דַרְכֵי־נֹ֑עַם וְֽכׇל־נְתִ֖יבוֹתֶ֣יהָ שָׁלֽוֹם׃ עֵץ־חַיִּ֣ים הִ֭יא לַמַּחֲזִיקִ֣ים בָּ֑הּוְֽתֹמְכֶ֥יהָ מְאֻשָּֽׁר׃

“Her ways are of a pleasant path, and all these ways are of peace. She is a tree of life for those who hold fast to her and all those who hold her are happy.”

Cycling

 

This was a commissioned gift for the editor of a local community newspaper. After 31 years of dedicated and loving service to the community , she is retiring and plans to spend a lot of time bike riding with her husband.

This was sooo much fun to make. It is a mask I call cycling because in addition to biking, cycling takes on all kinds of meanings that apply to her. The face, lips, eyebrows and eye balls are all made of fused glass. The hair is bike chain and the eyes are accented with bike gears. Her nose is a #2 pencil and her left earring is a stack of mini newspapers . The right earring is made of computer keys...page up and page down. It is equipped with mounting brackets so it can hang on her wall.

 I think the recipient likes it! Yay!

I've Got My Eye On You!

 The Commission is complete ...and will be presented to the recipients tonight.

Once it is in their possession I will publish photos of both pieces.... 

Keep an eye out!

Turning Scraps into Art

This new piece is 100% recycled material ....The wood backing was a piece of thin scrap walnut I fished out of scraps bin, the copper backing is a piece of sheet metal gleaned from the steel yard parts pile, and the glass is all left over pieces of iridized cathedral glass leftover from other projects. The sheet metal looked pretty dull, even after thorough cleaning and polishing, so I hit it with a light coat of copper spray paint from a can I had sitting in the tool shed (aka garage!)

The wood had some spalling (holes caused by a natural occurring fungus) so I added to it with a little bit of wood burning. There is a solid piece of glass backing up the small rectangles. It is clear with clear iridized confetti glass fused into it.

When the sun hits it, it is absolutely gorgeous...a true rainbow of colors!

This one is a keeper...it's going on a wall in my dining room.

This one is

New Commissions

Before and after pix ....I spent part of my day degreasing some really good looking gears for my latest commission, in progress.

Each gear was absolutely caked in thick sludge. I feel like I should become a spokesperson for  Dawn liquid soap! I use it all the time to wash my glass...and I have to say it is fantastic at removing this gunk!

I looked up sludge in the thesaurus and among the synonyms I found these wonderful words: goo, grease, gunk, and muck! Dawn made a gross task simple and efficient!

Anyway, I can't reveal the details of the project until it is presented. but I am really excited about it !

I just started cutting the glass today....Due to other obligations, no glass work for the next few days...but I will resume the work late next week. I'll post more pix and info then!

I just finished another commission, but again, I can't share anything about it until later...in June.

Stay tuned. I know my posts are sporadic...but I appreciate you taking the time to read them!

      

WHY AM I NOT IN MY STUDIO?????

                     

Sometimes the distractions are too pretty.... too beautiful.....too distracting! What can I say?

Writing About The Tedious....Is....Well....Tedious!

During the spring, summer, and fall, I do all my wet work on my lower back deck. ARGGGH!  

Okay, I think I am done with sharing the tedious aspects of art making. I haven't yet shared my reflections on the storing of display equipment, the storing of the artwork, the record keeping, the labeling, the pricing, the advertising....and sigh....the list goes on. I love making glass and I hve learned to get past my introversion tendancies enough to actually enjoy meeting with my customers. It's been awhile since I have heard a comment like, "oh, I made a glass tray once...this is easy!", and I fortunatley haven't heard someone complain about the prices of my art and others being too high. But my last several posts and this one are reminders to all the wonderful art lovers and consumers of art...that when you purchase a piece of art, large or small, it's more than just a bit of glass with some doo-dahs on it. It's more than just some paint slapped on a canvas. It is the result of study, hard work, the aquisition and maintenance of tools, the cost of belonging to a guild, renting a studio or maintaining one, advertising,etc. Most artists I know are happy to just break even.

Equipment maintenance ...The tedious, part 4

I don't mean to sound whiney! It's just that there is so much maintenance behind the scenes and post holiday season seems to be the best time to focus on those things. I continue to work on my studio cleaning and organizing. It's slowly getting better, but at about 15 minutes a day.....well, it's going to take awhile! Meanwhile I still have projects to work on...just small ones, but I need to get them done. Yesterday I started up my saw (it looks like the one in the picture above....but definitely not as bright and shiny! It's an old Taurus Ringsaw. I love it! But within 30 seconds it made funny sound....uh oh!..... and yep, just as I backed off, the saw blade stopped moving. Sigh. Step one....turn off saw and check the blade. Phew! still in tact. That's good news because my replacement blade is on back order and costs $80! Step 2, remove the saw from the water bath and inspect the belt.Phew again! Still in working order. Good news! Even though I have a back up belt, a new costs $38 so I am not in a hurry to replace it! Step 3, check the grommets. Bingo! One grommet missing, so I fish around in the cold water bath to locate it. Yup, it's broken. Good news! I have replacement grommets. They come with new blades and rarely need replacement. I have several. These ring saws are a miracle but they require maintenance. Something I haven't yet mentioned is the sludge that accumulates at the bottom of the water bath. SLUDGE! Think liquified cement....sludge. Because it's winter I can't easily hook up the garden hose to wash it all out. You can't pour the stuff down the drain either! I carefully have to pour out the water into the toilet and then scoop the sludge into the garbage. Some people like to dry it out and use the sludge (glass powder) to fuse things. I don't. I'll continue the saga of the ring saw in a day or so! Stay tuned!

More Tedious Work

Happy Secular New Year! The season for shows and gift giving are temporarily over....and ...the studio is a disaster! What have I done? Perhaps the better question is What haven't I done? The answer to the first question is....I made a mess! The answer to the second question is...I failed to clean up after myself....time and time again. My studio is a disaster! There are times when I look at a mess and paralysis sets in. Where do I start? What do I keep? What do I throw out? How can I create homes for things and clean up after myself each time I work in the studio? Great questions, right? I'm not commiting to any New Year's resolutions. That's a recipe for failure! WHat I will do is commit to working in one section of the studio at a time...for just 15 minutes at a time. I didn't create the disaster in a day....and I won't fix it in a day. I'll let you know how things go. No pictures until I make some progress.

More Hidden Work

Well, it's been about a month since I have posted. Our art group had a Hanukkah fair last week. Why am I blogging about the hidden costs of being an artist? Because sometimes it's hard to hear customers (not usually mine!) complain that the art is so expensive. I'm not complaining...I just want to create a reality check. Most artists I know either have a "real" job or they're retired and collecting a pension or social security. As you read what follows, keep in mind that most artists do not sell full time...nor can they sell as well as some of our artists did. Take into account learning curves, developing your talents, shopping for supplies, the cost of materials, the space in which to create, AND the labor involved. I reiterate...this is not a rant....or as Friday used to say on Dragnet...."just the facts, M'am....just the facts!" Twelve of us set up shop in the lobby of our local Jewish Community Center. I chose to sell my current inventory left over from previous sales. I didn't do any new work. Sorting through my inventory only took about 30 minutes. With my husband's help, we loaded the bins of glass, wrapping materials,cart, glass cleaning supplies, table cloths, business cards, and display units. Another 20 minutes.

It's just a ten minute drive to the "J", but then we have to unload the car, stack everything onto the cart (two separate loads)... and then move and park the car...15 minutes. Passing through security and checking in brings me to my table. Set up shold only take 30 minutes, but I am also coordinating the show so other artists have needs and questions so it takes about an hour. At this point I have 2 hours 15 minutes into the sale....and we haven't yet opened up for business. The sale opens the next day and each of us is excpected to contribute 5 hours staffing the sale. I work a total of 8 hours. At closing, I pack up the remaining items that didn't sell, making sure each piece is safely padded against breakage.....20 min. Stack the bins back onto the cart. Some artists can't arrive on time because of their oaying jobs...so I remain on site to help clpse out the sale, pull tablecoths and cover up reaining art work until they can be picked up.The safe needs to be emptied and cash on hand counted and all receipts collected....35 minutes. Move and load the car...10 .total time inested not including the purchasing of glass, studio maintenance, packaging the glass? ......11hrs 5 minutes. Many of our artists had even more time invested. Some artists sold little or nothing. Other artists averaged $300-600 in sales....some less, some more. At first glance, it doesn't seem that bad.....Let's say you work 5 hours and take in $500 in sales. You make about $100 and hour....right? Well....... 10% of the money collected goes to the J for use of the space. 5% goes to our Art organzation to pay for related costs to stage the show, and about 2.5% goes to the credit card company for the privilege of using the card. And we haven't discussed the cost of materials or the labor that went into the making of the art! Let's do the math: $500 in sales - 10% commission $50 - 5% to organzation $25 2.5% credit card fee 12.50 ------------ $87.50 in fees 500 - 87.50 = $412.50 divided by 5 hours now brings your hourly pay to $82.59 an hour...Still sounds good? The materials and labor involved in the art you are selling accounts for 50-75% of your sales....and the amount you made is about $20.60 an hour or about $100 for 5 hours of sales time....not to mention drive time to and from the site each tie you came to the J. If you didn't sell at all....you are in the hole. ANd of course if you sold less, you are potentially in the hole. If you sold more....you are doing ok but.....we still haven't talked about income tax that we pay on whatever we earn.... If our art lands in a gallery the commission costs can run 40-60%...so artists have to raise their prices just to make ends meet.

Balancing the Fabulous with the Tedious ...part 2

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!

Variations on a Theme

 This is a 14" square Challah tray commission. The client wanted something large and simple....no words just geometric symbols.  We played with a few ideas....none of them landed.  I shared a photo of the Tree of Life-themed work I had done recently and it struck a chord. 

Client and artist are both happy!

Balancing the "Fabulous" with the Tedious: Part 1 of The invisible Side of My Art

The Tedious

The Fabulous

 I suspect my beloved customers have no idea what artists have to do before...and after their work is created. For glass artists there is a lot of preparation, maintenance/repairs/replacement of tools, and clean up....not to mention, shopping, dreaming, imagining, sketching....oh, and then there is the purchasing of tools, creating a studio space,  shopping for tools, shopping for glass, marketing (think website, blog, instagram, etc,)  renting space for sales, designing and printing business cards, setting up purchasing options like the Square, PayPal, Venmo, etc.....AND selling work either in person, online, or finding a gallery.

The photo above is scraping down a kiln shelf. That takes about 15 minutes. It's outside work because it's wet and messy! Next, apply at least 4 coats of kiln wash. This creates a barrier between the shelf and the glass. This has to happen after every 3-4 fusings. Slumping into molds doesn't impact the wear and tear on the shelf. Painting is another 10 or 15 minutes. The shelf can air dry overnight or you can dry it in the kiln if you're in a hurry....that still takes a few hours.

I opted for the speed route for curing the kiln shelf...which is why I have time to write this blog entry ! My shelf is drying in the kiln right now.

So what is the "Fabulous" ? I am blessed to have my glass studio in my house. I have expanded it to my lower outside deck where I can do my wet and messy work. On beautiful days...and even on soggy days,  I get to enjoy the woods that come right up to the edge of my house; the sounds of water rushing through the creek below, the plops and drips of rain rolling off leaves and branches, and the glorious sound of birds who sing to me as I work.

In this series of posts I'll talk about the work I do (and so many others) that remains invisible to those who see the artwork. 

New Chamsah Tallit Clips

 Celebration of Art '22

October 29, 7-9pm

October 30, 10a-4pm

MJCC 5561 SW Capitol Hwy~ Portland, Oregon

Come see us!

New Business Card

Side 1

Side 2

 Just ordered new business cards....maybe they will arrive before the show next Saturday night/Sunday! 

Why did I procrastinate so long? 

CELEBRATION OF ART '22  @ MJCC 5561 SW Capitol Hwy- PDX

Saturday Oct. 29 7-9pm,   Sunday Oct 30 10a-4p

Quilted Glass

                 

ORA's annual Art show Celebration of Art has been on hiatus (no gratitude extended to the CORONA VIRUS).... BUT WE ARE BACK!!!!!!

Saturday October 29th 7-9 pm at the MJCC and Sunday October 30th 10a-4p

The MJCC is located at 5561 SW Capitol Hwy in Portland Oregon.

I have some new designs! Here's a little of the back story. My dad was a tailor. A tailor from the old country. A talented tailor.... as in if you compared his hand-stitched seams with a machine-stitched seam....you couldn't tell the difference.

I tried to sew once. I loved fabric...the textures, patterns....both appealed to my sense of touch and sight.

Long story short....it was a disaster! I still love fabric...and appreciate anyone who can sew a straight seam, be it hand-sewn or by machine.

Glass can have similar attributes to fabric. Handled in the right ways, glass can be manipulated  to offer a variety of visual aesthetics as well as surface and sub surface textures. Instead of sewing glass (hmmm, another interesting thing to pursue some day!) I assemble glass parts sheets I have made, much as a quilter selects fabric scraps, cuts them, and assembles them into colorful arrays.

I went to the Latimer Quilt and Textile Museum in Tillamook Oregon this summer (one of my favorite places to visit) and yet again saw the ways in which talented artists used fabric the way other artists use paint. They crafted amazing quilts...some as sculptures, some as fabric paintings, and others as modern interpretations of the classic quilts we all know. I breathed it all in! 

Using textured glass left over from other projects and making a few additional pattern sheets, my first attempts to use glass as fabric scraps to emulate quilts in functional designs has been nothing short of fun....and filled with numerous AHA moments, when I learned what did and didn't work! 

Most of my efforts have been using black, white, and occasional gray glass. This one injects a bit of color and has 3 layers of color in it...a small tray....I call it...The Circus . Can you guess why?

It's All In The Stars!

Magen David Tallit Clips 

Celebration of Art ...a wonderful art show/sale/event returns to the Portland Mittleman Jewish Community Center after a significant hiatus....thank you COVID!

October 29th we'll have beautiful artwork , wines to sample, and music to nourish your soul. Doors open at 7pm-9pm.

October 30th our show opens at 10am and closes at 4pm

I'll be posting more of my work that will be available for purchase at this wonderful show. Stop by my site daily for updates!

Twenty artists are emerging from their COVID cocoons ....I hope you will join us!.... FREE ADMISSION!

Mittleman Jewish Community Center

5561 SW Capitol Ewy

Portland Oregon

Butterfly Tallit Clips 

                                                            

 

Another Tree for New Life!

 Another little one came into this world...Keshet! May she be blessed with a long and healthy life filled with love!

TREE of LIFE...NEW LIFE

 A little one named Ezra came into this world. This is a gift he won't outgrow. If you look carefully among the leaves you'll see his name in Hebrew.