Birds of a feather......

I really like birds.  I like to watch their behaviors and listen to their chirping or in some cases squawking, imagining the conversations they must be having.

I create birds as I imagine them.  These hand crafted, one of a kind glass sculptures are loaded with personality.  They make wonderful gifts for friends, office mates, co-workers, and even yourself.  Imagine  one of these fun creatures propped on a bookshelf and catching your eye after a tiring, less than pleasant day... Instant lift!

The first collection I created is called, "Just Sayin".  Each unique piece is created out of glass and fused together in a kiln, decorated, then mounted on wood with a saying like, " Live in the Moment", that I think fits the birds' personality.  The birds are signed and numbered.

Here is a collage of some of the birds in this series.  The individual birds with descriptions are found in my store, www.seazening.wazala.com and choose the category: Birds

Swimming in glass

I am an ocean kind of person.  I love everything about the sea, so it was natural for me to create fish glass sculptures

I made these fish as plant stakes to liven up and add color to potted plants.   They look at home in the plants like they are swimming through seaweed!  They are guaranteed to bring smiles. I think they would make cute holiday gifts for friends or office mates --- or as a gift to yourself!

 These one of a kind, hand crafted glass fish are mounted on steel stakes so they can be used to liven up indoor or outdoor plants or other ingenious places.  They are a great addition to a patio or deck!  I can mount the fish on wood blocks for an additional $5. 

Each creation in "the Bimini Series" is made of warm glass and fused in a kiln.  The fish are named, numbered, and signed.

These fish are on sale in my store, seazening.wazala.com.
I take special orders to a degree because each glass sculpture is created as a one of a kind piece of art.  I can make a fish similar to another but it will never come out exactly like it.  The sculptures can be shipped.  Choose a name and characteristics you would like me to use.  Allow 7-10 for special orders.
Www.seazening.wazala.com

I have included a sampling here:

Cassia

Cosmo

Dorothy

Burt

Under the Sea

     This week, I have been working on making small aquariums,

     I really enjoy making tiles.  I have been using the technique for making 3 dimensional objects in my work.  I learned this technique from master artist, Wesley Wong.  It really makes for an interesting piece of art.

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One More Time

    I created another tile with a stamped message and snowman.

Before fusing.

    This time, I cut out the snowman from a scrap of white opaque.  I now have 3 circles gradually decreasing in size.

     Also, when I stamped the tile, I stamped it in the lower left hand corner, giving me a little more room to work with.

     Instead of filling the bottom with frit to simulate snow, I placed the frit at the top.


   
   Anyway  here is the outcome.

Monday's Mishaps

     I am really just starting out in fused or warm glass.  Therefore, I make a lot of mistakes.  It is mostly due to my inert curiosity and need for experimentation that mishaps occur.  Other time, it is simple because I don't understand the materials or firing schedule.

      Of course I have an automatic kiln ( Skutt Hotshot Pro) but sometimes I want a little more or a little less fusing in order to get the "look" I want.  This requires experimentation.  I would need to learn to program my kiln.  SO, I experiment a lot because I haven't gotten the programming part down quite yet.

         Because I took this out of the kiln last night, I chose it for my first example.  I had programmed the kiln myself this time..  Basically between a full and contour fuse.

1.  Experimenting with paint and stamp,this came out well for the most part.  My stamp was moved ever so slightly when being placed on the glass causing it to look "beat up a bit". But overall, the color came out nicely after the fuse.
2. I had 2 miniature snowmen cookie cutters.  I decided to use the large one, so I laid it down onto the glass where I wanted to figure to go.  Then I poured in a little glue, spreading it around the inside area.  Then I filled the area with Champagne small frit and Black adventurine large frit.    Then I sprayed it with a pump hair spray to hold it all together.  Let it dry for approximately 1 hour.
3. It was then time to put the shelf in the kiln and fire it.  BUT, before I did so, I slipped the cookies cutter off.  The snowman collapsed on me ;(  I straighted it back up and spread some frit around it with snow to give it a look that said winter!  
4. After removing it from the kiln, I cried, then chuckled.  I had learned something new....
•  let the glue dry and cure before removing the shape, 
• A freeze fuse piece would not only work better, but would have been easier.  This will be my next experiment, 
• fired Champagne frit looks like dirty snow.
• The fuse schedule seem to work just fine.  I have used it on other projects as well.--no complications,

                                                            Joan

Stay tune for the Wednesday's Work to see the revised editionl.

Getting hooked on glass

     About 12 years ago, I took a glass blowing class because I was curious.  What a blast!  It was so interesting to learn and practice this art method.  Of course, a hot shop (to work in molten glass) is needed--along with all the equipment to create glass art using this method.  This type of set up wouldn't fit in my garage or my budget.

      The next step was warm glass or glass fusing.  Using this method, art is created using pieces of cold glass then put into a kiln and fired at high temperatures to melt and fuse the glass pieces together.

      My first fusing class was 11 years ago.  Again special equipment and materials were needed to practice this glass method.  This time, the equipment would fit in my garage, but my budget didn't allow it!

       10 years later, after I retired from teaching elementary school, I signed up to take a stained glass class.  Once again, I was hooked on working with glass as an art medium.  After about 6 months, I decided I wanted to buy a kiln and work with warm glass, too.

       Now, I have a garage that makes a nice (although small) studio equipped with a kiln, grinder, wet saw, soldering iron, glass, and a large work table.

        I love working with glass despite hands that are continually cut, swollen, and raw.  I am learning to wear gloves and protective gear, so things are getting better.

        However, it didn't take long for my studio and house to be over run with glass art (or mistakes).  I needed to find an outlet for all of the finished pieces or stop creating.  I gave away as many pieces as I could to people who would appreciate my style (a little wacky and whimsical).  But, my shelves are still running over.

         The obvious solution to me was to enter an Arts and Crafts show and try to sell some pieces.  At least, I could earn enough to purchase more supplies in order to feed my habit.  Well, the show hasn't taken place (Dec. 3 in St. Augustine, FL), so I have even MORE glass art around the house.

        As far as I remember, I have never sold any of my art, so this should be interesting.  I have set up a store at Seazening.wazala.com where I feature some of my art.

       Stay tuned to Seazening with Glass as I take the journey into Glass Artistry.

Monday Maybes:  I will cover my experiments on Mondays.  What I did, what worked, what didn't.

Wednesday's Works:  I will post new pieces I am working on.

Friday's Finale:  I will post recently created pieces with comments.

Joan