New paintings and regular art updates.
Frosted glass with fish etched into it. A glass made from an old wine bottle cut in half. I’ve had this and it’s pair for about ten years?
It’s good to recycle things, save things from just getting smashed and and thrown away. Mind you now I’ve posted this no doubt it will get broken.
I like the colour of this. I guess it’s rather like an apple green colour. Tasty.
I was at a college this afternoon singing with our choir. We were in a very modern new building and the curved glass windows looked out over old trees. As we practiced before the performance we saw a great heron circling around these trees and a buzzard or some other bird from the raptor family sitting on a branch and looking at the heron. I think that’s why it was circling and not landing. Herons are strange and gangly Their legs are long and dangle down as they fly. They have long wings that flap slowly and a small head with a pointed beak carried on a long neck which is bent in a flat S shape as it flies.
Grey and white the heron flapped round in lazy circles. I think it was wary of landing. The river dane is nearby and I guess it might have been fishing there.
As we went into the room we were performing in I took this quick photo, unfortunately the birds had flown off. But what a spectacular view we had.
You know it’s cold when the ice that was put in the sink on Friday night is still frozen in the sink on Sunday.
This is what had happened at the “an, exhibition of Blue”, which I was helping invigilate yesterday.
The exhibition space is in part of the old Spode Factory which has been converted into artists studios. The building used to be full of pottery machinery and pottery kilns. I imagine they did not need much insulation in those days. Now, however, thin walls and single glazed windows together with thick concrete ceilings high up which allow all the heat to rise make for icebox conditions in the winter.
We also did not know where the switch was for the space heater that sits next to the lift. So guests and artists alike stood next to or inside the kitchen where a small electric fan heater was trying to defrost the ice in the sink! People tried to sit on the couches to keep their feet off the freezing concrete floors. I’d been there three hours before one of the other artists at Spode found the heater switch in a cupboard! I did feel foolish for not looking.
Even though it was cold we got a good turn out. The exhibition will be coming down soon but it may be possible to get one of the exhibitors to show you round if you are interested.
I did a glass workshop a while ago using blue glass and copper and silver and Mica and different coloured foil.
I then asked a friend if she could do some wire weaving around them to turn them into fabulous necklaces. A few months later (she is quite ill so can only work on things occasionally) I collected these lovely things.
I’ve included front and backs so you can see how they are held in place and the intriguing patterns of wire on their backs. They come complete with gold coloured chains with loops and bars to open and close them.
They are for sale so contact me if you want a unique gift or treat for yourself.
I bought this lovely handkerchief glass vase after going to a friend’s glass workshop. My partner and I also made ones of our own. I will try and take photos of them.
This peice has graded blue colours from dark to light and smaller square pieces. The pieces of glass are placed on a plain glass layer and melted in a kiln till they fuse. The resulting square of glass is then placed over a cylindrical mold and heated again until it slumps again into a handkerchief shape. This peice was a present for a friend. Like all crafts, glass is something you have to learn I’m really glad I attended the workshop and would definitely go again, although I don’t know if I could ever get this good.
X
A glass star
Made by my man
Held together with love
Fused into one piece
By the heat
Of the sun.
One of the advantages of having a studio at spode is the fact you meet so many creative people.
One of them is a lady called Angela who makes glass art and runs workshops.
We had a very pleasant few hours today making some new pieces of glass. We used new techniques to make larger bowls (they will be when they are fired) and handkerchief vases which will be placed over a glass shaped form which the glass slumps over.
I hope we can go back for more.
X
