Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you
You look like a doggeee....
and you smell like one too!
Friday, 25 April 2008
Wednesday, 23 April 2008
Creative Minds for Charity
Creative Minds for Charity is a collaborative project between the Creative Glass Guild of Etsy and Etsybead. Both teams have paired up to create jewelry to be sold in aid of HOST (Helping Others Street Team).
Because I have used fish shaped silver beads and twisted wire we decided to call this piece "Catch of the Day". (Well, the credit for the name actually goes to DorsetHill). This necklace measures 18" and has been carefully crafted.
Now we need your vote. If you like "Catch of the Day" and you are a member of Etsy please click HERE to vote. Soon, "Catch of the Day" will be available for sale in Host Etsy store and all monies raised will go to charity.
My team mate for this project is hot torch worker Dorsethillbeads. Dorsethill has created a beautiful set of salmon and deep red beads with a candy striped focal bead. These beads are absolutely gorgeous and have been a delight to work with.
Because I have used fish shaped silver beads and twisted wire we decided to call this piece "Catch of the Day". (Well, the credit for the name actually goes to DorsetHill). This necklace measures 18" and has been carefully crafted.
Now we need your vote. If you like "Catch of the Day" and you are a member of Etsy please click HERE to vote. Soon, "Catch of the Day" will be available for sale in Host Etsy store and all monies raised will go to charity.
Saturday, 12 April 2008
More on Molds
Since my last post about molds I have had some feedback regarding stainless steel molds from other glass artists.
Drewjaeger says: I use stainless all the time and have never had anything crack. I just heat very slowly on the way up. And for slumping inside I don't use anything very steep. I'd say 75% of my mold collection is stainless and most of that came from thrift stores for about a dollar or less.
Nivenglassoriginals says: Regarding the stainless molds - that's what I use also. Hadn't heard about the cracking problem before - ignorance is bliss I guess - I've had no problems - touch wood. I sand the stainless really well - really well - and then apply the primer. The more you sand, the easier it is for the primer to stick. If I'm applying the primer and it is just washing off, I know I haven't sanded enough. So I sand more......
Thanks to both of you for the input. If anyone else has anything to say on molds please add a comment.
Drewjaeger says: I use stainless all the time and have never had anything crack. I just heat very slowly on the way up. And for slumping inside I don't use anything very steep. I'd say 75% of my mold collection is stainless and most of that came from thrift stores for about a dollar or less.
Nivenglassoriginals says: Regarding the stainless molds - that's what I use also. Hadn't heard about the cracking problem before - ignorance is bliss I guess - I've had no problems - touch wood. I sand the stainless really well - really well - and then apply the primer. The more you sand, the easier it is for the primer to stick. If I'm applying the primer and it is just washing off, I know I haven't sanded enough. So I sand more......
Thanks to both of you for the input. If anyone else has anything to say on molds please add a comment.
Wednesday, 9 April 2008
Ceramic Molds for Glass
I use ceramic molds only to slump/sag my glass into dishes as I don't trust stainless steel molds not to crack the glass. This is because the mold heats up and cools off at a different rate to the glass (coefficiency) and stainless steel can be notorious for both cracking glass and for being difficult to kiln wash too.
So here's a selection of molds (moulds) that I use. All have been bought commercially and then coated with several layers of kiln wash before use. I use a haik brush to apply each layer of kilnwash, drying with a hairdryer in between layers. After a few firings the kiln wash needs reapplying. I use a haik for two reasons - one is that I like the textured surface the glass acquires and secondly, I get mad at the spray bottle when it clogs with kiln wash!
You can see by the color of the mold shown above that it has been primed with kiln wash but not yet fired in the kiln. After the first firing it loses its pink color and becomes white. The holes are to let the heat at the base of the glass escape, avoiding cracking. I love the shape of this mold, it makes the glass look as if the corners have been turned up.
Of course, haik brushes have their own frustrations - they shed long thin hairs in the kiln wash which should be brushed off quickly before applying the next layer. When the mold is bone dry the fused glass tile is placed on top of the mold and put through a fusing cycle. Once the glass reaches the temperature of 1400F the glass should slump nicely into the mold. General advice is that the slumped glass doesn't have to go through a "resting" temperature but I am a very cautious glass artist so I rest the temperature for 30 minutes at 1000F.
Going back to glass temperatures, because ceramic and stainless steel molds shrink at different temperatures it is easier to slump glass into a mold than to sag or drape glass or a mold. This technique can sometimes result in cracking. But don't let that put you off - lots of glass artists drape glass over stainless steel molds, otherwise we wouldn't see so many beautiful handkerchief dishes and candle holders for sale.
If you do choose to use a stainless steel mold then the best way to apply the kiln wash is to heat the mold in an oven and then spray with kiln wash whilst the metal surface is still hot. Otherwise the kiln wash just runs down the steep sides and makes a puddle at the base.
Squiggly Blue Glass Dish. All glass shown here is for sale at Glassprimitif on Etsy.
So here's a selection of molds (moulds) that I use. All have been bought commercially and then coated with several layers of kiln wash before use. I use a haik brush to apply each layer of kilnwash, drying with a hairdryer in between layers. After a few firings the kiln wash needs reapplying. I use a haik for two reasons - one is that I like the textured surface the glass acquires and secondly, I get mad at the spray bottle when it clogs with kiln wash!
You can see by the color of the mold shown above that it has been primed with kiln wash but not yet fired in the kiln. After the first firing it loses its pink color and becomes white. The holes are to let the heat at the base of the glass escape, avoiding cracking. I love the shape of this mold, it makes the glass look as if the corners have been turned up.
Of course, haik brushes have their own frustrations - they shed long thin hairs in the kiln wash which should be brushed off quickly before applying the next layer. When the mold is bone dry the fused glass tile is placed on top of the mold and put through a fusing cycle. Once the glass reaches the temperature of 1400F the glass should slump nicely into the mold. General advice is that the slumped glass doesn't have to go through a "resting" temperature but I am a very cautious glass artist so I rest the temperature for 30 minutes at 1000F.
Going back to glass temperatures, because ceramic and stainless steel molds shrink at different temperatures it is easier to slump glass into a mold than to sag or drape glass or a mold. This technique can sometimes result in cracking. But don't let that put you off - lots of glass artists drape glass over stainless steel molds, otherwise we wouldn't see so many beautiful handkerchief dishes and candle holders for sale.
If you do choose to use a stainless steel mold then the best way to apply the kiln wash is to heat the mold in an oven and then spray with kiln wash whilst the metal surface is still hot. Otherwise the kiln wash just runs down the steep sides and makes a puddle at the base.
Squiggly Blue Glass Dish. All glass shown here is for sale at Glassprimitif on Etsy.
Thursday, 3 April 2008
Spring cleaning on Flickr
So it's spring (allegedly) and I thought it was time that I gave my Flickr account some TLC. As I have exceeded my quota of images I bought myself a Pro Account and added more sets.
I also had a lesson from my pal Getglassy on how to add links (how dumb am I)? So no more typing out the full http:// stuff. So I now resolve to use Flickr more productively, follow my groups more closely and add more images too.
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