Glass is good

The first glass I began fusing was float scrap that I could get free from work. I would fuse washers, copper wire, copper sheet, leaves and razor blades between the float. I still have these samples in a box along with all the pieces that went wrong. (It's a big box). When I got more familiar with glass fusing I looked around for a coloured glass that met my requirements and settled on Bullseye. The colours are so rich and vibrant. Here's an example of a few pieces of my Bullseye glass stash. My favourite colours are red (of course), vanilla, lime green, orange, amber, black and turquoise. Bullseye isn't the cheapest glass and all ambers, oranges and reds are the most expensive because of the gold content. So I have been looking around for a more competitive supplier. I have to weigh up my fuel costs against postage costs and it is definitely more cost effective to order glass by post than to travel to the warehouse I usually go to. The most competitive UK Bullseye supplier has to be www.warm-glass.co.uk where I already buy my dichroic glass. The new site is easy to navigate and they stock such a huge range of Bullseye colours that I am reeling from the choice. I'm going to have to make a purchase soon as I want to make dishes in chocolate and blue opal glass. I can even save glass I like in my Wish List so that I can go away and think about it before I commit to buy. If anyone wants to buy me a present from Warm-glass I would like the book "Contemporary Warm Glass" by Brad Walker. Thanks!

Carrick Bay

Last year we wnt to Scotland for our holidays and stayed at Carrick Bay on the Solway Coast. It was beautiful and so peaceful, with the mountains sweeping down to the sea and the little bays with birds and deer and rabbits. I took some photos of the beach and the skies and, on our return, made some sketches of the pebbles and rocks.



From these I designed four glass dishes in amber, brown and grey on vanilla with a touch of dichroic glass in each one.
These dishes have now been listed on Etsy and are for sale at $25 each. I have made two sets, although they will never look exactly the same, therefore they are unique. The second set are at Shaw Galleries in Skipton, UK.






I really enjoyed making them but I won't be making them again. I'm now interested in the seaweed photos that I took so I will be exploring this idea in glass.


www.glassprimitif.etsy.com
www.shawgalleries.co.uk

Hearts of glass

Before Valentine's Day Shaw Galleries asked me to make some heart shaped pendants. Yikes! I anticipated that the shapes would be very difficult to cut but, after a bit of practise, I really enjoy making these now. These ones are Bullseye chips placed between a clear and vanilla glass heart. Unfortunately, if I don't get them right the first time, they lose their shape in the kiln when re-fired (top left pendant) and become triangles. I also make these in dichroic glass. (See below). Hearts of Glass now showing at Shaw Galleries in Skipton North Yorks UK www.shawgalleries.co.uk and also at www.glassprimitif.etsy.com

Is anyone thinking anything at all???!!!

"I know I had something to say

It lost its meaning and it faded away....."

Funky Fish

I make a selection of glass fish from scraps of glass. The glass nuggets are fused in the kiln before I place them on the fish so that they form a blob rather than fusing flat. I start off by cutting out a paper template and drawing round it onto the glass, using a permanent marker pen. Once I have cut the basic shape I then grind it into a better shape. Then the fun part is sorting through my spare glass to decide on colours and decorative shapes. I really enjoy cutting glass, the more awkward the shape, the better the challenge. Grinding large pieces is boring but shaping difficult pieces such as hearts is very satisfying. Once everything is shaped, washed and dried, I put it all together with touches of Elmers Glue. I fuse the hanging wire between two pieces of glass to secure it. Then into the kiln for fusing. The exciting part is taking the glass out when the kiln has cooled to see what I have got. I have three fish designs at the moment, Submarine, Flounder and Tiddler. I'm not particularly fascinated by fish, but they sure are fun to make!
A selection of tiddlers are available in my Etsy shop.

The Angels Want To Wear My Red Shoes

"I won't get any older now the angels want to wear my red shoes" Elvis Costello

I bought these jelly shoes today in Schuh! How could I resist?

Fishes on Dishes

These dishes are made from Bullseye glass and are on sale at the Arts Factory, Cavendish Street, Keighley, West Yorkshire BD21 3DF. They measure 5" square and come in bright, funky colours. They can be used for sushi, canapes, candy or just as something cheerful for the coffee table. They cost £15 sterling or $28 with postage of £3 for UK buyers, $6.50 for overseas. Contact the Arts Factory on 01535 618554 or email: joanna.whitehead@keighley.ac.uk.

When I started fusing glass I experimented with a variety of glass until I decided that Bullseye was the glass for me. The colours are brilliant - my favourites are vanilla opal, red irridescent and turquoise. Unfortunately, it's an expensive glass but you get the quality that you pay for. I buy my Bullseye colours from Decorative Glass Supplies in Bradford. This is a huge warehouse stacked full of glass and glass making supplies. Makes include Bullseye, Spectrum and all the glass you need for stained glass.

RED sushi dish

Glass Mosaic Sushi Dish - measures 4 1/2" square. Made from Bullseye glass in red, black, orange and amber placed onto vanilla. All glass cut, fused and polished at the Glassprimitif studio. Email me for further details.