Balancing act

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The many things I do not understand...

I will limit this post to glass fusing, Not to the mysteries of the universe, time travel, love, child raising, gardening, politics, global warming, healthcare reform......

I am primarily a mosaic artist working in vitreous glass tile, ceramic tile, plates and various other found objects. But I like to experiment with everything. For the last several years I have been teaching myself glass fusing. I work with bullseye glass Coe of 90. I like the company, love their website all their fact sheets, videos and artist gallery and the glass itself is wonderful to work with great colors and so many possibilities.

What I have found repeatedly BUT not every time is if I attempt to fire a piece for the second time it often explodes, case in point.








I added a little more black glass paint (glassline) to some areas then added a clear piece of bullseye glass and fired it according to my previous firing schedule. ( which I won't go into unless you want to know) When I opened the kiln this is what I saw. Busted superhero!








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The extra piece of glass made my drawing line much clearer, just like I wanted. But the expansion of the glass and the breaking of the glass... Not so much... I need to spend some time with the books and see if there is an answer... I suspect I need to slow the firing w a y down. My total firing time has been approximately 15 hours, ramping up at 250 per hour up to 1450.

The lesson is slow down and keep reading ...

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Obsession, perhaps?

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And it's kind of lost in translation.... Dang! Seeing it live you can see more details but lots of it are lost... So close and yet so far. Back to the drawing board and the kiln....

Superheroes again!

Ok here I go again
This one is painted on top and in-between and many layers of glass underneath ... I know what does this mean?
It means I am still playing still trying to figure this all out..
Here is the result




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Repairs and Reparations

Life is often complicated there always seems to be one thing or another. Family, health, money or some pain I may have caused someone or may have been done to me.

The past two days I have had to work on a repair of one of my sculptures that lives in Minneapolis at the Midtown Global Market. Once a year for the past 5 years I get called to make a repair. It is a bittersweet experience I go feeling sad and guilty and that I did not build it well enough to withstand all the touching these piece get daily. Yet every time I am there people approach me and tell me how much they like these figures. This makes it all worth while, no one has ever scolding me for bad craftsmanship or said anything negative. I built these sculptures for the people that live, work and shop at Midtown I want them to interact with them, which means touching and maybe climbing on them so I will be back next year.

I am blessed and so grateful for all of the love I receive, through my artwork, and through my shop. I am also grateful for the experiences I have had even when they are painful to me, for I grow stronger for the experience.

love and gratitude



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When less is more

My usual style is to pile as many colors, textures and patterns into a piece as possible. I am trying something quieter



Glass paint, frit, bullseye glass, and patience....




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Why superheroes?

Myth is the secret opening through which the inexhaustible energies of the cosmos pour into human cultural manifestation. Religions, philosophies, arts, the social forms of primitive and historic man, prime discoveries in science and technology, the very dreams that blister sleep, boil up from the basic, magic ring of myth.

Joseph Campbell, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, 1949







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The black glass paint ran and obliterated part of her face. I like the back side the best.

To be continued...


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Superhero series begins!

I have always wanted to be a superhero... kind of scary and lots of responsibility.. trying to save the world

these are the first glass pieces in this series, of course the are not what I had hoped they would be, but thats okay. I will keep trying and one is the reverse side of the other, I like the reverse the best! they are 5 x 6 and 5 x 7-  any tips on glass fusing always welcome! thanks

Playing with glass

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