It's done

Here are a few picture of the final project. The edges turned out ok with just a simple fire polish. I do want to get some cold working tools that will make the edges look more tidy. 

What colours should I try next?

First checker and strip project progress

Here is how my project is progressing
First her is my plan for the project. This step really helped me know how many pieces I needed and how big to cut each one,

Next I cut all the pieces and washed each one. 

I put the first layer in the order that I wanted, then flipped all the pattern pieces face down, To help keep the line straight I have to fire the top of the patter face down. I will have to fire polish it after. This project will most likely have to go in the kiln 3-4 times. 

After the first layer, I put a layer of clear followed by a layer of white and one more layer of clear. There are a a few square that I used tranparent blue for all the layers. I hope to have light filter through those areas.  I find that I quite like the combination of colours! 

 This piece is going to be about 1/2 an inch thick. Way thicker than all my other projects. So far I have only done two layers of glass. This will be 4. I will have to slow down my kiln schedule and add time to the holds and annealing time. This will take about 14 hours in the kiln the first time around. I hope to have a finished project some time on Monday. Right now I have kiln primer drying on the kiln shelf. In the tutorial I am using for inspiration, Steve used kiln posts to dam his project. I do not have any kiln posts. Something I am putting on my wish list. I will be using fibre paper and other molds to stop the glass from spreading. Also, Steve using a lap sander to get the edges polished and even. Again I don't have that equipment, so I will be researching how I can achieve a similar look without  that equipement.

I can see the benefits of a good strip cutter. My squares are not perfect, so they  do not line up all that great. That is another item I have added to my wish list. I am thinking of using some of my earning from the sales of my Christmas ornaments to buy a strip cutter and over 80 square feet of glass.  I am also trying to decide what bowl mold I want to buy. The web site I normally order my supplies from doesn't have the mold I am looking for. I might have to take a trip to Edmonton and look in a few shops. 

Hopefully I will have some postive progress on this project to post! 

Complicated project

I have always admired the fused glass creations by Steve Immerman, check out his work at Clearwater Glass Studio. He is also a kind artist, as he has many tutorials on his site. He shares a ton of information about his projects and even how to recreate them.
I really like this bowl that he made. 

At the bottom of this page, Steve shares how he created this piece. Of course I will not copy this bowl but I plan on using it to inspire a small platter or plate. I have never done anything so complicated or detailed. This project will take some time to plan and draw out. I usually just go down to my studio and randomly put pieces of glass together and see what happens. This bowl is rather large at 20 inches. I don't have a mould that large, but some day would love to create pieces at that size. ( a similar mould is on my wish list)

Over the next few days or weeks, depending on how long it takes me, I will be posting my progress on my own project.

Any colour combination requests?

Finding time with baby

Baby is now 5 weeks old. I am starting to figure out his routine, or lack of one. I have only been able to find a bit of time here and there to make it down to my studio. I have been playing with my new circle cutter. I currently have a project in my kiln. I've had to play with temperatures to get the circles to fuse as I want. I should have a finished piece in the next couple of days.
I do plan of getting some spring type projects on the go soon. I also hope to get back to lampwork. Maybe I'll ask my hubby to watch the little boy for a bit so I can get some uninterrupted time.

I have also started a new blog that will focus on being a mommy and getting back in shape, I was very nervous making this blog as it's very personal. I decided to keep my glass blog and personal more separate. There is a link at the top of this page.


What spring items would you like to see? Sun catchers? Certain colour combinations? Let me know!!