Saying Goodbye

I started kiln firing glass in 2010/2011 when I was on Taxotere, a chemotherapy for metastatic breast cancer, which was awful stuff.  Now, at the end of 2013 the kilns will get removed tomorrow along with  the molds, shelf paper, glass paint my cutting system and anything I run across that will be used by either Carla Koehler or Susan Briggs Huffman.  It is like saying goodbye to the perfect lover.  The cancer is getting the best of my energy, and I feel listless and unable to create,knowing that I will be leaving for parts unknown into assisted living.  That's life for some.  Maybe I can buy a small kiln once I get there and teach warm glass fusing for a while.  No stained glass either.  So, this is farewell for now.  Thanks for staying with me for a few good years.

 Today I made a fountain for Phil's birthday.  I used dichroic rainbow glass for the base and topped it with clear.  After it fused the dichro "crinkled" and gave a really neat texture to the bowl. I used the green leaves in the center.  This was the first attempt to make a leaf platter (it failed in the slumping mode) so I used E6000 epoxy to put it together.  Recycling is The Deal.

I have a 10" circular wrought iron stand the base will sit on, and I will get some pretty rocks to put under the leaves to add dimension and perhaps change the sound.

The sound of the water falling is soft and not really noticeable.  Adding rocks will change that.  The pump is submersible and has a dial to increase or decrease the intensity of the flow.

If you want one of these, let me know.  They run about $300.00 plus shipping.

If you are a stained glass artist and don't have a rebar bender, you should think about investing in one. They cost around $100.00 and they are well worth the price. Without one I would not have been able to reinforce this window along the curved lead lines of my design.

Some of the angles are extremely tight. The zinc rebar is very strong and nearly impossible to bend without either heating it with a torch (you can also use friction by pressing down hard against the flat side of the bar and passing it back and forth against the edge of your work bench--time consuming!) or using a bender.

 I have built a stained glass window to fit in a transom above a front door. The house is a Victorian shotgun style in Louisville, KY.

A window this long and narrow needs reinforcement in several places. I used my rebar bender to curve zinc rebar to fit the design, and then soldered the rebar to the lead in several places. I am caulking around the lead lines using Dap window glazing compound, and then cleaning the surface with whiting to remove left over caulking. I will let the window sit overnight until the caulking hardens, and then I will take a sharpened stick and remove any overflow extending past the edges of the lead.

I'm thinking Christmas

Day of the Dead--cat coaster

Crashing boar?

I thought I was going to work on etching glass this week. Somehow this boar got in the way and I ended up painting him (or her) on glass and then he/she landed on a 9" x 12" x 1" plate. Boar isn't just for Thanksgiving anymore.

I used Glassline paint this time, instead of the usual Reusche brand because I wanted to get on with etching and get the boar out of my head. I sandwiched 90 coe cobalt blue frit between two pieces of 90 coe clear, the top layer of clear was painted. Fused all of it in one firing at 1460 dF and then slumped it into a plate mold at 1260 dF.

$50.00 for the perfect Christmas gift for the hunter in your life. Can you say NRA?