New kiln has arrived

I bought a huge Skutt kiln so I can make bigger projects.  It is about 3 times the size of my original kiln.  The electricians will be here on Thursday to put in a dedicated 220 circuit for it.  I haven't even taken it out of the box yet, so I'm really excited to see what my new toy looks like.  Anyone have a yearning for a large fused glass item?  Let me know.  I can't wait to see how many strange and unusual things hop out of my new kiln.

Just Kiln Time

My hugh Skutt kiln arrived today.  Now I can create really big stuff--plates, platters, bowls, sinks, glass people, weird things.  I've got a little creation in the pint-sized kiln right now.  I'm feeling good enough today to be out in the sunshine and resting and reading.

Saint Andrews bowl (with fault)

Well, the best laid plaid sometimes goes awry.  The plaid bowl I made cracked down the middle and fell into two pieces during the cooling cycle.  Argh!  Not to be daunted, I put it back in the kiln, inside the mold instead of over the upside down mold, and re-fired it to see what would happen.  I hoped to have it slump to the center of the mold and that gravity would force the cracked sides to meet and melt together.  I got my wish, partially.  It looks like an earthquake fault runs through it.  The heat fused the two ends of the crack, and left the middle open.  Not very useful as a bowl, but still, intriguing looking.  The sides of the bowl, which were actually quite symmetric, decided to flop over the edges of the mold, giving the piece a very "hanky" look.  Plaid glass hanky?  Wow.  I can't really name this "San Andreas Fault" because it's plaid--rather Scottish looking, so I'll just call it The Saint Andrews Bowl.  After all, Edinburgh, Scotland is situated on an extinct volcano, and San Andreas is Spanish for St. Andrew (I think...).  And there you have it.  Ta-DAH!!!

Time out for chemotherapy

I had my first 1/2 round of chemo yesterday so I'm not going to work on the glass much this week.  Probably won't work much next week either, since I have the other 1/2 on Monday.  The plaid fused plate is ready to slump into a bowl, after I grind down the edges so it won't sag under the edges of the mold.  I need to keep a good eye on this project.  A lot of time was spent putting it together and I don't want it to break when it's time to release it from the mold.

This is where plaid happens

Soon-to-be plaid bowl

Where the magic happens!

Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.

My latest attempt at bowl making failed.  Cracked down one side during cooling.  Could it be that I am not supposed to slump on the outside of the mold, only on the inside?  This one was a Miro style design on clear glass, using glass paint and different colors of frit to make a cubist painting in primary colors.  Once it fused it looked like it had been done by a 3 year old, in crayon!  Nice if you like that sort of thing.  Frit is hard to work with.  It is crushed glass, the consistency of sugar granules, which goes everywhere when you sneeze!

Finished two more dishes

The two little "icy-look" dishes turned out well.  They have clear aqua blue "frames" around them, fused onto clear glass with dichro on clear centers.  5"x5" price per pair is $60.00 or $35 for one.  Use them to hold dipping oil at your next dinner party.

The clear dichroic glass shows well here.

Two blue ice 5"x5" dishes.