Carollers at the Gallery 809 Holiday Open House

Wanted to share this wonderful moment at Gallery 809 when the Christmas carollers stopped by and filled the place with voice and song!

Project Angel Heart

Finally finished my mosaic panel that is one of 16 that will be installed as part of the Project Angel Heart mural in Denver, Colorado.  It is a rendering of a place setting (plate, tea cup, silverware, etc...) on a table.  It is 18" sq. on mesh.  Glad to have that one off of my list of many to do's.  The holidays haven't even started and I am already overwhelmed.  Next. Kenny and Paula's art auction piece for their fundraiser......

Painting with Glass (Frit Painting)

It has finally arrived!!!!!  I actually feel really, really good about a piece! The picture doesn't do it justice, I promise.

This is a larger wall piece done in Bullseye clear, opals and frit glass. It was created under the study of  Donna Serafis* at Dancing Light Fused Glass Art Studio.

 *"Autumn Pathways" is an interpretative artwork completed during a Dancing Light Fused Glass Art Studios workshop-October 2011.

Featured Glass Exhibit at the Gallery

I am the featured artist at Gallery 809 this month and have created an exhibit entitled "Pattern Bars and Bowls".  The exhibit is a study in numerous glass techniques, including pattern bars and slabs, pot melts, mica inclusions, combing, and murini tubes.  The exhibit will run through the month of September with a special glass demonstration on Friday, 9/9 from 5-8 pm.

Ridgway Rendezvous - "Best in Glass"

I attended the Ridgway Rendezvous again this year and was completely surprised and delighted to have been awarded "Best in Glass" this year!  I displayed my series of bowls that are to be part of my Featured Artist event at the Gallery 809 in September and they brought that first place ribbon home!  The show was great as always.  I love the relaxed and casual environment--wish I could move my studio there.....

Fused Glass Realism

I am beginning to make some real progress in fused glass realism.  This is a 9" x 17" panel using vitrigraph glass stinger for the tree branches and cut glass for the wisteria leaves and flowers.  The water was done in blue aventurine and aqua blue irid with the pink crystal opal moon in shadow in white wispy. It was completed in 5 firings at different temps. It is currently on exhibit at the CCAH, Carbondale Third Street Center for the Arts, for the month of June. 

Celtic Pique Assiette Birdbath

 I completed the commissioned pique assiette concrete birdbath today.  The client had requested that the birdbath be in concrete because of the local deer and that it be in warm autumn colors with a celtic theme.  This posed a bit of a challenge since celtic is often in cool colors but I was able to make it work.  The base has three celtic trinity symbols in glass, while the bowl's focal is the celtic cross with four porcelain cross tiles about the center.

Pique Assiette Antique Washstand

After nearly 2 months of work, I have finally finished the antique washstand.  I completed the fused bowl first and then worked the glass and ceramic design around the basin theme.  It is all that I first imagined when I saw it tucked away in the dusty corner of the antique store.  It does amaze me sometime how our mind's eye can see what can become with a little creativity, hard work and love.

Organic Slump Mold from Creative Paradise

My organic slump mold from Creative Paradise finally arrived and the results are just--WOW!  I knew I had to have it when I saw it in Vegas.  I used bejeweled frit mix, vitigraph stringers, millefiori and iridized frit for the flowers.  This is a donated piece for the local CEC chapter for their spring fundraiser.

Japanese Style Sushi Plate Set

This week I completed a 4 piece place setting of Japanese Sushi dinner plates and rice bowls with matching chopsticks. Each plate is banded in differing warm colors and all included a cyan/red dichroic swirl.  These were done using Sys96 glass and Slumpy's Jumping Jill splash molds.

Geometric Roll Up Vessels

The roll ups arrived from Washington last week.  This is my favorite.  The piece is a heart-shaped vase consisting of four layer-glass in plum, ivory, yellow and orange opals in various patterns topped with a fluted neck.  Thank you Ryan Staub Glass (http://www.ryanstaub.com) for producing the wonderful and graceful shape.

Memories of Briarcliff

 

I always try and keep the good memories about a place with me when I go.  I miss my three deer who would bed down in the zoysia grass under the oak grove, the majestic Texas oak tree with the swing in the front yard and my prolific clematis vines forever weaving through the horse fence along the drive.  I did this triptych to try and capture those images in glass. 

The piece was done through multiple firings, building layers of glass to create depth and dimension.  I assembled over 150 pieces for each of the three panels.  The base layer was create at a full fuse, including the tree, swing, fence and millefiori ground.  I then fired the vines to a tack fuse using stringers made from vitrigraph.  Finally, the flowers, made from cut glass, powder and stringers, were added to the vines and re-fused to a contour fuse to create the soft rounded edges. Here's to the celebration of spring!

This piece has been entered into the Glass Art Festival at Delphi Glass at http://www.delphiglass.com/gallery/store_viewItem?gid=11720.  It also hangs in the Gallery 809 in Glenwood Springs, CO.

PieceMaker's Winter Mosaic Challenge--Get Out the Vote!

Palisade Stained Glass Art's Interpretation of "Feathers"

If you enjoy stunning mosaic art, please visit the PieceMaker's website and vote for your favorite mosaic piece.  The theme for the challenge was "feathers" interpretation.  Click on the link and go vote! http://piecemakersmosaics.blogspot.com/

My Gallery Wall

Still working on filling my gallery wall and floor space but at least it looks like something now.  I can tell how much I am going to enjoy working at the gallery.  All of the artists are such lovely people and talent galore! 

Mosaics for the 809 Gallery

I completed two mosaics for the 809 Gallery. 

Red Opal Glass with Photo Paper and Frit Poppies

I love working with photo fusing paper.  I used photo fusing paper to build the backdrop for the frit painting.  After 4 firings, it came out really well.  I love the texture of the frit when it is taken to a tack/contour fuse before slumping.  

Mountains and String Glass

 

I added a twist to an old favorite--string glass made from the vitrigraph kiln.  I added it to the clear space to mimic a textured matting around the painted glass.

Valentine's Day with Jewelry Boxes

I am doing a series of cast glass jewelry boxes using the Colour de Verre molds.  They are turning out fabulously and I hope they will sell well at the 809 Gallery in Glenwood Springs.  I have also added some dicro COE96 embellishments for charm and interest.

Back to Mosaics

A return to mosaics--A pique assiette antique red table with two finished platforms in roosters and feathers.  The color scheme is red, green and yellows with ceramic roosters, daisies and glass beetle embellishments.  It was finished in ivory grout.  This was done for a mosaic challenge with Etsy's PeaceMaker's Mosaics Team.

Royal Glass and Dichroic Accents

I am liking the new Royal Glass that Delphi Glass has come out with.  I backed it with black wispy so that light still passes through, then capped the center with opaque black with dichro squares. 

Roll Up Panels

The three roll up panels are ready to ship to the Ryan Staub Studios in Seattle, Washington.  I can't wait for these three ducklings to be transformed into swans.

The Gallery 809 in Glenwood Springs

I have been accepted into the fine arts Gallery 809 in Glenwood Springs!  I will start exhibiting in early February and hope to have a full display up by the beginning of March.  Very excited--can't wait!

Combed Glass in White Wispy and Millefiori

I finally incorporated the combed glass from the workshop into a shallow bowl.  I used 2 layers of white wispy glass perpendicular to each other topped woth a clear cap.  I then added lafayette mix 96 millefiori glass as a border.  It is slightly slumped as to not detract from the combed glass.

Working with Other Techniques

Another fused paper, frit casting with geneva stripes.  This time I used a converted photo (into a line drawing) of purple columbine as my subject.

Red-tailed Hawk Fused

It came out so much better than I had hoped.  Like other artists, I constantly struggle to appreciate my own work, always finding the flaws and little things that didn't turn out exactly as planned.  This piece, however, is as close to "YES" as it gets.  The layering, the texture, and color all look right.   Now to fire polish and slump.  YES!

Copper Embellished Glass Framed in Black Stripes

I made time to do a piece using copper mica painted glass.  I used a thin black base topped with the copper glass.  I then alternated black and clear strips in two perpendicular layers to create a 3D appearance.  I hope to do more experimenting with micas because of love the rich and elegant look.  (Tough to photograph though!)

Iridized Gold on Black with Dicro Accents

I love this gold-tinted iridized black glass.  Blends wonderfully with dichroic on black accents and yellow strips.

Fusing Stacked Mosaics--The Hawk

Red-Tailed Hawk Fused Mosaic Panel

Normally I would not show a piece as it was being built but this has been such an interesting WIP that I thought I would post a before and after.  I have been building the piece for 3 days now and have only to fill the gaps with frit before I fire it.  It is a stacked mosaic, consisting of two base layers of sky blue and clear with two to three layers stacked to define the bird and tree.  I have also used rods cut on end for the leaves with bits and stingers to define the aspen tree. 

I will post the fused panel in a couple of days to show the result.