Combing

When learning a process it think there is a natural progression that takes place.  For example, when you want to learn how to play guitar, you start out with some chords that are simple to play.  Usually this would be the C, G, & D chords.  As you play them, random begins to turn into something recognizable, such as a song.  Soon by adding timing and rhythm you learn that those same chords can play a thousand songs.   When you get good you add distortion (on electric guitar) which is often defining of the genre, or even your artistic voice.

I think the same holds true for other art forms such as glass fusing.  You start by melting simple colors together,  sometimes randomly and sometimes with purpose.  As you get better you get more precise.  You make colorful scenes, flowers, plates and bowls.  I like to do "strip bowls," placing strips of glass next to each other to make predictable pattern.  Now I have added distortion..

This is called "Combing," which is exactly what you do.  It is nothing that I thought of, in fact, an entire class has been dedicated to it at the Glass Expo for the last several years.  It is taught by Janine Stillman and I would recommend her class.

Combing involves creating a pattern using colored glass (usually repeating strips), damming them together in your kiln (so it maintains thickness), heating the glass to about 1700 degrees F., and then dragging a tool through the hot glass to create patterns (Janine sells a tool to do this).  When I have done this in the past, I have tended to be very aggressive with the comb.  More is better?

Not always....

For this piece I used the strips left over from making the other bowls on this page and just lightly ran the tool through the glass.  The result (as well as the color selection) ended up looking like the Japanese Pagodas we saw in Kyoto..  Karen saw this before I did, but I named the piece Kyoto.

 

The great thing about Combing is that when you do it the glass is white hot, flowing and you must rely on your memory, because your design is often invisible until the glass is too cool to comb.  It is difficult to not be aggressive.  In this series I tried to keep in mind that a little goes a long way.

I am also working on my photographic skills trying different angles and lighting techniques.

This bowl I call "Gulf Stream"

I intend to continue with this series trying different colors, patterns, and combing strategies.

Color Study

Before my color revelations,  I need to share my newest screen melt piece.  Yes, I am kind of blown away by it!  The bowl is about 12" across and 1/2" thick.  The melt was cut-up re-assembled then refused and slumped.  The picture was taken in a photography class dedicated to glass, at the Expo in Las Vegas.

Color is one of the most important elements in art.  I think that glass art is fairly unique in that the average artist only has a limited color selection, which is determined by the glass manufacturers based upon demand, and of course what they are able to produce.  Reds for example are very limited in hue and tint because of manufacturing processes, yet there are an amazing array of blues.

I have always had a problem with color, not so much that I don't understand it, but because I am constantly second guessing my selections.  I have several color wheels, color selection programs on my computer, ipad and so on.  When I was at Cal State Channel Islands I took the 101 color theory class and studied Johnnes Itten and his student Josef Albers.

Looking at Albers after taking an unrelated class at the Glass expo in Las Vegas, I got the idea to make color swatches using the various color combinations that were available to me.  This is pretty much what Albers and Itten before him did.

 

Since some of the colors slightly after fusing, I labeled the back of each swatch or tile so I would be able to identify the glass used for the background as well as the center square.  This is a process that also satisfies my OCD requirement...

Sometimes there are chemical reactions that take place between two different colors once fused in the kiln.  This turned out to be a side benefit to this project.  While these reactions are generally positive, giving you a "Wow" moment when you open the kiln, I guess it would be good to know in advance that this was going to happen...

This has become an ongoing project which has produced some interesting color combinations...

Making all the possible combinations will take time, but is a good use of scraps, and the corners that remain when you cut a circle out of a square piece of glass.  I hope to fill the gaps as I produce art, using the scraps from each piece to create a new tile.  This sound a bit like what quilters and fiber artists do....

I think  this process will help me in making color choices in the future.  The tiles allow me try the different color wheel palates.  Plus the tiles feel so good in your hand.

Southern California

The weather in Southern California has been so wonderful the past week.  High-70's but a great ocean breeze.  Just right for working in my garage, that is studio.  I have gone back to my own basic's, making strip bowls.  I am pretty happy with these results.

My favorites from this batch is the first on with the squares, and the last one with is sort of a weave.

The 12th Twelve

I spent quite a bit of time trying to work up the nerve to finish the Glass Twelve Series, because the final tribute piece was for Karen.  Since I had only met 3 of the Twelve's, the process of picking which piece to tribute from each of the eleven women was based more on my preference for an individual piece, and my own self confidence in being able to do it justice.  But deciding which of Karen's pieces to interpret in glass presented its own unique personal challenge, but also an opportunity I did not have with the other eleven plates.


While I surely have some preferences among Karen's twenty-four "Twelve" pieces, in my prejudiced eyes, Karen's work is so special it was difficult for me to pick among them.  Ultimately, my tribute to Karen, would have to be her tribute to the Twelve's.

After studying the photos I had taken of the art quilt, I realized that Karen still had in her studio many of the actual tools, stencils, and letter stamps that she had used when making the original piece.  My challenge was therefore to use them with glass frits to try and reproduce her design elements.  I also decided to experiment with copper foil to create the twelve women.

I added thickness to the piece using coarse ultra-clear frit, which I carefully placed to try and avoid moving the copper ladies, which I had stuck to the glass with a glue stick.

 

The whole thing was then fused, and cooled over about 18 hours, then "coldworked" to make nice edges, and finally cooked again for another 18 hours to slump the piece into a plate.

And..........

 

"Ted, you had a great day!"

When bad things happen in the studio, I like to rationalize by saying "Well, today I learned something."  So yesterday I learned something....

I am in fact in a learning process.  This piece was my second screen melt.  I have been very precise in my setups, and have written down, and photographed the entire process.  Like the first melt, this 12 x 12 sheet of glass was about 1/2" thick on one end and about 1/4" on the other.  This is probably the reason the glass broke when I tried to slump it into a plate.  After about an hour of depression, I decided to level my kiln.  With the help of my "fiber goddess," I did just that.

For my third screen melt I decided to change to a 14" x 14" square.  The reason for this was to help me achieve a 1/4" thickness using the glass data that I calculated on the first two.  I am also experimenting with some kind of standard kiln setup.

 

I also adjusted the melting cycles based on the first two melts, therefore violating the "make one change at a time rule," but why not live in the fast lane.

24 hours later....... Crusader and Rags open the kiln to find.....

And the back side....

Blown away!

Took this upstairs to show Karen. Besides the customary pat on the head, she proclaimed, "Ted, you had a great day!

P.S.  The glass was and even 1/4" thick!

Note to readers...  If you are under 55 years old, you might want to Google "Crusader & Rags"

Back in the Studio

Thanksgiving has come and gone.  This year was very special as we had all of our children home for the first time in over a year.  We also had two grandchildren as well.  Feel patriarchal for the first time!  But now that it is over Karen and I have both taken sanctuary in our individual studios.

I recently read an article about screen melts.  This is where you can use your scraps and melt them at about 1600 degrees F., and create a new and hopefully interesting piece of glass that can be used in future projects.  I have a lot of scrap glass to work with!

This is only a small fraction of my scrap inventory.  I need to use some of it or buy more Costco Mixed Nuts.   Anyway, using an online "Pot Melt Calculator," I determined that I needed about 1800 grams of glass which I measured out on my old Weight Watchers scale....

Next I had to build an apparatus out of kiln furniture to place the stainless steel screen on .....

Which I now filled with glass...

 

Just a note about the worthiness of blogs, or at least of keeping a journal...  This morning I was setting up for a second melt and forgot how I built the original setup.  Fortunately I had the above pictures and didn't have to reinvent (which is what I usually do).  

I took a quick look when the kiln was up to temperature, and you can see that the glass has melted through the screen down to the kiln shelf where I had created a 12 x12 (can't get it out of my system) dam.

Below is the final product.... 

It is a nice piece of glass which I can now cut up and re-use.  You will note that I did not have enough glass to fill the square.  In today's test I added about 1/3rd more glass.  We will see what happens.

The Power of Twelves

Blogging is a bit like having to cut the grass.  It provides exercise, contributes to making your home beautiful, has color, and can be a creative endeavor.  However it must be done on a regular basis.  If you don't, eventually people lose interest, or even worse, feel that they are wasting their time walking down your block.   Like cutting the grass it must be done.  Only when you stop doing it do you realize why it must me done.   Eliminating the grass is one solution....

Our Front Yard

However, over the last several day's Twelve wonderful women (and their followers), have demonstrated to me the value of the blog.  I suddenly find myself to be invigorated.  I feel that I need to create and communicate.  In just the past few days the number of hits to this blog has jumped to numbers I never knew possible.  This is more about the Power of the Twelves then it is about any interest in my work.  Nevertheless, I am suddenly outside cutting my lawn... it feels good, smells good, and seems worthwhile doing.  I don't like New Years resolutions because they are rarely kept, so I won't resolve to blog on a regular basis.  But it is my intention right now to do so, to hold your interest, and make you want to walk down my street.

The Twelves Plates

On the off chance that someone not associated with the Twelves has stumbled into the re-birthing of this blog site, I will direct you to check out their story at...

The Original Three

 

 

When Karen and I decided to go to Paris, she kept asking how far Belgium was from Paris.  I told her that nothing is very far in Europe, and asked what is in Belgium? She answered in one word... Françoise.

To make a long story short (not something I am known for), Françoise and her husband Roland decided to meet us in Paris. What do you bring someone in Paris? A bottle of California wine? A set of mouse ears from Disneyland? I really don't remember who thought of it, but what could be more personal than a piece of glass art inspired by her fabric art. At that time Brenda had created a matrix of which Twelves had met, and Karen hoped that the time would come when she had met you all. Thus, we/she decided that when she met a Twelve for the first time, she would give them a plate to remember her by.  Of course the first meetings were with Françoise, Terry, and Gerrie. I didn't consider that I would be making another eight plates at one time!

As to this plate... I am glad Françoise noticed the twelve dots, and that they are somewhat geographically located. Also, the groups are connected representing that you are all tied together. On a technical note, if you look at where the blues and reds meet the yellows you will see an outline. This is due to a chemical reaction when the glass is melted. It is a reaction that I was aware of but had forgotten about. Serendipity!

 

Karen and I, along with our daughter Val and her husband were in Portland for the wedding of our niece. It was New Years day and Karen had set up a breakfast meet with her "Twelve" friends Gerrie and Terry. The restaurant was around the corner from our hotel. Karen said that we were on our own for breakfast. The three of us were a little put out and decided to go to the restaurant anyway but to sit across the room and put a napkin or something in front of our faces whenever Karen looked our way. We really wanted to have three of the "nose, mustache, eyeglasses" masks. At the end of breakfast Karen introduced us. Since then we have broken bread together on a number of occasions, both in Portland and once in Santa Barbara. Both have great husbands, whom I consider to be friends.

I have always liked this art quilt, both for it's simplicity and for the complex mathematical concepts that it represents. I believe that all the answers in the universe can be found within the circle, square, triangle, and their variations. The same can be said of colors, as well as musical notes.

This was my earliest attempt to try and simulate the beautiful stitching and texture that is available in fiberart.   While I was satisfied with the product at the time,  I never actually liked this effort.  It did not do any justice to the original created by Terry.  While I did create a bit of depth in this piece, the effort was not my best so I felt compelled to represent another of her pieces in glass...

Much better......

So much for now.  Thank you for visiting.

Ted