01 October 2010

musings on the first

the first of october is a special day in our house - it is both my mom's and my brother's birthday... 


these are for my mom - as you know, she lost her sister last friday and her mom this spring...




and then there are firsts...


'if at first, the idea is not absurd,
then there is no hope for it.'
~ albert einstein

emily works at a glass blowing studio, but she hadn't ever blown glass... the artists who work there have generally gone to college to learn how... some have even studied in other countries... and they too, take classes around the country... 

this weekend though, em took a 10 hr. glassblowing class... needless to say, she is hooked... bad... in the best kind of way, of course... we all know that wonderful feeling... she has a visual journal now... dreams about it, talks about it... it's nice... 

so now there are two very distracted females walking around the house, thinking of things that they can make (and none of those things include dinner!)


these are her first glasses... she gets it... she can see a finished design and understand the steps it takes to create it... she has a good grasp of her medium... em has been at the studio for over a year... and i think that really made a difference... she was able to mix colors and swirl them with the foreknowledge of what would happen... 




the boys already want to start interning there...


and here is some progress with my first patina-ting of metal... i bought matte permalac... 


cars and i are both installed with an ABS... cars have an anti-lock braking system... i have an anti-shine braking system...  it is an absolutely knee-jerk response... if there is a way for me to remove shine, i do it... almost as soon as i started doing enameling, i found a way to etch it...  give me metal, i antique it...


so matte is good - but i don't want flat and unattractive... have to see what the wax layer adds... 




but i do love this process!

13 comments:

  1. Nice work, both the blown glass and your patinas... great. I was very attracted to glass blowing when I was at the Rhode Island School of Design,
    but since I was there in the graduate program for painting, I didn't get to take a class! Oh well, I might have gone in so many other creative directions..... but I do love painting as well.

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  2. Oh yeah, Emily totally GETS it. I loooove those glasses! And don't worry about the wax. It doesn't
    add a shine so much as just a finished look. Hope you like it.

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  3. Actually, I missed the part about the Permalac. I use Renaissance Wax and really like it. Let us know how the Permalac works.

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  4. Love your patina-reports. I bought the tutorial and I plan to order some of the patinas, too! So please keep going:-)

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  5. We have the Corning Hot Glass tutorial truck coming to our local university next week. I am so excited to see a demo of glass blowing on Wednesday. Cheers to Em for finding a passion so early in life! May she blossom and grow in this new direction.
    Enjoy the day!
    Erin

    P.S. Thanks for the thoughts on the patina tute. I bought it and think it might work, have you tried it on your etched metal yet? I haven't gone so far as to get the patinas but that is next on my list!

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  6. Happy birthdays! Em's glass is fantastic! I just did some patina work yesterday and finishing up today. To me the wax adds a beautiful finish. A little depth and a nice feel. I'll post stuff later.

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  7. Who needs dinner anyway! I think that is so great that she is interested in a craft, glass to me is amazing! Her first projects are just wonderful!

    I look forward to start using Shannon's techniques, and I enjoy reading about your process. On another note....I just saw your lovely earrings in Belle Armoire, congrats on yet another fabulous publication!

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  8. Oooh...look how cool your patinating is coming out! Love it! And on the not wanting to make dinner thing? That's why I keep Pizza Hut on speed dial ;-)

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  9. Oh, how cool Em is learning about glass. What a fun art form! Her glasses are beautiful especially that green one. Good luck with the patinas. It looks like they are coming out nicely.

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  10. Wishing your Mom a special day dear friend. She certainly is having an emotional time right now I am sure. Today is also special for me - it is my son's birthday. We visited tonight with the grand babe so that they could go out to diner.

    The glasses are lovely - a wonderful first effort and your metal work is amazing - talent is your middle name!

    Vicki

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  11. Hugs for your mom.
    Love the glasses Em has blown - and am totally glad she has found something she can be passionate about.
    Looking forward to seeing what you do with the patinas - they are so fascinating. And I totally get the anti-shine...

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  12. First, love the flower.s

    Second, I've done glass blowing and YES it's addictive! I love what she did -- AWESOME work!

    And your patina-ing (not sure what the right word is?) is terrific!

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  13. Mary Jane, Thanks for sending me your blog. Your work is beautiful. Just as part of your journey is to make things, mine is to gather and collect the things that you and others may turn into your wonderful creations. There is and old piece of wisdom that I was taught - "Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without" Enjoy your journey!

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