Looking at Glass Enamel

My journey into becoming a visual artist with glass is presenting a world of opportunities.

 I am currently exploring ways of using my fusing and cutting skills with flat glass and mixing that up with my painting (not so skilled, ha ha) on watercolor on paper. My ideas of mixing the paper and glass have been in the beginning stages since I first thought of it in November of 2011. There was a brief period of 15 months before that when I was staying in a cabin on the Fox River in Wisconsin where I was mixing photography, painting and mixed media. I felt I needed a break from jewelry production and wanted to explore. These efforts looked something like this.

I had just gotten my new iphone 4 and started photographing the river and was coming up with some really great nature photos. I started seeing white sticks laying in piles next to the river and when I inspected them they had little teeth marks on them. The beavers were busy munching! I used these sticks and since I was close to Lake Michigan I started collection driftwood and rocks fromt he beach and was using them as well. These efforts I labeled as "netski artworks" and tried to sell them at farmers markets but they were a bit arty for that crowd. You can see more of them here.

So when I got back to Georgia in the summer of 2011 I kept up with my glass jewelry and kept thinking about the wall work. Then I was inspired by a friends fused glass work to put the glass on a surface and have it framed. That's what opened me up to mixing the glass with the painting. I started building these "faces" and sort of stuck with that for some time while I was getting used to the change. In the meantime I kept up the jewelry making and I still do. Hard to let go of a well established career and pieces I also love to make. Here is one of my early efforts.

Now I am moving into other designs that don't have faces on them and have even gotten into using words in my pieces. They are a lot of fun to make! Still, I have a desire to grow this idea and have been attracted to many other glass artists I have seen using glass and painting.

Most of these people are using glass ENAMELS which are crushed glass applied to the surface piece of glass. One of my very favorites I found on Facebook is an artist from Edinburgh Scotland named Rachel Elliot. I love her simplicity of designs and the fact that she used very cool shapes to enamel her patterns on. (which is another blog entry, water jet cut glass... but lets not go there now!)  Rachel is silk screening here patterns with glass enamel onto her shapes and firing them on. I really love the effect. Here is an example of her work and you can find her here.

Then through the Boston Society of Arts and Crafts page I discovered an artist who is just now opening a show at their gallery, Joseph Cavalieri, is showing his glass etchings and screen printed enamels. This just really started to get my head spinning about printing on glass. Which is what I had been thinking about anyway since I took silkscreen printing in college (UW Madison) with Professor Dean Meeker.  Here's Joe's work.

Of course, this is not a new thing, images on glass. It's age old all the way back into mediaeval times and the cathedral windows. Ever since I became aware of contemporary art glass I have been a huge fan of Judith Schaechter who is a stained glass artist extroadinaire! I must say though, her imagery is rather dark... which makes it so much more interesting! Check out her website!

 So all these possibilities have my interest in creating images on the glass and on the paper. Or maybe just on glass? I'm not sure yet. It's a journey for sure.  There is glass, there is crushed glass (enamels) and there are different ways of mixing them up. There are also glass decals which are used widely... a commercial process that can instantly transform a piece of glass. Such as this pendant here, found on this website that has glass decals available.

 It's an exciting time for me. Nevertheless, my jewelry calls! I am currently building a new online store I am calling Mod Glass Girl. Check it out! ModGlassGirl.com! It's new!                     lots more to do...                                                      OH, TWO CLASSES COMING UP......................SIGN UP HERE BEFORE THEY FILL UP!

Getting ready for a SHOW

My studio is a mess. Getting ready for an art fair is not a pretty thing to watch. What usually happens is an artist gets ALL their new ideas a week before the event and we try to do the impossible. We try to do it all. For me, just making a list of the things I need to remember is something I forget to do.  What tends to happens is one or two new pieces get actually finished and about 5 other new ideas are started for the next shows after this. 

After I figure out the design on paper I begin to cut out the glass and make decisions about color and placement. Usually while I'm doing this I am also feeding the dog, feeding myself and taking breaks to walk myself and the dog. I am happily going through the mechanics of putting my characters together while wondering if anyone will really care or even like this piece enough to purchase it. I am new to this type of work and not entirely confident of the directions it will go into.  I do have a few ounces of faith that it will appeal to the "right" person and I'll never see it again. Another thing for the list, call my friend with the really good camera to photograph this work so I can use it for a jury shot.  I am also thinking, boy, this is a whole lot different than doing metal work for my jewelry before a show. The whole process is terribly exciting for me because I am not locked into the same way of doing things as I have been in the past 22 years. I am still making my beautiful jewelry but right now I am having a hot romance with these pictures. 

In the meantime, I'm scoring, snapping and sawing away. Thinking, I hope I don't mess this up and break it in the wrong spot. I have a very limited amount of colored sheets left since I started this way of working. With the jewelry, because it was so small, I could go for years without buying glass. But now, I am running out and I better make more money so I can replenish the supply. In these times, it's sketchy. So I use what I have and am careful with what I got. There are very good reasons I price my work the way I do and part of that has to do with how expensive this hand made glass from Bullseye Glass from Portland, Oregon is. It ain't cheap! 

I had these cool people I built in glass for a different art piece I made. They were from a show in New Orleans I did at Thomas Mann's Gallery I/O. After they sent the "martini project" back to me I packed the little guys away. They were so fragile. Not really jewelry proof. Then I got the idea to add them to a painting. Because I drilled holes in the already I thought it would be cool to hang them.

 So this project is coming together, almost finished anyhow. In the meantime, I am working on extra display options using tables with the few walls I have. Set up is a bitch but the booth will look good. I'm pretty good at that. Still, it will take up an evening to get the skirts and legs and shelving tightened up. Oh, I have to finish a few smaller ones too.... I like the new "Eye Love You" pieces I made.... I'm getting better at them! I'm also working on a big piece called "The Land of Positive Thinking" that has lots of "signs" in it. I'm looking forward to that.

Yes, my lovely art fair attendees, it does look like I'm having fun. For the most part I do enjoy making this work. The hard parts are not knowing if I'll make enough to cover all the costs of living and to keep going. This lifestyle certainly keeps me on my toes and I think, it part, it has something to do with my desires to create new and original mixed media art that will make people smile.

This coming weekend, April 13th and 14th, 2013, I will be participating in "Spring Festival on Ponce" in Atlanta Georgia. I am in Booth #P15. Please come or tell your friends in Atlanta!

I have another show featuring my paintings AND jewelry on Mother's Day weekend, May 11th and 12th, 23nd Annual Colors Festival of Arts in the Historic Town Square – Roswell, Georgia

 To see the latest postings on my newest work and all my latest ideas I ponder, visit me on Facebook at Studio Mod Glass.

My website is StudioModGlass.com! Check out the WORKSHOPS I am offerings later this month. I have many shows in May and June so I won't be teaching again until July.

I am honored to be asked to share my musings of life as a self employed craft artist here in Athens Georgia with the ATHENS PATCH. An online daily diary of what is happening around here. Thanks go out to the editor Rebecca McCarthy for asking me.

Time to make a list!