My love of glass began when I was age 17 in Paris. It was a sunny day as I entered Notre-Dame cathedral. Music was reverberating off the sanctuary columns from the 8000piece pipe organ as I first gazed upon one of the Rose windows. I was in love. The play of light was mesmerizing as I stood there for several minutes in awe. Around 1990 I took my first stained glass class at Tualatin Hills Parks and Rec in Beaverton Oregon. One of my favorite types of glass to use was made by Kokomo, the texture and patterns were interesting to create with. One of my early projects was a large framed pane of a wicker basket with flowers that I took on the train with me to Colorado to give to a friend for her new house and she ended up designing her home color scheme from the colors I used on that piece. Our 3 front windows are adorned with framed stained glass large panes of an old barn, lighthouse and a covered bridge. For my husband’s 45th birthday I made a large framed bubble juke box with 45 on it.
Roz shows off her three beautiful versions of a landscape that was part of our glass guild competition last summer.
In 2004 I was laid off my job of over 13 years as a flexible benefits administrator for a division of Blue Cross of Oregon as they prepared to close that facility. With the severance I received, I pursued learning fused glass. Once I began fused glass, I pretty much gave up stained glass although I have used some of the patterns. I took a couple of classes on fused glass at Rose’s Glassworks and purchased a 20 inch kiln and a bead kiln at Cline Glass. Since that time I have participated in a variety of learning opportunities,including ones on torch-work and sandblasting, classes at Bullseye Glass as well as being guided by wonderful teachers such as Ann Cavanaugh, Fred Buxton and Serena Smith. At this time I don’t teach classes, but I have play dates teaching my friends and family using various techniques and inspiring them with some possibilities of glass.
I create many items that include jewelry, coasters, garden art, bowls and landscape panels. I have created a double curve from a painting my daughter did that I call NW Sky five times. Some of the reeds on Heron at Sunrise were enabled by methods I learned on a zoom PNWGG Fossil Vitria play day with Karen Seymour. I very much enjoy making vases,especially when using a large 10 inch mold, it is always a challenge to get the piece centered so it will drape well. Techniques that I have used for vases include drop dots of color,dancing flowers using different methods for the flowers, lace overlay, crackle and frit stretch. There was a segment on my vases on the television program Garden Time that aired on May 25, 2019. https://youtu.be/OLltFlQIA4Y I also enjoy making landscape skies created using my own technique, I love vibrant skies so much I named by business after them!
Lacey fused glass reactive vase.
My most recently completed project was making two more depictions of the photo I created for the PNWGG contest in August last year. I fired 103 samples of frit blends to get the colors accurate for the photo that I was creating from. Some future projects I am working on include making flowers of various sizes and to create landscapes from photos taken by a couple of photographer friends.
Considering that I have not participated in a live show since Covid-19, I have added over 125 items to my Etsy site, www.vibrantsky.etsy.com. I do however anticipate having a booth at Gathering of the Guilds this year at the end of April. I have participated in the Gathering of the Guilds 12 times from participating in the guild group booth to a full 10’x10’booth plus I have always displayed a piece in the pavilion. I view it as a glass convention with show and tell. The first few years I think we had 60 glass participants !
Roz did this stained glass juke box design with a 45 on it for her husband’s 45th birthday!
A few years ago I was co-vice president of what at the time was the Oregon Glass Guild. When I first joined the guild in 2005, I was impressed by how cooperative people were about sharing and passing on the knowledge they had of glass techniques and methods. Since that time I have watched and learned from my fellow artists and I cheer on their growth and accomplishments.
My love of art was born at a young age due to necessity and boredom. I made mud pies and macaroni mosaic and potholders out of old socks. Yes, old socks. Imagine taking bread from the oven with old socks and yes, we made bread too. Before bread became artisan, it was just bread. When I was in the seventh grade an art teacher inspired me and, though I never pursued anything at the time, the seed was planted. I went through a phase in life called ‘making a living’ and then finally gave that up and just chose art. I have dabbled with flowers, fabric, beads and baking and finally settled on glass as my choice for perfection.
Basically, I am self-taught but I love to learn and continue to take classes in stained glass, mosaic and glass fusing. I have studied under international masters of contemporary mosaic such as Martin Cheek and Christine Stewart. Other classes and workshops are done locally. I, myself, am a teacher of stained glass, mosaic and fusing. Sharing the love of glass inspires me as well, making me continually reach for new ideas and techniques.
Painted and fused…..Greece.
This was part of a contest at her local library, which Athena won and now this piece hangs in the library and the image is on all of the library cards.
I personally invite any guild members traveling the scenic the North Cascades Highway (gateway to North Cascades National Park) to please stop for a visit. I’m open Friday through Tuesday all year (unless I’m traveling) 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. https://www.facebook.com/northwestgardenbling
Athena’s lovely glass on glass mosaics.
Athena’s very first lamp! Wow!
Athena’s latest lamp…..pretty cute.
I am a member, or have been, of these great organizations: The Association of Stained Glass Lamp Artists, Arts Council of Sedro Woolley, Pacific Northwest Glass Guild and Skagit Artists Together.
FREE Admission! Mark your calendar so you don’t miss this chance to see and buy exciting new work by our members.
We are again at the Oregon Convention Center – Hall A with artists from 5 other guilds.
If you have questions please contact our wonderful Gathering of the Guilds (GOTG) coordinatorLesley Kelly who is back for a second year.
Show attendance in 2022 (about 17,000) exceeded the total for 2019, and the total sales for all the guilds exceeded totals from 2019 as well so we have high hopes for a spectacular show. Anticipated attendance is over 20,000 for this show.
Members:If you are considering buying a booth please do it soon. If you are not currently a member you can join now and we welcome your participation. Booth sales have been brisk and about 1/3 of the booths have been sold already. You can read the Registration info here. Login first and you can fill out your registration form as part of the process.
Get your work seen all over Portland and beyond: as soon as you sign up for your booth send no more than 4 images to Lesley Kelly. If we get your images by January 31st they may get into the GOTG Organization’s massive new media campaign for the 2023 show that will cover ads in TV, radio, social media, and print media.
There are a few changes from last year. Here are the highlights:
• Booth fees for 5x10s and the Group Booth were raised only $25; 10x10s stayed the same. The commission structure has changed slightly (get your friends and family to volunteer: you can count their hours toward decreasing your commission rate).
• Members who can’t commit to being part of a booth can show/sell up to 3 pieces of work as part of the Individual Artist Spotlight area (some of you may remember this as “pedestal” display). There is a $100 fee and a 25% commission. You must fill out the application and pay the fee by April 10th. We can’t accommodate people dropping off work at the show with no warning.
• Group Booth applications need to be in by February 28th so that we can help you find an artist to split a booth with if there aren’t the necessary 10 Group Booth participants.
Panorama of The Gallery and PNWGG booth banner for the 2022 Gathering of the Guilds. The Gallery is just inside the entry and features high end work from artists with booths from all of the guilds.
A group booth table: this is a great way for members just starting to sell their work or those who want to participate in this big show with table, fireproof and lighting supplied.
A visitor admires the art in a 10×10 booth at the 2022 Gathering of the Guilds
Anyone can participate:
As always we’ll need lots of volunteers to make this event happen. Fill out the form so we know who you are. If you have any questions please contact our volunteer coordinator Greta Schneider
Happy 2023 and welcome to a new year of creating art. If you are one that sets annual goals each January I would like to add a challenge to pursue a new technique this year. Step outside of your usual techniques and find a new and refreshed passion for learning a new technique. When you do this be sure to share your new masterpieces in the Member Gallery or if you are on Facebook (PNW Glass Guild member group) so others can share in your accomplishment.
Thank you to all of the members that provided feedback in our recent Member Feedback Survey, it is greatly appreciated. The board of directors will be using this feedback to shape a great 2023. The volunteers that lead the Guild look forward to the privilege of bringing our members a slate of educational and other events to further the art of glass making to our members. This feedback will help us accomplish this. Did you miss the initial survey feedback opportunity? Feel free to reach out to president@pnwglassguild.org anytime with your suggestions and feedback.
Speaking of a slate of upcoming events be sure to check out the Calendar of Events for the latest information. For those that are looking to sell your art in a great setting, check out the details of the Gathering of the Guilds coming to Oregon Convention Center April 28-30. Registration is open now, so claim your booth today.
Wishing everyone the best in the new year and a year of creating masterpieces.
“One must work and dare if one really wants to live.” ~ Vincent Van Gogh
A special thank you to Jennifer Hart who has volunteered to shadow Rachel Dollar during 2023. We are looking for other members to shadow board members in the upcoming year. This will aid in a smoother transition as new board members step up in the future. It also gives you a chance to see behind the scenes and what it takes to keep the Guild engaging and relevant in your glass journey. Reach out to Terry Thomas (president@pnwglassguild.org) to volunteer or if you have any questions.
Please take time to reach out and connect…even if you don’t live in the same area. The wonders of technology brings us all just a few clicks away. Members can find contact info for these folks and other members if you log-in to pnwglassguild.org and go to “For Members” (which only appears when logged-in) and choose Member Contacts List.
Are you mired down in the Sargasso Sea, struggling to make headway and searching for the winds of creativity? If you are, it’s no wonder, because it has been a tough couple of years. With a prolonged pandemic keeping us isolated most of the time, a sputtering economy reducing gallery and craft show sales, and a rising inflation rate limiting disposable income for art collectors and creators alike, it feels like we are treading water at best. So for me it’s time to reach for my go-to life preserver, the one that always saves me from the doldrums and guarantees to get my creative juices and kilns all fired up. Yes, life preservers come in many shapes and sizes. The one I describe in this article is the one that fits me. But who knows? If you think you’re in need of rescue, it might fit you too!
It starts with a personal story. We moved from Calgary to Salt Spring Island off the coast of Vancouver Island in 2008 which means I didn’t have a functioning studio for almost a year. Surprisingly, when my new pristine state-of-the-art studio was ready for its grand opening I had what I now refer to as my “crisis of confidence.” In short, I found myself asking two questions. The first was: can I still do it? After all I hadn’t worked in kilnformed glass for a year. The second, more important question was: do I still WANT to do it? I had been working in one style for about ten years and, well, that creative well seemed to be running dry.
What I decided to do was take several months as a “self imposed residency” during which I would step outside my comfort zone and work on something totally new. The happy result was an original body of work that not only reenergized my creativity, but also rekindled my passion to work with glass. My residency was so successful that now I do one annually, usually early in the new year.
Self-imposed residencies consist of several components: • Identify an idea/style that I want to explore • Answer the question: Why do this artistic exploration? • Develop a managed plan, i.e., a roadmap, for the project • Do any necessary testing using the scientific method • Mitigate the risk by adopting practices that reduce the chance of failure
Why Do this Artistic Exploration?
It should be fairly easy for you to answer this question about motivation as you start down a new path because it is about the values that define you. Your new body of work may arise out of social issues that you hold dear, be based on life experiences, represent aspects of a previous career, provide an emotional outlet, be prompted by a desire to create something beautiful, or be the outcome of other values that are important to you.
Knowing and describing what motivates you is helpful in many ways. It informs your creative process, forms an important part of your artist statement, and is useful for explaining your artwork to others. For example, imagine yourself standing beside your piece at the opening of an exhibition and a potential collector looks at your work and then turns to you and asks “What’s this all about?”. You can answer this question many ways but what a collector is really looking for is your story about this piece, about WHY you made it. It not only helps them relate to your motivation and form a connection with you, which may result in a sale/purchase, but also allows them to share your story with others when showing them the new addition to their art collection.
A Managed Plan
The “managed plan” described here is essentially a roadmap for the project and is derived entirely from best business practices. As applied to art projects, a managed plan consists of five steps: define a goal; develop a diverse range of ideas; refine and test the ideas to determine a favourite; create the finished piece based on your refined idea; and, get feedback on the execution of the piece.
Define your goal by answering “why do this exploration?” as explained above. Revisit your goal as you continue working through the other steps in the plan.
Develop ideas illustrating your goals by making a series of quick concept sketches or journal notes. The main objective in this step is to generate many, diverse ideas that reflect your goals. Focus on creating numerous spontaneous sketches rather than a few precise, beautifully rendered representations. Also search the internet for images that document styles, history, and provenance of artwork relevant to your goals and concept.
Refine your concept sketches by choosing the best, redrawing and improving them, and gradually reducing the number of sketches to one or a manageable few. Build models from cardboard or styrofoam to test 3D perspectives of sculptural pieces.
Create small sample test tiles to ensure that materials such as glass powders will perform as expected; that design concepts will look as planned; that glass properties such as striking, chemical reactions, surface tension, and heatwork will work as anticipated; and that firing schedules are effective. Also use these sample tiles to test the coldworking processes and tools required for the gallery quality finish you want. Keep these test tiles small to avoid wasting materials and to ensure that the tests themselves are not “precious.” Solve any problems at this stage before committing to the materials and effort required to create the artwork itself. If you need to brush up on your firing schedules I recommend Firing Schedules for Kilnformed Glass: Just Another Day at the Office (https://www.leatherbarrowglass.com/firing-schedules-for-kilnformed-glass).
With the groundwork of defining, refining, and testing your concept completed, you can move on to creating your art piece with confidence.
After completing and delivering the piece to the gallery or collector, it is time to get feedback. Ask gallery staff how customers are reacting to the piece, if they have favourite colour combinations, and for any other comments. If during the creative process you had problems with the glass materials it would be worthwhile discussing them with the glass manufacturer. If you had problems with kiln performance or coldworking tools it would also be worthwhile discussing them with experts.
Avoid the temptation to skip steps in your managed plan. Although it may seem like a protracted process, it works in business and it definitely works in art!
The Scientific Method
The scientific method is a simple and logical approach to conducting an experiment. In our case the experiments are the sample test tiles in our managed plan, as described above. It starts with defining a question such as “will this piece with design pieces lying on a thick sheet glass base thermally shock during initial heating if heated at a ramp rate of 300ºF/hour (166ºC/hour)?”.
If your question is based on a knowledge of the properties of glass and personal experience, then you may be able to predict, or hypothesize, that the test will be a success. If the test is successful then your hypothesis is valid and you can move forward
If your test is not successful, then analyze what went wrong using visual observations of the failure (where did it break? how explosive was the break?) and your knowledge of relevant glass properties (such as glass is a poor conductor of heat, glass expands during initial heating). In this example either the ramp rate was too fast, or perhaps the design elements on top of the sheet glass prevented heat from getting into the base glass below the design element.
Plan a new experiment to retest the original question, varying only one parameter. By varying only one parameter you will know what single factor controls the outcome. If the new test is successful, then your question has been answered and you can move on. If your new test is not successful, then continue testing, changing one parameter at a time, until you have successfully answered your question and you know how to proceed.
Keep the test tiles small and use scrap material wherever possible. If annealing is not a significant risk, or not a factor in the experiment, then don’t waste time and energy annealing the piece. These are test tiles that can be discarded and should not be considered precious.
Testing using the scientific method will not only answer important questions and help ensure success in creating your piece, but will also help you develop experience in understanding the properties of glass and how these relate to making visual observations as glass is heated and cooled in the kiln. Do not consider broken test pieces as failures. They are important steps to take and lead to successful projects. They are part of your experience base.
Risk Mitigation
Put simply, risk mitigation is adopting practices that reduce the chance of catastrophic failure. The most important way to limit failure is to develop firing schedules that are based on an understanding of the properties of glass, and of the critical visual observations associated with kiln forming processes. Do not rely on the vagaries of kiln gods and goddesses. They will only let you down.
Most of my art is created by building from components, another good way to mitigate risk. Using components I can choose the best design elements and eliminate those that detract from the composition. An added benefit of building from components is that I can push my creativity by playing the “what if” game, as in “what will the component look like if I do this?”. When failure occurs it is better to have lost a small amount of glass in a component compared to large amounts of sheet glass in a large composition.
Building from components requires multiple firings to complete a piece. If a piece fails or breaks then it is possible to isolate the problem in the process, analyze what went wrong, and plan for a successful outcome next time round.
A third way to mitigate risk is to start with smaller pieces before graduating to a larger scale when planning a series of work. Technical complexity increases with scale, so validate your design concepts, firing schedules, and coldworking processes on small pieces first, before scaling up.
Reducing risk is good, but so is failure. If you aren’t failing, then you aren’t trying hard enough. Another word for risk is experience. Learn from your mistakes and either avoid repeating them or figure out if they can take you off in new and creative directions. Ironically, my 20-year involvement in working with textured glass powders started from a mistake.
A Sampling of Work
The following images illustrate new directions I have taken as the result of my self imposed residencies. The answer to my “why?” question — why is most of my art about exploring textures? — is that during my previous career as a geologist I used textures to understand the origins of the rocks I was mapping. This interest in textures evolved to include everyday textural occurrences such as cracked paint surfaces or patterns in broken pavement. Textures are important because they tell stories and from these stories we learn and understand a history. So my challenge has been to document natural textures in my art glass and use color to enhance them.
Figures 1 and 2 illustrate my early explorations using kilnformed glass powders to create a crackled texture. One of the great attributes of working with powders is being able to blend colors into unique color palettes. Although I have always been attracted to the shape of a bowl, I try to reduce the “functional” aspect by nesting bowls together or adding wafers as tack-fused design elements.
Figure 1 Collection of early bowls
Figure 2 Beginning blended bowls color a nested bowl
Figures 3 and 4 show new directions I took in working with textured powders after my first self-imposed residency. My original crackled texture evolved into radiating patterns of controlled lines and rounded “pebbles” that appear to float in the background glass.
Figure 3 Bouquet An outdoor installation showing textures developed in my first self imposed residency
Figure 4 Clam Photo Credit John Cameron
Figures 5 and 6 represent the results of another residency during which I experimented with creating deep forms, for me one of the greatest challenges in kilnformed glass design. The textures were created with powders, with the shadowing around the patterns resulting from carefully controlled chemical reactions.
Figure 5 Tribal White Bowl from a later residency
Figure 6 Loude Bell of Neathe a deep form vessel with crackle elements
Mt Harris (Figure 7), a stylized mountain named for iconic Canadian artist Lawren Harris, represents the culmination of a managed plan for creating art glass. My first step was to make a collection of folded pieces of paper as quick representations of mountains. From that collection I chose two shapes that fit together well and seemed to capture the essence of a mountain. I continued to refine the shapes of the two folded paper pieces until I was satisfied with the look and eventually recreated them as a full-scale model made from sheets of plastic. This model was critical in helping me evaluate the piece from all perspectives.
The glass I used for this project was mainly Bullseye Opaline, a glass that strikes to translucent white. The degree to which this glass strikes is a function of heatwork. Since more than one sheet of glass was required for the project, I ran a series of tests using the planned sequence of firing schedules to verify that all the glass would fire as anticipated.
This entire managed plan gave me assurance that the piece could be created as envisioned.
Figure 7 Mt. Harris
Figures 8 through 11 show how a simple design element such as a powder wafer can evolve by repeatedly asking and answering the question “what if…”. What started off as tack-fused design elements made from stencils in the shield collection in Figure 8, became more painterly by using brush strokes in the cave art bison in Figure 9. When I explored printing with glass powders, the result was impression wafers (Figure 10). The fish form and structure was made by pressing the pattern from a hand-cut sheet of linoleum onto powder. After an initial firing, colour was added using transparent powders. Another result of asking “what if..” was using shards of powder wafers as colour fields fired onto sheets of clear glass. This modified sheet glass was then cut into shapes, assembled as large-scale strip-cut projects, and fired into large blocks resembling a cityscape (Figure 11).
Figure 8 An early collection of wafer design elements on a collection of shields
Figure 9 Cave drawing as a painting wafer on a sculpture depicting early sapiens
Figure 10 Fish from impression wafers
Figure 11 City of Enlightenment with wafers as shards of color in cast blocks
Figure 12 illustrates the results of another residency during which I explored a completely different topic — line quality. Lines are such important design elements and yet, due to technical challenges, are not commonplace in kilnformed glass. This collection of inverted bowls demonstrates precise placement of lines on each bowl, and how the patterns repeat from one bowl to another.
Figure 12 Black and white Bowls
It is earliest January 2023. I’ve got a vision. I’ve made a few tests. I’ve prepared a plan. And I’ve already made a few mistakes. But I’m like a kid with a new exercise book, fresh crayons, and a brand new eraser on the first day of school. I’m all fired up. How about you?
For anyone who knows me you know I am a big supporter of recycling, reusing and upcycling. My studio has lots of items in it that would have ended up in the landfill had I not rescued them…although as my youngest grandson likes to tease me he calls me an artistic hoarder. I also decided that I would try to create this year using only items that are already in my studio.
When my friend’s daughter decided to dispose of her grandmother’s china cabinet, she gave me the glass shelves from it. After testing to make sure they were not tempered glass (although if they were I could of untampered them), I decided I would create an art piece for her and her mother from one of the shelves.
I have always said if you had clear glass and enamels, you could create what ever you wanted. It was the perfect time to test my assumption. I wanted the pieces to be very different from each other… simplicity versus a riot of color did a quick sketch of the pieces I wanted to make and then figured out what I needed to create for colored glass and save enough to make the pieces. I also wanted to test in the process to see if there was a difference in using the components on prefired enamel or unfired enamel.
The shelf was about 36” by 18”. The larger piece was to measure 11” X and the diptych pieces were to be 6 ¾” X 9 ¾ . This left the balance of the shelf ready for creating the colored glass. I applied enamel to the diptych pieces and to the remaining sheet (hoping I had done a good job of estimating how much of each color I needed). Once these were fired, I cut apart the multi colored sheet and began creating each piece. Some was cut and some was smashed to create frit. I painted the yellow background and once it was dried, began building the pieces.
The conclusion I reached after firing the pieces is that it makes no difference whether the background was prefired or not. The component pieces need to be fired to prevent the enamel chipping when you are cutting or crushing it. It is hard to see in the pictures but with the color just being on the surface of the component pieces, it gives a very cool dimension to the pieces. . I chose to contour fuse because I loved the texture of the flower garden piece.
Both recipients were thrilled to have a piece of their heritage and I was happy that I confirmed my assumption. So, if you have some clear glass and enamels hanging about your studio and wondering what to do with them …you are only limited to your creativity …happy fusing. And be sure and send us pictures of your creations for the newsletter.
VALENTINE’S DAY is just around the corner…..so heart shaped products are especially popular right now…..but remember those heart shapes can bring smiles year round!
Hearts are perfect for birthdays, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, anniversaries, or just to say you care, as both indoor and outdoor glass artwork.
If you have scrap and are just not sure what to do with it…or are just in the mood to do something quick and fun……think about hearts! They are good for jewelry, on plates,coasters, on 2D art, as sun catchers or as garden stakes and more. Hearts also give you a fairly efficient use of your materials. See the attached sketch photo. By drawing matching triangles on strips…..as thick or thin as you want….you can make straight cuts and have nice pieces to make matching hearts from with almost no waste. And the final heart designs can be placed facing the same way or flip up and down as when you are cutting out triangles in a row. Nip off the little corners next to the curves and you have some extra frit pieces for making dots. You will have to do a bit of grinding to get the curves done cleanly….using a grinding wheel or something like a dremel with an appropriate diamond bit. You can also cut a circle into 6 matching triangles to create nicely shaped hearts with very little waste.
Carlyne Lynch did this lovely heart with a matching glass stand using vitrigraph pulls and torch worked petals.
You can fire the hearts with enamel designs or messages added, or add a frit coating to give them some texture and sparkle, or add bits and pieces of scrap for color spots or start by putting scrap together and cover it with clear and fire it to get a multi-color fun piece (see example done with dichroic scrap – an idea from Rae Williamson). Each heart done this way will be unique. For garden stakes one idea is to make an upside down “pocket” using a thicker piece of fiber that matches your stake and glue the pocket facing down, onto the back of the artwork. There are also various things available at places like Tap Plastics that you can use as tubes to hold the stakes.
Inexpensive tools that make doing heart art so much easier.
Multiple hearts are easy to cut out with little wasted glass.
Sometimes doing something fun and easy like hearts can get your creative thoughts going in a new direction……. and you have create something pretty to either sell or give as a gift! The rainbow dichroic heart below has fine frit for a soft texture and a CZ fired in. CZ’s need a half round depression drilled first.
Just some quick dichroic heart experiments by Greta Schneider. The top one is dichro scrap capped with clear, very colorful and each one will be unique.
Dichroic heart by Greta Schneider with a light coating of fine clear frit for texture and a CZ fired in for some flash. You can also get pretty designs on dichro by acid etching.
Carlyne Lynch used torch pulled bits for leaves and petals plus some scrap to make this colorful heart shaped piece. simple design….very colorful and eye-catching.
Carlyne also did this amazing heart with murrini she pulled herself. The colors show even more with light from behind.
An added piece of info: The odd curved triangle photo below isn’t for a heart project but was a test using fine clear powder on the left, powder and fine in the center and then just clear fine on the right over blue irid. I was originally thinking about making a clear coat with the powder but only I fired high enough to give the irid some surface texture. I was very surprised how much the powder, and powder-with-fine dulled the color….and it shows better in person than in the photo…but it is amazing how much better the blue irid color shows up and sparkles with just the fine on it. Just powder fired higher to go shiny and smooth would have looked nice too. Using a stencil over irid and clear coating the open areas with powder leaves a very interesting and nice pattern. If you have not ever tried that do a test with some scrap. Have fun!
Simple textured hearts in dichroic glass by Greta Schneider with a CZ fired in. Perfect for pendants
Blue irid glass with clear powder on the left, both powder and fine in the center and just clear fine on the right which remains much more colorful.
Want to know more about kilns? Come to our next General Zoom Meeting on February 26th where you can share your tips and tricks and learn from others how to buy, use and maintain your kiln.
Delores Taylor, whose kiln meltdown is shown here prior to repair, will be one of the speakers. Yes, those are the quartz tubes that contained the top elements.
Note this is a Saturday and there’s an opportunity to attend this in person as well as via Zoom.
Carlyne Lynch will be doing a Vitrigraph talk and demonstrate design ideas and equipment in the Annex of Artistic Portland Art Gallery in north Portland. It will be an opportunity to do some water-cooler talks plus get out and actually see each other and meet new members who can attend. The address is 4110 NE Fremont, Portland. It is easy to get to and more information will be posted on the calendar of events.
A chance to explore new techniques and get to know fellow Guild members
Now that the world is cautiously going back to in-person events we’re encouraging members to hold Play Days as a way to get together and learn new ways of working with glass.
We’ve added a list of suggested topics under the Glass menu>Play Days
We’re hoping to add links to helpful videos as well as lists of materials to assist others in planning a Play Day on a particular topic. Let Karen Seymour know if you can help with that. AND we’re looking for members who might want to host a play day but don’t have the space to match with those who have the space but no idea what to do.
What a Play Day looks like: Here’s the table and some of the resulting fused pieces from the October Shape to Fuse Play Day in Seattle. (Thanks to Stephanie Johnson, Heidi Federspiel, and Debbie Marchione for sharing their images):
Freeze & Fuse before, after firing
Showing how Vitrigel powder paste shrinks after firing
Vitrigel powder paste on leaves before firing
Vitrigel powder paste after firing
Logged in Members can see a PDF of suggestions of what is needed for a similar gel-sculpting Play Day under the menu Glass>Play Days page in the list of topics.
Two Play Days Coming Soon:
Note that Play Days are member only events: Please Join the Guild before attending.
Jan. 28-29, Seattle:Karen Seymour is holding a Glass Table Play Day at which she’ll be working on her own glass applique table and she invites you to bring your own similar project. She’ll have grinders and work spaces set up as well as some materials for you to purchase at cost if you don’t bring your own. This is not a glass cutting class: you do need to at least be able to cut glass with some proficiency. Karen will be glad to give guidance on the other parts of the process.
Feb. 11, Washougal WA (near Portland):Stephanie Johnston is organizing a Silicone Mold Making Play Day for those who want to make molds for Freeze and Fuse. Space is limited so contact her now if you are interested.
There are currently 5 tabs/forms for ways to contact Guild volunteers of various sorts:
Submit a Classified tab: Anyone can fill this out to ask/tell the membership something glass-related via email. Sell a kiln, look for someone to do custom work or repairs etc. We reserve the right to reject your request if we don’t think it is of interest to the majority of members.
Submit Your Event tab: Members can log in and fill out the form to add your glass-related event to the calendar (if you don’t see the form you are not logged-in). A volunteer will add the event within a few days.
Get Zoom Link tab: If there’s a meeting you want to attend and you’d like us to email you the Zoom link because you can’t find it/can’t log-in to see it on the event’s page.
Report Tech Issue tab: Use this to contact the web-help volunteers about a website-related problem.
Anything Else tab: fill out the form and we’ll try our best to route your message to the correct person.
2) The Guild: Our Mission and Goals and 3 tabs leading to Guild History, a list of Current Board Members, and theVolunteer Teamswithout whose efforts there would be no Guild. Please contact a team lead if you can volunteer a bit of time to help in some way.
4) Our Sponsors: The list of businesses who have supported the Guild in some way. If you’re logged-in you can see the benefit, often a discount code, that a specific sponsor gives to our members.
5) Info for Sponsors: information about becoming a sponsor and why you might want to.
Tip: if you log-in first whenever you go to the website, you’ll be able to see more.
If you are not yet a member and therefore can’t Login we encourage you to join by pushing “Join” from the menu so you can take advantage of the many benefits (your dues help us pay for the software that runs the website).
January 9 was the first Board meeting of the new year. Meeting and event dates for the year were discussed. There was a report about the Gathering of the Guilds for 2023. Board meeting minutes will be posted forlogged-inmembers to read under For Members>Guild Documents after they are approved
You’re part of the team: Please send in photos of your glass events so we have something for the next newsletter! Think about what you can to to help build the glass community: • Host a Play Day yourself • Zoom to the General meetings • Attend members’ shows to encourage them in their work • Put your events on the Guild Calendar. • Lead in organizing an event in your area that you want to attend.
The Guild is like an umbrella: the website, email network, general meetings, and Facebook etc. allow us all to communicate much more effectively. An umbrella only works as well as it could for you if you help carry it! Pick a team to join.
Having a photo makes it so much easier to invite people to participate in an event next year. If you are part of or go to a glass event please take some photos and send the best 2 to the publicity team (400 to 600 px or “medium” resolution, about 500 KB, not more than 1MB).
General meetings in 2023
Zoom, usually on the 4th Sunday of most months, at 3:30pm. Contact Rachel Dollar, our VP, if you have suggestions for future topics. You don’t need to be a member to attend our General Meetings but we would love to have you join.
Several instructors have posted classes to the Guild’s calendar in the next couple of months. Instead of listing each class here we are sending you directly to the websites of the instructors for class details: • Member Ann Cavanaugh in Battle Ground WA • Sponsor Marvelous Mosaic in Deer Island and Rainier WA • Sponsor Glass Expressions, Burien WA
Welcome to Melt Art Glass Supply…Starting out in a small basement studio 35 years ago, we have grown to an industry leader with a global customer base, a thriving retail storefront and a renowned teaching facility for both stained and fused glass located in Vancouver, Washington. All our staff are glass artists in their own right involved in craft shows, art shows and galleries across the Pacific Northwest. This gives us a unique understanding of trends, new products, and the importance of everyday pricing. Shopping at Melt gives you the confidence you are getting a fair price, quality products and informed advice.
The goal of our business operating out of a cute storefront at 502 Washington Street, Vancouver WA, is to provide an outstanding variety of reasonably priced glass-related products to make your shopping experience informative and efficient, and to deliver your order promptly. We keep our prices as low as we can, while still being able to pay our staff a living wage.
Tailoring our business to meet the needs of the stained glass, mosaic, torchwork, and fusing hobbyists and small studios, we have developed strong relationships with local glass manufacturers and continue to work with them to ensure we stay on the forefront of the newest trends in color, style, and product offerings. Come in and browse our huge selection of dichroic, sheet glass, rods, tools, and supplies. If you are having trouble with your solder lines or a firing schedule, we are here to help.
Currently we are a retail only business, no wholesale pricing is available at this time. If you have a specific need for more information on large volume orders, please email us at info@meltglass.com. Of course not everyone lives close enough to stop in and shop so we hope our website will make you feel like you are right here in the store with us. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or special requests…we are happy to assist.
About Our Glass We are the only authorized CBS Dichroic Distributor in our area and as such, carry an extensive selection in all sizes as well as scrap sold by weight. We also carry CBS Dichroic frit, stringer, and noodles.
As an Official Bullseye Resource Center we stock a full selection of Bullseye Glass and products including glass, frit, special run and Saturday Glass, Bullseye moulds and ThinFire shelf paper.
Melt showroom
Our stained glass selection is the largest in the area and continues to grow. You will also find a variety of tools, supplies, lead and zinc to ensure you can successfully complete your project. For the lampworkers, we carry a huge array of COE 104 (Efftre and CIM) rods, along with the full color palette from Bullseye. WE are the distributor for Bethlehem torches and can help you decide which one is right for you.
About Classes Our classes are high-quality and cover a range of skill levels and techniques. All project classes are geared towards beginners and require no previous experience with glass. Beginner/Introductory classes last 3-4 weeks and include unlimited open studio time to complete your projects. Workshops are 4-8 hours long and often include additional hours of open studio time to work on your project and may vary in completion time based on the individual project.
We rent kiln and studio space for those artists that just need a place to create For more detailed information check out our website https://www.meltglass.com/en-ca or come visit us at 502 Washington Street , Vancouver WA or call us at 360-771-5617
These companies and organizations are an integral part of the glass art community. We thank our Sponsors for supporting our Guild through either generous donations or by offering discounts to our Members. Please take time to thank them for their generosity when you visit their businesses.
Gold Level Sponsors
Silver Level Sponsors
Colour de Verre – Artifex Toolworks – Glass Alchemy – D&L Art Glass – HIS Glass Works – Bonny Doon
