Art Glass

A few weeks ago, I went with my sister and some of her friends to a ceramics studio that also lets you do fused glass. I wanted to try it out, to see if it might work for my Art Club kids.

 

While it was fun, I don't think I'll be doing it with my classes- too expensive to do anything but very tiny pieces. My 5.5 x5.5 tile was over $25!!! I think tiny pieces just won't offer enough of an experience. I asked about using recycled glass, and they said they aren't able to do that-it's not predictable enough.

But the smooth and shiny and translucent qualities of glass do intrigue me. I love having a bit of it around to catch the light. And glass always catches my eye when thrifting for home accessories...

My daughter brought back a piece of reverse painting on glass from Romania...

And my son Jon made this piece for me a few years ago. He first painted  black on the back of the glass, then scratched it away to create the image.

 He then used colors to define the spaces and backed it with white paper.

 I love the graphic quality- and I'm thinking this may be the year I do this with my students. I've been collecting thrifted picture frames with glass for this very purpose.

This is a little collection of glass- the commercial pieces are thrifted, and the two art glass pieces are ones made by art students from my college days. (I've had those for over 35 years!)

I have this small mobile hanging near my desk- it was purchased at a local fair when our kids were little. I remember that the artist had very large pieces too, but they were way out of my price range. I love the smooth feel and the quiet tinkling.

These two pieces belonged to Dave's grandmother. I don't know how old they are, or the story of where they came from. They look like they might be from the 20's?? I love the colors...maybe they'll inspire a quilt.

Make it a Wonderful Day!