Painted Sea Glass

Well I have been collecting sea glass along the shores of Cape Breton. I handed some off to Bob MacDougall last week to paint and here are our results.

They will be at the ships on Tuesday.

 

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Finally Fired

Well, have been busy, ships are arriving in numbers and business is good.

However did get these pieces fired and framed over the past week so thought I had better post.

Colours stayed and we are happy with it.

Again a few bubbles but nothing that distracts from the piece.

And third but not least my favourite and the one we tested with.

We put a varnish on this one to try and keep the  layers of paint from moving and it worked. Burned off without any adverse affects.

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New Product Line

 

Well we have some new pieces  to show you. They are in the first stage and have not been fired yet

All of these pieces are approximately 4X4 in and we are still discussing display options

The first is an eagle

Over the next couple of days these will be fired and I will post as we progress.

Thanks to very kind glass artists on the warm glass board I belong to they have given use some ideas of mediums to use to make the painting process much easier.

The second item is a parrot,he is stunning

The third is a commission of a tiger. We did this smaller on a pendant and received a request to do not in jewellery format. So here it is.

And last but not least is a snow leopard that we are experimenting with. We have actually covered the bottom layers with varnish and then painted over. This one is a crap shoot, no idea what will happen. we have gotten better suggestions since then.

So at this point all I can say is stay tuned for the next steps

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First Firing Completed

Well as promised I did the first firing over night and they came out great. Will try to fire again today but no promises.
Here are the pictures

Stay tuned.

For those not sure of what we are doing. When Bob paints them he is using an acrylic enamel. The first firing burns off the binders which is what we see as the paint. So now these pictures are all actual glass. Will go through more firings to flatten out the raised areas and cap with clear to give it a depth that we prefer. Will then be made into jewelry.

And on a positive note as these are new products for us. We have sold several pieces, as well as alot of interest in the one I wear, which is of my dog Milley. So yes if they send us a pictures of their pets we will paint them.

fused Glass New Paintings

Well today was a cruise ship day, although the days there are long, the good news is this is when Bob and I see each other. The result today was 2 new paintings from Bob.
Here they are and I am excited.

Now that I have taken a picture of the original I will put these in the kiln tonight for the first firing. That result I will post tomorrow.

New Cruise Season Starts

Well today was our first ship day and I have to say there was much interest in our pieces. I was wearing my piece of my dog Milley. So 3 people took our card and are going to send pictures of their pets. As well interest in acouple of  pieces I didn't have finished yet. Couldn't be happier, rave reviews. I do believe we have a winning product. The pieces retail for $150.00 and the people were very aware that each piece was an original glass painting (and not a painting on glass) and had the 18in leather cord.
None had seen anything like our pieces in their travels. It was exciting for both Bob and I to hear the positive comments

Finally I Did the Fused Glass Pendants

I can honestly tell you the pictures do not do these pieces justice. The wolves didn't fire as good as I had hoped but the others especially the ones on white - hummingbird and sunflowers are absolutely stunning. The next pictures of these you will see will be finished products with bails and cords.

Out of the kiln

Have taken the 4 new pieces out of the kiln this morning. Unfortunately I am on my way to a meeting and don't have time to get some pictures but pictures just don't do them justice. Will post pictures later today.

Slight Delay

The weather has put a slight delay on picking up new pieces. Even the University was closed today, they usually wait until everyone but the profs show and then they cancel.

Snowing

Lord save us, it is snowing like crazy. We do live in the most beautiful part of the world, but if this winter doesn't soon end and we see the last of the snow and freezing rain I don't think anything will turn green. Although we have seen some great blue skies they don't seem to last very long.

New Pieces Coming

I talked to Bob today and he will have some new pieces by mid week, so it won't be long before we see new stuff. I would tell you what they are but it is always a surprise for me as well.

Where are we?????????

I bet you are all wondering what happened to me that I haven't posted in several weeks. I finally went into the winter mind sleep and didn't really want to wake up until it was warm and sunny. Okay so you are aloud to dream when you live in Cape Breton. It is cold and snowy and March 24th. What can I say ENOUGH ALREADY
Yesterday I gave in and put a full kiln load in so the season will pick up and new photos will be posted soon.

Ring Neck Pheasant

Thanks to my Uncle Ed, bright and early this morning the bird I couldn't name last night is a ring neck pheasant

First Firing Done

Well the first firing is done and I got totally different results than I expected. They are much nicer than when they went in. The wolves were what I thought was brown when they went in and as you can see they are the white grey and blend with the snowy surroundings. This one when completed will be a brooch.
The hummingbird looked liked the whole head would be red however only the throat came out red. Not as much paint as previous ones and therefore has the delicate weight of the actual bird.
What can I say about the sunflowers they are awesome, the dark brownish yellow with light highlights make them pop off the glass.
The final bird and I hesitate to put a name to it because it is late at night and I can't remember the name. I am sure someone out there will tell me and thanks in advance. The detail on the back is amazing.
I hope everyone appreciated my technical terms and I can tell you seeing them in person certainly makes a difference. I will have to get my light box out and seriously start playing with these pieces.
Will probably cap and fire again tomorrow.

Today's Pre-fire

Well these will go into the kiln today. The 2 top ones are done on white and the bottom on blue. We will keep experimenting with coloured glasses until we find what colours fire best on which colours of glass. Can't wait to see the changes taking place with each firing.

New Pieces

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New Pieces

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I am so excited, the pieces are out of the kiln and are awesome. The lighter coloured glass has allowed us to maintain the brush strokes and get the full effect of the painting. And having said that there ain't nothing shabby about the cardinal either. WOW.
Obviously they are much more striking in person than a picture but I had to share. Stay tuned it is only going to get better and thank you to those who are following our blog.