My Glass, Cape Breton And Me

Lumiere 2011

2011-10-02T17:43:00.001-03:00

Last night was a great night for local artisans and musicians in Sydney. I wandered Charlotte St for a bit and saw lots of friends as well as great art and performances. No doubt it was a great success and looking forward to future events.

My friend Shari had some great pieces I was anxious and needless to say I wasn’t disappointed.

Our friend the racoon, in

a hurry to get to Sydney in time, although he maybe hitch hiking the wrong way. Good news he made it.

The fox was absolutely beautiful. Unfortunately I didn’t get a good shot of the crows but Shari did so I borrowed hers..

He wasn’t that bright but my flash was.

Congratulations to all who participated, job well done. Hope to see you all and more next year.

Flickr Tags: Lumiere,twig animals,Cape Breton,Cape Breton Craft

Kiln Formed Dichroic Pendants

2011-03-12T19:32:00.001-04:00

One more product to add to our table this year.

Hard to get good pictures of glass especially dichroic. But I must say, I am very pleased how these turned out.

Flickr Tags: Kiln formed jewelry,dichroic glass jewelry,jewelry,fused glass jewelry

Fused Glass Trays,Plates and a Bowl

2011-03-10T17:38:00.001-04:00

The dishes are slumped. The jewellery still needs fire polishing and bails. Tomorrow is another day.

When I stacked the 2 plates/trays and the bowl together I realized they would make a nice dinner ware place setting. Maybe by the end of the summer a new set of dishes.

This is a 3 section serving dish, would also make a very nice centerpiece with candles and beach stones or some crystals.

This is the bowl done in the same colours as the serving tray.

The 2 together with my helper in the back ground. She decided it was time for a nap, wish I could have joined her.

Smaller of the 2 plates.

Larger plate, much less dark blue. I love these colours.

From this angle you can see the contours of the plates.

See you tomorrow for jewelry.

Flickr Tags: Home decor,fused glass trays,fused glass bowl fused glass bowl,kiln fired glass

New Pieces for 2011

2011-03-09T12:23:00.001-04:00

I am trying to justify(and I think doing a good job of it) sitting in front of the boob tube for the past couple of weeks watching curling. First the ladies played in Charlottetown,PEI and now the guys are in London, On for the week.

So while sitting here I have been putting some pieces together. This year I actually been digging through things trying to use up previously bought stuff. It is amazing what I am finding. Even some bags from Crystal Clear that I can use.

Of course the problem with this is I bought stuff to try so not a lot of anything. But keeps life interesting.

One of the first things I came across is very small pieces of black dichroic. I haven’t used black backed in years but I do keep everything even crumbs.

Like them all but very limited numbers

Also the last of the dichroic for now. I had some hair clip backs. They sell by the dozen so obviously wrecked some trying to see how they work because I only have around 20 for each size.

Last one is the different sizes.

Bonnie, my sister and partner will be so happy to see all that money spent is finally getting used.

And certainly have lots of crystal beads hanging around, so did some different styles till findings ran out.

They close with a lobster clasp.

And my favourite but only got 10 because I only bought 1 package of spacers.

And more to come tomorrow because the kiln is filled with 4 different plates/trays and some cast jewelry.

Flickr Tags: Fused +Glass,crystal beads,fused glass jewelry,crystal glass jewelry,dichroic jewelry,jewelry,crystal glass bracelets,dichroic pendants,dichroic hair clips

New Dichroic Watches

2011-02-24T14:36:00.001-04:00

Well have finally got some new watches made for the Center.

The dichroic pieces came out really good and the right size.

Flickr Tags: "fused glass watch bands","Dichroic glass watch bands",fused glass,"fused glass"jewelry,glass jewelry,kiln fired glass jewelry

Human Planet - Web exclusive series trailer - BBC One

2011-02-13T00:28:00.000-04:00

New Tools

2011-01-30T17:18:00.001-04:00

Well Lorraine and I finally checked out the small kitchen store that opened about a year ago. Better late than never I guess. Found several interesting things I can use in my glass.

First the brown sugar saver. It is one of those clay things you soak and then put in your brown sugar to keep it soft. If they were deeper I would be casting in them but they are not so thought I would make some glass clay and use these as a stamp. They might make nice pendants?,magnets? or maybe buttons? Time will tell.

The other item is just to neat for all kinds of different reasons. They will be great helping me get powder and frit into tight areas.

But mostly they brought a smile for all the times you tried to learn baking with your Mom. I took the picture so you can read the sizes.

Flickr Tags: fused glass,fused glass molds,fused glass spoons

Finally Some Movement Towards Ships

2011-01-13T15:05:00.001-04:00

Over the holidays we received a shipment of some glass crystal roundels and nuggets, I kept looking at them trying to decide what to do. A little bit of funk and retro seems to work. Also something bigger than I would usually make but apparently big works and sells.

So here is a shot of the mixture. The blue and copper are metallic and some of the others are aurora borealis coated. Some will make watches and some sets with necklace,bracelet and earrings.

Then I tried a couple of necklaces with the blue. First one done with small blue in between nuggets. The necklace will be finished with a combination small crystal beads blue,copper and amber with a lobster clasp.

Then I looked at it and decided to try copper crystal beads in between, with the same multi crystals to finish off the necklace.

I think I like the copper between better and will do the reverse with the copper nuggets.

Now I have to get back to cleaning the office.

Technorati Tags: Jewelry,necklace,crystal bead necklace,handcrafted jewelry,glass jewelry,crystal beads

Michique go to Hollywood 2011

2011-01-07T12:58:00.001-04:00

Women in Business Luncheon

2010-12-13T23:55:00.001-04:00

This past week a Women in Business luncheon was held at the Center for Craft and Design. I did produce some trays,plates and bowls for the function and Gallery Shop.Seemed to be a success wasn’t many left at the end of the week.

View Full Album

Technorati Tags: fused glass,fused glass dishes,home decor,kiln fired

Hot Out of The Kiln

2010-12-11T17:51:00.001-04:00

It’s been awhile but life got in the way and I didn’t have time to play.

I decided to cast jewelry for next season so here are the first experiments, not cleaned up or fire polished yet but they look good if I do say so myself.

Notice there are 2 belt buckles that came out particularly nice. I’ll take some individual photos later.

Also out of that firing several pieces of Our Town and Company Houses and the head of the pit.

Here is a picture of a typical Company House

Here’s a picture of the pit head from many years ago. The rail line carried men to and from the Deeps and hauled the coal out. Some of our mines were 7 miles out under the Atlantic Ocean.

In my grandparents time and before they used horses under ground.

Both men and horses didn’t manage to grow tall and strong. The men usually went under as boys and worked until they retired. While searching for these pictures I was once again reminded of the tough life a miner’s life was and how true the song “Owe my Soul to the Company Store” was.

This piece comes from the Miner’s Museum in Glace Bay, NS

“In March of 1925, Cape Breton coal miners were receiving $3.65 in daily wages and had been working part-time for more than three years. They burned company coal to heat company houses illuminated by company electricity. Their families drank company water, were indebted to the company store and were financially destitute. Local clergy spoke of children clothed in flour sacks and dying of starvation from the infamous “four cent meal”….

In the early days of 1925, “The Company”added insult to injury by eliminating credit for miners at the company store and further reducing days of work at the collieries…

The next two months were filled with grief and hardship; Besco cut off the sale of coal to miners houses and mounted a vigorous public relations campaign to blame the miners for their own predicament. The UMWA lobbied for intervention from the Liberal Provincial and Federal governments to no avail; this prompted the union’s most difficult decision to date. On June 3, 1925, the UMWA withdrew the last maintenance men from Besco’s power plant at Waterford Lake. (Doing this would have resulted in the mines filling with water) In retaliation, the company cut off electricity and water to the Town of New Waterford, which included the hospital filled with extremely sick children…

On June 11, 1925, drunken company police charged down Plummer Avenue on horseback, beating all who stood in their path. They rode through the schoolyards, knocking down innocent children while joking that the miners were at home hiding under their beds. It was the last straw…

Riots resulted with one miner William Davis being shot and killed

The miners’ reaction was swift and decisive. They swarmed the power plant, overpowered the company police and marched them off to the town jail. For several nights afterward, the coal towns were under a state of siege by the miners. They raided the company stores to feed their starving families and then burned the stores to the ground to eliminate the last symbol of corporate greed and servitude in the Cape Breton coalfields. The company stores never re-opened after the coal wars of 1925.

The history of mine workers is filled with memories of class struggle and of brotherhood. It is summed up in the words of former District 26 President Stephen J. Drake – “There is no finer person on this planet than the working man who carries his lunch can deep into the bowels of the earth. Far beneath the ocean he works the black seam an endless ribbon of steel his only link to fresh air and blue skies. The steel rails symbolize a miners’ life, half buried underground, half reaching toward his final reward…”

Long story maybe for a blog but sometimes needs to be said again.

Other Our Town pieces

Technorati Tags: Our Town series,Fused Glass,Home Decor,Cape Breton Mines,Company Houses,Glace Bay Miner's Museum,Cape Breton Island

New Fractured Marbles

2010-11-09T13:46:00.001-04:00

Still pushing ahead for the Christmas Craft Show at Center 200.

Lots to do yet but did do a couple of fractured marbles with iridized marbles. I am pleased with both the regular and iridized.

Flickr Tags: marbles,fractured marbles,iridized fractured marbles,glass

Better get back to work

New Glass Links

2010-11-08T12:25:00.001-04:00

This is a case of a change is as good as a rest. These I put in the small kiln last night and took out this morning. It started Sunday afternoon when I tried to weigh the frit. Bad batteries so off to Walmart. Batteries bought, half hour wasted. Put new batteries in to discover it was the scale. No second trip to walmart. So I guessed at the amounts and away we went.

Here are the results

These are sky blue and the necklace is actually long with the links on one side.

The other way they can be done are with these links

These loops of metal and what they call chain shorteners

These are diamonds and needed a little less frit. The colour is called pink champagne and would look good in the gold links but the silver were in my hand. Remember the first go is always play time to see what you can do with the new pieces. No more will be made before there is a new scale and the large Christmas fair at Center 200 is over this weekend.

Technorati Tags: cast glass,cast glass jewelry,art glass,glass links

David Gallo shows underwater astonishments | Video on TED.com

2010-11-07T15:26:00.000-04:00

David Gallo shows underwater astonishments | Video on TED.com

Fire Polished and Finally Ready

2010-10-31T15:19:00.001-03:00

Several things got done yesterday.

My Aunt Ann send some of her photos for the first time on her own. Here’s Louisbourg after high winds

Wendy opened her glass blowing studio and you can see some photos at

www.glassartisans.blogspot.com

And I fractured some more marbles, this time iridized ones

They will be ready for the Cape Breton Home Crafters Christmas show at Center 200 on Nov 12,13 and 14. Along with lots of other goodies.

And last but not least I finally fire polished the pieces I made awhile ago. Because they are cast each one is unique.

Above are the 4 sizes of the tag series. More different styles before next season

Have a fun Halloween

Flickr Tags: Fused glass pendants,glass blowing,Louisbourg,Cape Breton,used glass tag pendants,jewelry

Glass Blowing Studio Open

2010-10-29T14:58:00.001-03:00

Wow after an eventful summer of getting a homemade propane furnace to pass inspection Wendy Smith has opened her new glass blowing studio. Wendy will be opened until Nov 26 this year. So if you are in the North River area stop in and see glass being blown.

John Robert’s Leatherworks will also be open to the end of November, so several places to stop and see local crafts being created.

I’ll probably take a drive up tomorrow and get some pictures that I will post over the weekend.

Technorati Tags: Cape Breton,glass blowing,leather works

Painted Sea Glass

2010-08-22T16:01:00.001-03:00

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.

Flickr Tags: Sea glass,hand painted sea glass,hand painted flowers,hand painted birds,jewelry,beach glass,Cape Breton

Kiln Gods Weren’t Smiling This Past Weekend

2010-08-16T16:47:00.001-03:00

I decided to fuse a piece of glass that I really liked and turn it into a lamp shade. Needless to say it was the only piece I had.

Really is nice, this is the back and I just have it sitting in a stand to hold it.

This is the front. Don’t ya just love those bubbles in the center,especially the large one.

Also made several other pieces. Another piece of Our Town Series

A few small bubbles in this but that is common in fusing. Done on clear with transparent pieces of glass for the houses.

And 2 pieces that will probably become clocks.

Not all the weekend was bad however, spent several days in River Bennett with Shari,lots of relaxing time and great friends.

Also went to Cheticamp and stopped along the way for some pictures.

It was a warm sunny day so a few minutes along the ocean was justified. This is the shore at Belle Cote. Can’t imagine the wind here in the winter. This poor house has to get the brunt of high winds.

Will try again tomorrow for more pieces and figure out what kind of offerings I need to appease the kiln gods.

Flickr Tags: fused glass,Our Town Series,Our Town,lamp shade,Cape Breton,Cheticamp,home decor,kiln fired,fused glass clocks

Our Town Pieces

2010-08-02T14:28:00.001-03:00

Long before someone thought they invented rows of townhouses, we had row houses. They were cold and drafty and owned by the company. Back in the day you couldn’t own them you could only rent at the pleasure of the Company. Eventually the Company was gone but some of the row houses remain in Our Town.

Long before duplex we had company houses. They also were owned by the Company as the name suggests. Again the Company is gone but the “Company houses” remain in Our Town.

Now that these houses are owned privately, what amazes me the most is that they never seemed to get painted or sided the same colour. So even though they are attached they are usually bright and colourful. The other thing that amazed me as a kid was that there was always a fence going straight down the center. It never went anywhere and everyone walked over it. There was always a yard full of wildflowers, miners didn’t have time to mow grass. And always a bunch of flowers in a bottle or glass on the kitchen table that one of the kids picked.

And then in Our Town there was Grandma’s house.

It was always bright and cheerful. It bulged at the seems with family members filling every corner. There were lots of kids and grand kids to enjoy the flower beds, the wishing well, the benches scattered around and especially the swing on the big branch of the apple tree. It was a hugh tree and we were either climbing it or using the swing.

Life really is good in Our Town

Flickr Tags: Fused Glass panels,fused glass,home decor,Our Town Series

Our Town - New Pieces

2010-07-28T12:11:00.001-03:00

2 pieces came out of the kiln this morning and I am extremely pleased. I changed the glass a bit and used opals instead of transparent. This allowed me to do the background powders before placing the houses, Can’t do that when you see through them, Doesn’t mean I won’t do both just wanted to try.

Feel free to chime in and tell me your preferences.

Skyline – Our Town

The skyline with a street in front. Across from the building a park with flower beds, paths and benches to relax and watch the world go by.

Our Town – Across the Water

And then there is the places across the water. Nobody has to worry about keeping kids in site. You learn to swim before you can walk. Every house has a garden, and apple trees. If you live on the water you have a dock with a rope attached to a raft for diving.

Life is good in Our Town

Flickr Tags: fused glass,art glass,home decor,Our Town Series,fused glass panels

Dichroic Rack

2010-07-24T20:22:00.001-03:00

Well today I managed to finish one rack of dichroic pendants in preparation of Aug. 24, the first of our fall cruise ships. Nice to be able to put the cover on and put away until the 23rd set up.

Next will be the marbles.

New Posters

2010-07-23T20:13:00.001-03:00

Have been staying close to home for the past little while so thought that I would be productive and do up a couple of posters for the fall cruise ship season. They will go behind our table. Unfortunately they won’t let us attach anything to the walls so can’t hang them. We have one easel so we will trade off.

Flickr Tags: jewelry,fractured marbles,dichroic pendants,posters,fused glass

Half Baked

2010-07-10T16:15:00.001-03:00

When I first fractured the marbles, one of my friend’s Shari suggested I call them Half Baked by Marg MacNeil. She suggested they were something like myself “half baked”. I actually liked the name and decided to use it.

So here are the “Half Baked by Caper Glass Creations”. They come in more colours and can be changed out for different coloured marbles.

Hope you enjoy them

Flickr Tags: jewelry,fractured marbles,half baked

Window Donation

2010-07-08T17:57:00.001-03:00

Haven’t posted in awhile but have been doing some pieces. Jewellery, wind chimes and cruise ships have been taking up my time. However did do a window for a fund raiser being held tonight at the Gaelic College. There is a dinner and auction and windows from different artists around the Island.

Hope they have a successful night.

I call this “At the Lake” from Our Town Series.

Have ordered new frames that will be in this week so will need to get more pieces up to The Dancing Beaver Gallery in Halifax. It’s on the corner of Water and Prince Streets.

Flickr Tags: Our Town Series,fused glass window,fused glass lighthouse,glass powders,home decor

Mermaid’s Tears

2010-05-11T15:06:00.001-03:00

Tomorrow is the third ship day of our season and from Sydney the ship is heading back to Europe. Sometimes I wish I was on it with them when it’s going somewhere I haven’t been. But if there is one thing I know for sure I am a true Cape Bretoner both from birth and more importantly because it’s where I want to be.

That being said these are being readied for the ship sales tomorrow. In sea lore they are known as mermaid’s tears and that story will accompany each piece sold. Every piece has been collected from a shoreline somewhere in Cape Breton. Other than drilling holes nothing has been changed. They are the real deal. It will probably not be to many years before there will be none left. We have become more environmentally aware and most bottles have become plastic.

These have been created by many years of being tossed around in the salt waters of the Atlantic Ocean among the rocks and sand and eventually washed up on the shores usually after a rough sea. The4 genuine pieces of sea glass have a pitted surface that only the salt water and sand can produce. The fake glass is tumbled and has more of a smooth etched surface.

Flickr Tags: Sea glass,jewelry,mermaid's tears,beach glass,Cape Breton Island

New Cast Glass Jewelry

2010-04-21T14:27:00.001-03:00

Okay some new styles.They need an explanation however because they are not finished yet. First they are cast so they end up with some burrs and bumps on them. These get cleaned off hence the scratches you can see on them. Also there are some larger areas that I will clean with the dremel this afternoon.

They will then go back into the kiln and be fired to a temperature that will soften the glass enough to remove all the scratches and will be shiny again.

I am really pleased with them and they are something different.

Flickr Tags: jewelry,cast glass jewelry,cast glass,glass frit,multi color kiln glass,kiln glass,kiln glass jewelry

Canadian Please

2010-04-18T21:43:00.001-03:00

Picked this up today on the warm board site. Very catchy

Doodles and Milllefiori

2010-04-08T21:23:00.001-03:00

I haven’t been posting much but have been working. The frame set is gone to it’s owner. The drawer pulls are gone to their owner. The ship season is now only weeks away and I have been rummaging around to see what I can make with supplies that are already here. I am forever buying supplies and putting them away saying someday I will do something with that. Well the day as come.

Here is an example of pieces that I will be making for sale with previously purchased wire and crystal beads. They will be called Doodles

I must admit I really like them.

Also have been playing with some millefiori. I think the translation is a thousand flowers although in modern times they are making the canes in more than flowers.

Do I make the canes? NO and never, here is a picture of how they make them

They take all these tiny pieces of glass and very concisely arrange them in this steel mold to form flower shapes. The mold is then heated until all the glass is fused into one piece and looks like the pieces beside the mold. They then cut these canes into small pieces which can be used for many things. One is placing these pieces into molds to make jewellery and once again heating them until they become one piece. I buy them in pieces and fuse them. This picture is an example of that, a piece being put together, but not one of my pieces.

The second is one of mine finished because today the bails finally were found and I was able to finish a piece and get a picture.

Not to many of these because I am using up all of our stock but I am happy how it turned out and who knows what the future may bring in goodies.

Flickr Tags: Jewelry,millefiori,wire,crystal beads,pendants,fused glass,Doodles

Some Completed Projects

2010-03-23T20:57:00.001-03:00

I know I haven’t posted in awhile. Could have had something to do with the Olympics,The Hearts,The Brier and now the women’s World Curling. But honest, although I have caught a lot of the programming I did get projects completed. Didn’t get a lot of pictures taken but will show you what I did.

Did some coaster sets and desk sets for a local company.

The desk set consists of a coaster, business card holder and a holder for paper clips or whatever.

Also did a set for a new born. Don’t have a completed picture but the set consists of picture frame, light switch cover and a night light. Here’s is an idea of what it will look like and I will post a completed picture.

Did some drawer pulls for a fish room in Wendy’s shop. The glass is lagoon with ranges of blues,greens and whites.

I am really pleased with them.

Then worked on some watches. Earlier I posted the pictures of what most thought were bracelets. Well they were only they are for watches. This way the customer can pick the band and the watch face they want.

They are neat.

And last but not least I did some casting and am pleased to show you the new belt buckle.

I really really like the glass insert on the buckle.

And that folks is it for tonight.

Flickr Tags: cast glass,belt buckles,gemstone watches,fused glass picture frames,fused glass switch plates,fused glass night lights,fused glass coasters,fused glass business card holder,fused glass dish

Back to Some Gem Stones

2010-03-03T15:32:00.001-04:00

I have been trying to straighten up my house lately but not getting very far. I keep getting side tracked with “stuff”. I buy things with projects in mind then get side tracked or buy to much for what I needed but not enough for something else.

Last week I found watch faces and have lots of small amounts of gem stones left over from past years.

My friend Shari once mentioned that I should do interchangeable watch bands. One of those ideas I socked away and for the past couple of days decided to work on instead of glass.

So here they are

Flickr Tags: gemstone,crystal,watches,watch bracelets

Finished Fused Glass pieces

2010-02-26T15:14:00.001-04:00

Okay so the Olympics has taken over my life, it is almost over but remember the Brier starts on March 8.

Just to let you know that although I haven’t been blogging I have been working at glass in between everything and have some pictures to prove it.

Night lights finished, bagged, tagged and ready for sale

Stars – made, bagged tagged and ready for sale

Pictures finished, framed and ready for sale

And last but not least spent time trying to decide how to display our table this year as we are only going to have one instead of the 1 1/2 like last year. So room is the key. Found these new display items for our jewellery pieces.

It’s great, will hold approx 25 pieces and will take up less than a foot of table space.

So that has been my past 2 weeks.

There are drawer pulls firing now as I try to construct a back for them, there are clock pieces being done, lupine hot pads and belt buckles in the works.

Next week, new month

Flickr Tags: fused glass,home decor,desk accessories,fused,fused art,fused framed art,fused night lights,fused glass stars

February Challenge

2010-02-14T12:10:00.001-04:00

Even though I haven’t posted for the week I have been busy working on the business. The last 3 days and the next 16 or so are going to be tough as I am a great winter Olympics fan. It certainly doesn’t hurt that it is in Canada either, except the other side of the country and late hours for me.

However back to the challenge. Here are some pictures of some items done this week

Large piece within the series started last week. Colours get added and dropped depending what I am working on.

Also carried it through to some night lights

They look good plugged in with the light shinning through. You can see the different sizes of glass used and the texture on these are great.

And last but not least pieces for our town series that also will be made into night lights. These are fresh from the kiln in these photos and still have some fibre powder on them but look good.

These are my accomplishments this week. Also am working on a new computer program for artists. It is being developed by a company in the States and Jim has very graciously allowed me to participate in the testing. So I have started populating it yesterday. It will be amazing once I get the info in.

Flickr Tags: Fused glass,fused glass houses,fused glass night lights,fused glass framed pictures,Caper Glass Creations,Olympics,home decor,Our Town series,Our town series

Fused Glass – February Project

2010-02-09T22:40:00.001-04:00

To keep up with our challenge the kiln is full tonight. The mirror frame is hopefully being fixed, 10 small pieces in Our Town series either night lights or small wind chimes, whatever I decide in the morning as well as several larger pieces of the jellies. trying to get ahead so I can vegetate in front of the TV during the Olympics.

Flickr Tags: fused glass,wind chimes,fused glass night lights

Monday not good for glass

2010-02-09T10:33:00.001-04:00

Well I didn’t get things in the kiln as I wanted but did my chores and picked up the hot plate to be able to kiln wash my metal molds. They have to stay hot so the kiln wash will stick.

Did have lunch with some good friends which is always fun and sets the right frame of mind for everything else. We love to laugh and we do lots of that when we are together.

Here is a picture of a mirror frame I am working on. I am posting this before I get the mirror in to stay with the spirit of the February project.

This is fused glass pieces. I used white and black iridized with some of the iridized flipped to plain black. It will look great once the mirror is in it.

Flickr Tags: Fused glass,fused glass mirror frame,home decor

Fused Glass Project for February Project

2010-02-05T11:12:00.001-04:00

I am glad it’s Friday. I took on this February project with Janet and friends, and committed for weekdays only. I will have to use the weekend to get the brain cells active and plan my weeks for projects. My intentions are always good for planning but I am not very good at sticking to them. However I will try.

Here are my finished pieces for Friday the 5th. I do need a name for the series. So all suggestions for names will be greatly appreciated.I will do in different colours. My friend Shari says it reminders her of jelly. They are fused to a contour finish. The shapes of the pieces remain but there are no sharp point. All are soft and rounded.

Flickr Tags: framed fused glass wall art,wall art,fused glass,fused,home decor,kiln worked

Unfortunately not the best pictures in the world. Glass is very hard to get a decent picture of.

The 2 in one frame is a wall hanging only and the single one is a stand up frame.

Flickr Tags: art glass,framed glass art,fused glass pictures,framed fused art,glass,fused,fused glass,fused glass panels

Today’s Project- “the Pier” fused glass streetscape

2010-02-04T16:01:00.001-04:00

Was off to the Cape Breton Center for Craft and Design this morning for the opening of an exhibit called “up Home” It was there that the finished piece was given to it’s owner.

She grew up in the Pier, officially known as Whitney Pier and locally known as the Pier. She liked the bright colours and the reminders of our childhood when there was a diner and banks and Archie’s open and thriving.

Here we have a bank, Moraff’s Yarns(still open), a fish and chip diner(we couldn’t remember the name) It is one of those things that will wake you up at 3 am because you remember it then. And of course Archie’s Dry Goods store. The church being one of many in the small community has family ties and it is St. Philip’s African Orthodox Church.

Hope she has as much enjoyment seeing it as I had making it.

Flickr Tags: Fused glass,fused glass panels,home decor,Our Town series,Our Town

February Project

2010-02-03T16:29:00.001-04:00

I have decided to take my friend Janet up on her challenge. http://scarfaday.blogspot.com/

I will work everyday in February except for weekends either at the kiln or finishing projects from the kiln.

Hopefully this will kick start me in the right direction for the season.

So I started today and have several pieces in the kiln. One is the second firing of a panel I want to give tomorrow. Nothing like cutting it close. The worst is I usually do these in one firing and not sure why this time I decided to do it in stages. Hope it works, I slowed down the ramp up times as well as holding longer at the annealing time. Keep the fingers crossed.

Also have my first attempt at a mirror frame in the kiln. As well as 4 other pieces that are simply experimental getting ready for some frit painting.

As well I will shortly finish a piece I worked on yesterday. Will post a picture later.

Flickr Tags: February project,fused glass,fused glass panels,fused glass frit painting

Finally Winter and Some New Pieces

2010-01-30T19:48:00.001-04:00

Winter finally came to Cape Breton yesterday, but really it’s the end of January. Another couple of months and it’s over. This is unbelievable for Cape Breton and scary at the same time.

Anyway I did manage to take myself to the shed and get some work done yesterday. The stars are still out there. The pieces of jewellery were a total flop but the clock base came out okay.

It is 3 layers of glass, the white is iridized with a transparent blue in the center. It is 5in x 5in so a good size for a desk clock. What you see scattered across the face of the blue is Inca gold mica powder. In person it gives it a nice effect.

I would love to tell you it was easy to put together and it should have been BUT it wasn’t. One of the screws didn’t fit right and by the time I discovered that, it was already on crocked and I ended up having to break up the clock movement. Of course the next one I picked up fit perfectly and was on in seconds.

The other new feat to allow me to make the clock was actually making myself learn to drill holes in glass. It is quite daunting sitting there with this drill and a piece of glass sitting in a container of water, all I could think of was electrocuting myself.

As you can tell that didn’t happen. Even did some pieces of beach glass (mermaid’s tears) that my Aunt Joan picked up on the shores of Cape Breton.

So now that I know how to do that no more excuses.

Flickr Tags: Fused glass,home decor,beach glass,fused glass clock,fused glass desk clock,Cape Breton Island

New Year – Start of New Products

2010-01-03T18:01:00.001-04:00

Well Happy New Year everyone.

I have decided to start my new year this time by being more productive than I normally am in the cold winter months.

I will try for more regular posts on the blog. As well will post each new product as it is developed and produced.

This year I am going to do some fused glass picture frames, fused glass desk clocks, fused glass switch plates etc.

The first sample produced today is the set of four fused glass magnets contained in a metal tin. Each fused glass magnet is approx 3/4 of an inch square. I had some of the regular craft magnets but have replaced them with the very strong earth magnets. These definitely will not fall off by accident.

This particular set is done with 2 layers of fused glass and taken to a full fuse. Others will be tacked fused. They will be fun to do and package.

Flickr Tags: Fused glass,fused glass magnets,home decor,office supplies

New Pieces

2009-10-21T22:19:00.001-03:00

Finally have a chance to post some pictures.

We are going into the last week of the cruise ship season and things have been pretty hectic. Not a good time of the year for cruises in the north Atlantic. Some get cancelled because of the weather and others like today have passengers who can’t speak our language so don’t even try. Not great for sales.

Anyway here are some new fall leaves pieces

Technorati Tags: fused glass,fall colours,birch trees,home decor,art glass,glass panels

More of Our Town Series

2009-09-26T18:16:00.001-03:00

This one is called Main Street, Our Town. We have some shoes, crafts, gifts a mall and of course clothes. And you can’t have a Main Street that isn’t paved in gold.

This is 2 houses in Our Town series, perhaps mine and grandma’s.

Away for a few minutes to what I call “The Tree of Life”. The leaves are a moss green while the earth and branches are a bronze powder with dichroic accents.

And we are back to the changing of the colours so can’t have that without “Falling Leaves”

Back to Our Town, this is simply our house, You can see in the picture below that I put an easel back on it to allow it to stand or be hung.

And last but not least, a

night light in the series with the automatic censor, so it comes on as it gets dark, great for bathrooms or hallways.

Technorati Tags: Fused glass,Home Decor,Our Town series,Our Town,Main Street,fused glass night lights,Tree of Life,fused glass Tree of Life,Fused glass houses

Dichroic Glass Sculptures

2009-09-15T20:45:00.001-03:00

Well I finally took some time to get some pictures. First the fleur de lis for Fortress Louisbourg. Even did some special carding.

Here are the dichroic pendants, magnets and coasters and hot pads.

Then I did a new grouping of tacked dichroic pendants for the ships and while I was at it did some framed pieces that I call dichroic sculptures. Unfortunately these pictures don’t do them justice but will try to get better ones before putting them on the web.

I am really pleased with these pieces especially the one in the pewter frame. The wooden frames can stand, be hung or lay flat. the pewter frame is for hanging only and is bigger than the others as well as the glass pieces is larger.

Technorati Tags: Home Decor,Fortress Louisbourg,Cape Breton Island,Glass fleur de lis,Fused glass fleur de lis,fused glass pendants,dichroic glass pendants,framed glass art,pewter framed glass art.

New Fleur de Lis Pieces

2009-09-12T16:03:00.001-03:00

Time speeds by and can’t seem to keep everything posted. Did do some new fleur de lis pieces for Fortress Louisbourg. Will post some pictures later but have some dichroic fleur de lis pendants done as well as magnets,coasters and hot pads completed. Will take them out this week.

Last time I was out decided to drive to Kennington Cove. Hadn’t been there since I was a kid and forgot how beautiful it was.

Not sure where this guy ended up must have climbed over the rocks from here, no more foot prints.

It was a couple of days after Bill went through and the area had just reopened that day.

Technorati Tags: Fortress Louisbourg,Glass Fleur de Lis,Kennington Cove,Home Decor,Fused glass,slumped glass

Finally Fired

2009-09-12T13:25:00.001-03:00

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.

Technorati Tags: Glass eagle,enamel painting,glass parrot,glass enamel parrot,glass snow leopard,glass enamel snow leopard,arcylic painting,wall art,home decor,minature paintings,glass wildlife paintings,fused glass

New Product Line

2009-08-18T12:48:00.001-03:00

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

These pieces are going into our Mystic Fusion line but wanted to show you them in case you don’t follow that blog.

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

Technorati Tags: acrylic enamel paintings,fused glass birds,fused glass eagle,eagle,enamel painting,fused glass minature paintings,fused glass wearable art,wearable art,fused glass home decor,home decor,fused glass snow leopard,fused glass parrot,parrot,fused glass tiger,tiger,fused glass wild life,wild life,nature

“Our Town” series Nightlight

2009-08-15T21:01:00.001-03:00

Have been trying to complete orders and get ready for the ships starting the 23rd of August. Have done some fused glass night lights in “Our Town” series

And of course turned on

The light bulb in it is brighter than it should be at 7 watts, usually it’s 4 watts, and I didn’t have one. They came out very nice and are a nice addition to home decor.

Have completed other items, pictures to follow later and still ideas that haven’t been put to glass yet.

Technorati Tags: "Our Town" fused glass,Home Decor,fused glass night lights,Cruise Ships

Another trip to the North Shore

2009-08-07T17:25:00.001-03:00

Yesterday I went to deliver an order to Wendy at North Shore. I never look at this as a chore, I absolutely love Cape Breton and this time of the year it is particularly beautiful. So any chance I get to putter around I take it.

First we stopped at Shari’s for lunch. When we went into the shop we discovered that she sold the twig love seat she had there. A picture was in a previous entry, today it was replaced with her beautiful work

Then we went to Wendy’s to deliver the order and watch Kerry Ann Gibson demonstrating lampworking

That was fun and decided to take her glass when she has one in the area.

It was then time to return home along the ferry route. The mackerel are running so there are fishermen all along the shore. Some clean their fish there so the seagulls are ready and eager to get supper.

Won’t be long before the ships are back so have to get ready for my own stuff. Am going to do a number of the small metal wind chimes and put on the large tree I got last week, can’t wait to see it full. Along with the houses will probably do some fleur-de-lis as well as some stars of David and flowers. So fusing and slumping is the name of the game for the next couple of weeks.

Technorati Tags: Cape breton,fused glass,art glass,home decor,lampwork glass,glass fleur-de-lis,Glass Star of David,glass flowers,glass houses,fishing,baskets,seagulls

A Couple of Days at River Bennett

2009-08-01T20:48:00.001-03:00

I enjoyed a couple of days off this past week and spent them with my basket weaving friend Shari. I noticed she put one of the baskets on her site that she was working on when I was there.

Really nice colours.

I did manage to get 2 wind chimes done while I was there, and Wendy picked them up on her way home. Heard from her this evening and she needs more.

When I arrived home my ornament trees had arrived. I have 2 of these small trees and a large one for our table in the fall. Now I will have to make sure I can fill them with fused glass pieces. The branches can be adjusted and the small one holds 64 pieces each.

The other thing I have done is in “Our Town” fused glass series. The small fused glass pieces I decided to turn into small wind chimes. I like those, as well would make nice fused glass nightlights. Got a couple of weeks.

The other good news is Louisbourg Fortress wants some cast glass and fused glass fleur de lis. So I will be working on them as well.

Glad I had 2 days off.

Technorati Tags: River Bennett,baskets,fused glass wind chimes.fused glass ornaments,cast glass,fused glass fleur de lis,cast glass fleur de lis,fused glass

I Really Was Working

2009-07-27T14:13:00.001-03:00

Technorati Tags: fused glass,home decor,cast glass,cast glass faces,cast glass pendants,fused glass jewellery,fused glass panels,fused glass flowers

Well I am officially on our 4 week break. That doesn’t mean I don’t have to work, just means I don’t have to pack up once a week for a day at the ships.

I need to make wind chimes for Wendy. And have completed some things for the Center. Some panels

This one will be a series of many which will become the Our Town Series

This one Lorraine says looks like earth when you see it on the internet. I see it as many paths in life some connected, some dead end.

This one absolutely steals my attention. When looking at this one I ask myself “What’s Out There?”

The above are fused pieces and great for home decor

Then I did some glass casting. I cast some glass jewellery as well as the sea shells and another face.

I like the striking contrast between the red and black.

The shells you have seen before as well as the glass cast boxes. And although the face is similar here is the new face.

And to throw a little fun in here are some future items as soon as I figure out what to do with them. They could be pins?, they could be the start of small wind chimes?. So if you have any ideas please add some comments, would love to hear your suggestions. They are 3inhx1.75in w.

And last but not least several pins, same mold done at different temperatures. Which is your favourite – detail or not?

And almost for got small faces.

Technorati Tags: Fused Glass,fused glass panels,home decor,cast glass,cast glass jewellery,cast glass faces,cast glass sea shells,fused glass "Our Town",cast glass flowers,fused glass jewellry

So you see, although I wasn’t writing I was working.

New Shelves

2009-07-20T22:10:00.001-03:00

Well the good news is that all the wind chimes I dropped off at Wendy’s last week has sold and she needs more. I have dropped off a fleur de lis at Fortress Louisbourg and am waiting to hear back from them. And this is the last ship this week until August 22. So that gives me 4 weeks to get enough done that once the ships start arriving in multiples I won’t have to come home and produce anything.

And the best news of all is the new shelves got installed in the work shed and once organized I will be able to fuse glass,cast glass and play with glass frit and actually have room without having to move everything to find a couple of inches. Life is good.

Got some good ideas for displays on our table this year that should show it off well. we now have 5 glass artists at the cruise terminal so we have to get folks to the table.

Technorati Tags: kiln firing,fused glass,cast glass,frit glass,cruise ships,glass artists

LiveJournal Tags: kiln firing,fused glass,cast glass,frit glass,cruise ships,glass artists

End of Week Wanderings

2009-07-12T14:04:00.000-03:00

I did a little bit of work and a little bit of site seeing the end of this week. Started on Friday and wound our way through back roads to Louisbourg. Stopped at the Visitor Information Center and dropped of a fleur de lis. Am hoping that we can do some business together. If you haven’t been to Fortress Louisbourg in awhile it is worth a day of your time. Wander the park grounds and take in all the sites. It is truly a “back in time” feeling and one you shouldn’t miss. Take a jacket just in case although one wasn’t needed on Friday. The folks in the Information Center and on the grounds are friendly and professional and a pleasure to deal with.

Of course couldn’t leave Louisbourg without driving to Lighthouse Point. And even though I didn’t take a picture of the lighthouse I did of the Fortress from there.

You can tell it was a beautiful bright sunny day and we sat at the picnic table letting the world pass by.

Yesterday, Saturday, we travelled to the other side of the Island. Another beautiful day. We took the Englishtown ferry instead of driving the loop. The new ferry arrived this winter. I don’t like it, can’t stand at the railings any more and that was the fun part that we did since we were kids.(that wasn’t yesterday) Progress isn’t always better.

We stopped at a few gift shops along the way and ended at Wendy’s and saw 2 pieces of my fused pieces one being My red fused glass in Peter's jewellery. Had a great visit and found out that Wendy is going to have demonstrations at her shop this year. One is going to be a young glass blower. Watch for that date as we don’t have any glass blowers on the Island so it should be fun and informative.

Or next and last stop was at Shari’s new basket studio. She has been working hard and this is her first season in her new studio so if you are out in the River Bennett area stop in and see her work. It is awesome. She does baskets as well as twig furniture.We did take a few pictures there

The love seat Lorraine is sitting in is extremely comfortable. Check out her blog at

http://redtwigbrowntwig.blogspot.com/

And now that it is summer it is to hot for Milley to stay in the car so she stayed home and sulked. She won’t look and is with holding kisses. Oh well!!!!

Next week will be new fused and slumped glass pieces. I have several pieces ready to be slumped and others in the head that need to be made.

Stay tuned.

Technorati Tags: Cape breton,Fortress Louisbourg,River Bennett,Ingonish Ferry,slumped glass,fused glass,fleur de lis,baskets,twig furniture

Try,Try Again

2009-07-06T22:37:00.001-03:00

Well the kiln is full again tonight and have the small cast glass jewellery pieces in once again. This time I used medium frit for the pieces so we will see in the morning how they turn. Also did them in a dark purple and clear as well as cobalt blue and clear. Definitely will be freckled. Will post pictures in the morning.also have some pieces in for a 12in snack tray, small sushi plate and some soap dish sizes. As well tried my new frit maker today. It is surprising how much frustration you can take out with this thing.

At the end I took some of the frit and used it on a 10 in circle. It is all transparent and will be fully fused. I have a picture in my mind but don’t think this will be it. Probably should have held off until I was doing some tack fusing.

Oh well tomorrow will tell.

Technorati Tags: Cast glass,jewellery,cast glass jewellery,fused glass,sushi plate,home decor,serving plate

Wall of Shame (shame it didn’t come out it would have been awesome)

2009-07-04T17:51:00.001-03:00

Alright despite what I said last night I decided to fire up the kiln with the pieces that were ready. I opened the lid this morning with a great deal of excitement, looked in, closed the lid and drove to Tim’s for a coffee. Some days the kiln gods smile on ya and other days they have their fun at your expense. This was my day for them to have fun.

I cast some large tear drop pendants, they didn’t even warrant a picture.

I also did some small faces that I was going to make into pendants. They came out something like my mood with the weather these days. Shrunken and mis-shapen

Because they are definitely one of a kind I will wear them because honestly I luv em! They are approx 2.5hx1w. That wasn’t the dimensions they were suppose to be, nor were they suppose to have large areas of their faces missing.

I also did some medium faces, so here they are before cleaning.

They look relatively decent from the front but the back ain’t pretty.

One of the other items was a fleur de lis, where the fingers are in the picture attached is where the glass shrank and didn’t fill out to the ends.

That’s to bad because that is what I wanted to take to Louisbourg.

The other item again no picture was a (was going to be) a carved vine and flowers in a 5hx7w cast piece. It cracked in the annealing cycle on the way down and was in pieces when I opened the kiln.

So that is my sad tale of woe. However I do know what I did wrong and one valuable lesson I learned was 35 grams of glass is not made equal and that I will never forget.

Have a great one and for you American folks Happy 4th of July.

Technorati Tags: Glass,cast glass,faces,cast glass faces,fleur de lis,cast glass fleur de lis,weather,kiln gods,Fortress Louisbourg,Cape Breton

Weather

2009-07-03T18:11:00.000-03:00

Nothing else needs to be said, it is miserable. With it being so overcast and wet for the past I don’t know how many weeks, I was finding it very hard to motivate myself to create any new glass pieces. Today I went into the Center for the first time in months and discovered that a new glass artist to the Island has the place full of pieces and I actually had to look around twice before I found my items in a corner. That was the kick I needed.

Tonight they are calling for thunder and lightening so I won’t turn the kiln on, however I do have numerous molds already filled and ready to do some casting. I have some fleur de lis molds ready to go, if they come out good I will approach the Fortress Louisbourg gift shop, which is a national park situated on Cape Breton.

Also some faces medium and small in size. The small ones would make nice pendants. Also getting the casting molds ready to do more boxes and sea creatures.

Then I decided I will make some larger pieces that fit the stands I have in the shop. Also have some other ideas cooking but will wait until they are finished and I can post the pictures. Look for new photos first of next week

Technorati Tags: Cape Breton,Fortress Louisbourg,weather,cast glass,fusing glass,glass artist

Fused glass Enamel Paintings

2009-05-27T18:54:00.004-03:00

This was just posted in Mystic Fusion but these 2 pieces are to nice not to post here as well.

Bob gave me these 2 items today and I will do the initial firing tonight. Tomorrow you can follow up on the Mystic fusion blog if interested

Cast Glass Box

2009-05-24T11:03:00.001-03:00

Finally got a box done. Made it with glass powder instead of fine frit because that was all I had. I mixed some "turns pink" into "water clear" I am very pleased with the colour and with different mixing you could do some marbling very easily.
Soon I will have my orders finished and be able to send some time with new rings and pattern bar molds

New Cruise Season Starts

2009-05-15T12:57:00.000-03:00

Well it's Friday at noon and I am having a hard time realizing that the first cruise ship arrives in Sydney tomorrow. I am not ready and don't have anything for the shops that carry my work as well on the waterfront. Lorraine and I head out later to set up. Won't take us long. Hoping for a good season this year but really have no idea how it's going to go.
I will tell you tomorrow evening how the day went.

New Fused Glass Pieces

2009-05-13T11:43:00.002-03:00

This came out of the kiln this morning. The 2 green trays are done with 2 layers of clear and a combination of frits that remind me of tide pools formed between rocks once the tide goes out.
"Missy" the face has been slumped into a bowl and will end up in a gallery in Cheticamp in a folk art gallery .
The lattice work bowl is destined for a shop in Mahone Bay. Check out my web site
www.caperglasscreations.com
to see where our pieces are carried.
The final tray is going to the Cape Breton Center for Craft and Design for their auction Friday night.
Hope they have a successful night.

A Cousin

2009-05-03T11:03:00.000-03:00

Since this is my blog about all glass I do as well as living in Cape Breton, today I will post the cousin. I am pleased with this pieces and would like to do a series but can't quite figure out how to display them. Any ideas will be greatly appreciated.
Also fired some of our (Bob MacDougall and I) Mystic Fusion pieces and am hoping I can enter them in this part of the post.

I have to say photos don't do these items justice. Next shots will be these done up into pendants

And now for acouple pictures of my Cape Breton in winter taken by my Aunt Ann.

This is at the Miners Museum at Glace Bay, Cape Breton NS

This is a shot of the outside of the Miners Museum

Another angle of the outside of the museum

And that is it for Sunday morning in Cape Breton.

A new Cast Glass African Mask

2009-04-28T19:22:00.000-03:00

Well I took an small cast glass Africian mask out of the kiln. Next week I should be able to use the new rings but for now I tried a mask. It is probably 5 inches long and about 3 in. wideand about an inch to 1 1/2 inches thick.
I really like it, will have to come up with some kind of a stand for it. I would like to do a series of different colors as well as perhaps larger masks.

New Casting Rings

2009-03-27T18:24:00.004-03:00

Today I picked up the new casting rings and can't wait to get started however I have some orders that need to get done first. Today was an absolutely beautiful day in Cape Breton so took the time to visit Laura Moore in her new shop in Bras D'Or. Laura is the owner of Finders Keepers and we have agreed to put some of my cast shells done from recycled glass in her shop. http://lamooredesigns.com/
Check out her website.

Some new pieces

2009-03-25T11:04:00.003-03:00

I have been ignoring this blog and shouldn't be. So I will bring you up todate on some new pieces.

Janet has set up a ring for Cape Breton Artisans and apparently my blog on wordpress isn't going to link over so I will keep this one going as well as the other one.
This one is on the same site so will work fine.
These pieces are cast from recycled glass and will find themselves in a few shops on the Island as well as one in Mahone Bay.

Silver Dart

2009-03-01T09:50:00.001-04:00

It's Sunday morning forgot the pictures

100 Years of Motorized Flight in Canada

2009-03-01T09:35:00.002-04:00

Well last Sunday, my sister Lorraine and Aunt Ann made our way to Baddeck to witness the reenactment of the flight of the Silver Dart on Baddeck Bay. It was a beautiful sunny day and one day earlier than the actual flight day that was Feb 23, 1909. However par for our winter it was calling for our 11th major storm of the season on Monday and it didn't disappoint.
However Sunday made up for it. We stood on the frozen lake for approx 2.5 hours. The wind was strong and cold but we were dressed for it. The buzz and excitement was awesome and more amazing it flew. It was hard to get good pictures because as soon as I would get settled in a good spot a crowd would move and stand in front.
Dispite the cold and minor frustration in picture taking(it was so cold my Aunt's camera froze up)

2009-01-28T20:47:00.006-04:00

Some new pieces since last post

Where does the Time Go?

2009-01-22T18:33:00.002-04:00

I'm sitting here and it's Thursday evening already. Don't know where the time goes but I thought it would drag once I retired. Not so.
Mind is racing with ideas for new products for this year. Several of my customers have asked for Christmas ornaments so will do some. Also will do more of the above pieces.
I have until Feb 1 to get the business in order and ready to start producing for this year.

New Year - New Committments

2009-01-14T17:46:00.005-04:00

It has been almost a year since I posted here. Since then many things have happened. I sold the cottage in Margaree kind of a low point but I got over it.
Last year in business was tough as it was anywhere and every where. This year probably won't be much different but the attitude for the business is better this year.
I am going to organize myself and the business. Nothing worse than a home operated business that took over the house and all my time. Not this year.
Have been doing new pieces and have work in both www.glassartisans.ca along the Cabot Trail and www.scotianocean.com in Mahone Bay.
Participated in a gallery exhibition at the Cape Breton Center for Craft and Design called Winter Eve. Very nice, submitted 2 items and 1 sold so I am happy. The piece that sold is the glass houses in the wrought iron stand.
The gallery committee and staff at the Center do a great job on these shows.

Ok I have been playing

2008-04-19T14:33:00.003-03:00

Ok I have been playing. I am trying to be patient waiting for my orders to arrive so that I can get serious about producing pieces. I am pleased with the above pieces, especially the scallop shell. The other 2 are actually 2 bottles Shari gave me this week. They also are very interesting. Hopefully I can get my hands on some interesting bottles and be able to slump them.
Today I picked up a small torch, I am hoping I can use the flame to slump some small pieces of glass to see if I can weave some pieces to make some jewelry. If it works I'll post some additional pictures.
In the meantime also it is still cold outside I do believe spring is coming to Cape Breton. Have a great day.

Some Glass Done

2008-04-17T11:04:00.002-03:00

Have been playing with the glass, some pieces done but no pictures yet. Once I take some I will post. The scallop shell came out great however the dragonflies and jewelry didn't fair as well. Lot's more work to do for sure. Can't wait for the summer to start and cruise ships to start arriving. I think it has been a really tough winter for retailers here in Sydney. Talked to one several days ago that said last Saturday was the worst Saturday and many shops experiences it. They are all scratching their heads.Let's hope it picks up for everyone.

Glass is in

2008-04-10T17:52:00.003-03:00

Alright with the help of 2 of my sisters (Joanne & Lorraine) and 2 really good friends (Shari & Janet) the glass got into the studio. I must tell you it was no easy feat. The studio is small and everything else is bulky.
I was going to do a kiln firing tonight but after slaming my finger in the front door trying to block the dog I decided that today has been long enough. Maybe tomorrow. Want to experiment with some star sun catchers and some sea related paperweights. I will post as they are produced.

OH OH Nothing Done yet

2008-04-06T16:44:00.003-03:00

Well I would like to tell you I accomplished all kinds of things this weekend but that would be a lie, although I did enjoy it. We finished our 4 day workshop with Tiiu Poder. I must say it was without a doubt the best sessions I have ever taken. And along with that we had a great group that was lots of fun. The final 2 days were on pricing and flow sheets and my big problem organization. I am no more organized but at least aware of it.
I will be making a trip to North Shore on Tuesday so I have no choice but to get some work done and get organized. If you are traveling the Cabot Trail in Cape Breton check out Wendy's shop Glass Artisans Studio and Gallery. It is worth the stop for sure.

New Day - New Glass

2008-04-02T11:36:00.004-03:00

Well today is a new day and there is a create of glass sitting in my driveway. Yesterday it snowed and today is mild and the poor guy delivering it got stuck in the yard. Maybe spring is coming to Cape Breton after all.
Now there is no excuse for not getting some work done,except my mind isn't there yet. If it doesn't get there soon the season will be over and I will have missed it. My mind is going in a million directions and I know I have orders to fill then I can play.
Someone suggested I should make fused glass chop sticks. Food for thought.
This isn't getting anything done so I had better get to work.
Have a great day.

April Fools

2008-04-01T09:47:00.004-03:00

It is a beautiful sunny day in Cape Breton - NOT. But I do know some day we will look like this again.
I am not so patiently waiting for my glass orders to arrive and along with usual products this year I want to learn to do glass casting. I am one of those people who likes to jump in with 2 feet and only read instructions when all else fails. I still see most things through kids eyes and see the joy and fun in most things I do. It is amazing since I have retired I have allowed myself to make mistakes without beating up on myself. And I am very very fortunate that I have a group of supportive friends. So dispite the snow today life is good.
I just talked to the trucking company they will deliver tomorrow. Yahoo
Stay tuned folks there will be lots of glass pictures to follow

Corporate Manager vs Own Boss - No Contest

2008-03-30T10:34:00.005-03:00

Okay it is Sunday morning with first coffee in hand. The world seems a bit brighter and it is not snowing today(so far).
I would not want to live anywhere else even on storm days.
I worked in the corporate world for 27 years when one cold winter day we came to a parting of the ways. Thankfully by that time I was back in beautiful Cape Breton and obviously had time on my hands. I always enjoyed crafts and decided that although our family had somewhat of a history in stained glass that wasn't for me. I decided to get on the internet and learn all I could about fused glass. I then purchased a kiln and started my quest. I haven't looked back since.
I am also very lucky because I have a house mate who keeps me going. Doesn't allow me to sleep in or stay up to late, nor does she allow me to get to comfortable. In her mind there are far to many things in this world to explore.
I believe I gave up one boss only to get another. Meet Millie

2008-03-29T23:33:00.000-03:00

Any day now winter will be over in Cape Breton. And I wonder why I need new railings every summer. But I wouldn't live anywhere else.