industrial arts inspiration ~ {the crucible}

I took a little drive up to Oakland for an afternoon of industrial arts demonstrations by numerous artisans who've no fear of fire. The Crucible is the kind of place that takes all your latent superhero fantasies of bending glass and twisting metal with your bare hands and makes them... reality! Wow.

We all left with visions of welding enormous metal sculptures, blowing glass bubbles and hammering out swords. Here are a few photos from this amazing, non-profit, educational facility. Once you've learned a trade, you can buy studio hours, go in and make to your heart's content.

He rolled the hot glass in the blue powder on the table for color.

I think the hot glass is so pretty!

(Eventually, he made a pitcher.)

Demonstration on bending glass tubes for neon signs.

He blows air through the tube during the bend so the passage stays open.

This guy was so cool. He gave me two linked heart-shaped tubes "to give to your sweetheart".

Everyone loved the blacksmith.

Twisting metal to make a very strong & handy hook.

You need a hood, protective clothing & eyewear to guard against the sparks & UV rays.

But then you can meld metal together into statues.

Yeah, I'm fired up! :D

Another way to bend steel.

This method feels a little spectacular. :)

Not trash ~ supply bins!

Melted aluminum being poured into ingots.

Hot stuff.

Art everywhere.

Right next to a BART exit so anyone can get there!

glass adventure ~ {part 2}

Originally sharp angles turned chubby after a stop in the kiln.

You might remember that I tried my hand at melting glass into little jewelry bits last month. The pieces went in the kiln and later I picked them up and put them on strings and chains. Here's how they turned out!
 

This was the largest piece. Fairly heavy, too. Not sure I'll wear it but it's neat.

I wish the picture were clearer so you could see its pleasing
purple/burgundy base color that feels right for fall.

Again, not the greatest photo, but one of my favorite pieces. I like its transparency.

It's interesting how the glass melted in layers, giving a different look when viewed from the front, side or back. See ~

I haven't decided what to do with all these glass necklaces now, but it was definitely fun to make them. Next time I'll try to create some matching earrings, perhaps.

glass adventure

Some years ago, my mother introduced me to her friend Margie, who is both a potter and maker of glass jewelry. Margie had six of us over last night to try our hand at making some glass art. This was my first time with this medium so I started with the glass bits from her scrap box.

Bounty in the scraps.

I learned how to score and snap-cut the glass into smaller sizes and shapes, but then decided it would be a fun challenge to use only the pieces as I found them.

I was a little hesitant at first, gathering colors and trying to figure out how they looked together. At first I didn't like any of the combinations I was coming up with.

Um... now what?

In the meantime, my friends Noriko and Hiroko (who had just arrived from Japan and were completely defying jet-lag) seemed to know exactly what they were doing. They were cutting tiny pieces for earrings and gluing pretty stacks of colored glass on top; scoring larger pieces for necklaces and making everything match.

Noriko's work in progress.

PJ, on the other hand, had already fused her glass on an earlier day and was now grinding off the rough edges and finding pretty cords and fixings from which to hang them.

A little water is needed when grinding, just like when cutting tiles.

Finally I got my wits about me and made five mini artworks for necklaces. The big white and silver piece had been fused before and tossed into the scrap bin, so I just added a couple accent colors on top. Perhaps it will make a good magnet.

Craft glue holds the pieces in place until they're fused in the kiln.

After everyone's pieces were ready, I closed the kiln and fired it up. It's all digital, so that was just a matter of pushing buttons. By now the pieces are fused and ready for finishing, but I can't return as soon as Hiroko and Noriko, who will finish their jewelry this week while I'm at work.

In the kiln: mini glass collages ready to fuse by Noriko, Hiroko, Yukie and me.

These are some fused pieces that Margie had for us to see as samples.

And here are just a few of her finished earrings made with this type of glass technique.

I'm keen to see how the pieces transformed in the kiln. I wonder how much "spread" occurs and how the colors I've chosen will blend. Looking forward to my next appointment at Margie's to find out!

Thank you, Margie, for a very fun and creative evening. ^_^