There's this thing I do...

[glassy_witch]

...well, actually there's loads of things I do and some of them are quite annoying, even for me!

But on this occasion, I'm talking about my glass. Yes yes! That fing what I does when it's all about the shiny-stuff-making activities!

Well. Here's the thing. I just linked my website to this 'ere place, so I thought I'd best sort of...mention glass a bit more, maybe? I mean, it wong be the only thing I babble on about. I'm one of these new fangled human things with slightly more complexities and so on than your regular houseplant. Except possibly clematis. Those things are TOUCHY. Or they just don't like me. I mean, could be either. But I digress.


So yeah. I make shiny stuff. And yes, amazing as it is to me, my accountant, and probably my mother, I actually sell it sometimes, too! I do that over there on https://glassywitch.uk. And also at a couple of places, my absolute favourite being Maker's Barn at Petworth. Rosie is amazing.

So, with that in mind here's what I made on Sunday:



I get asked sometimes about my "handmade" claim. And...yes. I can understand why I do.

You see, those frames that I use come in cardboard boxes stamped with "Made in China " all over them. Because they are. So, no. I don't make the frames, I'm afraid. I'd LOVE to use the fellow down the road who does BRILLIANT framing - but then I'd have to pass on the costs and his work is GOOD, so it has a price commensurate with his skill. And I doubt anyone wants to be paying the extra 120 quid on top. I mean. *I* would, and indeed have had him reframe things because he's that good. But I recognise that it's not really something I should impose on other people.

And then there's those murrini (murrini, for the uninitiated, are coloured glass canes that get chopped up for use on things like this). So, the foxglove flowers, the poppies, ivy leaves, and the wheat ears are all murrini created by the endlessly fabulous Tabitha out in Croatia. So no, I didn't make those. I arranged them on the piece, but didn't make them.

The freeze and fuse. I made those. Well. Some of them. Most of the moulds though, I didn't make. And the moulds I DID make? I took impressions from small toys, brooches, pieces of jewellery, button, pin badges...so...DID I make those?

Oh,and no, I didn't make the lantern bodies, either. Most of them come from Ikea, or The Range. I think probably made in China too. I mean sure, we have a forge. But I'm not sure that anyone wants ot needs a lantern that weighs 48 kilos because it's been made of mild steel. Ahhh, the curse of the blacksmith. Able to make anything except a profit ;)

And then the glass. Nope. I didn't make that, either. Not the sheet glass, not the powdered glass, and not the frit (4.30pm the crushed glass which is more coarse than a powder). All made by a company called Bullseye. I didn't build the kiln, or make the kiln paper, or the kiln furniture. I didn't power the kiln - the solar panels (which I also didn’t make) did that.

Yet, I stand by my claim of handmade just the same. Because I have to have the idea and then put the pieces together in the hope of making that idea real. Then I have to decide on a firing schedule which will hopefully result in the outcome I want. And sometimes, it doesn't work out. Sometimes the annealing is wrong, and the piece suffers an unscheduled rapid dissembly. Or the soak time was too long and the temperature too high and it turns into a shapeless puddle. That's all on me and the choices I make when I am making a piece and programming the kiln to cook it.

But no. I don't make the frames, the lantern bodies or the sheet glass. But I hope you don't mind if I go on saying it's hand made all the same? ;)

Comments

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> I thought I'd best sort of...mention glass a bit more, maybe? <<

I love all kinds of glass art. Yours is among the more impressive that I've seen outside of a gallery or museum -- the colors, the texture, the composition. Most people either work flat glass or fully 3D sculptures, so seeing a flat textured piece like this really stands out. The foxgloves and sunflower are particularly apt.

I think the only downside for me is that the bees are a bit chunky, which makes them harder to recognize, and that's an effect of their construction. To get more dimensional bees, you'd need to lay down body cane and then affix separate wings. It'd look more beelike, but I suspect it'd be a lot more work and also riskier.

>>I get asked sometimes about my "handmade" claim.<<

The color choices and construction are all yours. I suspect the cutting is too. So it's handmade.

>>But I recognise that it's not really something I should impose on other people.<<

So don't impose it, ask buyers what they want. That should be doable if you're selling on a website. For a craft gallery, cheap frames are fine, people can upgrade after they buy it if that's what they want to do. For a fine art gallery, a fine art frame might be advisable. But on a website, do you need to frame the glass before you sell it? Or could you show the glass, show the frame options, and let people pick what they want? For that matter, they could even buy it in a cheap frame first, then take it to your framer friend later, so as not to have to pay for all that at the same time.

>>And then there's those murrini (murrini, for the uninitiated, are coloured glass canes that get chopped up for use on things like this). So, the foxglove flowers, the poppies, ivy leaves, and the wheat ears are all murrini created by the endlessly fabulous Tabitha out in Croatia.<<

Lots of artists use those. Probably a majority of handmade glass beads start as multicolored canes of some sort. It's handmade, just not all by the same person. Most artists don't mix their own paint anymore. There's a sheep-to-sweater fair around here (I'm in central Illinois, somewhat south of the Great Lakes) but that's rare in crafting.

>> Ahhh, the curse of the blacksmith. Able to make anything except a profit ;) <<

The trick is finding the right things to make. Lanterns, maybe not. But around here, fireplace grates and tools, campfire cooking equipment, etc. are quite popular. Plus of course the spiral courting-candleholders, railroad spike knives, and horseshoe nail rings for the low end of the price range. But the real profit seems to be in practical, durable tools that aren't easily available on the commercial market. YMMV, your market is in a totally different locale.

I would enjoy hearing about forge / blacksmith projects too, especially with pictures.

>> Yet, I stand by my claim of handmade just the same. Because I have to have the idea and then put the pieces together in the hope of making that idea real.<<

Exactly!

I didn't make the pots or the plants, but I make them into gardens.

>> Then I have to decide on a firing schedule which will hopefully result in the outcome I want. <<

That's the really hard part. From what I know, flat glass is easier. Firing a stack of textured glass so that it will A) all stick together securely, B) not melt into a flat puddle, and C) not break is extremely difficult. Glass is even bitchier than ceramics, and when you're using different colors, the chemistry affects the physics in subtle ways even if the glass is all classified in the "same category" for firing purposes.

If you want to be a bit snarky, print off a page of thermodynamic math about how a glass kiln works. At the top, write "Why does it cost so much? I do the math."

>> And sometimes, it doesn't work out. Sometimes the annealing is wrong, and the piece suffers an unscheduled rapid dissembly. Or the soak time was too long and the temperature too high and it turns into a shapeless puddle. That's all on me and the choices I make when I am making a piece and programming the kiln to cook it.<<

Yep. I took some summer classes in ceramics during gradeschool, back when summer school was for hardcore nerds, and I was fascinated by the science of it. And while the grad students were blowing shit up, our class paid attention to how thick a piece could be and not explode, because our teacher took the time to explain and show and wouldn't let anything into the kiln that was too thick.

And glass is fussier than that.

>>But I hope you don't mind if I go on saying it's hand made all the same?<<

It's handmade. And so's the food I cook in pots I didn't make, from plants I didn't gengineer. The people who are quibbling? Probably aren't artists.

Anyhow, I love your glass garden. Like Chihuly, but small enough to take home.

Re: Thoughts

[glassy_witch]

Aw thanks! That's really kind of you to say!

Ceramics though - that's some proper dark magics there. Always fancied having a go but then I get visions of the snail pots and things I made at primary school - and I worry I possibly peaked at 7 years old! ;)

The forge is a relatively new arrival - the Dearly Belovèd had mentioned it once or twice, so a taster course was gifted and when they came back, raring to do it again, I had a little natter with the blacksmith. Now, he's an ex-Forces blacksmith, very no nonsense, very blunt. He was so impressed with the methodical way in which he'd seen the DB work that he was more than happy to build me a mobile forge to give them for Christmas. So, it may have been a spot of hyperbole about the 38kilo lanterns, but I am very pleased that I can now have any length stake to hang my lanterns on! The sound of the forge, the hammer striking the hot metal on the anvil, is fast becoming a sound I associate with relaxed days. The phrase "making anything except a profit" is a VERY old joke though, that I recall from our village smith back in the early 80s...

Re: Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> Ceramics though - that's some proper dark magics there.<<

So very true.

>> Always fancied having a go but then I get visions of the snail pots and things I made at primary school - and I worry I possibly peaked at 7 years old! ;)

It's a lot of fun. There are three basic methods of handbuilding: coil, pinch, and slab. But there's also wheel throwing, which I never really did myself. You already know that you have an eye for color and composition. So you'd probably be good with ceramics.

>> he was more than happy to build me a mobile forge to give them for Christmas.<<

Awesome.

>>The sound of the forge, the hammer striking the hot metal on the anvil, is fast becoming a sound I associate with relaxed days.<<

I love it too.

>> The phrase "making anything except a profit" is a VERY old joke though, that I recall from our village smith back in the early 80s...<<

It dates back to just after blacksmiths stopped being essential to every settlement.

[michaelboy]

My father was a fine-art teacher and never spent very much effort on frames. He would make them out of scrap wood or reuse old ones. Your talent with glass is admirable!