Tuesday, Dec. 28, 2004 - 9:04 p.m.

glass geek!

I did the animal totem quiz thing and I came out as a spider.....ICK!!

I don't know why I do those quizzes....

Anyway, been playing A LOT with the new glass torch....I've already killed off two bottles of MAPP gas already (at $8 a bottle, this ain't a cheap hobby)and I'm barely getting warmed up! Heh. Get it? Warmed up? I kill myself.

I'm getting better at winding beads onto the mandrel and shaping them so that they are not all big useless globs of glass. I've learned a few things, too....clear glass takes longer to melt and get drippy....letting your mandrel get red-hot isn't helpful for the bead release to actually release when the beads are cool....I need to learn to make stringer so that my detailing doesn't look so globby and heavy-handed.

I also learned that I tend to hold my breath while working the glass. AND, I shouldn't lean over the torch so much while I work. I got light-headed after an hour and a half, which I'm pretty certain is because I was breathing fumes. Or carbon monoxide.

LOVE the industrial hobbies!

Anyway, I also started in on a project for 12th night....an assortment of painted small tracery panels and grisaille. The important thing is that I possess no kiln, and no easy way of obtaining the use of one right now, so I am trying to replicate the look of the tracing black paint and silver stain using some commercially-available 'glass paint' I got at Michael's. I played with it this afternoon, and made some sample pieces, and so far, so good. It doesn't tolerate brushing over very well, and it dries fast and is water-soluble, but the look is pretty close. Now all I need is to complete a couple small trial pieces, and write some documentation.

Tomorrow is the day I am going to focus on completing my new cotehardie and Balynar's tunic. If I don't get distracted by the glass, first. :) The cote needs sleeves drafted and cut and sewn, and B's tunic needs just the finishing trim, so it shouldn't be too bad. Then I have to do the finishing work on the cote -- bias for the neck edge and the front closure and buttonholes/buttons. I'm going to cannibalize my black short-sleeve cote for it's cast pewter buttons, because they will look FABU on the green silk. I have other buttons for the black gown, or I will just have to place an order for a second set of buttons from Billy and Charlie's.

That's what's been going on around here....lots of glass geeking, and some relaxing. Now if only I could stay away from the M&M's in the jar on the coffee table, I'd be set.

Going to bed now.....

previous - next