From the Studio and Other News

October in Ontario often means the advent of cooler weather; shorter days and longer nights… It also brings the beautiful colours of the fall season. Trees shifting from deep greens to vibrant reds, pinks, purples, oranges and yellows. All a reminder of the warmth of the summer past.  In May’s Bead of the Month blog I wrote about reduction glass produced by Double Helix Glassworks. These marvelous glasses come in two forms: solid rods or frit (crushed glass). This month I’ve been experimenting with the frit option- sometimes one colour alone, sometimes a mix of many. Each combination gives off...

As the days shift into the coolness of autumn I find myself reflecting on the summer past, particularly the glass adventures in my studio. At the height of the summer I was part of a class that encouraged me to once again try my hand at creating marbles. Six weeks and over 100 attempts later I can happily say I am still discovering new things every day. Dots, lines and colour combinations can bring interesting surprises in this small 26mm implosion. And I haven’t strayed too far from the wig wag design that I wrote about in last month’s Bead...

For a number of weeks now I have been enjoying the simplicity of the wig wag and it’s design possibilities. Originally this was the name for a railroad crossing signal that swung back and forth to alert of an approaching train, an eye catching pattern in bright lights easily transferred to the glass world. There are a number of ways to create this vibrant colored piece of thin cane. I usually start with a rod of white glass and cover it with horizontal stripes of two or more colours, which creates a rainbow effect. I then heat one end and pull it down to a 2mm...

As we head into July I continue to enjoy the warm weather in my studio and the lush green view from the window. Seeing the delicate rose buds open in the garden I’m inspired to try to capture their form and colour in my glass work. A murrini a day.... keeps me busy, so let’s take a closer look at their construction.  Murrini first appeared in glass work in the Middle East more than 4000 years ago. These techniques were later revived on the island of Murano in the early 16th century. Millefiori, which means “a thousand pieces”  in Italian,...

As spring turns to summer my garden is bursting with new colours every day. These shades of pinks, blues, yellows and greens inspire me to create new flower murrini and to search for interesting colours for the base of the bead. This spring the glass company Creation is Messy (CiM) has offered us some lovely opalescent pinks, purples, blues, greens and yellows to try in our studios. Most of these rods of colour come in both a misty and a milky (more dense) version. Not only is it exciting to try the single new colours but it’s also fun to...