In The Kiln III
Fun At 1,900° Fahrenheit, A New Commission, & Heady Winds
This Article’s Musings Include:
Our First Home Kiln Firing - And We Love The Results!
Las Vegas Winners Circle ◝(^⌣^)◜
Kathie Gets Another Commission - (It’s Going To Be A Banger!)
Airwick: Nasty As A Wet Yeti
Note: Contents may have settled during shipment due to Substack’s email limitations, click the title to go from the dollar menu to the all-you-can-eat buffet.
🕵🏼♂️ FULL DISCLOSURE 🧙🏼♂️
This post is made with 100% Authentic Intelligence.
Winsome Women Come Home Winners!
Hello Fearless Readers,
When last we met, the news was mostly about the trip to Las Vegas where the Ladies of the Manor went to set up booths and hold classes at the Glass Craft & Bead Expo here;
Returning home from such an event can boost an artist’s confidence and that wonderful feeling of being recognized for one’s own talent and vision! Congratulations!
Here are the awards;
Kory Dollar - First Place - Professional Class
LuDell Parrett - First Place - Amateur + People’s Choice!
Judy Popky - Second Place - Amateur
[All frames pictured were made by me, except the round one where all I did was embed the glass and applied a finish.]
Everything went well, albeit a few nerves needed defragging from trying to accomplish too much in too little time. All work and no fun can grind like sand in a bathing suit. Next year is supposed to be different ... ahem... we shall see.
ヽ(･ิ◡･ิ)৴♡
I know for certain that had I been there, all I would want to do is float in the swimming pool, bask in the sun, eat rich foods, and do nothing else - repeatedly. They wouldn’t be able to get my senioritis arse out of the pool if they threw in a hungry Rastafarian sea monster. Even the old Caddyshack “Baby Ruth” trick wouldn’t work on me. IYKYK
\(ᗒ︵ᗕ)/
DOTS - The First Batch From Our Own Kiln!
Thanks to the good graces of a few very kind people, Kathie was gifted a small kiln. It sat unused until expert Kory came to the rescue and programmed it. Once Kory pushed the right buttons, Kathie was on her way to making one of her favorite things - dots.
For reasons that escape me, the “dots” look like beads, but hey, I don’t make the rules. Whatever you call them, they are undeniably beautiful! The wild thing is, they begin as mere shards of broken glass - old Christmas bulbs in this case. Before, if I were to see the below mess I would have chucked them out as trash.
Here is what a typical tray looks like before going in:
Here they are after being fired at a peak temperature of 1,385°F.
Magic, right? The process takes about eight hours, beginning from the slow buildup of heat, to the long sustain, and then when things are good and melted as a California popsicle and the glass is now a puddle of goo, the temperature is very slowly decreased to keep things from cracking apart - sort of like me after waiting an hour on ‘hold’ for “customer service” that is ‘experiencing high call volume at this time’ - grrrrrr......
(ง'̀-'́)ง
Here they are cleaned of residue.
The possibilities are nearly limitless. If you are interested in getting some of these for yourself, bother me and we will send you some.
(＊๑˘◡˘)
Speaking of broken glass and odd things, below is a story by Substack extraordinaire Lois Thomson Bowersock, a writer you really ought to follow (once you finished with this article, of course).
It’s the story about a truly inspired labor of love that is almost unheard of today. The Little Chapel of Guernsey is an astonishingly intricate work by Brother Antoine Deodat. It is covered inside and out with tons of broken glass, pottery, and porcelain. Lois travels the globe and is a great writer. This is a short, fun read! Click on the above link or the picture to read.
COMMISSION FOR KATHIE - Octagon Window
Our very good friends Brenda and Ted built a tiny house in their back yard. In the gable they plan to install an octagon window where Brenda will have her office away from the squabbling kids. Loyal readers may recall that they purchased an art project of mine a while back because they appreciate hand-crafted works of art.
Having seen Kathie’s artwork, they asked if she would mosaic the window before it goes in place! How cool is that? Here are pictures as it is being made, the process is to mosaic over the picture they chose for a pattern which is placed below the glass.
[Click on any image to enlarge]
Kathie is throwing glass with the zeal of a Dexedrine fueled Ninja! Follow this site to see the latest by subscribing!
Notice: Rant Ahead!
Malodorous Oderifics
Have you perchance noticed the sudden and ubiquitous upsurge of plug-in “air fresheners” that expel all the best chemical fragrances science can formulate? I have noticed and am astonished at how widely they are blindly accepted as a net positive.
Maybe you are someone who uses them. Maybe you will reconsider. Or maybe after reading this you will tell me to go stuff it up my nose. Sideways!
Well, strap in, cuz Imma gonna bang on these insidious fumigators like a beatnik on bongo night.
These olfactory offensive weapons manufactures have engineered sumptuous fragrances such as “Wet Dog,” and “Microwaved Tuna Casserole,” or my favorite, “Tijuana Taxi” but give them more benign names such as “Ocean Breeze” or “Lilac” to obfuscate their actual constituents.
I mention this because several private-practice physicians have these tile-peeling contrivances in their tiny examination rooms where they will inevitably close the door and keep me waiting until the next geophysical epoch, or all the breathable air has been consumed and I’ll beg to end the visit as quickly as possible.
I know, some of you reading this are saying to yourselves;
“But I love my Febreze Deep-Fried Barbie Doll Scented Pheromone Eradication Appliance you belly-lint brained heathen!
Okay, fair enough, but I have a birth defect. I was born with something called a “palate” in which I am able to smell a litter box 100 yards away in a hurricane. So I beg your indulgence as I beg for a moratorium and, hopefully, the ultimate eradication of these foulatosis fog machines.
You: Okay, what do you suggest we do when some odoriferous fish-bag like you walks in with breath like a petting zoo?
Me: Well, how about you switch out that savory bus driver yoga mat juice with flowers instead? Or a few aromatic plants? An August tackle box smells better than those stench bombs! I would rather be trapped in a Turkish bath house with a Yeti smuggling catfish than endure that hell-smell fake fragrance - it’s toxic enough to make my eyes water!
The word ‘freshener’ does not belong anywhere near these fetid fountains and the term is fallacious at best, they ‘freshen’ absolutely nothing. Most alarming to me is the casual acceptance that these phthalate rich funk factories pose no threat to their health. They do indeed! Yes, some so-called non-toxic ones exist, but they’re not what most people use - and they stink too!
Another thing that puzzles me; why would anyone want the fire risk of keeping a cauldron of molten wax plugged in all night?
Okay, now that I got that rant out of my spleen, are we still friends?
ヽ(⚈‿⚈ )ノ
You could show your love with a cuppa coffee. Ignore the irksome prompts and enter any amount you can spare for my efforts, 0% of which is machine made.
Thank you for playing along. Speaking of playing, next should be a song I’ve been trying to find the time to finish!
Pretty fun blog, Hon.
Thanks for featuring the mosaic I’m working on. By the time your next one comes out I’ll be done with it. Then folks can see what Brenda will be viewing whenever she’s in her office.
I dislike whatever it is that people throw in their dryers with their clothes. We're in a neighborhood where that smell travels from house to house, prompting me to shut all the windows and make questionable comments on Substack.