When people ask me, “What do you do?” – I usually pause and say, “I’m an artist”. Then they ask what medium I work in…. and that’s usually when I have to bring out my phone and start showing photos. 
😀
Here’s a video I put together to help explain “What it is that I do”.
I’ve had a studio upstairs for working on the odd glass project, but this spring (2019), I’ve put together one on the main floor exclusively for Glass Art. I’ve always enjoyed working with glass, and have a large project to work on this summer, that combines a few ways of working with glass. If you’ve followed my work over the years, you should know that I love to mix-and-match my techniques and my media (like added stained glass to a wood carving).
I’ve been trying new techniques that involve painting on glass, fusing glass, slumping glass and many variations of them all. I’ve been adding copper foil and gold leaf to the fusing process as well.
I found that painting glass took some practice as the paint flows much differently than the acrylic I’m used to. I also had to consider the transparent aspects of the piece. With some of them I fused a white piece behind the painting, or added a small copper plate to it. But the possibilities are ENDLESS! 😀
I’ve also been doing some ‘torch work’, which involves heating glass up over a hot flame and forming it into shapes, as well as fusing other colors to it. This is the technique I’ve used to make the eyes for my ‘barnyard portraits‘. It took quite a few practice runs to get the colors and shapes for the eyes I needed and then have not crack during the cooling off process. Glass art requires more patience than I am usually used to (and this is from someone who carves pencils!!) 😀 Here’s a shot of me in my temporary glass art studio (aka the wood working shop).
Fusing glass has been fun. I’ve made a few small pieces of glass art so far, and am planning bigger ones soon. Much of the fused work will later be ‘slumped’, which is when I take flat piece of glass and melt it into a shaped mold, like a dish or plate. Of course, this involves one kiln session for the fusing and a second session for the slumping (each load takes about 24 hours) – again my patience!!! 😀
In the two fused glass art project shown above, I used some ‘stringers’, which are long thin spaghetti-like glass rods that I pulled from the bottom of a hot kiln. It’s a fascinating process, which again offers many possibilities. Below is a short edit of a video I made for a ‘Facebook live’ session which shows my pulling the molten glass from the bottom of a kiln.
I’ll have some more updates on this page as I work through more techniques, so check back!
This page shows some recent (2019) work that I have been creating for a client in France! It’s been a big project, with a wide range of needs for various signs and markers to be used throughout a zoological park (Parc Animalier de Sainte-Croix).
Continue readingThis page will show the progress as I begin a hand carved toy box project for a client’s twins. The two designs will feature jungle scenes with one toy box having a lion and the other will have a giraffe (see finished “Josie” toy box here).
Most recent image (September 15, 2018)
I have been commissioned to paint an alpaca. But not just ANY alpaca, this alpaca painting features “Amy the Alpaca “. This fun theme is being commissioned for a wine label.
Follow along in this post for updates and new images as I work on this piece. (edit: Complete August 8, 2018)
Also, if you enjoy ‘Alpaca Art’, you should check out my metal art alpaca! 😀
For the past few years, I’ve been kept busy with metal art – mostly while using saws. The past couple of months, I’ve been expanding my work to include larger “non-saw” pieces. Although I have worked with metal and used a lot of techniques on my saws, I’m finding that there is a whole new world out there once I drop the saw out of the design. Continue reading
This page will show the progress as I begin a wooden toy box project for a client’s twins. The designs will feature jungle scenes with one toy box having a lion and the other will have a giraffe. (View the completed “Leo” toy box here)
Most recent image (August 17, 2018) – COMPLETE!
This project has been a long time in the making. It began when I registered for a woodcarving workshop and signed up for a ‘log carving’ class. I really wanted to learn some tips about carving in 3D and wondered what might make the best subject for the class, other than the standard Santa or Indian. I ended up deciding to make a custom wood carving portrait of my grand uncle, Alton.
I worked from an old photo that I loved, taken while he was a US Navy pilot in World War II. I knew it would be a little challenging to create a 3D model from an old black and white photo, but then I do like to challenge myself!
With it being during my birthday, I bought myself a present and signed up for the week long course at the Mid-America Woodcarvers Association’s “Doane Experience” hosted in Crete Nebraska. The Log Carving class was led by James Barr. Continue reading
I recently completed a custom order for a client who asked for “a guy on a bike being chased by dogs”. We went back and forth with various ideas and she decided to pay a little more a custom 3D bike to be added to the saw. This was a fun challenge, but turned out great! I can’t wait to hear from client about how this special gift went over. 😀 Continue reading
For a lot of the world, 2016 was not a kind year. We were reminded of the horrors that people can inflict upon each other on a weekly, almost daily basis. Many great artists passed on and reminded us that our time here is fleeting and we should try to make the most of the time we are given. Continue reading
