Repurposed Art

Last year we put together a quick table out of plywood and landscape timbers for our four-year-old to use on the porch - he mostly ate his lunch at it. After a summer of chocolate milk spills, it was looking pretty rough, and since we were freshening up the rest of the porch, we decided to refinish the table by adding a new, decorative top. We toyed with the idea of tiling it, but then decided to do a mosaic using leftover glass pieces from various stained-glass projects, most of which we inherited from my mom! I started by painting the table legs a bright happy teal to complement the colors of the glass and priming the table surface white so that we'd have a clean background under the glass.

And then came the fun part - I completely underestimated how long it would take to fill a 2x3 space with abstract glass pieces placed in a random, yet aesthetically pleasing pattern.
I figured it would take 3, maybe 4 hours tops, but in the end it was closer to 10 hours with help from my husband before I was satisfied.  Another 3-4 hours to glue the pieces down, and we were ready to grout.

We used a grit-free white grout to help keep the colors bright and maintain the smooth surface. Once the grout was cured, my husband added a metal edger followed by some teal-painted moulding to finish off the top and protect little fingers from sharp edges.

And the leftover pieces were turned into sun catchers!

Lampwork beads - a flash from the past

Since this is the first of several posts devoted to things I've made in the past, I thought I'd go back to one of my true loves - lampwork glass. I haven't been able to work with glass since we arrived in Springfield, primarily because we haven't had the time or resources to set up a glass studio in our new house. In Tucson I was able to work outside on the back patio, pretty much year-round; but here the snow and rain get in the way, and I really need a clean indoor space devoted to lampwork (and silversmithing - but that's another post). Our plan is to convert a corner of the garage into a studio, complete with new walls, ceiling and door, an exhaust fan and windows that open onto the garden - after all, what's an art studio of any sort without inspiration! But in the meantime, I sketch ideas for new works and refine the plans for the studio, all the while hoping that next year we'll be able to get it up and running. Here are some pictures from my very first studio in Tucson - I'm making a flower bead:

And since I am, at heart, a jewelry designer, I feel my beads look best when properly set in a finished piece. Here are some of my favorites, most of which have been gifted to my mom, sister or other relatives:

And here are some of the "novelty" pieces I've created for my two favorite holidays - Halloween and Christmas:

     

Cold Forge designs

The benefit of not having a soldering station set up is that you're forced to come up with new ways to connect pieces. So, I've spent the last 3 years exploring the world of cold connections in the form of wire wrapping and jump rings. In the coming months I'd like to add riveting to the list, but for now I stick with my handy pliers.

I've also been working on cold forging silver elements to incorporate into my designs, in the form of hammered frames, pendants, links, and handmade s-hooks or other clasps. I've also recently added stamped designs to my repertoire.

First step...

So, this is the inaugural post in my brand new blog devoted to my crafting endeavors. There's only so much you can fit on a Facebook post, and this seemed like the natural progression. I'm also hoping that by getting this out there I'll be that much closer to finally opening my Etsy shop. These first few entries will be reposts of things I've created in the past (like the bracelet, and central lampwork bead, pictured above), but hopefully once I'm caught up I'll feel challenged to post a new creative endeavor each week. Stayed tuned, and wish me luck!