Spring fusing

This spring I found a great fusing center, Helios, and have been taking classes galore. So many class projects in fact, that I've had little free time to fire up my own kiln. In fact, I still to finish this awesome paper weight from a class that ended in April.

I think the classes are paying off and my work is going to a new level. Below are a few of my projects from this spring. They aren't representative of all the classes I've taken (some classes are technique classes), but you can see how the work has progressed.

This is from a powders and frit class. I used frit (small pieces of glass) to recreate a scene from Hawaii. Aloha!


This was an enamel painting on glass class. You trace a picture on the glass and then paint in the detail. These are the dogs on the jetty at Port A.


Doug also took the enamel class; in fact, he got way more in to it than I did. This is Umlaf Sculpture Garden in Zilker Park.


My hand, from a textures class. You use kiln wash to make a design and then place glass on top. I made this for Doug's birthday.


Project one from the paper weights class. This takes a lot of cold working, which means using power tools to shape and polish.


Woven bowl -- pieces of glass that look woven together. There was also another project where the glass is actually woven together, but the piece isn't finished yet.


Strip bowl. You cut strips of glass and then turn them on their edge for a different look.

Of course, I have more classes on the horizon.On Sunday I start a two-week mica and enamels class -- not painting, but using mica and enamel powders to create art. The hand piece here is a great example of using micas. Thursday is the start of a pattern bars class, where you fuse glass together to make interesting elements for other pieces.