Making Lemonade Out of Lemons

As I mentioned in my last post I like to experiment in my artistic endeavours. I like to take something and then push the envelope just a bit to see what happens. Right now I'm experimenting with fused glass and since I'm new to working with this medium it seems that whenever I try something other than simply fusing glass together (which is beautiful -but I'm looking for something different) the experiments do not turn out. Having a number of failed experiments under my belt I thought it was time to see what I could do to turn these into something that I could actually use.

I don't like to waste anything and I'm somewhat of a pack rat (just ask my husband) so I thought taking on the challenge of looking at my glass disasters would be the challenge this weekend.

The failed experiment:

I took a piece of coloured glass and a smaller piece of clear glass and sandwiched a piece of thin fusible paper in between the two pieces. The back (coloured glass) was larger than the smaller clear glass and I positioned the fusible paper (the kind that is normally used to line the kiln shelf so the glass doesn't stick to the kiln shelf) so that three sides of the clear glass touched each other and the fusible paper stuck out the top. My intention was to fuse the glass so that if formed a sort of pocket and then wash out the fusible paper. I had thought that perhaps I could slide a picture into the pocket this would form. All looked well when I took it out of the kiln but the paper between the glass wouldn't wash away. I think it was just too thin. I decided to keep the pieces though and think of something to do with them later.

Making Lemonade:

Looking at the piece of glass I saw that the white section made a nice backdrop for an image. I decided to drill a couple of holes in the glass and attach a jump ring from the top through which a chain could hang. Through the hole in the centre I added an enameled flower charm which I attached with a twist of wire. I do like the way the enameled flower picks up the red glass colour. Now I have a very wearable pendant to show for my efforts.

Am I thrilled with the results - no but I do have a pendant that I can wear and the result looks intentional.

What I learned:

I learned that the fusible paper is too thin (at least in one layer) to form a pocket. Water can get into the top of the pendant (just a bit) so I know I was on the right track. I'll try it again with something thicker next time.

My first blog post

I've been thinking about starting a blog for some time. I've enjoyed reading many other blogs, particularly those about art and creating. The reason I haven't started before is mainly that I wasn't sure that I'd have anything interesting to say. I've recently changed my mind about that because blog writing isn't just about being entertaining-although people won't read it if they don't find it appeals to their interests-but it's about sharing.

I'm sure there are lots of people out there like myself who love to create but perhaps aren't confident enough to consider themselves "real" artists. This blog will be about my creative journey and the ideas and experiments in art that I try as I try to find my artistic way. It may not always be entertaining but it will be real. I like to try new things in art-my mind is always buzzing away with new ideas-many of which stay ideas in my head and never make it to artistic execution. More often than not, in the quest to be original, things don't work out as planned. What seemed like a good idea at the time turns out to be a distaster in real life. What I hope this blog will do is be a way for me to connect with others and perhaps inspire others to take a shot at trying something artistic even if they don't feel they're "real" artists.