On the trials of new designs

Making new designs takes time, and time isn't something I always have. However it's interesting to see how some designs seem to organically grow from old techniques and new ideas, whilst the really hard ones to work are the ones I design backwards from knowing how I want something to look, to then figuring out how to make it!

Today I've once again been battling with shaving brushes. For those who don't know, the 'old' style had a metal finial which the brush (or 'knot' which is the correct term apparently) fitted into, then the glass handle fitted onto that. The problem is I cannot get anymore of these, as they are no longer made. I spent a few weeks, and a can of expensive silicone mould resin, trying out casting them in pewter, but I really wasn't happy with either the results or the look. The ideal thing would be making an entirely glass handle and fitting the knot directly into that, making a more seamless look, and removing the potentially troublesome metal to glass bond.

Easier said than done! Today I've made only 4 handles, and one failed lump. The best one being the first, which then cracked. Thinking I was on to the right idea I carried on, and I think the last one is nearly right. Realising it would be a bit of a slog I stopped using colour, and have been working with just clear as I work out the shapes and process, and thats been quite a happy idea as they look really good with just a touch of colour.

At the opposite end of designing are the happy organic pieces that grow out of existing techniques used in new ways, rather than the hard designing of having the finishing product in mind and working backwards. One of these was from a chat on the stall with a chap buying a calligraphy pen, who suggested chop stick holders to match would be great, as he used them to rest pens on. I made a few rectangular style ones, but coaxing glass into in-organic squares isn't ideal, so I tried a leaf design. I like making leaves, they are very free form, and each one is always different.

As I made more I found that some rocked, and I liked the way they seemed to 'tremble' like leaves on a tree, so I've been making them all like that. As they are all boro, I think they'd be ideal for tableware too! I'll try and list some on etsy soon!

Accidental Glass

Sometime it’s the accidents that help me do things better, these are the ‘happy’ accidents, although they don’t always seem happy at the time!
I have spend days working on a new type of necklace with leaves made of glass, and I’m not talking about those little mould stamped green leaves you see in the bead shops, these are monsters! Most are about 2-3inches long, twisted, with colours layered into them using borosilicate glass. After I made the first batch I found the choker I put them on was too thick for the holes I made. Drat! So next glass session I make some more, and since they are organically made but going with the flow of the glass, not all of them were useable on the necklace I had in mind (although I am sure I will find a use for them eventually, even if it’s selling them in a de-stash sometime!). I threaded some on, and realised it needed so spacer beads, but once again the wire was too thick for my stash. This is where being a lampworker comes in handy, I was back to the torch for third time to make some customer green spacer beads!

So after a lot of to and fro-ing, I finally got the necklace done. Something bothered me about it, maybe it was because it didn’t just ‘happen’ as my best stuff does when some magic brings it all together. Regardless I went to take some snaps of it, and was trying to set up some pictures when the whole thing slid off onto the floor, meeting up with various objects that were rather ‘too solid’ for such a delicate crop of leaves. I think you can guess the result!

I don’t know if I’ve become more ‘Zen’ since I’ve started lampworking, or just because I was so tired, but I wasn’t as upset as I probably should have been about this, but when I looked at the ‘remain’ an hour later, it suddenly clicked. Only three of the leaves had survived, and it looked so much better like this! Less is more, I reminded myself! I made some slight adjustments, and it looks good, although I think I can still make some much better leaves for the next and final version.

I’ve been quite busy lately, and I’ve recently opened another shop outlet on MISI, where I’ve been transferring some of my stock from the old Etsy Shop. I am still in two minds about Etsy, but until things pick up or I have time to make 200 things to list there to make it worthwhile I will be putting stuff onto Folksy and MISI for the time being. They are all priced in £££’s rather than suffering exchange rate yo-yoing, and are just really nice places to be at the moment with a lot of friendly folk there. www.folksy.com/shops/SteamPunkGlass or my new MISI shop atwww.misi.co.uk/steampunkglass Hope to see you there!