Here are a few small dishes that I have made in the small kiln. I certainly have been learning how long to soak the glass in order to not melt it too far. It starts to puddle into the center if it goes to long which makes the edges curved and look "wobbly".
Now that my friend, Janis, has a bigger kiln, I am able to do larger glass pieces. These are 10 inch round plates with a square base. I wanted to do a design to use with different colors so it looks like a set, but each dish is different. I want to make at least ten of these to serve dessert at book club. I'm really liking how they are turning out.
I have been SO distracted by my new bee hive. The bees are truly interesting creatures. The Top Bar Hive (TBH) I created for them also includes an observation window. It has allowed me to see their progress in building their comb. Within 5 weeks, they have filled fifteen hanging bars with double-sided comb! I built in an observation window so that I could see their progress.
The focus of summer 2010 was a huge installation sculpture otherwise known as the Back Patio. It has been 4 years in the making. I dunno...I might have made it more complicated than it had to be, but I need to be surrounded by art and the space just called out for something...spectacular. The idea was to create a large Sun and surround it with the planets (including the Dwarf Planets - Ceres, Pluto, Haumea, Makemake, and Eris.) The pathway and sitting area around the West side of the house will need to be finished next summer.
A lot of work, but it moved along quickly considering that this is a photo from April 2010. There was still about 4 tons of dirt to move out, a French drain to dig and a 80 foot wall to put up before the patio could begin.
