Dusting, sweeping, pruning, making! It's the last-minute rush getting ready for the Studio Tour this weekend, August 25-26, 2018.

To be honest, it's a little like deciding to have a big party and invite all your friends. It's exciting to think about seeing everyone. And it's a lot of work getting ready. And it's about the only time I ever clean. Don't judge me too harshly, I just have other priorities. Who wants to eat off the floor, anyway? Ick.

There are 51 studios to explore, spread over the length of the island (about 49 miles).  So you can see as little or as much art as you like. Studios are open 9 to 5. All the galleries will be open, too. I have some nice pieces in the Rob Schouten Gallery in Langley.

If you are a real hard-core art visitor you can meet 76 artists, working in every medium you can imagine. And then you can have pie at Whidbey Pies in Greenbank. And then you can take a nap. Kind of like Art Thanksgiving.

You can poke around my studio, where I'll be showing the layered glass landscapes and other weird experimental work.

Gina Michel, another Whidbey glass artist, will be showing her work at my studio. Here's an example - so much fun!

Here's a link to the catalog.  You can download and print it and you can also pick one up at the first studio you visit.

I hope I get to see some of you this weekend - indulge yourself!

Steph

This has been the season of kiln casting! I did two open-faced casting workshops this spring. It's so surprising to see the variety of work that comes out of the kiln.

Everyone did two projects. We started by making clay models, carving them and adding elements. We covered them with a plaster/sand investment mixture. We removed the clay, then we added glass powders, frit, twisted rods, dichro flakes, copper elements... just letting imagination run amok.

Casting is a lot of work but the payoff is that you learn tons of techniques and skills that go into making the work. That should provide all the skills you need to carry on with the work in your own studio. I hope participants keep sending me photos of new work!

We just wrapped up another "Working with Frit and Powders" workshop.

It is just a big old bunch of fun every time. The random goofiness of the forms makes every kiln load a surprise. What a wonderful group of people - many thanks for a great workshop.

The next one is scheduled for October 28-29, 2017. There's still time to join us  in the studio, I'd love to see you.  Details are on the workshop page.

Also - thanks to all who came to the open studio tour last weekend. It was nice to meet new people and see old friends. And it was great to have an excuse to clean up the studio. It doesn't happen that often. Right now it looks about twice as big as it did two weeks ago. I'll enjoy it until it fills up with piles of art stuff again.

Hope to see you -
Steph

New things are cookin' in the studio. I've been planning to do more sculptural work for a while, so I've been sketching away, considering new forms.

It all started with this fabulous (yes, I just used the word "fabulous", don't judge) stainless steel slumping mold. I had it made by a local metal shop. And since I'm a geeky glass girl I find it quite exciting. I also received cowboy gear instead of dolls when I was a child, but that's a story for another day.

I've been dwelling on atmospheric effects like fog. I hope it's not some unconscious connection to my... um... maturity. So I started working on a large horizontal foggy piece, planning to drape it over my shiny new mold.

Here's the piece in the kiln, surrounded by dams to keep it from spreading out. It's pretty thick at this point, about seven layers. In this image it's receiving the last layer, a clear cap on top of the finished piece.

Here's the finished piece, still flat but showing the layers of foggy goodness back to the horizon. It's a little hard to see, but there are lots of tiny trees way in the back.

I placed the mold in the kiln and balanced the big old heavy piece of glass on the mold (it looked like a teeter-totter and was a little scary).

The piece behaved nicely in the kiln, slowly draping itself over that nice curve as it softened in the heat.

I built a wood base with feet from a really nice piece of clear grain fir. Yummy. The warm colors in the wood base echo the warm colors in the foreground of the piece.

It needs a name and a signature and it's off to the gallery tomorrow morning. I hope it finds a new home.

I see more fog in my future.                                    Wait! That doesn't sound right.

Just a quick report on the Kiln Carving workshop last weekend - so much fun! My fellow art-makers really made it worthwhile. They were curious, slightly goofy & meticulous. That turned out to be the perfect combination of qualities.

We got a chance to work on positive/negative coaster designs, single-layer and double-layer fiber patterns for tiles. Then we shifted gears a bit and did some powder pieces, both over cut designs and packed into open patterns.

I love that moment when you open the kiln to reveal everyone's work from the day before. It's just like Christmas morning. I just wanted to share photos from the workshop so you can see how great they did!

Next up:
Layered landscape intensive
July 12-16 - I can't wait!

I hope you're getting some art time in this summer. And I hope I get to see you August 26-27 for my open studio!

Steph