Over the past couple of days I kept moving along with my glass stack experiment. I will admit it ended up being harder than I thought...or at least trickier.
I glued the side pieces on....that went OK.
And I grouted....and that seemed to go OK....but I sure made a big mess. I took the photo below right after I took my gloves off....it had to sit for a few minutes before I started cleaning it up.
I still need to do some more cleaning and buffing...but this is where I left it today before I headed to Maine. It's OK....but as usual I've learned some lessons and there are things I will do differently next time.
One of my problems is that I may have made the wrong decision about which edge of the glass to expose. I chose to have the side glass edges exposed on the front creating this pinstripe frame. I could have had this line on the sides which I think would have been better. Some of the edges of the glass have a very grainy texture....especially that top blue piece so it looks a little rough.
I also don't really like the white grout....it should have been tinted and I may still be able to do something about that. It is an off white and looked darker when I put it on....but it sure dried brighter.
I'm not loving the neutral glass I chose...it's too tan. It should have been more on the creamy white to gray side or I should have just stuck with the blues and greens. So I need to plan my color scheme a little better next time. I really just jumped right in and didn't really do much auditioning or planning at all.
Grouting is a little harder than I thought and probably just takes practice....and maybe some better tools. I think the general concept is good...so I'll do a little more research and planning and try it again on a smaller scale.
My favorite part of getting back to the glass was wearing these white cotton gloves. My sister Becky, who passed away several years ago of breast cancer, gave me a whole bag from her time working at a factory. They are especially useful when you are soldering glass because of the heat and they protect my fingers when I cut glass. And when I need to grind a piece of glass it gets wet and I have a built in towel right on my hand. I actually got a little emotional when I put them on this time....I miss her!
Over the past couple of days I kept moving along with my glass stack experiment. I will admit it ended up being harder than I thought...or at least trickier. 
I still need to do some more cleaning and buffing...but this is where I left it today before I headed to Maine. It's OK....but as usual I've learned some lessons and there are things I will do differently next time.
One of my problems is that I may have made the wrong decision about which edge of the glass to expose. I chose to have the side glass edges exposed on the front creating this pinstripe frame. I could have had this line on the sides which I think would have been better. Some of the edges of the glass have a very grainy texture....especially that top blue piece so it looks a little rough. 
My favorite part of getting back to the glass was wearing these white cotton gloves. My sister Becky, who passed away several years ago of breast cancer, gave me a whole bag from her time working at a factory. They are especially useful when you are soldering glass because of the heat and they protect my fingers when I cut glass. And when I need to grind a piece of glass it gets wet and I have a built in towel right on my hand. I actually got a little emotional when I put them on this time....I miss her!
I was really into glass for a while so have all the tools I need including this great work surface that catches little pieces of glass and allows you to set up rulers and jigs to make even cuts. Here I cut a long pice of blue then set up a jig and sliced off smaller squares all the same size.
Once the glass is scored I have this handy dandy tool that breaks it along the score line. It's like a big plastic pliers. Bigger pieces I can snap with my hands....but these tiny pieces are hard to get a hold of. This tool works well.
Glass is messy work so I have a makeshift shop in the basement and have a nice view of the water heater and furnace. It was kind of a gloomy damp day....so I was OK being in the basement. 
But what get's top billing today is my love for all things wabi-sabi. I was inspired by and quite moved by a post called "Saturday...with some Wabi Sabi" by Philippa Stanton also known as 5ftinf. She is one of my favorite artists and teachers.
As I was heading into church this morning I was quite taken with the bright and cheery hedge of zinnias along the rock wall. But on closer look as I was heading home I was even more taken with were the spent blooms...the imperfect ones that we generally deadhead and discard.
It's another late bloomer so is such a treat this time of year. 
The last several years we mixed it with moon flower coming from the other direction. We were even lucky enough to have timed it right to watch a few open in the early evening.
I chose olive polka dot fabric for the top and auditioned all kinds of ways to incorporate the napkin. What I liked best was using it vertically along the whole bottom section. Because I wanted a more typical shape on this piece...not long and skinny....it wasn't conducive to multiple layers. That will be the next one. 
This image is cropped to get the basic idea what it's going to look like. Does it read napkin? or art?
From my studio window this morning I could see green orbs dangling from the tree...not unlike the pom poms in Copley Square. When I went out to check it out I was thrilled to find a few on the ground.....seed pods make me giddy.
I'm sticking with the Kaffe stripe strips for a while longer because I know it will add cohesion to the show. I cut strips from the fabrics below and fused them together on release paper. 
