NOVEMBER 2019 eNEWS

Modeling Glass Tips and Tricks

Every month I'll be writing about how to use Modeling Glass in your work, and hopefully answering some questions that will help you get the results you want. There's always a learning curve with a new product, and there are considerations working with frit and powder that you don't have when firing sheet glass. There is a full set of FAQs on the Modeling Glass website at www.modelingglass.com . You can also find back issues of all my e-newsletters there!

Coming November 19! Exploring Modeling Glass: Making Realistic Feathers

A New Video From

AAE Glass

Color me excited! The official release date for my first-ever instructional video on working with Modeling Glass comes out November 19. This project has been many months in the making, and I'm really proud of how it has turned out. Tanya Veit at AAE Glass hosted the video recording at her great studio/store in Florida. Top-notch videographer Tim Keasbey managed (through artful editing) to make me seem both competent and articulate. Thank goodness for the magic of film!

It's a really interesting process, this tutorial filming. There are a lot of moving parts, including two cameras, microphones, and writing out all the steps in a coherent fashion so that the filming goes smoothly and you don't miss any critical elements. Then there is the fact that you sometimes have to say the same thing on camera multiple times, since you stumble over words or there are loud trucks and aircraft outside, screaming kids getting out of daycare, etc.

Not only that, but you have to plan for still shots to be inserted, and writing a bio was torture. One night I was scrounging around in boxes of old photos because I wanted to show some work from college (in the Dark Ages), and those were 35mm slides, so I had to arrange to borrow my daughter's slide scanner. And then on a whim I decided to include the earliest example of my artistic efforts: a little pencil drawing I made when I was six. Then there was the spot in the audio where I said the entirely wrong thing, so I had to get some help from a musician friend who has an in-home recording studio, so I could record literally ONE word.

Long story short, there is a lot that goes into making one of these videos, and I have great respect for all the other instructors who have made one.

So why should you consider ordering this video? Even if you never wanted to make a feather (the featured project), this tutorial covers a lot of the basics of working with Modeling Glass, and there are aspects of this project that are common to pretty much everything I do with MG. I cover tools, mixing, managing colors at different temperatures, controlling shrinkage, working with components, and much more. It's a great primer for how to make 3-dimensional shapes with Modeling Glass. I hope you'll check it out, and thank you for being part of the MG crew!

HAPPY TURKEY DAY!

Since Thanksgiving is almost upon us, I wanted to share this sculpture of two wild turkey feathers. The piece is about 12 inches tall, and the Modeling Glass feathers are mounted on a piece of very old cedar wood I found out in the desert.

I mixed some gold mica powder into the surface coating of the feathers to emulate the sheen in an actual turkey feather. I haven't yet tried to make Modeling Glass with mica mixed into it, but that's on my "to do" list.

The feathers were mounted onto the tops of flat-headed screws that had been partially screwed into the wood. I left the screws sticking up about 1/2 inch so that the feathers would float above the surface of the wood. Then I attached the feather to the top of the screw using epoxy putty. If you've never worked with it, you should give it a try! It's a 2-part putty that comes in sticks and you just cut off what you need, mix equal parts together, and then form the material into the shape you need for your attachment. I use Milliput Epoxy brand. It dries rock hard, and you can paint, drill, and sand it when dry. It's amazing stuff!

EXPANDED INSTRUCTIONS FOR MODELING GLASS NOW AVAILABLE!

In response to various questions that have come from artists working with Modeling Glass, I have updated and expanded the instructions that come with each Starter Kit. There are now guidelines for mixing small batches of Modeling Glass, additional firing schedules, and much more. You can view the updated instructions here. Thanks to everyone who has emailed me with questions, problems, and successes. It's really helped me to know what additional information to provide.

March 13-15 Albuquerque, NM at Hot Flash Glass

April 4 Demo Day at Las Vegas Glass Craft and Bead Expo at D&L Glass Booth

May 15-17 Old Hickory, TN at This Little Light Art Glass

June 4-6 Frederick, MD at Anything in Stained Glass

June 15-17 Bristol, UK at Creative Glass Guild

August 7-9 Ottawa, Canada at Glass eMotions

September 16-18 Denver, CO at D&L Art Glass

October 23-25 Phoenix, AZ at Milkweed Arts

Modeling Glass

This new product was developed by Lois Manno of Glass Bird Studios. It is a two-part system made of a powdered binder and liquid medium that, mixed with frit or powders along with a little water, turns the powder into a material that can be sculpted like clay. It is featured in the workshops she teaches.

Learn more

Want to purchase Modeling Glass? A list of retailers is available on the website. The list keeps growing, so check back. Ask your glass retailer to add Modeling Glass to their stock if they don't have it!

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