Getting Lost in the Past

My Grandpa and Snub Pollard

I've been working on scanning a photo album that belonged to my great-grandmother.  This album includes some family photos, but not in the traditional sense.  You see, my grandpa was a child actor in the era of silent films.  A lot of these photos are about 86 years old and some even older.  Mixed with these incredible photos are newspaper clippings, tickets, and various other ephemera of the day. It's really easy to get lost in the pictures.

Aunt Fifi

This is one of my favorite pictures, my Great Aunt eyeing actress Constance Binney, sizing her up.

Conrad Nagel, Eleanor Boardman, Grandpa starring in "So This is Marriage"

An interesting thing I found is that my Grandpa's own pet kitten was in the movie too. They paid it $3 a day.  That's pretty good money for a cat to earn back then!

Well, I have LOTS more to scan still so I'd better go. I still need to scan the Harold Lloyd pictures!

New Glass Gem Magnets!

I've been working on some new ideas involving my photos, paintings, collages and glass.  I have a large number of glass gems from various projects so I've been experimenting with making them into pendants and magnets.  So far the results are quite promising! I realize this isn't a totally new idea, but since the pictures in this case are my own photos, paintings, and collages, it gives it some originality (at least I think so, lol ).   I love the magnifying effect of the glass droplets. For those who have never made these fun little things, here is a quick tutorial:

Glass Gem Magnet Tutorial

Supplies Needed


Clear (without iridescence allows the picture to show through) Glass Floral Gems
Desired images, scrapbook paper works great!
Mod Podge or other gel sealer
round magnets, not larger than the size of the gems
scissors or round paper punch equal to the bottom size of the gems
two part epoxy glue

1. Wash and dry gems well, inspect for defects
2. cut images from the desired source
3. apply a small coat of mod podge to the flat side of the gems and then glue the paper circles face down onto the glass gems
4. trim any excess paper once the mod podge has set.
5. apply several more coats of mod podge to the underside of the paper and allow to dry
6. mix the two part epoxy ( I used loctite) according to package instructions
7. apply epoxy to magnet and stick magnet to the paper side of the glass gem
8. allow epoxy to harden, polish front side of new magnet

This is a greatly simplified tutorial, but you get the idea.  You can have a lot of fun using tissue paper layers, creating tiny collages under the glass. I like to use the "contact sheet" option when printing out photos or artwork because it's just about the right size.  I have plans to try this with glass tiles and would use about the same basic directions.  Also, using Mod Podge, you can make a gel transfer to the glass, creating a translucent image. It's how I made this:

I have some other artwork/glass projects up and coming.  A lot of my creations involve a necessity and right now I'm in the middle of redecorating two rooms and desperately wanted some interesting artwork, so that will be the inspiration for some lamps I am planning to make.  Hoping to get the supplies today and see if I can put them together!

Great New Thrifty Finds

Another good trip to the Goodwill! Adding to my little treasures from last week are two aqua glass insulators.   I don't think I'll be crafting with them because from my research so far they are as old as the early 1900s. One even has an original wooden pin inside.  I looked at them, and thought, I know those are very old and might be valuable, but for the life of me I can't remember what they are.  They were used on telegraph poles like this:

I've learned that what I have are  Brookfield glass insulators.  The the aqua color seems to have been very popular during the 1880s, but since mine are just marked B, I'm thinking maybe mine are more likely more recent (if you can call the 1920s recent!). Brookfield stopped making glass insulators in 1921.  I like the idea of having a row of them in a window shelf so the light shines through so I will be on the look out for these lovely little pieces every time I'm on the hunt now.
For more information about collecting glass insulators there are several books. They go from very cheap (I paid $1.99 each for mine) to crazy expensive (purple ones can go for about $80 or more). 

A Guide for Insulator Collectors: With Prices





Now I am off to sculpt a new idea that has been bouncing around in my head!

Good Will Hunting 1

          I've had my creative energies leaping in very different direction so I'm having trouble getting any project completed.   It's like the case of the shoemaker who has barefoot children.  I create and sell art, yet my home hardly has any of my work displayed.  So I'm trying to change that and hoping along the way to get inspired in new directions.  Today I got to do something I just LOVE.  I really enjoy thrift shopping.  In my area, it's hard to find diamonds in the rough, but I still find them.  Today I really scoured the books (in my area books seem to be incredibly under valued), wanting mainly ones that I can deconstruct for collage but also looking for old editions.  Was ecstatic to find a 1938 edition (the year it was first written) of "Rebecca" by Daphne Du Maurier, for $1.99. I'm pretty sure it's one of the first U.S. editions. I searched online and had trouble finding pictures of the same book to compare.  I love the story, so I guess the big thrill is getting something possibly that valuable.  I also found a very old copy of  "Black Beauty" by Anna Sewell, but it's very unlikely to be a first edition although there was no date inside. 

        I also found :
6 glass jars with glass lids. ( I've been watching for a decent number of them so that I can make a set of  Sun Jars .  ) $1.99 each

Warren Kimble Chick and Egg Salt and Pepper Shaker for $1.99 in Box Henny & Penny



Book of postcards of Gustav Klimt Paintings $1.99

So all in all it was a fruitful afternoon of scavenging! 

Latest Projects, Plant Nabbing, Ladybugs, etc

Wow,  it's been awhile since I've posted anything.   I've got spring fever and I've been working on one of my other loves, gardening.  My gardening style could best be described as...Jungle meets English Garden.  Ever since I was a very young child I've been drawn to anything English. Now back in those days I didn't know it was "English", I just knew I liked it.  I adored Agatha Christie,  The Secret Garden was another favorite, The Hobbit, C.S. Lewis books, books with large manor houses surrounded by gardens and moors covered in heather.  Later I was to discover through genealogy research that the majority of my ancestors came from England, Ireland and Scotland, so it might be some kind of genetic thing.  In any case, I'm happiest when surrounded by a jungle of flowering plants, birds, butterflies, ladybugs, and of course garden cats that come to visit and "help".

       My style is very informal, I want my garden to look a bit on the wild side.  I love the "old fashioned" flowers but many of them just hate it here in Florida.  At times Florida can be very dry and other times it's like a rain forest.  I've learned I need to be really open minded when selecting plants.  Things don't always want to grow where I put them.  In my area there are a lot of spots that I've learned are called "ruderal" which basically means "disturbed".  I like to go to these "lots" to scout out wildflowers because to be honest at any given moment they could be mowed down.  I seem to have an uncanny sense of what is about to be demolished because often days after I "harvest" some plants, next thing I know it's been destroyed. So really, I don't feel bad about taking plants from spots like these.  A couple of weeks ago I discovered this amazing wisteria vine that had to be at least 15 years old.  It was surrounded by viburnum bushes covered with ladybug larvae and pupas.  I made many cuttings off the wisteria and collected hundreds of ladybug larva and pupas to bring home.  Ladybugs are one of the most amazing natural pest controls so I really wanted to encourage them to live here.  I put the larva on different plants in the yard, and put the pupas (ladybug cocoon form) in a clean jar. As the pupas hatched I placed the ladybugs on the plants outside.  It's been so interesting and amazing.  I'm still working on getting the wisteria rooted, but it takes several weeks so I won't know if I was successful for a few weeks.  ANYWAY!  Yesterday I noticed that the wisteria vine had been cut down and REMOVED! The viburnum shrubs covered in ladybugs had been drastically cut back to skinny little "trees".  I felt sick to see what had been such a happy hub of buzzing life, destroyed as if  it were garbage.  So to be honest, when foraging for plants upon "ruderal" sites, I'm going to take what I find because very few people in this area really care about wildflowers and wildlife.  They just care about tearing stuff down to build yet another business that will stand empty in 6 months.  I found a huge number of sundew (similar to venus flytraps) plants sparkling red in the sun next the lake.  I felt a little guilty taking one, but there were so many, I took my husband back to show him, but some doofus had driven a tractor all over them and ripped them to shreds.  Some might survive, but most were unrecognizable as anything other than red sludge.  Mine, however, is doing fine.

I couldn't have saved them all.  I know this, but every time I have someone knowledgeable "clucking" at me for taking a wild plant, I remind myself that to some people if a plant didn't come from Home Depot, it's a weed, and my town is FULL of those kinds of people.  So I'm thinking they just assume I'm a little off my rocker for putting weeds in my garden.  Weeds like coreopsis,  passion flower vine, royal poinciana, wild lupines,  lantana, tradescantia, blue-eyed grass, asiatic dayflower, blanket flower to name but a few.

What's New

It's been awhile since I've written, have been sick...and absorbed with some new stuff I'm working on.   Thanks to Jenni of Foreverbeading I was inspired to make my Cheshire Cats into beads.  I'm pretty excited about them so far.

I've also been working on some more designs where I incise an image into the moist clay. It gives a stamped appearance but it's an original each time.

 

I started to make another raven today, but it ended up being a dragon.  I try not to fight the process to much because if it didn't want to be a raven, it wasn't going to happen. 

 I think I'll try to do something where I give it a light coating of glaze and stuff most of it in the pressed design. Can't wait until it's dry and bisque fired!

Spectrum Raku Glazes, Amaco Raku Glazes

So I've been really getting immersed into my raku firing.  I started out with Amaco Raku Glazes and I do like them, but I'm really excited about my new Spectrum Raku Glazes .  I do my raku firing on a very small scale, I have a small kiln about 8 inches by 8 inches. My "receptacle" is a repurposed metal pot with lid.  My "organic material" of choice has been by far to be newspaper, newsprint-not the colored ads. From my own tests and experiences I have learned this :

1. don't allow a lot of open space inside the "receptacle"
2. newspaper is superior because it readily ignites and doesn't mar the surface as much
3. allowing the item to sit in the flames with the can open has produced more dramatic color effects and thicker smoke which helps blacken unglazed surfaces better
4. always use the recommended three coats of raku glaze for best results.
5. Stoneware clay makes an excellent raku clay

Of course, this is my own personal observation, but since I've been following this, I've had better results with my pieces.

Spectrum Gator Skin is my new favorite. If anyone is just starting out and only buying one color, this is the one I recommend.  Applied thin, it gives an almost dappled streaky copper look. Applied thick, it looks very much like the sample picture.  It is a gorgeous matte color.  With a thick application it gets nice and crusty. It's a more expensive color but very well worth it in my opinion.

This picture is good for showing the glaze in thick and thinner applications. Applied thinner it is more earthy and dappled brown.

 

The pendant above has the "gator skin" put into the grooves of the heart.  Then I put 3 coats of Amaco white raku glaze. They seem to react very nice together, developing a warm silvery ivory to shades of copper.

Spectrum Nebula is another shade that I purchased.  This one is a bit trickier to work with, but I think I've discovered a trick.  Without enough time in the flame, "Nebula" is kind of a flat aqua shade, but if you give it enough time in the flame, it becomes very worthy of it's name. What I ended up with was : 

Blues, reds, and copper colors mainly.  It can produce a pretty rainbow effect.

Another color I purchased was Spectrum Cobalt .  So far I've gotten a few different results. None quite like the picture shown when I ordered it, but still very attractive.  I've gotten a deep slightly transparent blue, and with optimal conditions a lot of silvery metallic as well.

This is the cobalt. I used the gator skin for the beak, a very thin coat (produces a pretty rusty color).  I also rubbed some of the gator skin into the letters. When the two react, I've gotten a bit of a golden hue surrounding. 

This is what happens if there is not enough reduction going on in the "receptacle"

Still a pretty color, but not very dramatic.

I still like my Amaco raku glazes quite a bit. My favorite colors are white:

Copper Patina:

and Bluebell:

Hoping this helps anyone looking for some visual examples of some of the glazes out there. Please feel free to message me if you have any questions about any of my experiences with these colors.