After my February 13 post, I took this piece of glass to il Primo to hang on Valentine's Day. I left it on a low window ledge for a few seconds to get a hook and Bam! - it slid over the edge and fell on the floor - breaking three pieces. With unexpected free time on my hands, I tackled the repairs yesterday. First step was to remove the zinc frame on one side and the two badly broken pieces. Then I carefully measured and cut replacement, ground and foiled them, then soldered them in place. The repairs took almost three hours, but the piece is again complete and ready to be shown. The small piece of clear Cord at the top left has a single crack running in one of the grooves. I decided to leave this piece intact - a souvenir of the complex past of this piece.

This leaves me with a blank canvas - this beautiful three-panel window frame, which will be filled with something creative. Plan A is to have it sit lengthwise on a window ledge - the perfect privacy screen for a dining room or a living room. I have measured out a template and just need to decide if I stick with clear textures or pop in some flashes of colour. I am open to suggestions.

Challenging times! I made it back from Halifax two days before Porter discontinued their services. I have to admit I am actually looking forward to multiple consecutive days in my workshop! I had started 'Festival of Bubbles' before I left but it was still in the concept stage. It has been a joy to spend time each day this week adjusting the design, then working through the steps to completion. To complement the wine glass and other bases, and to extend the range of textures in this piece, I cut up a number of large and small plates and bowls.  

Last week, I challenged myself to work small. The first piece is 4.5 x 6 inches and was made using a youghi end and an amber crystal. The glass had a number of variances in thickness and was not flat. Incorporating the thick amber crystal required the development of yet another technique to ensure a snug fit. It also had a classic 'cookie dough' edge which I was able to work in. The second one is 5 x 7 inches and was made using the sides of glass bottles, accented with blue. The varying thickness of the glass create wonderful distortions. Both pieces will be joining me at the Navan Fine Arts Group Exhibition and Sale on April 18 and 29 at the Navan Memorial Arena.

For anyone in my age group, get ready for an ear worm. The title of this Heritage Series piece, now hanging in the windows at Galerie Old Chelsea, is Put It In Your Pocket. (Comment if you need a hint.) Stained Glass Stuff flattened the star-shaped bowl using a tack-fuse which minimized devitrification and kept the clear lines and sparkle. More workshop time coming next week - let's see where that takes us!

In 2010, I made a three-panel piece of glass and mounted it in an old, black window frame. I called it Moon Rise Over The Plain. It was shown a couple of times for a few days but spent most of its time in my living room on a large easel. While moving it to the Galerie Old Chelsea, it fell and the top two panels were smashed beyond repair. I was so sad that I wrapped it in newspaper and stored it in the garage for over a year. I eventually built up the courage to bring it inside and removed the two broken panels. For a short time I contemplated rebuilding it but emotionally, I just couldn't. Again, it sat quietly in a safe corner for more than a year. Last night I cut the silicone away from the edges and released the remaining panel from the frame to give it a second chance, as a stand-alone piece.

I still have the black window frame and would like to make a new piece as a feature for the Galerie window. I just need to decide on a design and colour.

The busy-ness of 2019 spilled over into January. A commitment to office work last fall has taken longer than expected. In addition, I made a trip to Halifax to visit with my Mom for ten days. Workshop time has been precious! I am planning for a lot more workshop time in February as I build up a stock of new pieces for Galerie Old Chelsea and work towards the Navan Fine Arts Show. For today, here are pictures of my two latest pieces. The first is called Canadian Connections and sits in black stand in a window or on a shelf. As soon as the weather cooperates, I will get a better image. The second is called Free Falling and expresses the pure joy I felt just to have some uninterrupted time to create! 

December hasflown by. My trip to Edmonton was fantastic - I had plenty of one-on-one time and so many warm hugs with my grandchildren. Then it was straight into a busy week working on an HR contract. I had the luxury of a few hours in my workshop today for the first time this month, with mixed success. I am working on a cityscape using some very interesting sides and bottoms of bottles with a very Canadian theme. The varying thickness of the heritage glass meant I had to work with everything face down. I was well into the soldering process when I realized that, although I had one of the heritage pieces facing the front correctly, it was actually upside down! It will take time to disassemble the piece and to re-cut some of the glass - some time before New Year's Eve. 

For now, I just wanted to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

It was a bit of a marathon day! Seven hours to change the glass in my windows at Galerie Old Chelsea,and then at il Primo Restaurant. I think I earned my glass of wine this evening...and since I had no energy left to cook, we had an excellent take-away meal prepare by il Primo's chef Coady. I am looking forward to a quiet day in my workshop tomorrow.
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