Finally another website

Not finished but started.... which is a big deal really
www.dyzart.com

Down to the wire

Well I have been neglecting this blog but will update soon. If you are following my other blog -we are down to the wire and so far we have 17,322 hits I will post the results there in a few minutes Kinda sad to see it end!

Another new experiment

Looks like tin foil but its really silver

Blog Tagged

I have been blog tagged by my dear friend Ali - www.alicyndrew.com - Blog tagging is where you have to post 8 things about yourself on your blog-and then tag other people (think chain letter) I was actually tagged a week or so ago and hoping she would forget (I think she did) but noticed that everyone else has been tagging everyone else and actually participating- so I felt a little guilty not participating - now of course not enough feelings of guilt -just yet- to come up with 8 things about myself to post - but a little guilty just the same.

YEAH

We both got three pieces accepted! Exciting. Juried shows scare me just a little but we are both excited today

All Things Magical Show

Thanks to a friend, I have entered three pieces into this show. I think my style will fit into the 'magical' theme but I guess it all depends on the jury. Wish me Luck!

Screenprinting experiment continued

This is the clipart and the 'screen'


The halo around these pieces is due to the medium being to thin and seeping under the screen

This screen did very well

No seepage or blur The enamels have been set and now just require clear capping

All in all - nothing difficult to do with the right tools

No idea what I will ever use this technique for but it was fun to experiment with.

Saturdays experiment..........

Screenprinting - so far it has gone a lot easier than I had anticipated. I have had the materials forever but had heard so many times that is was difficult - so I never tried
Nice sunny day so I did all the exposing outside - that only took 5 minutes in the bright sun - rinsed the screens - mixed up a couple of different kinds of enamels and now they are in the mini kiln
A couple of hours and we shall see if its worth the efforts.

A favorite right now This one turned out a whole lot different than I had planned.....and better actually

Another in Pink. You don't see a lot of people using too much pink glass as it sometimes comes out just a tad strange looking.....but I am into the pink right now.

Still More!

Anyone who knows me also knows that I do not stay focused on one project for very long.....however I am still having a blast with these goddess pieces so here are a few more

Silversmithing.....

I am attending a class now and obviously did not pay attention to the word Solder!
Soldering is NOT a strong point of mine in any form. Took one class in soldering stained glass and thats all I needed to figure out that I just can't do it. It takes a steady hand and the lost art of actually paying attention - which I guess I have neither
Kudos to those that can!

Cheap and Easy Light Box

After building and buying a couple of lightboxes - I had a brainfart and came up with this

This is made from a plastic drawer from one of those roll-around carts Drilled two holes in the top -made little wire hooks to hang fishline or a chain from - white paper (thinfire LOLOL) and it is easily transported outdoors when the light is right or in when its TOO HOT OUTSIDE (like everyday for weeks now!)

I plan on using a bigger clear storage container the same way for larger items

24K Gold

These experiments are going well.....for what they are anyway. These castings I am pleased with - not so much for what they look like but for the way they are coming out of the mold without picking up any texture or kilnwash. Anyone that has tried glass casting knows that this is an exciting outcome. I want to thank my good friend in Georgia for sending me this 24K gold leaf (she is always sending me surprises and encourages me to experiment)

Glass

Well the two part molds failed miserably but I did have one small success tonite with the 'goddess experiment' I guess this would be considered two dimensional instead of the 3 dimensional that I was going for but for just throwing scrap in I am pleasantly pleased with what came out

I still am not giving up on the 3D experiment!

A couple more

i am getting slightly carried away

with these things

Back to the original plan... Part 2

Got sidetracked there. I did cast a few in glass and did not like the flat backs on the pieces and the details just did not show up well with the glass I used. So back to the drawing board and created an actual 3D goddess (butts are harder to make than I first thought) anyway made two - two part plaster molds which are in the kiln now and I will start firing in the morning, figuring it will be an all day firing for proper annealing. Wish me luck that the molds hold!

Back to the original plan...

The goddess pieces. The original thought was to cast them in glass but after carving a few to make casting molds with I remembered how much I enjoy working with clay and really got sidetracked from my glass. Funny thing is I do not do jewelry, never had any interest in it and I totally have no talent for putting things together - none. I can think in three dimensions- making positives and negatives and how the whole casting process works but I cannot -as hard as I try- do anything with making jewelry. All the beads and beadcaps and headpins and thing-a-ma-bobs, gotta ton of it and all I can do is stare at it. For those that can...wow, I admire that talent and wonder how many people out there think it is easy to do because I know its a real art form.

Our new adoption

Most people I guess have strays wander up every now and then. I always expected the occasional dog or cat would stop by and expect a free meal but our new 'stray' is a peacock.

Very novel when he first moved in -see in these parts you only see them at the zoo. But we now have one living with us. Actually he has 'taken over' a low limb on a tree out back. I did, after much prodding from a friend, track down the owner of the bird who cannot get him to stay home now. His actual owner has several different kinds of birds, including his mate and lives not to far from us The peacock makes a daily trek to eat breakfast with his 'spouse' and then returns to our house for the day. Every evening between 7 and 8 he comes to the back door for a snack, and he lets you know he is there. This bird makes the loudest strangest noises and its not easy for us nor our dogs to ignore. I mean loud and often, starting at about 6 am, which gets the dogs to barking and then the peacock yells louder.....its a never ending cycle.

He also has claimed the driveway - which means you wait for him to cross - he does not move for you. It has been fun to watch the FedEx and UPS guys do a double take when they pull up.

The novelty has worn off.

Understated

This one is a good example of the ease of drilling holes side to side which I did through the 'hands'. This one has also been fused and re-fused many times. It has a satin finish which really brings out the colors.

Summer Goddess

This is my entry to the Summer exhibition on WWAO - worldwide women artists. I am pretty new there but it seems like a very friendly group of artists of all kinds.

This is kilnformed glass (fused) three layers with designs layered between the base and clear glass

Fired up

Just listed this new On Fire Goddess pendant on Etsy. I am really enjoying the detail work in carving and glazing these pieces. A great little diversion from all the noise when using glass saws and grinders. Just clay and the kiln - quiet.

Spoiled Rotten

I am. I never was before. It's work! It's nice but its a lot to live up to sometimes.
My spoiled today story begins with a new wireless network for the house. We did have two Internet providers -one for the office-where we do real work and one for my 'studio' - just in case I had an immediate need to check my email - hey you never want to miss out on any good group/forum/blog gossip because you might not be able to catch up! Anyway we decided to get rid of one and just boost the other signal.
Equipment bought and installed. Laptops hooked up no problem.
Little pods things with a long cable called usb wireless adaptors for the desktops - easy - just plug it in and it will pickup the signal - where IS the signal? We could not find it.
Signals should be transmitted in color. We both had our little pods moving them all around trying to get the green light to come on.... I won, I set it on top of my head. Green Light. You are connected.
That was last night-I was connected. I looked ridiculous but I was surfin' the net. Today my husband spent at least 3 hours on the phone, another trip to The Store (alone) and another 8 hours messing around with all the wireless network routers just so I didn't have to sit with a pod on my head. Ain't he great!

Hey I am Blogging! but why?

Setting it up - not to bad, in fact pretty user friendly. Hopefully this won't be another thing I forget to do - although I don't expect an audience - I suppose this will be a nice way to keep focused and maybe by posting some projects I will feel a little obligated to follow through on them. Hey I talk to myself all the time anyway - now it will just go on my permanent record.