Small Is Beautiful

I like making small pieces because it’s a great way to try new ideas of design and technique.  The size I often use is a 4-inch square, gently slumped to form a shallow dish that can hold a variety of objects, from food (nuts, olives, etc.) to jewelry.

The first two pieces feature stringers, i.e. long, very thin rods of glass.  Stringers come in a variety of colors.  To make stripes, I place the stringers into reeded clear glass.  One side of the reeded glass has rows of grooves or channels just the right size to hold a stringer.  For the black and white striped piece, I placed a stringer into each channel.  The stringers are black and white opaque glass.  Opaque glass does not allow light to pass through.  The red “frit” was tack fired onto the piece following the full fuse.  

I recently sold this piece at the Mantua Made Market.

The next piece is a “bubble” piece.  You’ll notice the plaid pattern, formed by using stringers in two pieces of reeded glass.  Once the stringers are glued into place, one piece of reeded glass is placed on top of the other piece, at a right angle.  This forms the plaid pattern and creates tiny air pockets, which result in bubbles.  Most of the stringers in this piece are transparent glass, which means that light shines through them.  

4-inch "bubble" piece - $35.

The last 4-inch piece was made last fall (2014) using a special clear Bullseye glass containing bits of green and red – perfect for the Christmas season.  This piece is still available.

4-inch square - $25

If you are interested in purchasing any of these pieces, or if you would like to special-order a piece, please contact me.