Use It Up!: Glass and China “Whimsies”

A group of glass and ceramic "garden whimsies"

Those of you who have been reading these posts for some time know that I — and other members of the Annake's Garden team — really don't like to see anything go to waste (see the posts for March 15, 2013 and June 3, 2013). Lately our glass artisan (see the December 30, 2013 post for her interview), in between periods of canning and freezing food for winter, has been combining pieces of miscellaneous glassware and china dishes into delightful “garden whimsies”. I just cleared a couple of shelves in my kitchen cabinets of glass and china pieces that I never use and passed them along to her so that she can create more of these objects. There are quite a few examples of this kind of item on the Internet, most of them to be used as bird feeders. I feed native and migratory birds all year, and I have to say that many of these items — while attractive — are not particularly bird-friendly. You want to feed seeds and suet to the birds, not feed the birds to the neighborhood cats!

So we determined that most of her creations would have other uses, in addition to (or instead of) bird-feeding. We chose three of her many pieces (see above) to feature for you. These can be used indoors, on a porch or patio, or outdoors, under trees or along paths or in flowerbeds. The smallest, we decided, was perfect for a candle-holder and it is shown that way throughout this article. I can picture a double row of these, each different from the other, along the edges of the sidewalk that leads to our front door, acting as luminarias to welcome guests to our home. Obviously the candle-holder could have many indoor uses as well.

The largest piece is an ingenious combination of a bowl, its inverted lid, the glass cover of a ceiling light fixture, a saucer and a small cut-glass dish, all bonded together. Indoors on the buffet, it could hold chips and dip, canapes with nuts or mints, holiday cookies and candies, etc. Outside, it makes a lovely water feature, either by itself or with flowers floating in the bowl. Its color can be changed with the water used to fill it. Just add a drop or two of food coloring to the water and stir it thoroughly before pouring it into the container. And it can even serve as a bird feeder in the right, safe, setting. The water in the base makes it very stable and hard to overturn. All the pieces are securely fastened together with an all-weather adhesive, so it is easy to carry and to transport from place to place.

The medium-sized “whimsey”, a pedestal arrangement topped with a vase shaped like a flower, proved to be the most versatile article of all. It is shown here as a candle-holder. At the bottom of this post you will see it again in a montage showing just a few of its possible uses: holding a floating flower, potpourri, hard candies and, yes, even birdseed. Incidentally, all the photographs were taken in Annake's Garden, so they give you little glimpses into small corners of our late summer gardens.

We were so happy with the first arrangement we made with a fourth “whimsey” creation that we photographed it separately. This is a vase cemented to a glass tray. The artisan filled the vase with her dried flowers and I contributed a combination teapot (top handle) and teacup (bottom handle). What a nice object to have at your elbow when you are ready to relax with a cup of tea and a good book! It also shows how three of our team (J.D. took all the photographs) worked together on this project for this post for you.

Recycled fused glass trivet (left) and spoon holder (right)

Finally, we wanted to show you a couple of items our glass artisan “re-purposed” in the kiln she uses to make her glass plates, jewelry, sun-catchers, wind-chimes and other beautiful creations. The first is a plain glass tray which she has ornamented with fused glass dots and stripes in bright colors. She turned it into an attractive trivet to protect a tabletop from a hot dish or pot. The second article is a simple bottle, melted and shaped into a holder for a cooking spoon. It is also decorated with bits of colored glass. 

I think everyone who has been a homemaker for more than a few years probably has leftover or mismatched pieces of glass or china. While we don't all have access to a kiln, we do have access to a variety of appropriate adhesives. (Be sure to read all the cautions and directions very carefully; look for terms like “food-safe,” “dishwasher-safe,” or “weather-proof,” depending on your plans for the object.) We can all think of useful and decorative ways to keep these items from going to waste. I hope we have provided you with some ideas and inspiration. We would love to hear about — and see pictures of — your own creations.

Have fun with your “whimsical” project!

Some of the many uses for a "whimsey"...

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An Interview With Our Glass Artisan

For this last blog post of 2013, Annake presents an interview with our very talented glass artisan...

Fused glass art "Sailor's Delight"

How and when did you get started working with glass?

 I've been working with glass for about ten years. When I retired from the health care profession, I wanted to do something different -- something that was really fun to do. I'd always been fascinated with glass. As you can see, I have collected quite a bit of it over the years. I love the way the light moves through it.

You work with both stained glass and fused glass, don't you? 

 “Stained” glass is a misnomer. What I work with is art glass. It comes in sheets of various colors and textures. It can be cut to pattern shapes, which are then framed with metal strips that are soldered together.

Artisan cutting glass in her studio

How do you cut the glass?

I score it along the pattern lines. I try to make a deep, even cut in the surface of the glass. Putting pressure on both sides of the of the scored line causes a break to form and spread along the scoring. If I'm lucky, the glass breaks cleanly and I can proceed to the next step.

And if you're not lucky?

Then I have to try again. I have a whole drawer full of “bad breaks”, as well as of bad ideas that seemed fine in theory but didn't work out in practice. That drawer keeps me humble!

What is the hardest thing about working with art glass?

For me, probably the soldering. Soldering is not my greatest skill. Also, art glass is very hard to cut. I don't work as much with it lately because I have had some trouble with my hand strength. (She indicates a soft brace on her right hand.)

 

Artisan with art glass

 What kinds of things do you make from art glass?

Pictures, suncatchers, lampshades, wind chimes. Right now I'm working on an abstract sculpture in red, white, and blue.

How does working with fused glass differ from working with art glass?

Fusing glass is much softer than art glass; therefore, it is much easier to cut. It is much less restrictive, too. I put the pieces of glass together the way I want them and let the kiln do the work. You can fire the glass over and over to add or change elements to get the effect you want. It is much more “forgiving” than art glass. I like working with crushed glass and ground glass, called fritt.  Fritt comes in many colors and in sizes all the way from powder to coarse chunks.

Designing a fused glass piece

What kinds of things do you make from fusing glass?

Jewelry, all kinds of bowls and dishes, trays, coasters, Christmas ornaments.

Do you use moulds for some of the work?

Yes. You can use moulds made from any kind of ceramic (bisque-fired) clay. Commercial kitchen equipment suppliers are a good source of metal moulds. These moulds have to be sprayed with a releasing compound so that the glass separates cleanly from the mould. First you heat the glass to a very high temperature. Then you soften it just enough so that it sags (called “slumping”) into the mould. Even if you have fired a piece of glass before, however, you can't be sure how it will come out in the next firing. If I'm not satisfied with the piece, I would rather break it up, melt it, and use it in something new rather than trying to “fix” it.

Blue fused glass dish, available in our Etsy shop

Where do you get your materials?

I order a lot of it online. I also visit shops that sell glasswork and browse thrift stores and yard sales. I sometimes find pieces of beautiful antique glass that way. I may be called upon to repair a piece of heirloom glass, so I like to have a supply of antique glass on hand. That is not to say that some of those pieces don't become part of my collection. Interestingly, people often just give me glass items.

Is there a modern material that you particularly like?

Yes, dichroic glass. It was developed by the space program. It has both reflective and refractive properties at the same time.

Adjusting the fused glass design

How do you get the ideas and inspirations for your projects?

I have a lot of books and magazine articles on the subject. More and more, however, I prefer to create my own designs and get my ideas from my own observations and environment. If I don't have an idea in mind, I lay out pieces of glass on my workbench, including ones from my “humble” drawer. Working from the outside inward, I arrange and rearrange the pieces, until they begin to “speak” to me. The design evolves from the materials themselves.

That's very interesting. If you read the interviews with our natural-stone jeweler and our quilt-maker (July 1, 2013 and August 16, 2013) , you will find comments along those same lines.

Sometimes it seems that the glass has a mind of its own and simply decides what it wants to be.

I've learned the hard way that fighting it doesn't work.

What is the most satisfying thing about your work?

Teaching. I teach classes in both kinds of glass. A few months ago I taught a class of grandmothers and their grandchildren who were here visiting for the summer. It was fun to watch the two generations interacting with and inspiring each other. It was a delight to see their faces when they came to pick up their pieces that had come out of the kiln. They were so enthusiastic and happy about their work.

Orange swirl fused glass dish, from our Etsy shop

Is there anything you don't like about the work?

I don't like mass production. I want to make one-of-a-kind pieces or limited sets. Sometimes I have to do production work, but I'll tell you there is a lot of grumbling involved.

You can see some of our artisan's Christmas ornaments in our after-Christmas sale and her other pieces elsewhere in our Etsy shop.

Have a great New Year!

 Annake

Fused glass gingerbread Christmas ornaments

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