| Author | Content |
balvenie
Marysville, WA
(Zone 7a)
March 16, 2008
9:39 PM Post #4672634
| Well the three day class session is over and I'm aghast. This was the coolest thing ever. It opened up a whole new area of interest. It sure was involved and time consuming. Each piece required several firings, and the Vitri-fusaille needed to have numerous pieces of colored glass cut to the pattern then fused onto a piece of clear even before the first layer of paint.
The piece on the left is the class piece with colored glass cut to ten designs, one from each of us, and fused to clear then shown with the first outlines painted. The one on the right is the instructors piece, a companion to one he did at his last years class.
This message was edited Mar 16, 2008 6:40 PM
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balvenie
Marysville, WA
(Zone 7a)
March 16, 2008
9:45 PM Post #4672660
| These are the two McGrain pieces finished, or very near it. The accordion player on the left was done last year and the guitar player made at this class. Quite a different glass art form. Now the question is how big a kiln can I afford ? 
Click the image for an enlarged view.
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Bettypauze
Victoria Harbour, ON
(Zone 5b)
March 17, 2008
10:09 AM Post #4674144
| Wow, spectacular..I dabble with paints - new type of 'heat set' medium called Genesis..allows one to paint on glass as well..haven't tried any as yet...did get a sandblasted piece of glass and cut 4 ovals, then will add colored glass around it to finish it off...nothing like above..maybe flowers...yet another idea..lordy..I can get a 'to do' list quicker than I'm capable of doing..lol..
Will you be trying this method Balvanie??? |
balvenie
Marysville, WA
(Zone 7a)
March 17, 2008
10:25 AM Post #4674218
| You betchum Red Ryder ! As soon as the flooring guys finish here I'll be back at the glass shop looking at kilns. This is the most exciting thing I've seen since learning how to open the peanut butter jar. The effects are cool, especially the ability to be very "expressionistic" (for lack of a better term) since I'm so lousy at trying to do anything that resembles realistic figures.
Keep that "to-do" list going. With your talent we'll see many super results. |
chickeemama
Graham, WA
March 17, 2008
9:11 PM Post #4676475
| Wow that is awesome!!!! So do you need to have any artistic skill to do this?? I do not have any painting skills at all so Im thinking this would not work for me!!! Yes you definitely need a kiln now to continue making these lovely art pieces! |
balvenie
Marysville, WA
(Zone 7a)
March 17, 2008
10:39 PM Post #4676846
| Although McGrain is an excellent artist as well as craftsman, the way he did these was from several rough sketches of a general design, then refining it and using a very broad outline cuts the colored glass for various parts. there isn't a lot of fine realistic detail. So much is black and dark shading with vivid color contrasts. His use of shadow is and contrast is really cool.
"So do you need to have any artistic skill to do this ?" Of course, and what do you think you've been doing ? Go for it. If your work doesn't look like something someone else did then who is to say your "style" is any less important. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. My favorite pottery instructor would throw a beautiful piece on the wheel and then after the demonstration for the students he would squish it up and do something else. (note the technical "squish it up" term) and say "its only clay".
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chickeemama
Graham, WA
March 19, 2008
2:24 AM Post #4681410
| Thank you for that much needed kick in the butt!!!! Sometimes I forget that I used to have NO talent at all...until I looked for it!!!! If you dont try to do something then of course you cant!!!! If you try and dont like it then thats another story but not trying is worse than trying then never doing again!!! |
balvenie
Marysville, WA
(Zone 7a)
March 19, 2008
10:52 AM Post #4682138
| Well put Chickee. Lets see some cool stuff from you now. Failure is commonplace with me. Just gotta shrug it off and try again. This is my first attempt at glass painting, a horrible example, but at least now I know what not to do. 
Click the image for an enlarged view.
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balvenie
Marysville, WA
(Zone 7a)
March 19, 2008
2:03 PM Post #4682855
| Oops, a trip to the glass store this morning resulted in a new disease that I don't think there is a cure for, except maybe expanding upon it. I brought home a neat little 'Studio 8' kiln and a bunch of appendages to keep it company. What next ? Might have to build another room to keep it in (don't tell the County), but will it be large enough to house the next kiln ? Oh the trials of something like being obsessive, compulsive or both. Certainly no one else has this problem, do they ? |
balvenie
Marysville, WA
(Zone 7a)
March 19, 2008
2:11 PM Post #4682891
| The class piece is finally fired and put in the window. Pretty good for ten 'students', most of whom had never done anything like this before. 
Click the image for an enlarged view.
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balvenie
Marysville, WA
(Zone 7a)
March 19, 2008
2:16 PM Post #4682916
| This is one of the shop owners pieces. Stan Price is an amazing artist and these salmon bowls are stunning. The picture doesn't do it justice. 
Click the image for an enlarged view.
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uroboros
Montreal, QC
(Zone 5b)
May 18, 2008
2:20 PM Post #4969287
| balvenie, I am very impressed! I would have loved to take a class with Peter McGrain.
This October, I signed up for a glass painting class with Debra Coombs in Vermont.
Glass painting is most enjoyable.
If you check out [HYPERLINK@forums.the-glass-artist.com] there is a section devoted to glass painting, and we have a lot of famous glass painters on board. Not Peter, though... :-( |
balvenie
Marysville, WA
(Zone 7a)
May 18, 2008
2:56 PM Post #4969383
| Thanks for the reference to the glass artist site . Uroboros, (quite apropos name for a glass artist) what have you been working in/on ? Would like to see some pictures if you would like to share. |
uroboros
Montreal, QC
(Zone 5b)
May 27, 2008
5:52 PM Post #5011540
| Here's something:. 
Click the image for an enlarged view.
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balvenie
Marysville, WA
(Zone 7a)
May 27, 2008
6:37 PM Post #5011737
| Now that's interesting. Cast or sculpted ? Where do you do your hot glass ? Watching the folks work in the hot shop at Pilchuck is fascinating. There is so much more creativity there than in 'stained glass'. Is there more you'd be willing to share ? I'm pretty green with envy. |
Texas_Trixi
Denison, TX
June 12, 2008
9:54 PM Post #5095729
| Hi everyone I an new to the forum
Balvenie, I want you to know how successful you were at your class. I knew right away the glass painting was in the style of Peter McGrain. I saw him when I went to the glass symposium in Las Vegas a few years ago. Thats hard to do! Congrats!!
Trixi |
