Search found 1077 matches

by Morganica
Tue May 26, 2015 3:30 pm
Forum: Techniques and Tools
Topic: French Vanilla Woes
Replies: 5
Views: 9717

Re: French Vanilla Woes

Pictures would indeed help; your idea and mine of "the distinctive white edge," "somewhat over-fired," "bright white elements stood out from the creamy background," and "whole thing looked patchy" may be very different, so I'd like to see exactly what you're t...
by Morganica
Wed May 20, 2015 1:37 pm
Forum: Techniques and Tools
Topic: need pot melt inspiration
Replies: 5
Views: 8750

Re: need pot melt inspiration

I use some transparent small scrap, especially the lighter-colored stuff, as backfill in larger pate de verre sculptures--when you get more than a couple of inches deep, it really doesn't matter what you've got back there as long as it's not dark or opaque. All you're really doing is massing glass, ...
by Morganica
Thu May 14, 2015 2:28 pm
Forum: Techniques and Tools
Topic: Limit to recycling?
Replies: 4
Views: 6318

Re: Limit to recycling?

If the reds are on the orange-ish side, especially the transparents, they'll first opaque up, and can also shift with repeated firings. The blue-reds don't seem to have that problem. I suspect it's not the number of firings but the total amount of heat the glass has been subjected to that really cou...
by Morganica
Mon May 11, 2015 2:24 pm
Forum: Techniques and Tools
Topic: Ode to kiln controllers...
Replies: 12
Views: 18708

Re: Ode to kiln controllers...

Well, if you go back to the time of the ancient glassmakers, they didn't even had kilns; they had brick-lined pits and ovens they fired with charcoal and their "kiln controllers" were slaves or small boys detailed to watch the firings overnight. I guess it worked, because stuff like this i...
by Morganica
Sun May 10, 2015 5:54 pm
Forum: Techniques and Tools
Topic: Ode to kiln controllers...
Replies: 12
Views: 18708

Ode to kiln controllers...

Small whine ahead--please ignore 'cause I just need to vent. However did we fire stuff without a computer controller? Somebody at work was selling a tiny kiln with an infinite switch--cheap--so I got it for firing PMC and test samples. Two firings later, and I'm about ready to throw this thing acros...
by Morganica
Sun May 10, 2015 5:41 pm
Forum: Kiln Casting
Topic: large kiln firing
Replies: 6
Views: 10958

Re: large kiln firing

The point of the anneal, really, is to allow heat to dissipate from the glass evenly, so what you're trying to do is ensure that all parts of the glass stay at roughly the same temperature all the way down. If the glass is uniformly thin, no matter how wide and long it is, the heat is still able to ...
by Morganica
Mon Apr 20, 2015 8:48 pm
Forum: Techniques and Tools
Topic: Cold combing
Replies: 2
Views: 4879

Re: Cold combing

Get (or make) a food dehydrator. It's basically a box with a rack of window screens, a fan, and a heat source. I've used them where I need to dry significant amounts of water from fiber projects where you can't afford to let the water boil, so I don't see why one wouldn't work here. You might have t...
by Morganica
Thu Apr 09, 2015 5:59 pm
Forum: Jewelry Making
Topic: First firing: Is this right?
Replies: 10
Views: 36274

Re: First firing: Is this right?

As Rosanna said, it's a matter of preference--the nice thing about having your own kiln and making your own glasswork is that you get to dial in the textures, edge and shine you prefer, and it can be different for each firing. Since you've recorded your firing schedule, also record the images and th...
by Morganica
Sun Apr 05, 2015 5:08 am
Forum: Business Topics
Topic: Webinars
Replies: 16
Views: 26859

Re: Webinars

Check out YouTube; I've been surprised by the number of interesting videos there. Corning has a wide variety, for example, although they tend to focus on non-fusing. Probably the best and most consistent are the Bullseye video subscriptions. My dayjob is digital marketing and we do a lot of webinars...
by Morganica
Sun Apr 05, 2015 4:19 am
Forum: Newcomer Forum
Topic: Kiln Recommendation
Replies: 11
Views: 24010

Re: Kiln Recommendation

The Skutt may have preprogrammed glass firing schedules, depends on its primary purpose at the time of purchase. I wouldn't discard the stuff that comes with the kiln until you know what it's for--kiln furniture can be useful for damming, elevating reservoirs for pot melts, etc. Firing schedules are...
by Morganica
Sat Apr 04, 2015 8:16 pm
Forum: Techniques and Tools
Topic: freeze and fuse in a condom
Replies: 6
Views: 10767

Re: freeze and fuse in a condom

Well, it works with balloons, so I don't see why not. Balloons are a good way to get solid inside and outside curves when you're building up plaster/silica mold forms, and a balloon is essentially a condom, albeit more comfortable. (I'd imagine) I'm not a huge fan of freeze-n-fuse, mostly because it...
by Morganica
Fri Apr 03, 2015 7:59 pm
Forum: Kiln Casting
Topic: Talc as an investment ingredient for pate de verre?
Replies: 7
Views: 14917

Re: Talc as an investment ingredient for pate de verre?

Oh, one other thing: Your organic material should NOT include anything that expands when it encounters water or steam, such as rice, spaghetti, etc. Discovered that the hard way, when I was steaming the wax out of a mold containing some rancid old brown rice. Rather spectacular watching it implode, ...
by Morganica
Wed Apr 01, 2015 6:43 pm
Forum: Kiln Casting
Topic: Talc as an investment ingredient for pate de verre?
Replies: 7
Views: 14917

Re: Talc as an investment ingredient for pate de verre?

Not sure it would have that much effect unless you used a lot of talc and very little plaster/silica. When I need to weaken a refractory mix, I use organic material as an additive. If you've access to an office paper shredder, that works well, but you can use grass clippings, kitchen scraps, or simi...
by Morganica
Tue Mar 31, 2015 1:45 am
Forum: Newcomer Forum
Topic: Kiln Recommendation
Replies: 11
Views: 24010

Re: Kiln Recommendation

Thanks for the advice. I was pumped about the show when I found out about it a couple weeks ago but then I realized it was on a weekend when we're out of town. I did have one question about the glass kilns versus the ceramic kilns. Is there any real difference between them? I know some of the ceram...
by Morganica
Mon Mar 30, 2015 10:08 pm
Forum: Newcomer Forum
Topic: Kiln Recommendation
Replies: 11
Views: 24010

Re: Kiln Recommendation

https://www.glasscraftexpo.com/ That might be a good starting point for you, since it would be a local show. You'll find a number of kiln manufacturers there, you can take classes and talk to a wide range of skill sets and experience levels, and find some pretty good show special deals. Frequently ...
by Morganica
Fri Mar 27, 2015 8:16 pm
Forum: Art, philosophy, and content
Topic: "Dumbing down" of glass art?
Replies: 55
Views: 154395

Re: "Dumbing down" of glass art?

I'm not entirely sure of the parameters (I don't know if they've published them), but essentially, they skim off the cream of the postings in a group, i.e., the posts that have garnered the most likes and/or comments in a given period. That will be the stuff that streams into your feed; less popular...
by Morganica
Thu Mar 26, 2015 11:43 pm
Forum: Art, philosophy, and content
Topic: "Dumbing down" of glass art?
Replies: 55
Views: 154395

Re: "Dumbing down" of glass art?

Cate, go into your FB settings in your profile, and choose "Notifications Settings." There will be an area called "What you get notified about" and you need to look in there for "Groups activity." Find the group you want to regulate, and you should see a drop-down box b...
by Morganica
Wed Mar 25, 2015 11:11 pm
Forum: Art, philosophy, and content
Topic: Clear Shield Gel
Replies: 9
Views: 33154

Re: Clear Shield Gel

I don't think you can really answer that without first answering a few questions: 1) Is it a temporary coating? 2) If it is temporary, why would that be more damaging to artistic quality than, say, a protective wax on bronze or wood? Or a sealant on a marble carving? 3) Will the coating really compr...
by Morganica
Thu Mar 19, 2015 5:47 pm
Forum: Techniques and Tools
Topic: new BE cutting system
Replies: 3
Views: 5852

Re: new BE cutting system

I bought one a couple of months ago, am working up a review of it now on my blog. Should post in a couple of weeks. Overall, it's a pretty good system, rather pricey, bit of a learning curve.
by Morganica
Tue Mar 17, 2015 4:47 pm
Forum: Art, philosophy, and content
Topic: "Dumbing down" of glass art?
Replies: 55
Views: 154395

Re: "Dumbing down" of glass art?

It's no dumber on Facebook than anywhere else... ... Don't despise these folks. Encourage them, help them, and keep them coming back for more. At some point, they're gonna get good enough to despise US. Cynthia, you have been one of my favorite personalities on this board since the moment I joined,...