Always practicing

Practice is necessary. 

Sure, it would be wonderful if everything I ever made was a beautiful and sellable work of art, but glass doesn't seem to work that way for me. So, I do force myself to work out of my comfort zone with glass. I make stuff and lots of it without any intention of selling it. 

The problem is that this stuff just kinda accumulates in my workspace. I don't want to throw it away because it took me time and materials to create it, but it's not very good, so I don't want to sell it or even give it away.

So, I thought before I threw it away, I might share some of my out-of-the-comfort-zone pieces. You have my permission to laugh at them. I laugh at them even if it is a frustrated laugh. So, without further adieu, here are some experiments

Played around with hollow forms. I did ok in my boro tubing class, so how hard could it be in soft glass? The answer is, very hard. Still something worth playing around with.

Implosions have eluded me for a long time. I understand the concept, but I always struggle with the technique and I think it's something that is better suited to borosilicate, but I keep trying. I finally had some success in some soft glass implosions. It's not pretty, but it's a step for me.

Years and years ago, I took a class with Emilio Santini where we did sculptural figures off mandrel. I did alright, but I kinda wish I could retake it with the five additional years of glass experience that I have under my belt now. I still got a lot out of it and remember the concepts that were taught about soft glass sculpture. I played around with making a mousie and a muscular man. I accidentally cracked the man and he lost an arm. He also doesn't have a head, it's ok.

Boro tubing practice! These are pretty boring because they are just clear balls with a loop. I'm still trying to work on getting the shape how I like before adding some color. I will ramp up practice and hopefully production on these once it gets closer to Christmas tree season.

And these guys. They are weird, but I like them and hopefully they will bring a smile to someone's face. These are just a test pair that haven't even been annealed, but I will definitely be making more.