Painting on Glass Tip - Silver Stain

I may have shown this photo before but it is relevant today also.

When painting on glass, silver stain can be a wonderful and also trying thing to use. This picture shows a piece I replaced for a window at St. Dominic Church in Clinton. At some point in time, the original piece broke out and an ordinary piece of window glass replaced it.

To duplicate it the best way possible, I made a screen that duplicated the other three medallions - the edge design only. That screen was used to silk screen glass paint onto the glass to give the black edge the design it needed. Once done, it was fired in the kiln at about 1200 degrees. The dove in the center was hand painted and was requested by the church. There are no photos or documents depicting what was in the original window.

The trick was in the silver stain. To find out what side of the glass the silver stain should go on, I purchased a Blak-Ray and Mineralight Mini UV Lamp. By putting the black light against the glass, I am able to tell which side should be painted with silver stain, and which side I should paint my tracing colors on.

This panel actually went through the following firings:
1) A light matt of bistre brown
2) Silk screened edge along with hand painted dove
3) Darker brown matt manipulated with a dry brush around the dove
4) Amber silver stain around the dove
5) Darker amber silver stain in the corners of the piece

By mixing my tracing and matt with zinc it helped to keep the piece looking similar to the older pieces in the window. The trick was to make it look like it matched, not make it look brand new. The church was very pleased with the outcome.

Pat Deere

Looking for some real artistic expression?

I am not good at getting things to link in properly, but this was loaded on my brothers facebook. It is a really fun, different, video. If you have to cut and paste it to get it to work... take the time to do it.

Let me know what you think!

Pat Deere

Links: http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=108986584292&h=HpGW-&u=q7Ydp&ref=nf

A new exhibit to check out...

Pam Bacon is a wonderful artist and friend. I took lessons from her when I was at a low, I needed to get outside of my comfort zone from an artists standpoint, and I only heard good things from other artists who had taken classes with her.

She has a show coming up at the Croswell Opera House Gallery in Adrian, MI that I am sure you won't want to miss. This show is a collection of work from Pam and her students Muriel Bell, Carol Jodis, Martha Poppink-Melcher. The show runs from July 27-August 14. I haven't seen it yet but I know of the women and they do great work.

What I found when looking for current information on Pam to pass along was this:

Blue Owl Studios is an Art Studio. It is an environment where classes are taught, art is created and sharing of ideas takes place.Other creative services offered are interior space design for balanced residential living; personalized greeting cards; artistic business card design; and Revolutionary Rags, a contemporary clothing line featuring art with a mission.Pamela C. Bacon, artist, is the founder and instructor of Blue Owl Studios. Ms. Bacon has taught art for over 18 years to students ranging in ages 9 years to adult.

Links/Emails:

Croswell Opera House Gallery: http://www.croswell.org/artgallery.html

P. C. Bacon Email: pcbacon@aol.com

Pat Deere

Traverse City, MI

Anybody who has been going to Traverse City for a number of years can relate.

Unfortunately, this dates me some. I can remember going to Traverse City in northern Michigan since I was born. My mom's family all live there. Like everything else, nothing stays the same, and Traverse City falls into that category of constant change. I can remember when... there were no fast food restaurants in town.

My Great Grandmothers house was an old stone house on the south west corner of Chums Corners. It was a landmark for years. This past week-end while visiting for a family reunion, the changes really hit home. We had to go west at Chums Corners and it took me a bit to realize where I was. It used to be so obvious... Grandma's house on one corner, the party store/bar on the other corner, a restaurant on another... . None of what used to be is there any more.

On the other hand, the beauty of the Bay is still an inspiration whether there is rain or sun. The drive leading up to it is phenominal. The smell of the area with the breeze blowing off the bay is worth the drive. And, their downtown is still a destination spot.

I love the Bay, the shopping, the relatives, the views, the smell and most of all, the feeling I get whenever I arrive.

Check it out if you never have.

Pat Deere

ps. Change isn't always bad and it is fun looking back!

Links: Traverse City http://www.visittraversecity.com/

Mr. B at the Ann Arbor Art Fair

This guy was fun. For 30 years he has set up his piano in Ann Arbor during the fair and played. This year, he drove it in on his new custom made bicycle. Three of my favorite things - biking and music and art. It was great.

Look him up. He has an interesting story.

The art fair was great. Didn't buy anything this time but I am always inspired by what is there. Went to the U of M Museum of Art and saw a wonderful Tiffany exhibit. My favorite piece was a glass and metal door made for the Havemeyer's home. Lot's of the Tiffany work on display this time were from a collection at their home.

Seen any good exhibits or art shows lately?

Links:
Mr. B: http://www.marklincolnbraun.com/
U of M Museum of Art: http://www.mlive.com/entertainment/ann-arbor/index.ssf
/2009/03/renovated_university_of_michig.html

Pat Deere

Chair-ity event for the Boys & Girls Club

I got an email asking me to help find people interested in donating a chair for the Chair-ity event described below. This photo was actually from the FaceBook page for the Meadowview Elementary auction. It's a fun event and I have purchased chairs in the past. The "Cherry" chair is in my office right now.

Call for Art....”Chair-ity” event for Boys and Girls Club.

The Art-A-Licious Festival is looking for artists to construct, decorate, embellish, weld, paint, paste, or fabricate a chair however you please out of new, or old materials. The sky is the limit. Your donated chair will auctioned off to support the Boys and Girls Club Art Foundation.

A “Chair”ity silent auction has been planned to run in conjunction with the 2009 Art-ALicious Festival. Dozens of artistically constructed or altered chairs will be shown at the two day festival. The chair art will be on display the week before the event at participating business locations. Each participating business will host a silent auction in which anyone can bid on the chair art. Winning bidders will be announced Saturday night at the conclusion of the festival. The proceeds from auction sales will be donated to establish an art foundation for the Boys and Girls Club of Lenawee.

For more information about where to pick up existing chairs or for drop off details please contact... Pi Benio pbenio@adrian.edu

Links:
Art-A-Licious: http://www.artalicious.org/
Meadowview Elementary Chair-ity Auction: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1500074&id=68655829456&ref=mf

Changes of light...

Don't know if it shows up here the way I thought but you can see some of the difference.

It never stops amazing me how glass can change so dramatically with changes in lighting. This is a small panel I am delivering today. It is the last piece in a set of 4 that I will be installing into this customers home. This one will hang over their kitchen sink.

There are some really intense turquoise colors in this glass that show up well with or without the light. Then there are areas that lose the turquoise with bright light behind it. The amber shows up well without light and gets hidden when the light becomes more intense. I like to post pictures like this to help people understand when they are ordering custom glass that it is important to pay attention to the play of light throughout the day.

Usually, the more translucent a glass is, the more important it is for it to be back lit. The colors will be much more intense with light and often gets lost without it. Glass similar to what is shown here will have a lot of color with or without light, but it definitely changes with the lighting.

ps: Went to Chelsea, MI again yesterday with a friend. It was a great day to listen to free music in the street, we stopped at Zou Zou's for a bite to eat, and then visited the local shops and galleries. The Chelsea Gallery has an Artist in Residence each Thursday from 6:30-8:30. One of my personal favorites, Chris Blank, will be there September 3rd. The acrylics have such intense color and movement it makes me feel like I want to swim in it. Ok - that might sound a little weird but they really do affect me. Check it out when you can.

Links: http://chelsea-gallery.com/blog/

I think it's going to be sunny and 80 here today. A great day to work on glass, swim in the pool, work on glass, swim in the pool...

Pat

Flint Bus Depot - Women's Rights Window

My current commission is one for the Michigan Transportation Authority. They are installing a series of stained glass windows, about 4.5'x16', in the Flint Bus Depot. I will be fabricating 5 windows total and designing 2 of them.

This computerized drawing shows, roughly, what the window will look like. The background will be an assortment of Youghiogheny glass rectangles arranged into a sunrise color scheme. The 5 women I was to highlight + Maya Angelou (my personal favorite), will have their silhouettes in heavy lead in the background.

Now, where your help comes in... I would like to include pieces of glass from women in your lives who helped you personally, like the pioneers of the Women's Rights Movement helped all of us, through their own strength, courage, and wisdom. Immediately I thought of the grandparents in my life that I was so blessed to have. Growing up, both my husband and myself, were fortunate to have parents, grandparents, and great grandparents who were positive influences on us. I am going to incorporate glass pieces from as many of these strong women as I can, into the scale which will make up the central part of this design. I prefer to have clear glass but will include others where I can.

For example, my Grandma Schmuckal kept a lot of stuff. I was able to acquire a glass shade from her that had a crack in it. The picture you see here is a scan of the edge of that glass. I will be cutting this off of the broken shade with a diamond band saw, flattening it in the kiln, and cutting it to the size I need. I have a broken crystal glass of my mom's. As you can see, I don't throw much away if it is glass. I will be using some of the pieces from that glass in the scale as well.

So... if you have a female in your life that had an impact on you, like women from the women's movement had on society... and you want to include a piece of their glass (preferably clear) into this design. I would love to hear from you. I may not be able to include all of it but if you send it, I will try to fit it in.

LOOKING FOR: Glass from influential women in your life!

Pat

Alden B. Dow

I have been asked to bid on a job that incorporates the philosophies of Alden B Dow. I have to admit I did not know much about him until this project fell in my lap.

In researching him, I have been very intrigued by "the man", his views on life, art, and humanity in general. I love the Way of Life Cycle that is referenced so much. Click on any link that refers to him and you will find the Way of Life Cycle. It is definitely worth the time it takes to read through each area and think about how it pertains to your life, work, art, etc. I enjoy hearing about people who are not only good artists, but good people as well. Reading through the materials needed for this project, it is obvious how much he cared about the betterment of all people and strove to provide that through his work and life.

Can't wait to move forward with this project. I am planning on putting in a bid with a friend of mine who blows glass, Lorenzo Cristaudo. His work is wonderful and I enjoy him as a person. Check out his web site as well. We will be taking art lessons, along with my son and another student starting this week from Bud (Virtus) Gale. Can't wait!

Links:
Lorenzo Cristaudo www.glassartists.org/Gal8689_The_Glass_Infinity_Lorenzo_Cristaudo.asp
Alden B Dow: www.abdow.org

Enjoy this bright, sunny day. At least that is what is happening in Michigan. Heading out now for a bike ride through the Irish Hills!

Pat

Vesna Savic - MadMax MetalWorks

Yesterday in Chelsea, Mi they had a really nice community event with free music throughout the city. I heard a large variety of music including three boys playing the drums on 5 gallon buckets - and they were really good! Chelsea will continue to do this on Thursday evenings throughout the summer.

While there, I visited a couple of art galleries. One of them was the Chelsea Gallery - their link is below. Walking into the gallery was an experience ... people wandering around looking at the variety of artwork, stopping by for a cup of coffe or tea at the coffee bar, or talking to the artist in residence.

Yesterdays featured artist was Vesna Savic. What a treat to sit and talk with her a while. I have been wanting to hone my skils with my welder and torch. She took a lot of time to point me in the right direction and recommended Washtenaw Community College as the place to go locally. I'm already making plans to sign up for a fall class.

Vesna's work shows the energy and excitement that she exhibits when you talk to her. It is easy to gell she is passionate about her work. They way she talks about the metals and what they do will pull you into a very interesting conversation and while observing the many pieces she has in the gallery. A link to Vesna's web site is below as well.

Chelsea is definitely the place to be on Thursday evenings this summer. Any great galleries you would like to share with me?

Links:
Chelsea Gallery: www.chelsea-gallery.com
Vesna Savic: www.MadMaxMetalWorks.com

Pat