It has been another busy week with little time to blog or do just about anything else. With the spring semester back in full force we're back to the usual blow schedule, Wednesday nights from 9 PM to midnight. At least this semester I don't have a class at 8 AM Thursday to make life interesting!
I've had reasonable luck working large the past few sessions. I'm still not getting my lips thin enough although on Sunday I think I managed a reasonable size. I'm still not gettign the flare that I want on the spins but I think it has more to do with heat control, or my lack thereof, on the top of the piece. They are getting large. And heavy. I was sure my wrists were going to lock up on the one piece I made Sunday. I couldn't believe how much weight I was balancing on the end of the pipe. As I came out of the melter I went straight for the marver to control the giant molten glob I seemed barely in control of. Let's see-- a giant blob, probably 8 - 10 pound worth, of moltem glass at 2050 degrees F, precariously waving at the end of a 5 foot stick. Just how much damage can I do?
At least I stayed away from the white glass.
Necking this piece was interesting. Jim B. showed up, making for a welcome second partner. I had Carlo turn pole while Jim handled protection. The intense heat coming off the glass was incredible. There's no way I can work them this large without a second partner.
This one made it to the box. The rest of the morning didn't go so well. I sent one to the cullet pile when experimenting with the optic mold. I was doing a solo blow on the second bench while Jim and Carlo were working on another piece. It was a good day to have both glory holes burning. Too bad I forgot to tool up the second bench. I blew the bottom to thin and my attempt at a pumpkin died on the pipe when it collapsed on a reheat.
Carlo and Jim weren't as lucky. Their pieces kept popping off the punties all morning. Carlo got too agressive when tweezing the top of one of his and they were unlucky with the rest. Even my little flower vase commited punty-cide right near the end.
On Wednesday's session I experimented with a different white powder, an opal white from Uraboros. I thought I laid it on the first gather rather thick but in the end it really wasn't that strong a white. It looked OK but I was hoping for something a little bit deeper. My secondary colors were some Uraboros cherry red and marigold yellow. The effect came out really well and I imagine would have been even more dramatic had the white been stronger. I'll have to remember this color combination. I gave this one to my daughter who refuses to give it back just long enough so that I can photograph it for the portfolio.
The Patton Township ABC dinner was Friday evening. The dinner is held to honor the township residents such as myself who volunteer counteless hours to making local government work. I can't imagine what our taxes would be if paid staff had to do all that work. It was nice to see so many other civic minded folks present. Tom Kurtz, our township manager, is stepping down afer 22 years to take another position in the area. He got a well deserved a standing ovation.
It is hard to believe how warm this past January has been. Last Friday I was again driving with the sunroof open. I jsut hope we don't end up paying for it in March. I even let the fire go out for a few days. It was nice not having to fetch logs on a regular basis for a little while. Now mind you we have central heat. Its just that it is natural gas and this year the cost of gas is just nuts. We went to firewood as an alternative heat source and found the wood stove does a better job of heating the house.
The weather started to turnback to winter on Saturday, just in time for me to be doing outdoor work. Once again I got the outdoor Christmas lights down before Groundhog Day. Not bad-- only one expensive net light set had problems. Unfortunately it is the wrong set to be bad. Several years ago I bought some 'heavy duty' sets at an after Christmas closeout at Target. The wires were heavier and the sets looked well constructed. I figured with their reliability they would pay for themselves over the cheaper made equivalent sets sold across the way at WalMart. Was I ever wrong. One set got eaten by the snow blower. The other set is the one that is now half-dead. Those chaeper WalMart lights? They're still burning....
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