Cleaning up the studio; found some art to share.

Traditional Italian style people sculpting; 'year 3' by Sheila Morley

Practicing Italian style sculpting is a side kick in my studio. I practice every now and then. I set the people in a bowl, and at the end of the year it gets pretty dusty, so I clean them, and this is last years in a bowl.

Italian  Style sculpting is absolutley fascinating! I used to watch some people (in a window of a cute Michigan town) sculpt clear swans. (I was a child on vacation somewhere on the great lakes; we had a boat when I was growing up.)  That was the closest I ever got to this majical art form as a child. You watch glass become molten, and then imediatley following it  becomes perfectly representational.  A blob becomes a limb, LITERALLY!

In approximatley 1 min. a leg is formed.  Loren Stump introduced me to this beautiful art.

This is my 2008 pile of practice people. (what’s left of it.) Every now and then I take all my glass people and throw them together into an interesting people sculpture. They are not where I want them to be yet (anatomically). They do make some funky sculpture!

If I had an aquarium, that is where I would put them. (Right now I am storing them in a box.)

Like this one- My first people ever! (2006…a little Marge Simpson hair going on…) I named these, “Thing one, and Thing two”…about 2” tall people.

GLASS paper weights WESTERN MI Glass~bead expo Grand rapids

LAst week I met with a group of flame workers (lampworker/bead maker friends). We met at the Western Michigan glass society. (If you go to the site; a picture of me is on the homepage…lol!) We rented the space, with over 10 torches, and numerous tools. We talked about beads, techniques we use, we had a good time.

I was excited because I got to use the biggest stump sucker tool they have, and a little torch to practice schott crystal encasement (see these crystals the inventor of the tool made, he is also in e of my favorite instructors.)

With glass, every experience is a new learning experience. This piece is way off. Pretty, but WAY OFF! The flower petals were constructed improperly. (I like to use what I have, even when I know it is not perfect.  I was not going to spend a day making flowers I was just going to screw up learning what I was doing….) I heated the flowers too much. And, the glass I heated to encapsulat the flowers, I do not think was hot enough. You can tell because the flowers sagged while I was putting the glass on them.  It is the first one I have done without Loren next to me.  By next year I hope to get the perfect shape.

This weekend (SATURDAY) I am taking LOTS of beads to the bead expo at the Devos place in Grand Rapids. I am so excited to see all of the glass beads, and the polymer clay artist friends I made last year.  Come shop!

Making murrini with Loren Stump…

My first face murrini….

My first head with my first face murrini….

My 2nd paper weight with help from Loren Stump. I had him make me a flower, I welded all the parts together…Voila! (of-course I chose Lillie’s-We have hundreds of Lillie’s we will be selling next year!!All started from seed!)

So- It is really a collaboration. He was kind enough to do the shaping! (that is reduced Kronos frit in the background, some parts actually stayed reduced. Some oxidised back to blue…)