The Mad Kilner

Dimensional Fusing

2009-11-07T17:18:00.000-08:00

I've been doing a lot of full fusing lately and wanted to change things up. I took my nippers and cut a lot of little pieces of glass, set them on a black base and did a tack fuse to achieve this effect. I was pretty happy with how they turned out.

I was planning to make more bowls in different colours but cutting up all that glass was tedious and time consuming so I haven't gotten around to it yet. I only had the energy to cut pieces for pendants and earring - which turned out pretty cool!

glass cabinet knob

2009-10-19T06:37:00.000-07:00

We redid the kitchen at the cottage this summer. Since I'm not all that handy my contribution to renovations usually entails assisting with the design/layout, holding things steady during construction and making refreshments.

I wanted to make something for this project so I decided to fashion knobs for the new kitchen cabinets and drawers.

I used a streaky blue glass that has a lot of white swirls in it. I was pleased with how these turned out. The kitchen cabinets are white, as is the back splash. The flooring is a dark resilient tile that has just a bit of blue flecks in it. I was hoping the knobs would pull the blue specks from the floor and add a bit of colour to the room.

frit = easy jewelry

2009-10-18T14:01:00.000-07:00

I've done a lot of glass fusing since my last post and really need to get this blog updated.

I recently ordered a few jars of frit (glass that is crushed up into little bits). Frit + jewelry molds = the easiest way to make jewlery! I hade some fun combining colours to make a nice speckled effect. Here are some of the results:

Link bracelet, dangle earrings and pendant in turquoise, green and white

Red, black and white

Green and white

Classic black and white

rings galore

2009-07-26T16:31:00.000-07:00

It's been raining all weekend in Toronto. I wasn't able to borrow a canopy for the weekend so I didn't end up going to the market on Saturday - good decision since it rained, rained, rained. Instead I stayed home and made more jewelry and posted a few more items on etsy.

I'm really happy with the new ring blanks I ordered. I made a bunch of different styles of rings and have used the different blanks to try them out. My favourite ones have a wide band that adjusts underneath the pad - really comfortable but quite the substantial ring. I've been using those blanks for the larger cabochons.

Gumballs anyone? If only my quarter had resulted in one of these!

Millefiori rings

Small monochromatic rings - a perfect compliment to a colourful pendant.

With millefiori.

Love this one - reminds me of a black onyx.

Made matching pendants and earrings for these ones.

In other news, I've booked my next licensing exam (for September) so I'm starting to prepare for that. I was surprised that there were so few exam dates available in the time frame that was open to me (you have 60 days to sit for the exam once you register), and virtually nothing at all at the Toronto office. Looks like I have to drive to London to take the test. Initially I was scheduled for a 7:30 am start time. Ugh. You have to check in 30 minutes before the exam starts and the commute would be about 2.5 hours so I'd have to leave the house at 4:30 am! Nothing like getting a good night's sleep the night before an important exam. Luckily I was able to change my start time to 9:00 am, which is a tad more reasonable.

an experiment in combing

2009-07-20T13:29:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was full of glass experimentation and learning. What this really means is I tried new things, had projects not work as planned (I'm being nice here - I had some miserable failures), and learned what not to do at my next attempt.

My first project was a bowl made of transparent glass with millefiori pieces inset. I went with a clear base and green transparent glass and picked out a variety of millefiori colours/designs that I arranged in a pinwheel design. So far so good. Off the glass went into the kiln. I peaked in at the crash cool phase and during the soak and all looked good. I let it cool to room temperature (I swear, if it wasn't for safety I would only fire overnight - it is SO hard to wait for the kiln to cool before looking and unloading!) and was pretty pleased with the finish piece.

Until a noticed a crack!!! Yup, much to my dismay a big ole crack started spreading through the piece! I chalked this up to glass incompatibility until I put the next load in the kiln and paid better attention while the firing schedule was reviewed and saw that it was WAY off. Somehow the program had been changed to only 2 segments: ramp up to 1150, slower ramp to 1465 and then turn off! No hold on the way up, no soak, no crash cool, no slow ramp down! I had had some trouble switching between user programs a few weeks ago (from the full fuse progam to the slump program but was eventually successful and was able to slump a few projects) so I must have altered the full fuse schedule without knowing.

Lesson learned: ALWAYS review the firing schedule - even when you are not changing it at all.

My next project was to experiment with tempered glass. I brought home some tempered glass, shattered it and then attempt to fuse an oval mound that would later be slumped into a bowl. I wanted to preserve the fragmented look of the glass so I used a tack fuse schedule. I hoped this would bind the glass enough to become a solid piece but retain the individual grains. Nope - another failure. The pieces just barely adhered to each other and were easily broken off.

Lesson learned: tempered glass does not behave in the same way as fusible glass. Try a full fuse next time.

My last experimentation of the weekend was glass combing. An exciting but terrifying technique. Combing is the act of drawing a tool across molten glass. It involves opening the kiln at a temperature of around 1700 degrees F, which make it one of the hottest activities you can do with your kiln.

This experiment was fairly successful but the technique was a lot harder than I thought it would be. I definately need a lot more practice before I'll be able to make parallel, even drags but that wasn't the goal here - I simply wanted to try moving the glass around and not burn myself or catch anything on fire (success on all three accounts there!). I stuck my arm in and tried to rake across the glass as fast as I could a few times. Not very precise but good enough.

Lessons learned: get a proper rake with one fork that is designed for kiln work (thicker metal, long rod and good handle) instead of using the turkey fork from the kitchen. Seriously. Another lesson learned: at this temperature glass spreads out and raking results in uneven edges. Be prepared to do much more cold working than usual.

Before firing:

After firing and raking:

I also did 2 jewelry loads but the last load was still cooling when I left for work this morning so I'm not certain if those pieces turned out. I had ordered some better ring bands as well as bracelet blanks before I went on vacation and was dying to use them (hmmmm...I may have a problem with patience - I think this is the third such comment in this post alone). I made a bunch of new rings and my first bangle bracelet and link bracelet. Pics to come soon!

cool cufflinks

2009-07-18T13:02:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's been so long since my last post. Even with the best of intentions I can't seem to keep up with regular posts! It's hard to know where to begin - a lot has been going on lately. I attended my first outdoor market, was accepted for a really cool new fashion and art market opening in Toronto, took a 2-week holiday and got into many, many new glass projects.

I'll start with the market. On Saturday June 20th I packed up all my wares and headed up near St. Clair and Spadina as a vendor in the WychCraft Market, my first show/market ever! Unfortunately the weather was awful and the market was a dud. I think all of 6 vendors were there (I'm sure only the ones with canopies showed, I'm sincerely hoping others were scheduled for the day). Hardly any potential customers were coming through but I did have a few people stop and about half of them made a purchase. My first sale was my favourite plate from the "shattered" series. I felt sorry for the other vendors who didn't make many sales and were getting their products wrecked in the heavy rain and wind. A definite benefit of having all glass-made items! I'm told that it's usually fairly busy with foot traffic in the area so I hope it was only the weather keeping people away - I'll be back there next Saturday to give it another go.

I've been expanding my jewelry repertoire and now make bracelets, rings and cufflinks in addition to pendants, earrings and sets. I decided to start making cufflinks as I was planning my vacation, which would include a road trip to Bethlehem Pennsylvania to visit some friends. I wanted to bring something for my friend's husband and decided it should be handmade glass cufflinks. My friend has already been inundated with glass items but her spouse hadn't! Ahha! The perfect target. So after ordering the cufflink blanks and waiting forever for their arrival I got to work. I ended up making a variety of different kinds - dichroic, layered, streakies. I thought it was quite clever of me to make a matching set of jewelry for the couple - pendant, earrings and ring for her and cufflinks for him. You know, just in case they wanted to match when going out. The gifts were well received which made me pretty happy :)

Here are a few other cufflinks that are going up on etsy.

My sister, who paints and recently started making cool urban necklaces, forwarded me information about a new market starting up in the Distillery District in Toronto. The Portobello East Fashion and Art Market Toronto is an upscale venue offering unique pieces from local designers and artisans. A little different than the usual craft/farmer's type of market and much more my style from what I can tell.

We decided to apply to be vendors at the market and were accepted. Such a perfect situation - not only do I get to hang out in the Distillery District for the day (love that area) and sell my jewlery and housewares but I also get to share a stall with my sister and hang with her!

Info about the market from their website: www.portobelloeast.com/
"Opening July 26th and held the last Sunday of every month thereafter, Portobello East will be held at the Fermenting Cellar in the trendy Distillery District. Portobello East showcases only the hottest Canadian designers and artisans. With over 80 designers on show each month, any fashionista or art aficionado can find something to suit their unique style."

If you're local you have to come by. I've gone through the website and checked out all the vendors listed - there is going to be some amazing stuff there!! We're scheduled for September 27 & October 25 so far but we'll also be signing up for November 29 and December 12 & 13, which is their special holiday market. My sister is also on etsy, check out her artwork www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7042460 and jewelry www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7455740.

I've been busy with my housewares line too but will wait for the next post to get into that. I tried my first "combing" today - exciting but scary. It'll be hours until the kiln has cooled but if the project worked I'll take some pics and post.

magnets for the market

2009-06-14T13:12:00.000-07:00

So next weekend is the craft market! This weekend I made 1 kiln load full of new items (cufflinks and rings) but mainly have busy slumping plates and bowls, fire polishing items and figuring out how to package and display my stuff. I think the hardest part of this process has been deciding what to charge! I wonder if people will try and haggle? Hmmm...I didn't factor that into my pricing.

I'll be bringing along my houseware items and jewelry but wanted to be sure I had small, inexpensive items that anyone and everyone could use so I made a stock of magnets. Who couldn't use some funky magnets on their fridge? Why not use a little piece of glass art to display your child's drawing, a favourite recipe or your to do list?

Here are some of the magnets I'll be taking to the WychCraft Market:

the shattered series

2009-06-03T15:05:00.000-07:00

I've really been enjoying making the larger items for my houseware line (plates, bowls, magnets, game boards, etc) but it's taking awhile to fuse everything since I can only get between 1-3 items in the kiln at a time.

I thought I was being pretty clever when it dawned on me that I could just add a second shelf to my kiln and double my fusing space. Well, this was not as straightforward as I thought it would be as the added shelf disrupted heat circulation and my usual firing schedule just wasn't doing what it was supposed to.

On first try the bottom shelf was too low and the items only tack fused. Then I tried elevating the bottom shelf, and in doing that had to elevate the 2nd shelf which put it too close to the element and everything on it over fired.

So now I'm slumping on the bottom of the kiln and doing a full fuse firing at the same time. This is quite helpful, especially since I kept making new items instead of doing a second firing to finish already made items.

Here are the first few items I made for the upcoming market (www. I will be slumping them into a plate mold with a flat bottom and slightly sloped sides.

On a base of red transparent glass topped with off-white opalescent glass that was shattered and reassembled. 8" b8"

A base of bright blue with smashed white glass on top. 5" by 5"

Transparent yellow base with shattered black glass fused on top. 8" by 8"

Transparent deep purple base with off-white broken glass. 5" by 5"

more melts??

2009-06-02T17:55:00.000-07:00

Yes, you can never have enough pot melt pendants!!

My latest melt used a combination of opalescent white and red glass (and just a sprinkle of brown) with transparent red, orange and clear glass. I think this is my favourite melt so far! Although I think I say that after each one I make :)

I had just started cutting the disc up when I remembered that I hadn't taken a picture of it yet!

Please excuse the bad lighting :(

I've been busy fusing away to prepare for the market I registered for. I picked 4 dates over the summer: Saturday June 20th, Saturday July 25th, Saturday August 8th and Saturday September 19th. There is a limit to the number of jewelry vendors (so it's not just a jewelry market for people looking for a variety of item and so that the other jewelry artisans don't have too much competition) so I'll be focusing on houseware items for the first three shows. Jewelry items can make up to 1/4 of my display on those days with additional items on hand if needed. The last date, September 19th, will be my jewelry extravaganza!!

Check it out at: http://www.wychcraftmarket.com

It's a new outdoor market in Toronto that had it's first run on May 23rd. My hubby drove past it last weekend and reported back that it's a fairly small event so I don't know if I'll get that much traffic coming through. That might be okay to ease me in though, I'm a little nervous about showing my stuff! If you're in the neighbourhood be sure to stop by and stay hello!

Millefiori Madness

2009-05-24T19:07:00.000-07:00

At last post I excitedly reported that I had purchased supplies to make millefiori pieces. I just love the look of millefiori. When I was in Venice, Italy in 2006 I was able to visit the furnaces on Murano island and watch glass blowing as well as these canes being made. I treated myself to several pieces of jewelry and a few small plates while I was there. My favourite is a pendant made up of black and white millefiori. One day I hope to be able to make a close approximation.

Here's a pic of the pendant that started my glass obsession:

I had so much fun making pendants using slices of murrine but it seems that I'm not the only one who loves the look of millefiori - almost all of the pieces I made have been sold! Thankfully I was able to place an order to be shipped (which saved me driving 1.5 after work, or 2.5 hours from home!) to replenish my stock.

I spend the weekend making dichoric pendants and earrings and houseware items - plates, bowls, magnets and 2 tic-tac-toe boards. I registered as a vendor in an outdoor craft and artisan market for a few Saturdays this summer so I needed to start building my inventory. Hopefully I'll get back to millefiori next weekend.

These pieces are made with only murrine slices. About 40 to 50 pieces of cane in each pendant and multiple firings were needed to achieve the desired effect:

More pendants. These were made using murrine pieces but have a base of clear, black or white glass.

For those that are interested in a little education: The millefiori technique involves the production of glass canes or rods, known as murrine, with multicolored patterns which are viewable only from the cut ends of the cane. To make the canes the glassmaker gathers molten glass on an iron rod called a pontil, then the heated glass is dipped into a mold (that shapes the glass). The glass is cooled and the process is repeated over and over again, until the design is completed and the cane consists of several layers of glass.

In the next step, the canes are reheated and an iron rod is attached to each end this time, instead of just one end. While the glass is still hot it has to be stretched and pulled. This requires two people, one on either end of the glass, each holding a iron rod. It is a bit like pulling taffy, but more precise.

One day I would like to try and make my own murrine canes but for now I'm quite happy buying them already made. Somehow I don't think I'll ever be able to get away with building a glass furnace in my house and they can't be made in a kiln.

Watching glass artisans at a furnace on Murano island:

pot melts = cool pendants

2009-05-04T13:22:00.000-07:00

Since my last post I've been really busy fusing. I've done 3 more melts (all using a steel grid), made many pendants and earrings, bought new power tools and expanded my glass inventory.

Instead of slumping the melts I decided to cut them up and make them into pendants. I bought a wet saw which is just great at cutting through thick slabs of fused glass. The saw has a big blade so I ended up losing a bit of glass as I cut and it's definitely not the tool of choice for cutting anything other than straightish lines.

Here are 2 of the melts after firing. I also made a green melt but forgot to take a picture before I cut it up.

The new saw making it's first cut.

Practicing my skills. I was pretty impressed I could cut a heart (on my first try) but had no luck replicating it. Beginners luck i guess.

Blue melt pendants:

Pendants made from the purple melts:

Green melt:

Some exciting news (well, for me anyway because I am such a glass fusing nerd)! I finally found a store that stocks millefiori canes so I bought a bunch and spent the weekend experimenting with this glass (which is a different coe than I am used to; 104 coe). I've made a few pendants so far and LOVE how they turned out. I had to do multiple firings to get the proper effect but i think it was worth the effort. I'll get some pictures posted soon.

pretty purple pot melt

2009-04-03T08:52:00.000-07:00

Ever since I read A Beginner's Guide to Kiln-Formed Glass by Brenda Griffith I've been dying to try a pot melt.

It looked to be so easy - cut up a bunch of glass and heat it way past the full-fuse temperature until the glass becomes a liquid and flows out of it's container onto a prepared shelf/basin on the kiln floor. After researching the topic a little further it seemed that there are 2 main ways of doing a pot melt: either by using a terra cotta pot to hold the glass (and enlarging the drainage holes in the sides of the pot so the glass has enough space to flow out of) or by using a stainless steel grid. Both methods result in a very different look because of the pattern that is formed by the flowing glass.

After several weeks of scouring local stores it became evident that I was not going to be able to collect all the items I needed for either method on my own. I ended up buying a pot melt kit from Slumpy's that would enable me to do the grid style of pot melt.

Step 1:

Preparing the kiln: Fiber paper was placed on the kiln floor and a 9" round stainless steel casting ring was set atop the paper. After cutting the grid to size, it was placed on top the ring.

Step 2:

Preparing the glass: I chose a combination of opalescent and cathedral (transparent) glass in clear, white, gray and purple. A second casting ring was set atop the grid and was filled with glass. A melt firing schedule was programmed into the kiln and away she went!

Step 3:

Wait a really long time for the firing schedule to finish and for the kiln to return to room temperature before opening. Here is the melt still inside the kiln after the top casting ring and grid was removed.

Step 4:

Clean and sand rough edges. Remaining fiber paper was scrubbed away and a diamond hand pad was used to sand down any rough edges.

Step 5:

Slump into shape. After finishing the edges I slumped the piece into a bowl mold. Unfortunately the edges of the piece didn't smooth and shine up like they usually do. This piece will require an additional firing (a fire polish) before it's finished.

I did a second pot melt, which I'll post about later. I used less glass in the second attempt, but this time I used too little glass and I wasn't able to get a full circle. Of course I neglected to record how much glass I used in both of these projects so it'll be tough to figure out a happy medium for my next attempt. Sigh.

Once I've finished the second grid melt I need to do some more shopping so I can try a melt using a terra cotta flower pot. The cover of Brenda Griffith's book shows a pot melt done with a orchid pot. So cool! I'd also like to get a few different shapes and sizes of stainless steel casting rings, which forms the flowing glass.

donations to a good cause

2009-03-23T10:52:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine is a board member for METRAC, The Metropolitan Action Committee on Violence Against Women and Children, which is a not-for-profit, community-based organization that works to prevent and end violence against diverse women, youth, and children.

She asked if I would consider making some glass pieces to be auctioned off at an upcoming charity event and I agreed. This past weekend I made the items and dropped them off at her place. I hear the goods were delivered to the organization's office this morning and is creating quite a stir! The fundraising event takes place this Wednesday in celebration of International Women's Day.

I was also asked to provide some business cards to be given out, so aside from being able to donate to a good cause, I'm also going to get some free advertising at the event. I finally listed some of my jewelry on Etsy so at least I had a web address to direct people to. Check me out at: www.themadkilner.etsy.com. I still have a bunch more items to photograph and list so be sure to check back soon!

Made especially for METRAC:

Dichroic pendant and earring set. Set on a black base is a patterned gold dichroic that reflects green and blue.

This is the translucent red glass (with swirls of clear and deeper red within it) that you've seen before. Anything I've made with this glass has been a big hit - I'm hoping it'll get some oooohsaaahhhs at the event.

More dichroic! This dichroic looks to have a lot of blue and silver (hard to capture in the photos) but reflects a beautiful purple colour with gold edges.

And a set for the more modern tastes. I really like the eclipse of black that surrounds the turquoise in the earrings.

Jewelry trays (using iridescent glass)

And finally, a set of coasters

sampling new glass

2009-03-08T14:41:00.000-07:00

I needed to get some black powdered glass, so off I went to my local glass supply store. As per usual, once there I found several items I "needed" and walked out with 2 pizza boxes full of new glass!

I got right to work and made a bunch of (soon to be) pendants with this glass but found it tended to devitrify when full fused. I wasn't up to going back to the store and spending a bunch of money on a special spray that is supposed to prevent devitrification but I found a recipe on the net to make my own overspray. After a trip to the grocey store for Borax, I made some more pendants with a light coating of overspray and fired them. But again the glass devitrified (albeit less so than the first batch). I then decided to cap the new glass (which is untested and may not be capability with my fusing glass) with 96 coe clear and found success! A few more bubbles formed within the glass layers than I normally see but I think the pendants turned out quite nice.

Here are a few made with the new glass:

I had some extra space in the kiln during one of the firing so I added a few other pieces. Here are some pendants made with various kinds of dichroic.

And a few made with mosiac tiles

happy birthday to you

2009-03-08T09:20:00.000-07:00

When I made my first bowl (the transparent red swirly glass) and posted pictures of it, I immediately got feedback from my sister - who loved the glass, the organic look of the slightly uneven circle and wondered if I could make some for her. Well, I tried to avoid her requests for a custom order and busied myself making pieces for her birthday.

We finally had the family get together last night and I was able to give the set to my sister. I've already posted about the first bowl I made and the first side plate but decided to make a second bowl, a second side plate and a small oval platter -which allowed me to use one of the new molds for slumping.

The first bowl is the one in the upper right. My second attempt resulted in a much better circle - it was quite difficult to score and break out but I tried to do extensive sanding before I fused the layers of glass together.

A closer look at the glass. It's transparent but heavily patterned with swirls of lighter and darker red. This glass is quite a hit. I've had several requests for pendants and earrings made of this.

The last piece in this set was an oval platter. I purchased a mold in this shape to slump into and have been dying to use it since it arrived. I finally had the chance!! Unfortunately it was a difficult shape to hand cut so the oval is a little uneven but I'm sure this will improve with practice. My sister loves handmade things that look handmade so she liked this imperfection.

Like I mentioned in my previous post, I need to adjust my firing schedule with this mold as the glass didn't fully slump into the bottom.

I was pretty sure my sister was expecting pieces made from the red glass she loves so I wanted to make another piece she wouldn't be expecting. She recently took up painting as a hobby and made each family member their own painting for Christmas. She seemed to have a particular attachment to one of the pieces that was given away. I tried to replicate the main image of the painting onto a platter for her. I used a transparent orange glass and the darkest glass powder I had (which was blue - I've since bought black and really wish I had it at that time). Her original painting had a background that was a cool sunset of yellow, orange and red. In the foreground were tree branches reaching across the 2 canvas' with 2 birds sitting on one of the branches.

So far, each time I've used powdered glass to 'paint' with I've gotten a patchy effect. Although it looks like I've applied a thick coat and let the glass compound fully dry before firing, I think I will add a second coat the next time I try this. And get a glass grinder so the oval (or other shapes) look more uniform.

more pendants

2009-03-06T13:57:00.001-08:00

After spending a few weeks away from my hobby, I went glass-fusing crazy last weekend!

Between full fusing and slumping I ended up doing four full loads in the kiln. I finally had the chance to try 2 of my new molds but wasn't that thrilled with the results. I guess I will need to adjust the firing schedule - the glass didn't quite stretch down far enough into the bottom of the mold to produce a nice flat bottom. C'est la vie.

I was particularly busy finishing a project for an upcoming birthday. I tried something new and needed to do a lot of tricky hand-scoring and sanding with my diamond pad. I cut myself multiple times and had sore wrists and arms (scoring, cutting and sanding is hard work!) but I was pretty happy with the results - given that this was a first attempt. I've decided that I really need a glass grinder - that would have made last weekend's project go a lot quicker and yielded a more professional end result. I will post some pictures after the gifts have been received and opened.

I've been receiving special requests for pendants and earrings. I have a batch in the kiln right now but here are a few that were made last weekend:

studs! and other earrings and pendants

2009-02-11T20:55:00.000-08:00

A coworker asked if I had made any new earring or pendant-earring sets. She was looking to buy a gift for a friend that would be easy to send overseas in the mail. This gave me the perfect excuse to make another kiln-load full of jewelry pieces!

I tried something new with this batch. Instead of making drop earrings that need earring bails (which I am out of since a big order of them didn't arrive and the seller won't refund my money or replace the package!) and are hung on earring hooks, I decided to make stud earrings.

These earrings are much smaller and fit nicely on the ear. I love how they look - very classy and elegant.

A smaller drop style earring with post backing

A bunch of pendant and earring sets

Marbles were used in some of these earrings and pendants.

I love streakies glass.

Other styles: millefori beads and cathedral (transparent) glass.

I just adore this series. They are my geometric pendants - inspired by that most fabulous bowl I made using these same colours and design.

red glass bowl found a friend

2009-02-11T20:25:00.000-08:00

Remember this little red bowl?

This was the first bowl I made. Scoring the circle was WAY harder than I thought it would be and I didn't know how to tidy up the edges before firing. I hoped that the uneven edges would smooth out during the firing. Didn't happen. I like how the piece slumped during the second firing.

Well, I was looking at this little bowl and it seemed lonely. No other piece was made with the same glass and it didn't even have another bowl to hang with.

Here is it's mate:

I used the same glass, cut two layers and did a full fuse.

Here it is after the second firing where I slumped it into a plate mold. Taking photos of glass is hard! Either there is too much light with lots of reflections that wash out the details and the slump shape or there is not enough light. I should get a new camera.

Still have the newest pedants and earrings to post. Stay tuned!

bowl me over

2009-02-05T19:12:00.000-08:00

As per usual, I have gotten behind in my updates.

Life has been especially busy lately and I haven't had a lot of time for crafting. I've been putting in crazy hours at work (12-14 hour days) to try and get caught up with all my assessment reports. Although the work day is pretty long, it hasn't really been that bad. I've been staying in town on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights so at least I don't have the commute adding 3 hours to my work day. Other than work I've been collecting study material for upcoming registration exams. Ugh, I was really enjoying being finished school and am not looking foward to all the studying that is ahead of me.

Although I haven't spent much time fusing, I was able to get a few bowls completed over the last few weeks. I also ordered some new molds, which arrived last week. I've prepped all the molds but was only able to use 1 of them so far. Hopefully the rest of them will be tested this weekend.

Recognize this one? This is the geometric-designed piece you've seen in a previous blog. I finally got around to slumping it into a bowl (8" x 8"). As you can see, one side drew in more than others. I guess this gives the bowl a unique and handmade look but it wasn't my intention and I was a bit disappointed when I opened the kiln. *Sigh* I'm trying to figure out why this happened and how to prevent it in the future.

I was practicing cutting even strips of glass here. The strips are 1" x 8".

I like how this one turned out! I was very pleased that it worked out because it was made especially for a friend's birthday. The bowl is now in it's new home in Pennsylvania.

Another gift for a January birthday. This one went to my brother. He has 2 dogs that he absolutely adores, I tried my best to represent them. This was slumped into one of my new molds, a 7" x 7" plate.

I initially made this piece to be 10" x 10" but when I put the glass into the kiln to full fuse it, each corner of the glass slightly extended over the edge of the kiln shelf! This discovery made me come to the realization that I hadn't taken the interior size of my kiln into account when ordering the new molds! The 10" x 10" square mold I was going to use wouldn't even fit into my kiln! I ended up having to cut the piece down to fit a smaller square plate mold. Bummer.

I also did a batch of pendants, earrings and pendant & earring sets last weekend. I remembered to take pictures and will post them soon.

paints and plates

2009-01-04T17:22:00.000-08:00

The holidays are over so it's back to work tomorrow...sigh. I had a lot of fun being off for 2 weeks - visiting with family and friends, cooking and baking, eating way too much and making lots of crafts. Aside from all the glass items I also made some homemade soap but neglected to take photos of the process once again.

My kiln was firing away all weekend so all the pieces I made have now been fused. These 2 pieces were also slumped. The plates on the right didn't turn out as planned (see how the glass pulled in a bit and the corners are a tad pointed? The black area has only 1 layer of glass and was lacking in volume so it didn't fuse quite right). Also, devitrification occurred on the white glass so I need to get some overspray and refire it.

I made a pair of small rectangular plates to match the retro platter. This is still my favourite piece.

More appetizer plates. They still have to be slumped but that will have to wait until next weekend.

I also made my own liquid stringer compound (aloe vera gel + glass powder + distilled water) this weekend. I put the mixture in squeeze bottles and away I went.

I made a few small items to be sure it would work before using it on plates or bigger pieces. I was quite pleased with the results - it's really easy to work with and because of the aloe vera gel, it smells great! My only complaint is that I don't have enough colours (time to go back to the glass store for more powders) and the hole in the nozzle of the sqeeze bottles is a bit too big. I might use a pastry bag and tips for my next attempt.

I think the kitties are cute. I'm planning to make 2 more and then will fuse them into a larger piece of glass to make a plate. My mom has requested one to be made into a pendant.

glass galore

2009-01-01T19:44:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

Christmas gave me the perfect excuse to make tons and tons of glass pieces. My last post included pictures of the appetizer plates I made for my secret santa at work. I had the most fun at work that week, hiding and finding gifts all week long! My secret santa loved the plates and I've had some orders placed by other coworkers.

I also made plates, candle holders, jewelry trays and candy dishes for my family and friends. I only had one mold to use so they all were slumped into the same general shape but I made different sized pieces depending on their intended function.

I made a set of four small plates for my sister. These plates are about 4.5"

I loved this glass! I cut random shapes of black and iridescent gold glass and fitted them together for this plate. I made 2 non-matching plates and a candy dish for my mom. I really like how the iridescent glass turned out with the flexs of purple. I've used this glass in some pendants put covered it with a sheet of clear glass and it completely changed the look of the glass - the gold colour became deeper but you don't get that 'cracked' appearance or the flexs of purple.

Iridescent blue. These 2 plates went to my sister-in-law. She also got a jewelry tray in matching colours.

My favourite Opalart glass was used in this piece (blackberry cream opalart from System 96). The glass is pricey but beautiful. This plate went to my friend Lesley. My absolute favourite pendant (made thus far anyway) was made with this glass.

These are smaller pieces (about 3" by 4.5") that can be used as candle plates or jewelry trays. They were slumped into the same concave mold. I made a bunch more of these with different colours and kinds of glass as well as some even smaller pieces to used as coasters.

I received some great new molds for Christmas from my loving husband (as well as a custom built work station/storage unit/kiln holder). I received 2 small round plate molds, 2 small round bowl molds, a bigger round bowl mold and a big square bowl mold.

Here is my first attempt at a bowl. Cutting the circle was A LOT harder than expected. I now see why you can buy ready-cut base circles to work from. I think a grinder would help me out tremendously (to nibble down the uneven edges) but I don't have one and can't afford to get one just now. Sigh, maybe my next attempt will look a little better. The glass turned out pretty cool if you can get around the uneven edges of the bowl.

I used my large square bowl mold for this one - it's 8" on all sides. I need to adjust my slumping schedule when doing a larger piece - the glass did not slump fully into the mold so the bottom didn't flatten out enough. I'm not sure if I need to raise the temperature a touch or extend the hold time (i think increase my hold time) - I need to do some research before my next attempt.

This my favourite piece to date! Just made this afternoon!

I'm debating whether I slump this into my square bowl mold or just leave it as is on display. I cut an 8" square of clear as the base and then cut various-sized squares and rectangles from an assortment or opal colours and stacked them 3-high according to size. One of the glasses fired to a peachy colour that I didn't expect (I liked the original, unfired colour a lot better) but I REALLY like how this turned out. I immediately built 2 smaller pieces to go with this one. They are in the kiln right now.

I have 12 other pieces ready and waiting to be fired. I'm planning to get as many firings done as I can over the weekend before going back to work. I'll be sure to take pictures when they are done and post about them.

Best wishes for a healthy and happy 2009!!

experimentations in glass

2008-12-07T11:48:00.000-08:00

I realize that I have gotten really behind in my postings and now there is just to much to update!

Since the end of October I have busy playing with my kiln and making fused-glass pieces. I started with pendants and then added earrings, then pendant and earring sets and now this weekend have tried making small plates and dishes.

I really didn't anticipate that I'd want to spend so much time on this craft or that other people would be so interested! After receiving a few compliments on the necklaces I had been wearing I let it slip that they were handmade and several coworkers expressed interest in purchasing pendants for holiday gifts. Well - once I brought them in word spread and not only coworkers from my building/department wanted to buy them but other staff from across the University were contacting me. I think a conservative estimate would be that I've sold 60 pieces! I'm selling them at cost right now so they are quite affordable.

I just love this response! It's enabled me to splurge on more expensive glass and supplies, experiment with inclusions and different techniques and get immediate feedback on some of my trials. If I was only making them as gift for friends and family than I likely wouldn't have gotten so far in my experimentations.

Here are a few of my favourites (that I have pics of!):

In hindsight I wish I had anticipated this reaction and taken pictures of each piece I made. Oh well, you live and learn.

Here are some pendant/earring sets made last weekend.

These photos (and the dishtowel they are lying on as the bails dry) don't do them justice.

This week at work we have our "secret santa" gift exchange. The person I drew loves the colour tourquoise - I made 4 small candy dishes/appetizer plates for her. Here are 2 of the plates - the other 2 have just been slumped and are still cooling in the kiln. The plates are about 4.5 inches square and were slumped into a concave mold.

This is only the second set of plates I've made. I forgot to photograph the other set before wrapping them up for Christmas.

I'm considering selling some of my pieces on Etsy and participating in craft shows. This way I'll continue to have excuses to keep making more pieces! There are a few projects I am hoping to try out once the holidays hit and I have some time off.

Not much else is going on with me. I attended my convocation in November - still feels great to be done school!

i splurged and bought a kiln!

2008-10-24T21:10:00.000-07:00

I really should have known better!

I recently found out about this great glass supply store in Toronto that offers several courses and seminars and stocks a lot of glass (for stained glass and for glass fusing) and all kinds of tools and accessories. Essentially everything and anything you need when working with glass. I checked out their website last night and found out that the store is in west end fairly close to where we live. I decided to go by today and just 'take a look around.' I walked out with multiple sheets of glass, cutting tools and a totally kick ass kiln!

Initially I was considering a smaller kiln but Alex was with me and talked me into getting the bigger one. His reasoning was that I might outgrow the smaller one. This model allows for bigger projects, higher temperature firing and is digital and programmable. I probably should have bought a used kiln to start with but I was overwhelmed with excitement and project ideas as I roamed the store and Alex was pretty encouraging so I decided to get the kiln RIGHT THEN.

This is a Coneart kiln. 14.5" interior diameter, 6.5" high. Kanthal A-1 elements in the lid. The walls are 2 ½" of premium firebrick. The jacket and fittings are all corrosion resistant stainless steel. The box in the front is a Bartlett 3 button controller - suppose to ensures precise control for heating and cooling. It has software for 4 user programs, which will be very useful when I start slumping glass (for bowls and plates) instead of just making fused pendants.

The glass I bought: I really love the swirly sheets. I think I'll save those for slumping.

I also bought some broken bits and treated myself to these cool beads.

I'm usually not this impulsive and tend to be fairly 'frugul' in terms of what I'll spend on myself so I'm still trying to reconcile this purchase. It's not exactly buyer's remore that I'm experiencing but a fair dose of guilt that the money could have been better spent. That being said, I'm pretty darn excited to get started! I'm hoping to fire my first batch tomorrow after Alex installs a seperate power outlet for the kiln (he's so safety conscious!).

I already have a list of other supplies I want to get - this is going to be one expensive hobby. Stay tuned!

cottage bathroom reno

2008-10-21T18:09:00.000-07:00

The cottage is now closed until next summer...bummer. I love going to the cottage and am sad to think that I won't be relaxing on the dock for another 6 months. We spent this past weekend driving around prince edward county looking at the beautiful fall colours, visiting some artisan studios, doing a little shopping, drinking a little too much pec wine and visiting the local mircobrewery (Barley Days). When all the fun stuff was done we got to work and closed the cottage up, drained the water system and cleaned up the yard.

Since I have nothing crafty to post (I bought some jewelry making supplies but need to get sheets of silver, copper and brass before new projects get started) I will share some photos of the new bathroom that went in at the cottage in May.

Here is the old bathroom built by my grandfather. A tiny room just big enough for a sink and toilet. And no hot water. Don't you just love paneling?

Here's Alex hard at work taking apart the bathroom. We decided to take out the wall/doorway and extend the bathroom by taking over some of the hallway.

Voila! The new bathroom. After extending the bathroom into part of the hallway we were able to get enough space to add a shower stall. BIG improvement if you've ever had to use the "shower room" off the garage.

Still a tiny room but at least it's now a three piece bathroom with hot water! I really like the tiles we used and the backsplash Alex made. It's hard to see but there is black detailing and a black ceiling that looks pretty neat.

final jewelry projects

2008-10-13T10:53:00.000-07:00

Happy Thanksgiving everyone (well, for those north of the border anyway)!!

My silversmithing class ended the other week and I'm finally getting around to posting pictures of my final projects. I had SO much fun at this class and am really looking forward to taking more courses. Silversmith level 2 will be starting in December but I don't think I'll be signing up for that. I'd really like to but in order to make it to class on time on Thursday evenings I had to leave work early and speed like a demon from Waterloo into downtown Toronto. I was only late for one class but once winter hits with it's snow, sleet and ice it'll be a whole other story. I think it's best if I wait for spring to take another course. I'm planning to sign up for metal printmaking, which starts in May.

In the metal printmaking course we'll learn how to etch a design onto a steel plate which will then be "roller-printed" onto a silver or copper plate. We'll also be taught other surface techniques such as "paper stamping," "reticulation" and "piercing" used to create handmade filigree. I can't wait!

For my final project I decided to make several silver pendants with an "animal" theme to them. I was planning to give them to my dissertation committee members but now that they are finished I don't want to part with them! I decided to cut out bones and a paw print, as well as make a punched out design (which was harder to line up than I thought, hence the misshaped design).

I kept the 2 bones that I carefully sawed out and soldered them onto a piece of brass for a pendant for me to keep. I wasn't able to get this piece done in class and had to leave it in the pickling solution. I just picked it up on Friday and still need to sand it. There was some slatter/overspill from soldering the 2 metals together so I need to sand that off and then clean up the piece.

I also made a simple brass pendant by punching holes with different sized bits. I tried to give the piece a brushed finish. As simple as this pendant is, I really like it.

And here are my main projects that were completed during the 6 week course.

more glass pendants

2008-09-21T11:21:00.000-07:00

I forgot to take pictures during jewelry class last week but next Thursday is the last class so my final projects will be finished and coming home with me. I decided to make a few silver pendants with cut out and punched out designs. It was A LOT of sawing (and changing of blades as I snapped a few) but I like the way they are turning out. I designed them for my dissertation committee members so they have an animal theme to them.

Now that I'm done school I'll have time to get back into soap making and baking. Hopefully I'll have something to post soon. I'm also looking into more classes to take. I'm leaning toward cake decorating or the second level of silversmithing. I REALLY enjoy glass fusing but would like to do more than just pendants so I'm looking into purchasing my own kiln so I can do some experimenting. So much exciting crafty-goodness!

Here are the second batch of glass pendants I made. I find them very hard to photograph well. The flash or light tends to shine off them and it's hard to really show off the different colours in the pieces.

And here is one that went to my best friend Becky. She sported it on our evening out to Spamalot.

This weekend has been awesome. It's really my first weekend "off" in 6 years so I've been enjoying doing whatever I please guilt-free! The highlight of the weekend was a visit to a travel agency where we booked a trip to the Dominican Republic (Punta Cana). We leave on Saturday - less than a week!! This trip is Alex's graduation present to me - he's the best. All-inclusive food and drinks (24 hours a day!) sounds so luxurious. I can't wait to go!

project two - copper bracelet and pendant

2008-09-17T18:22:00.000-07:00

Traffic was a big mess last Thursday so I was half an hour late for class and arrived without designs for my final project. I had had a very busy and stressful week and wasn't feeling very creative so instead of designing a crappy project to start, I finished off my bracelet and made a matching pendant. I'll be starting my final project in tomorrow's class.

Here is the copper after I cut the metal and filed and sanded the edges.

After annealing and bending the piece into shape.

On to hammering

The pendant has been cut (but not yet filed or sanded)

The completed set

In other other news....I'm officially finished school!! Yahoooo!!! I successfully defended my dissertation last Wednesday and couldn't be more thrilled or relieved. Just call me Dr. Lorah!

silversmithing project one

2008-09-06T09:14:00.000-07:00

Last week I attended my third silversmithing class. I am really enjoying myself as are the other students. I continue to be impressed by the knowledge, skill and dedicated of our instructor Sarah - she's really great.

Our first project was to make a sterling silver band ring and then set a cabochon stone with a bezel setting. I really liked the way my ring turned out and decided that I didn't want to cover it with the stone setting so I ended up leaving my ring as is.

Here is the silver I chose, I wanted to make a wide and thick ring. This picture is after I sawed the length of silver and was about to sand the edges.

Here is the silver after annealing and bending it into shape. This was the ring at the end of first class.

During class 2 I soldered the seam of the ring and then did A LOT of hammering to get the ring nice and round. Here is the ring after that process.

Next I sanded the edges, exterior and interior of the ring with 6 different grades of sandpaper to get it nice and smooth and then tossed it into the tumbler to get shiny.

Because I wasn't doing the bezel setting for the ring I was able to get started on my next project at the end of class two. During last week's class I finished the project, a hammered copper cuff bracelet. I forgot to take pictures of the bracelet when it was finished off (after cleaning and brushing) so I'll wait to add photos of that. Next week I will be starting my final project.

In other news...my doctoral defense is on WEDNESDAY!!! Aaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! I'm trying not to completely freak out. The rest of the weekend is allotted to getting my presentation in order. I've taken Monday and Tuesday off work and will use those days to prepare for the questions I will get. By noon on Wednesday I should be a very happy camper and will likely have some minor changes to make before sending the dissertation off to be bound. I am SO looking forward to being done with school!

glass fusing is cool

2008-09-01T17:24:00.000-07:00

As promised, here are the photos from my class on fused glass pendants. This class was so fun and easy!! Not all the pieces worked out but I had never worked with glass before so it was a learning process for me. I'm thinking of taking the class again...or getting my own kiln so I can make more of these babies. The information for the class specified that we would be able to make 3 pendants and could use different colours and kinds of cut glass, glass bead or paint on designs. It wasn't until the class was nearly done that the instructor mentioned we could make extra pieces at an additional charge. I went crazy and ended up with 8 pieces by the time the class was finished. Of course once I was in the car (and for the next several days) I came up with all sorts of other designs I should have tried and people I should have made a pendant for.

Here are all 8 of the pieces before they went into the kiln

And here they are afterward

This was the first one I made. I really wanted to use the glass beads.

I used a stencil and paint on this one (I tried to free hand a design on one piece but it didn't work out and I washed it off). The stencil stuck to the glass and I had to pick off all the little pieces of paper with a toothpick. Tedious work. Obviously I missed some of the debris as the piece has a air bubble in it! I was dissappointed that that happened but now I think it adds a neat effect.

jewelry projects

2008-08-22T17:15:00.000-07:00

I promised myself that once school was over and my dissertation had been defended, I could treat myself to some crafty classes. I narrowed it down to either pottery or jewelry making. I did some research online and came across this great studio on Queen Street (The Devil's Workshop) that sells artisan jewelry but also has a multitude of workshops and classes. I couldn't resist and signed up immediately - for 3 classes! Two of the workshops were just one evening but the other is a 6-week course.

The first class was "wire-working basics." During the 2 hour class we made a pair of stiletto earrings and a pair of tied chain drop earrings.

The last project we did was a wire ring. This was quite time-consuming (especially since I decided to make a cluster ring instead of using just one large bead for the top of the ring).

It was a BYOB (bring your own beads) class but of course I forgot to grab my beads that morning when leaving for work so I had to buy some there. Leaving the house at 6:45 is just too early! I had stocked up on some great beads a few months back when Michael's had a big sale so I was disappointed that I didn't have those to work with. The selection of beads at the workshop wasn't the best but I'm pretty pleased with the pieces I made.

The next evening was a class on making fused glass pendants. I have pictures of my pieces before they went into the kiln for firing but I don't have the finished pieces yet so I'll wait to post all those pictures together. This was an awesome class!

Yesterday I attended my first silversmithing class. In 6 sessions we will learn how to make a sterling silver band ring then set a cabochon on it with a bezel setting. We'll also be able to do one or two other projects, depending on the labour involved.

Since I was busy working away I didn't take many pictures. The first thing we did (after learning how to put a blade into our saw and tighten it properly - harder than you'd think and more frustrating too!) was practice cutting through metal. Here's my L-line and curvy line.

I had fun using the torches but I don't have any pictures of that part. I decided to make a thick ring so bending the metal was difficult but hammering the ring around the mandrel with a rawhide mallet until the ends met was fun. Here is my ring at the end of day 1.

Once I'm back in class next Thursday I will join the ends of the ring together with solder (more torch work!) and then can get on with shaping, sanding and buffing the ring. I'm not sure what kind of finish I want to do yet. Also, I need to figure out what my other projects will be. We get started on those next week and I need to come with some drawings of my ideas.

In other crafting news, I received my first PIF gift on Wednesday! And it was 2 gifts in one - an awesomely stylish purse/clutch and a metal keychain. Thank you so much knitticrafty. I had my PIF gifts almost ready to go out but then decided to make an extra something for one of my recipients.

I am counting down the days until my defense. I don't have my presentation together yet but I've been thinking a lot about it, that counts right? I received the report from my external and she seemed pretty positive about my research. There are a few things I'll need to address in my presentation but I don't think it'll be as bad as I initially feared.

Also, we are considering moving to Waterloo! I've been surfing mls quite a bit but have only been out to see 3 houses so far. I have 4 viewings booked for Monday so things are picking up. I LOVE house-hunting!

A crafty weekend

2008-08-03T20:16:00.000-07:00

Finally, a craft update!! My newest hobby is making cold process soap. Here are some bars from my first attempt. A friend gave me the recipe. These bars are largely olive oil based with some coconut oil, palm oil and cocoa butter which makes a mild soap with a good lather. The ones pictured below are scented citrus fresh and may or may not be destined for a PIF recipient.

I am hoping to get some batches made in September so they will be ready for Christmas. I will take some pictures of the process when I do.

I also got back into jewelry making this weekend. Here are a pair of earrings. The earrings ended up being a bit bigger than originally designed but I like how they turned out. I need to replace the earwires with bigger hooks but once that is done they may or may not be on their way to a PIF recipient.

And lastly, I made a batch of muffins to be enjoyed over the long weekend. Some of these are blueberry (for me) and some are chocolate-nut (for Alex).

Backyard life & wildlife

2008-08-02T17:06:00.000-07:00

The backyard continues to come along - slowly but surely. Alex just redid the gate. It used to roll open on a wheel at the base of the gate but that didn't work so well in the winter with the snow and ice, or if the wheel went flat. So off he went with his welder and other power tools and made a support beam to go over top the gate. Now it hangs from and rolls along the beam. It's a pretty neat design. He's considering adding a motor to it so we don't need to open it manually. I tell ya, it's very handy having a handy husband around the house! He also added lighting around the perimeter of the yard (LED of course). I tried to take some pictures of the yard lit up at night but they didn't turn out : (

Just in front of Eva (light gray line) is a concrete step

Sadly we have hardly any green space in the backyard. Alex built in a concrete-edged planter (just in front of the shed) which houses a few trees but that's it. Since parking is at a premium in Toronto and we can't seem to get a permit to park on the street overnight, we needed to come up with a way to continue to use the backyard for parking but also have some space to hang out. Now we have a two-tiered yard that can accommodate our 2 cars, 2 motorbikes and trailer, or the cars can be parked on the street and bikes and trailer hidden in the shed which opens up the whole yard for relaxing or entertaining. I love it! And the fence really helps to block out street noise and allows a more private space.

Raspberry Margaritas

I had to add a few more pictures from around campus. There are TONS of geese that hang out on campus and the pond by my office is one of their favourite watering holes/playgrounds. For some reason they are gathered en mass in the morning when I drive in.

Alex surprised me by visiting me at work the other day (it was a nice sunny day and he was looking for an excuse to go for a ride on his motorbike). While giving him a tour we came upon this little bunny. Too cute!

A lazy saturday

2008-07-19T19:50:00.000-07:00

I don't often get to enjoy a day of leisure just hanging around the house doing whatever I please so I took advantage of that opportunity today.

We ended up having to do a run to the cottage directly after work yesterday so it was quite a long day. We didn't get back home until 11pm and I couldn't get to sleep for a few hours after that. Alex was up early for work (at 3:30am..ugh!) but I got to stay in bed and sleep in. I love to sleep in. For some reason the best sleep I get is between the hours of 6 and 9 so I am VERY pleased when I get to stay in bed until 9.

Once up I put some coffee on and headed outside to read this month's edition of Dwell magazine. Here's a shot of the newly elevated, curbed and bricked sitting area of the backyard. It's a lousy shot really. You don't get to see the whole deck area or get an idea of how it's elevated from the rest of the backyard. Mind you, this is precisely where that 9 tons of screening was sitting just a few weeks ago. I took this photos mostly because I was happy to have somewhere to sit in the backyard again. I'll take some more shots when the rest of the backyard is finished off.

I went out for Chinese food with my mom for lunch and then did some shopping. Alex and I had decided that once the interlock was down in the backyard we'd buy a new BBQ so it seemed like a good idea to go looking for one while I was out. In the end, and at the recommendation of a friend and some pressuring from my mom, I went with a big and bad Ducane model. I love it. Here's how it looked right out of the box!

Max giving the BBQ a sniff test

Now that's assembly even I can handle! We only needed to fasten the side prep areas and put together the rotisserie. I'll have to take some pictures of it tomorrow now that it's finished and functional. I can't wait to barbecue on that baby tomorrow night.

When I posted my update message I forgot to mention that I had just gone to see Evil Dead the Musical on July 5th. It was an AMAZING show! I don't think I've ever laughed so hard at the theatre. The musical numbers were hilarious! And kudos to the actors for doing such a great job at acting, singing and dancing. I HIGHLY recommend going to see this production. The show has been extended a few times already and is set to close in early August. I strongly encourage anyone within the vicinity of Toronto to get see it. It's playing at the Diesel Playhouse.

Campus life rocks

2008-07-17T10:44:00.000-07:00

What great timing! I decided to head over to the Student Life Centre yesterday on my lunch break and, as luck would have it, I stumbled upon a free noon-hour concert by the uwaterloo orchestra. I happened to arrive during a Mozart piece which was followed by Brahms and Strauss - so beautifully played. I figured this group was part of one of the music programs here on campus but when I looked them up online I was surprised to find out that they are an extracurricular ensemble open to students, staff, faculty and alumni.

The view from my office window, the building
across the pond is the Student Life Centre

After the concert I decided to go to the lower level of the SLC to get a drink and/or snack from the store there and came upon a Farmer's Market set-up in the courtyard! Two surprises in one day! There was an assortment of fresh fruit, vegetables, herbs, preserves, jams and honeys as well as fresh baked goods. I bought some wonderfully fragrant basil, two loaves of bread (italian loaf, and a multigrain type) and a chiabatta bun for the walk back to my office. The market will be back next week (every Thursday from mid-June to the end of July). I've decided I will go back and get some homemade honey and jam.

What fun! I'm really going to have to make an effort to find out all that goes on campus so I don't miss out on these events.

Here's the building I work in, and the Heron that hangs out in the pond

Things have been busy!

2008-07-12T18:19:00.000-07:00

A lot has been going on during the last month and a half.

Alex and I had a 'date day' at the end of May and headed out to St. Jacobs for some shopping. I got a great deal on a cute pair of Keds, bought some awesome kielbasa and two huge bones for the dogs. We then headed to Stratford where we continued shopping (I got earrings, Alex got new mirrors for his motorbike and then we discovered the best surplus store EVER and bought a ton of cool stuff. I snagged a Wilton flower cake pan and other commercial grade baking pans and sheets for $5 each!), had our car hit by a motorist who proceeded to take off, spent some time getting to know the officers on duty and then had a relaxing dinner before our show. We saw Cabaret and it was great!

Stratford, Ontario

We couldn't resist buying this cute book at the theatre gift shop. It's called "Stick: Great Moments in Art, History, Film and More (by Jeffrey Metzner) and is about just what you'd think, stick figure depictions of important happenings in history, movies, etc.

In June I worked quite a lot on my dissertation and got it through 2 revisions. It was a lot of looooong hours and all nighters but I'm glad I was able to immerse myself in it. Ultimately I think it made things progress a lot faster and made me understand the data better. Quitting my job was a wise decision. We got a bit of work done on the house, mainly to the backyard. Here's a photos of the 9 tons of screening we had delivered. We are elevating a section of the backyard to make a deck area.

The dogs like playing "King of the Castle." Apparently so does Alex.

In mid-June I was able to take off to the cottage for 10 days, which was so nice. Mainly I worked on my research and when Alex was down I helped with the bathroom renos (which are now finished and the new bathroom looks great!). One day I needed to head into town (Picton, Ontario - home of Sandbanks Provincial Park) to find wireless access and met the cutest orange kitty named Lily at the bookstore. She shared my club chair and kept me company while I checked email, updated facebook and sent my latest draft to my advisor and then followed me around the store as I searched for some leisure reading. I wish I had a picture of her. Instead here's a photos of an antique shop just outside of Picton in Bloomfield.

The BEST name for an antique shop.

After spending a few days in Toronto to attend a committee meeting and put in a day of assessment work, I headed back to the cottage for the Canada Day long weekend, which coincided with my birthday. I thought it would be a low-key day, just hanging out on the dock reading and playing cards with my best friend Becky who was to arrive that day. I heard a car coming, thought it was Becky, and was stunned to see a caravan of vehicles making it's way toward me. My whole family had make the trek to the cottage to spend the day with me! Once the confusion cleared and I realized what was happening I bawled like a baby! Thankfully no one had their camera out yet. I was touched.

Later on in the weekend we took Becky out on my bike to teach her how to ride. She caught on easily and my bike remained dent free. Here she is sporting my stylishly chic pink helmet.

I started my new job at the beginning of July (I was hired as a Clinical Psychologist - although I don't have this title yet - at the University of Waterloo's Health Services. This is a medical clinic on campus). To say that they've been waiting and preparing for my arrival is an understatement. My schedule was fully booked with clients on my second day and there was a stack of computer administered psych tests waiting for me to review for clients who were booked to see me over the next several days. I'm told things will slow down in August.

The job is great so far. The commute is just over an hour and I only hit traffic at the end of the day when I'm coming back into Toronto. And I get to work from home on Fridays. I have a great office with a view of a pond just outside my window. On Thursday there was a Heron wading through the water. Next week I'll try to bring my camera to get some photos. My coworkers are all very friendly and I've learned that there are fellow crafters among them. One person makes quite beautiful necklaces and another is a potter with her own wheel and kiln! I'm hoping she'll be interested in giving me lessons sometime. My boss seems to be quite accommodating and gave me a company credit card during my first week and encouraged to purchase whatever I thought I would need to build a solid test and resource library. It's nice, but also a little stressful, to have all this freedom. I mean, I'm technically not even done school yet - should I really be calling all the shots?

And speaking of being done school...I'm almost there!! Just before writing this blog I drove downtown to school and dropped off the FINAL (well, it better be) draft of my dissertation for my committee members to approve before it gets sent out to my external reviewer in a week or two. Then, it's just preparing for my defense which has been scheduled for September 10. I can't wait to be done. Although, as excited I am to be done school I was equally excited to learn that as a staff member at UW I can take 2 courses tuition-free each term! I'll need to look at the courses but I'm thinking of trying either a language or fine art course in the fall.

Cute cupcakes

2008-05-28T07:17:00.000-07:00

I had planned to make a few different baked items yesterday but after checking my inventory, I realized only could make 1 of these projects, a batch of cupcakes.

I went with a simple vanilla cake recipe and used a buttercream frosting as my base. I divided the frosting and made one half into a lemon buttercream by adding lemon extract, a touch of food colouring and some lemon and orange rind. I added some great Smucker's wildberry jam and raspberry syrup to the other half. They turned out pretty well but the syrup made the wildberry frosting too runny so I had to firm it up in the fridge and wasn't able to pipe it.

Going for a test ride

2008-05-27T10:35:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I'm posting two days in a row!

I just got home from a fun outing and had to write about it. I signed up for "demo day" with Ducati Toronto and headed out this morning to test ride the Ducati 696 Monster. I've been riding for about 6 years now and seem to be getting more and more into it. Thus far my rides have tended to be older bikes that Alex has modified and fixed up for me. I was considering buying a new bike at the end of the summer as a nice graduation present to myself. We went to the bike show a few months ago and I feel in love with the look of the new model Monster but wasn't sure if I'd like the riding position.

Buying a bike is a weird process where you stare at it, sit on it, perhaps hear it run and make your decision. You don't take it out on a test drive like you do with cars, which is a problem for me since I'm pretty particular in terms of seat height, handlebar position and foot peg position. Alex can usually do mods to rectify things I don't like but if I'm buying a brand new bike I want it to be exactly what I want. There is a lot of variation between bikes (and particularly between styles of bikes i.e., sport, cruiser, touring). Sitting on the bike helps to get a feel for it but it really needs to be in motion where you are using the gears and levers to see if it feels right. And seeing how the bike handles and responds is important. So when the opportunity came to sign up for a demo day, which would allow me to take the bike out on the road, I couldn't pass it up!

The riding course was through the Forks of the Credit just outside of Brampton. It was awesome! Alex goes riding with a group of his friends in this area but I've never been out there. It is IDEAL for motorcycles. Lots of ups and down on hills and curvy stretches of roads. There are some pretty crazy tight curves that give you the opportunity to practicing leaning through curves. And that area is so picturesque. I probably would have enjoyed the outing on any bike but it was particularly exciting and enjoyable on the 696 Monster! I was the only girl there and was with a group of seasoned riders (they were exchanging 'iron butt rally' stories!). These guys were testing out bigger bikes so I was put in the back of the pack but had no problem keeping up. This bike was awesome!

Heading out of the parking lot to start the ride (I'm the one with the pink helmet)

Coming back in (I won't even tell you what speed we were doing down this stretch of open road)

And here a shot of me as I parked the bike. I was very pleased!

May long weekend

2008-05-26T10:32:00.000-07:00

I love going to the cottage. There is something so nice about heading out of the city and chilling out beside the water. Since we hadn't been to the cottage yet this summer we were essentially opening up the place. We had to get the water system repaired and going (we actually decided to put in a whole new system rather than fix the old one), rake leaves, mow the lawn and put the dock in the water.

We have a bunch of Trilliums that grow behind our cottages in a wooded area. The Trillium is the national flower of Ontario and it is against the law to pick them. When I was a kid I picked a few and proudly handed them over to my grandmother as a present. She turned around, saw them in my hands and screamed! Not quite the reaction I was looking for. I think she half expected government officials to drop out of the sky and arrest us on the spot. After she calmed down she was able to explain that I wasn't allowed to pick these flowers. Every time I stand beside the cottage looking at these flowers growing under the trees I have to resist the urge to pick them.

Since we were able to get away for an extended long weekend we still had time to relax and go sight-seeing after our work was done. We toured the little towns close by, went to the local cheese factory for some cheese curd and sampled wines at one of the wineries.

Research day 1

2008-05-05T22:33:00.000-07:00

I've had a very productive day and am feeling quite self-satisfied. I started working at 8:30 this morning (well, yesterday morning technically) and it is now 1:35. Not bad - 17 hours of work on my first allocated research day! If I keep up this pace I'll definitely have my first draft ready for May 12th.

For some reason I always feel that I can't post a message on my blog without some kind of picture to go along with it. Sooooo...as weird as it may be, I took a few shots of my hard at work. The first shot was taken after I chunked the data and then cut out the different quotes/tidbits from the experiemental group. The next shot is of said data sorted into themes with really rough labels.

I know, I know...it all looks so very sophisticated and scientific! Since that photo was taken I've done the same with the info from experiemental group 2 and the control group (chunked the data and then sorted them into themes). I added a few new themes and a whole bunch more bits of paper.

I think that's pretty good progress for one day. Mind you I did take a few breaks but was able to keep myself on track. I spent some time looking up places to go in Ontario this summer. I'm thinking of going camping in one of the Provincial Parks - Kilarney I think. I also went online to get tickets to Spamalot! I'm pretty excited. I missed the show when it came to Toronto a few years ago. The lineup of Mirvish productions is quite impressive this season. There are about 4 others I want to get tickets for - NOT the best time to be unemployed!

Well, I'm going to call it a night. Tomorrow I will try and collapse some of the themes and come up with good labels. Hopefully by Wednesday I'll be writing my results section.

I'm unemployed

2008-05-04T17:05:00.001-07:00

Well I did it. I quit my job to sit at home and write all summer. It seems weird to be unemployed by choice, but I think this is probably the best thing I've ever done for myself. Last week was a tough week for me. It felt like I spent the whole week saying goodbye - saying goodbye to clients (1 year and 10 months of weekly therapy was the longest-term client I said farewell to) and saying goodbye to my colleagues and friends. I know that I will keep in touch with many of those people but it just won't be the same. During my last week I received many lovely cards, gifts (including a Matt & Nat bag!), flowers and was taken out to lunch at a great Thai restaurant. It was a very nice ending. Here's a pic of the flowers on my kitchen counter 4 days later. I think they still look great!

I was able to balance my emotionally draining work-week with fun outings! On Wednesday night my bestest friend in the world came up and we headed out to dinner and then saw Dirty Dancing, which was playing at the Royal Alexandra Theatre. I love going to the theatre (and seeing musicals in particular) and I loved Dirty Dancing the movie but I have to confess that I only liked this show. Aside from one great dancer and one amazing singer I wasn't swept off my feet by the production or the performers. Also, as a musical you expect that all or most of the lines will be sung (well, most of the story is usually worked into musical numbers) but in this show most of the lines were spoken and then songs were played and danced to. A few songs were sung by one male and one female singer in particular as they stood on the edge or back of the stage. The main characters didn't sing, which I wasn't expecting. Still it was a fun night out.

On Thursday night after a very long last day of work I hit another theatre, but this time it was to see Opera Atelier's Idomeneo (by Mozart), which was playing at the Elgin Theatre. It was confusing (even with subtitles) but fantastic! During intermission I had a chance to go through the program and read a synopsis of the setting of the story and of act one and two and things made much, much more sense. I was properly prepared for act three, and it was great (and not confusing at all!).

Measha Brueggergosman (who I had just read about in the May edition of Toronto Life) was one of the sopranos and lived up to her reputation. She played Elettra, a woman scorned, for those who are familiar with the story. There was also a male soprano in the cast, very unusual. Most impressive was the tenor, Kresimir Spicer from Croatia. He was absolutely amazing!

I didn't take any pictures at the theatres but here's a shot of the programs.

The weekend entailed sleeping in, doing chores around the house and socializing with my sibs. My brother came by to show off his new wheels (a new Toyota FJ) and I drove to Oshawa to visit my sister and drop off the cool bracelet I got her in Paris. While in town I had a super-quick visit with my younger brother (thanks for the movies Jay) and then drove through a wicked rainstorm back home.

I'm feeling recharged and ready to take on my research. The first draft of my dissertation is due in my advisor's office by the end of day on May 12th. Wish me luck!

Ahhh...vacation in Paris

2008-04-26T18:25:00.000-07:00

Once again my blog has fallen by the wayside. But I have a good reason this time - I was away in Paris! It was my mom's birthday and what better way to celebrate than a week in Paris? The weather was a tad cool and rainy over there (while it was unseasonable hot and sunny in Toronto, go figure) but who cares, I was away on holiday. We saw all the touristy sites, ate great food such as crepes and red wine (my fav was this great Merlot that was only 2.21 Euro for a whole bottle!) and even had time to relax and explore the city. My favourite area was Montmartre, where I spent a wonderful Saturday afternoon and even had my portrait done by one of the artists.

The Louvre

The Eiffel Tower

Sacre Coeur

Crepes!

So, what else have I been up to? Well let's see...I went to the Wine and Cheese Show and sat through a "naked tasting" seminar (not as interesting as it sounds, sadly it was a "blind" tasting rather than the "naked" tasting it was billed to be). The show itself was pretty interesting and offered many, many wines, beers and spirits to be sampled but was surprisingly lacking in cheese! I almost made it out to some interesting HotDocs films (sorry V-pants, next year I promise), saw a taping of the Rick Mercer Report, enjoyed Mahler Symphony 4 at the Toronto Symphone Orchestra and...wait for it...resigned from my job! Yup, you heard me, I quit!

I decided that things were just too busy for me right now and that I really needed to put all my effort into finishing my dissertation and completing my degree. My last day will be May 1st, which will hopefully give me enough time to pull together the first draft of my dissertation for May 12th. I think things will go much more smoothly once I have the time to really get into my research again. Having some time off this summer (while I wait for revisions to be reviewed by my committee members) means I might actually have some time to do some crafting and hang out at the cottage.

Well, that's all the exciting news I have for now. Hopefully, I'll be posting again soon. Over the next 5 days I'll have seen Dirty Dancing, gone to the Opera and left the job I've held for the last 3 years and 8 months. I should have something to talk about!

I'll leave you with some pictures I took early this evening when out walking the dogs.

the new bedroom

2008-04-01T09:05:00.000-07:00

I've had this blog for less than a month and I'm already delinquent. I've gotten behind on my postings and haven't learned how to reformat my page. Sadly I just haven't had the time to put into my blog (blog, blog, blog - that was for you Jim!).

I've been making good progress with my research though. I still have yet to run any anlyses on the data in my database but have completed all my interviews! I ended up having 20 participants for the interview portion of my study and am proud to say I finished transcribing all the interviews on Sunday (my wrists are still sore!). I had wanted to have that part done by the end of March so I met my deadline with 1 day to spare. On the agenda today is running some preliminary analyses (just descriptive data at this point I think) and reading through the interviews again and again. Having never worked with qualitative data before I'm a bit apprehensive of where to go from here. My advisor has suggested I just relax and read through the interviews a number of times, perhaps taking some notes, and the themes will start to emerge. At this point that doesn't sound all that helpful - I mean I don't think it works in the same way as those optical illusion images where if you just stare at them long enough the mystery image will emerge. My advisor has yet to stear me wrong so I'll heed her advice. I have a meeting with her next week so I'll see how far I get before then.

In other news, the bedroom is now finished. Well, the construction of the room is complete and Alex build us a bedframe but I still need to get 2 bedside tables and a dresser.

Here's a photo of Alex putting the first coat of mudding on the new drywall. The next photo shows the walls finished with the first coat of primer on.

Here the walls and the moulding have been painted. Next the new flooring is going in.

Finally, here's the room all done. The darker area under the window (instead of trim) is a poured concrete windowsill that Alex made. It's very funky and functional as a ledge (a favourite spot for the kitties).

The last picuture shows the view from our window. That first building on the left is the Assembly Hall, a community cultural centre. They have a performance hall, community meeting rooms and gallery space. In the summer there are musical festivals and fairs that take place on the grounds just to the left of the building, which is awesome for us - we can walk across the street to see some great performers, sample food, go on rides, etc. In the winter we have the Lakeshore Santa Claus parade that comes by the house.

The other buildings you see further down are part of Humber College's south campus. Just down the road past those buildings is the Lakeshore Yacht Club and a protected park erea. The park includes beautiful walking trails along the waterfront and picnic areas surrounded by over 30 hecters of wetlands and areas of native vegetation. The park includes the grounds of what was the Lakeshore Psychiatric Hospital which occupied the site from 1888 until 1979. It's a beautiful area - Max and Eva like to walk the trails and go swimming in the lake.

I made bread

2008-03-21T13:25:00.000-07:00

A little while ago I tried making bread for the first time. It wasn't actually all the difficult but I was suprised at how much waiting was involved. It ended up taking me most of the day to bake 2 loaves but I was able to make sugar cookies, whip up a batch of royal icing to decorate them with and then make a chocolate banana cake with buttercream frosting while I was waiting for the bread to rise at different stages. All in all, I enjoyed the experience and was really glad that I had a standmixer to do all the hard work for me!

In other news, the house renos are progressing smoothly. Our new bedroom is almost finished and I hope to post pictures of the process in a few days (as soon as the new flooring is down and the furniture is). My research is going well, all the quantitative data has now been entered into the database but no analyses have been run. The qualitative data is coming along too, 11 interviews have been completed and transcribing will begin this weekend (ack!).

Alex's new bike is now safe and sound at home.

A new addition to the family!

2008-03-14T17:15:00.000-07:00

Although I had planned to spend the day in the house working on my research, I ended up downtown at the Harley-Davidson dealership and am now the proud owner of a new Buell bike. It's a gift for Alex.

Here's how it all happened: My husband Alex is an avid motorcycle rider. He's one of those guys that'll ride through the winter if you let him. With the spring weather hopefully on the way Alex has been talking incessantly about bike season. He built a vintage bike last year and has been planning to rebuild the engine and do some modifications before the riding season hits. However, he's been putting all his spare time into working on the house so he hasn't had much time to put toward his bike. He was feeling a bit discouraged about everything he has left to do on it and about how expensive some of the parts were going to be so I suggested dropping the whole rebuild project and buying a new bike. We did some research online (although Alex already knew what he wanted after falling in love with a Buell model he had seen at the bike show in December) and off we went to the dealership. It was retail therapy at it's best.

Here's Alex with his new bike. He picks it up next week. Now, if only all this snow would disappear!

Paying it Forward

2008-03-11T18:21:00.000-07:00

Eva looking cute

An extreme close-up of Max's nose

I love this concept! I just found out about this group from knitticrafy (and signed up to be one of her recipients - how could I refuse? Have the seen the awesome crafts she creates, and btw, thank you VERY much for my way cool apron at Christmas). Here's what you need to know...

"It’s the Pay It Forward Exchange. It’s based of the concept of the movie “Pay it Forward” where acts or deeds of kindness are done without expecting something in return, just passing it on, with hope that the recipients of the acts of kindness are passed on. So here’s how it works. I will make and send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment to this post on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I do not know what that gift will be yet, and it won’t be sent this month, probably not next month, but it will be sent (within 6 months) and that’s a promise! What YOU have to do in return, then, is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog. Please remember, you don't have to knit or crochet to participate, anyone who can make a nice handmade gift is welcome to join :)"

I can't wait to see what my handmade gift will be...and to see who will post to request a gift from me. Remember, you must have a blog of your own so that you can make the same offer to others. I'll try and get some pictures of past crafts on this site to entice you. What might I make? I love to bake and make fudge but that would only work if someone was local to me. Maybe a cool wooden bowl? Something done on my sewing machine (which has just been serviced and is raring to go)? A luxurious bar of handmade soap? Who knows! If you're interested, please respond to this post and join the exchange.

My introduction to blogging!

2008-03-10T14:25:00.000-07:00

I enjoy reading blogs, looking at blogs and hearing about my friends' blogs but I have never made a blog...until now. I don't know that I'll have much to say but I'll try.

It might take some time to get things going but I figure I can use this blog to discuss random things that interest me, bore everyone with pictures of my pets and keep my family and friends updated on my traveling, crafts and life in general. I can also show progress on our never-ending home renovation projects and I hope that reporting on my dissertation research will help keep my motivation up. I'm midway into my last year as a grad student and have some looming deadlines that I just can't miss!