Day 29 & 30

Today and tomorrow our challenge is to take a black and white "selfie" and create a glass powder self-portrait from it.  This is a huge challenge for all of us.

Ahhhhhhh......ya!  Bought the threshold of my capabilities too.  Well...at least I can control that pesky double chin!!  Silver lining baby....silver lining

Get ready for a good belly laugh my glass friends..

Here it is.....unfired at this point.

Not too shabby. I see I missed some crucial highlights that would have been helpful.  

Final ones in the kiln. Now just the collage left. 

Day 27 & 28

The challenge for Day 27 & 28  (I think you know what it is).....

Create a fused glass powder sgraffito drawing of our model, Albert.

Here are some hints that will help you in your approach:

Begin your drawing upside-down.  Squint your eyes and look for the areas that are the darkest darks and the lightest lights.  Get the rough shapes of those areas in first.    Next, think about the tools you've created and the textures you've been able to make with them.

As you work, take photos of your portrait in progress.  This will help you figure out where problem areas are.  You will have two days to complete this project, so post an 'in progress' photo for today, and a photo of your completed piece for tomorrow.  

You have everything you need, use everything in your arsenal!

OMG......I did not think I could or would EVER be able to do this!!

But........

I think I'm pretty happy with this guy. I'm not so intimidated with the self portrait now. I must confess....I was quite overwhelmed and did not do ANYTHING the first day and a half. Probably took me 2 hours. 

Here is the right side up pre fired version

Here is Albert

Day 26

Create yet another tree.... BUT!

 This time, the tree should be created upside-down.  That means that you will start at the top  of your glass with the trunk, and pull the glass toward you to make the branches.

Today you may use both hands in your work, plus the business card and your choice of tools.

Here is the 'catch'... Anything on the left side of the tree must be drawn with your left hand, and anything on the right side of the tree must be drawn with your right hand.

Even though you have full access to your 'tools' you should still use them in the appropriate hand, depending on the side you are working on.

My upside down, left to right tree.....

Now it's right side up......hmmmmmmmm

Day 25

Today's Challenge for Day 25:  Create a Glass Powder Sgraffito Drawing of a tree, using only a business card, tools at your disposal, and your non-dominant hand. 

Day 24

Today's challenge is to go back to the beginning, and create a fused glass sgraffito sketch of a tree using only the business card and non-dominant hand.

Not as hard as I anticipated.....

Day 23

The challenge for today.......

Take a photo of something you collect, and create a glass powder sgraffito drawing of it. 

These are a tiny few of the seashell collection from Whangerai, New Zealand. My favorites are the three cat's eyes.

Darn.....I forgot the shadows. That really flattens everything.

Day 22

This is today's challenge......

A safety pin is a fabulous subject for so many reasons... It's a simple object that everyone is familiar with, but still a difficult little bit of a thing though, isn't it?  That's what makes it a great challenge!

Here are some hints at how you can tackle this tiny shiny.

Really LOOK at the pin.  Study it and find the edges where dark and light meet.  Lines are essentially 'darks meeting lights'.  Finding those places, instead of just drawing a line in the shape of the pin will be important if you want to make the pin look shiny.

1. Pay careful attention to the negative space around and inside the safety pin.  Getting to know the shapes around the pin itself will help you get the shape of the actual pin right.

2. Your wide range of values (light, middle, dark) will determine whether your safety pin looks flat and dull, or sharp and shiny.  Find those edges where light and dark meet.

Not too bad...I need to be able to get finer lines and lighter shadows.