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July 2022 Newsletter In this edition: - Upcoming Events: Woodland Park Art Show 7 & 8 Aug Come and visit me, Read more about it below. - Posts * Elegant fused glass
- Did you know ... |
I have my first Art show of the year on 7-8 August in Woodland Park. I'm excited, I love seeing my friends and long time customers. As any of you know who come to visit me. I always give away presents for those of you who get my newsletter. I'm not 100% sure what I'll give away this time but …Read more. |
I've made many fused glass photo stands. Normally it's the ones below, simple but elegant. There's nothing like real photos and these are great to go anywhere and make perfect gifts. This is a very different type of fused glass photo frame. I love them so much that I made these a while back but because they didn't fit into …Read more. |
This month my husband and I went to a Josh Groban concert at Red Rocks. Josh Groban has the most amazing voice, and his songs are so uplifting. My husband and I have loved Josh since 2002. The first time we heard him was in Japan, we went to Tama Hills - played cards, drank wine, and listen to Josh …Read more. |
Normally when I make fused glass plant stakes they are casted or cut design pieces. Here are some examples of some of my other fused glass plant stakes. They are all fun to make, I especially like using knives as the stake portion. But recently I saw a video on fused glass plant stakes that were a bit more simple …Read more. |
I decided to create glass art based on one of my myriad of tutorials. The class I chose is from Sarinda Jones, her curious mondo & patron class - Fused Glass Sugar Casting. I've wanted to do this for a while. I love texture and sugar casting has a lot of texture. Because it's a class I don't want to …Read more. |
Over the 4th of July we went to visit Dan's Family in Delta Colorado. It was a long drive, but they are very worth it. As we were driving to Delta through Montrose, I saw a sign for the Black Canon, and I told Dan I've never been there and wanted to go. So, Dan, his parents, and I drove …Read more. |
We took another trip to Westcliffe. Last year when we went there were tons of wildflowers this time of year. This year there wasn't as many, but they were still awesome. We also went to the property, mostly cactus but there were a few more flowers as well. Other beautiful sites around Westcliffe! Look closely at the bottom picture, what …Read more. |
Wow, I had another fused glass class thanks to Merle. This class was just Merle and her long time friend Kathy. They've been friends for 60 years! Kathy made 3 techniques including 3 Christmas Trees. They turn out so great, I love them. She also made the biggest pendant I've ever made. It's with beautiful spirit glass and dichroic glass. …Read more. |
As those who follow me know, I am retired Air Force. I love our National Anthem, the American flag, and of course America. So, I thought I'd make pieces of fused glass artwork with my own screens (more to come in the July's DyK) a few to celebrate the 4th of July. Here is the first one, …Read more. |
Did you know ...This section is used to answer any questions you may have or to pass on tidbits of information that add value and enhance knowledge regarding fused glass, metals, or jewelry in general. Let me know if you have anything you'd like me to include. |
I've written numerous posts and even DYKs about my screen-printing fused glass pieces, this DYK is a bit different. A few months back I bought a silk screen burner, it took me a couple months to actually use it but once I got started, I just can't stop. This DYK is about the challenges and some cool new things I've been able to make with my own screens. |
First the system I bought is the Ikonart (this picture is from the Ikonart site "ikonartstencil.com"). BTW I love the system. I had struggled a bit with one of the substrates and the company helped me through the Facebook group. Wonderful support! It's so great to know all of these are my screens! |
I learned a lot in my journey to create my own silk screens. First finding SVGs and modifying them. Second printing them on a transparency so I can burn the silk screen. Third is screen printing on other substrates (glass is so much easier). |
Obviously I am a glass artist and my focus is and will always be glass. That being said, silk screens can also be used for fabric. I used speedball fabric paint on tea towels. If you look closely at the deer, I had some mistakes, but I did get better. These are mine because I love animals and the mountains. How cool is this my own screen-printed tea towels! |
In addition to tea towels I screen printed on t-shirts, cloth makeup bags, etc. This is one of my favorite shirts so I added a screen print on it. Clearly I messed up and went off the screen and onto my shirt. I have to remember that the paint doesn't just wipe off fabric like it does on glass! LOL, I'm loving screen printing on fabric. |
I also screen printed on blank notebooks. I'll be completely forthcoming on this, I printed on the front and back and didn't get it right. I think my paint isn't thick enough lots of bleeding and slippage. I have several notebooks to practice on, until I get it right. |
I make a lot of fused glass magnets so I wanted a nice way to display them. Recently I added some washi paper to a metal frame and it's great for my big magnets. But I wanted to see how the screen printing would work on metal. Since it's for me I haven't added sealer, but I think it's wonderful especially for my small flower magnets. What do you think? |
Another item I screen printed on was ceramic mugs. I really struggled with this substrate. Sometimes it smeared and sometimes it wasn't a full screen print. Here are some examples that didn't work out for me. |
I did have a few relatively good results. I still need to work on ceramics. I'm not sure if it's the thickness of the paint or my technique. This is the one that the facebook group helped me with. |
I was also able to screen print on cork. Isn't this fabulous! However, I wouldn't put a hot pan on the painted side. I'm also trying to figure out how to incorporate glass for my cork trivets, why - because I love glass. |
So you want to see something extremely amazing? I can use my screens on wood, a special paste, and a heat gun to make a faux wood burning. I think it's the most intriguing use of silk screens. I can add design to my little stands, wooden ornaments, and a cutting board. Again I wouldn't necessarily cut my food on the decorative side of the board (even though I used cutting board i.e., WALRUS OIL - Cutting Board Oil and Wood Wax Set). I love this technique!! |
Another fascinating use of silk screens is glass etching. I did this before with AAE's tutorials, my sandblaster, etc. But I still think it's pretty cool the top one was my first try and it's not perfect. How great is it to take a simple glass and customize it with screen printing. It is not easy taking pictures of them though. I love the bottom glass. |
Last but not least screen printing on fused glass. In addition to my posts about my screen prints e.g., Pocket Vases, etc. (which are not my screens). As you saw in a post above, all of my flag pieces I made the screens and the glass. |
I made several screens and put them on glass. Here are the first ones I did. I love them, can you tell I like wildlife? |
Some I kept as a little pieces as art (top row) and some I slumped into little dishes. Of course the tiles don't have to stay in the little stands they can be displayed in other ways as well. |
Now about my journey i.e., my mistakes. I talked about my struggles on applying the paint to the substrates already, but I'm talking about burning my screens start to finish. First, I printed on the wrong side of the transparency a couple times (sticky is what's printed on), but I just wiped it off (the wrong slide is slick) and reused it. Second, making sure I stayed inside the area before burning the design onto a screen. Third, making sure the writing isn't too close together so when you screen it the results are crisp. |
I love screen printing, I'm curious of all the techniques which is your favorite i.e., on ceramic mugs, notebooks, wood, glass, fabric, metal, or etching on glass or burning on wood? I love them all! Some I still need to work on but overall I enjoy making my own screens and screen printing on various substrates. |
Thank you for taking the time to read my latest updates. To ensure you receive my Fused Glass Newsletter, please add me to your contacts. Feel free to forward this newsletter to anyone you think may enjoy it. Have a Question? Please hit the reply button and ask away. In addition to my Elegant Fused Glass by Karen website and YouTube. You can also contact my via email: elegantfusedglass@gmail.com All Fused Glass photos and posts as well as my flame are copyrighted 2022. Copyright Elegant Fused Glass by Karen. All rights Reserved.
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