One of the most difficult things for me is deciding how to display my fused glass artwork. A few months ago, I had Tracy laser jet cut a hummingbird for me, but the wing broke off. The problem was it was so pretty I didn’t want to throw it away, so I thought I’d frame it and keep it for myself. I got these tiny wooden frames and stained them but when I put the hummingbird in it just didn’t pop, so I found some of my washi paper from Japan, I cut it and glued it into the frame then I glued the hummingbird in and then a little flower. (Yes, I did a post about the hummingbird at the time.)
I wrote a post a few months ago about my little bird (far left photo) and that I didn’t want to just slump it into a dish, it’s finished — I framed it with the washi paper in the background. I really loved the effect and have made a couple more frames for some of my casted fused glass pieces. Aren’t they beautiful? I just love the washi paper.
Anyway, I realized I don’t have that much washi paper from Japan left and decided I should learn how to make some paper myself. I watched several videos and got a mold and deckle and this weekend I tried my hand at it. I’m not going to lie to you, I screwed up several pieces. Below are my screen and 1 deckle.
That being said I think they turned out great. Some are thick and some are thin, but I like them all. The first two pictures are of me drying them. The two pictures on the right are the finished pieces. I added some dried flowers to several pieces. Some of the flowers fell off. I’m not sure if it’s because the paper is thin, or the flowers are too big.
Not only do they make pretty inside my frames they also are great backdrops for taking pictures of my smaller pieces of fused glass artwork like jewelry. It doesn’t even look like paper!
I’m sure you are wondering is it actually paper? Can you write on it? Can you fold it? Can you tear it? The answer is Yes, Yes, Yes, and Yes! I love it, I just need to practice more. I’m also going to try to change the color of the paper. The paper on the left shows me writing on it and folding it. The paper on the right shows me tearing it. So very cool.
Since these weren’t perfect, I may not use these particular pieces of handmade paper with my fused glass artwork but once I get better at it, I definitely will use it with my glass. II don’t know if I’ll ever get as good as my Japanese washi paper, but I do love the effect. ‘d love to hear your thoughts of using handmade paper with my glass.
If you would like to see more of my fused glass work, please refer to my website Elegant Fused Glass by Karen. If you get a chance, check out all my site and my Elegant Fused Glass by Karen YouTube. If you would like to stay abreast of what I’m up-to and learn a little more about jewelry, check out our newsletter. It is published the last day of each month.
Keeping my kilns warm,
Karen
