Show preparations!

We're getting geared up for the Ottawa Glass Bead Artist show coming up Friday November 12th, 4-9pm & Saturday November 13th, 10-6pm 2010 at the Hellenic Centre (1315 Prince of Wales Drive). Since we got behind in preparing our studio we've been at the torch pretty much constantly all week!

At first it felt weird and I was mostly making "safe", process beads, just getting used to the feel of glass and fire again. It has been six months since we packed up our studio! But over the course of the week the groove started to come back and by the middle of the weekend I was feeling the love!



I've been having fun in a few designs with "threading" - heating the tip of a rod, then, outside of the flame, making a tiny anchor on the bead and quickly stretching and spinning a tiny thread of glass around the bead until the glass cools and snaps off. Repeat as necessary.

We also realized that we were out of business cards! I've attempted to design interesting business cards for us in the past but it's always ended up over-crowded and boxy. This time Andrea had some concrete examples of business cards from other artists that she'd been collecting. I worked from there and experimented with a split and angled design. I'm pretty excited about it - I think it's a breakthrough.



I'll have to write a phone number for people who don't have internet (raise your hand if that's you!) but that's what the plain back is for.

Stay tuned for photos of my first batch of Ottawa-made florals coming up next!!!

Moving week!!!

We've been to the lawyers and possession day is so close we can taste it! It's almost time to move into our new home. We're SO looking forward to having our own space after "camping out' in a furnished sublet for three months and crashing with kind friends for the extra weeks before and after.
Part of our preparation for moving has included looking into the requirements for setting up a natural gas line to run our glassmaking and soldering torches. So far the news has been a bit daunting - according to TSSA we need to get a full industrial inspection (at nearly $600) in addition to the lost for gasfitting. Also, so far the insurance brokers we've spoken to have said that we'd have to get commercial coverage for our studio at around $700/yr, whereas we were able to include it in our home insurance for just a small cost in Winnipeg.
It's not impossible to arrange but it's significantly more costly than expected, and might affect our timeline. Still, we're committed to safety first and to being above-board with all our work so we'll jump through the hoops as best we can.
"BEFORE"Our bench will be here between two windows, with intake air and vented exhaust.

I've also been looking into limewashing application as it sounds like a gorgeous treatment for the rustic basement walls, and one that will be compatible with a semi-permeable surface. It depends on what the existing white surface is, as you shouldn't limewash over acrylic paint. The long-term plan is to frame in some proper insulation but that may be a few years away!
Step one is, of course, to move all our stuff out of storage and refinish the main floor hardwood so we can set up our lives and put our exciting but challenging vagabond summer behind us.
Wish us luck!

A New Home for Hearts of Glass

We did it!

Andrea and I bought a house in East Ottawa (Vanier-Beechwood) this week. It's waking distance to the Bytown Market, biking distance to my office downtown, and on three bus routes, so we should be able to continue to manage without a car. It's in good shape with just a short list of projects to work on (mostly roof ventilation and drainage, but definitely DIY stuff) and great layout, kitchen, bathroom, and yard.

Most importantly for the glass side of our life, it's got a tall, bright and spacious unfinished basement and a classy garage with a huge window overlooking the garden - so much studio potential!

We look forward to building our dream bench over the next year, step-by-step! The first steps will be gas hookup and ventilation, and some sort of basic bench surface. Eventually as we can afford it we'll upgrade to something in stainless steel or slate (my Dad has offered us a large salvaged slab - he's the king of "good junk"!). We also want to build a silversmithing bench with a dedicated line for our soldering torch.

Of course, we don't get possession until September 10. But now we can enjoy the summer and know that we have something very special to look forward to!

Studio Shows for the Next Two Weekends!

Andrea and I are getting ready for our Velocity Studio show this weekend! After the bustle and bright lights of the huge Signatures show a week-and-a-half ago, we're looking forward to capping the season with laid-back, cozy studio shows. It was exciting to meet so many new people at Signatures, though! I really came out of my shell and felt like I was "in the zone" with greeting and answering questions. Sometimes I can be so shy at shows! Luckily Andrea is so outgoing.

Speaking of reaching new people, I was on the radio this morning! CKUW's "People of Interest" show at 8:20am. I went on a bit of a ramble about Coefficiency of Expansion and different glass families that probably bored people, and I forgot to bring up our recycled leather bracelets when asked about recycled elements, but overall I think I got the message across about the durability and soulfulness of artisan-made flameworked beads. And of course I mentioned the studio shows! Since they are held in private studios/homes word of mouth is crucial.

So I hope to see you this weekend or next! We'll have lots of new leather cuffs (we almost sold out at Signatures!) forged earrings and dragonflies.