Began mounting the glass work for my portfolio, just needs silicon-ing in place. Squared paper gives it a nice scrap-book feel. Blue felt-tip pen geometric drawings to make the thin blue glass strips melt in seamlessly. It's strange because I preferred the top drawing the most when it was in front of me, but I think the bottom image looks better now it's on the computer screen.

Can't help thinking that it's missing something though. Stitching? Inks? collage? Not quite sure yet so it might be one of those leave-it-for-a-few-days-and-come-back-to-it jobs. It's gonna drive me mad trying to think of what it needs. Letters? Might try dabbing water onto the lines in the top drawing (I always use washable felt tips for that exact purpose). Or maybe it just needs re-drawing completely.

It's so irritating knowing that there's just something not quite right about it.

Comic update post

Been thinking and working on ideas for comic project, this is its most recent incarnation. part of me feels like I need to make it into several pages instead of just one canvas. Considering making a long wall-hanging. The blank triangles are where I've stared placing my glass pieces to work them into the composition. 

I kinda have visions of black netting and hand-stitched writing and squares and glass, hand-generated typography that becomes part of the story instead of just telling the story. 

Starting to wonder if I even need to create an angel narrator. I might use the research I've got so far into angels as motifs and collage instead.

I feel really inspired by the people I've met and the techniques I've learned during my year away from university, and I feel like I should bring these feelings and ideas together. I started out months and months ago reading up on cosmology and visiting observatories, drawing churches and researching the stories and language I was brought up with.

When I started experimenting with materials in the beginning of January this year I stepped away from the ideologies and started creating my own visual language. Now I know how this piece is going to feel. Gothic, arts and crafts, cute with serious undertones.

Recently went back to the Cultural Sisters to make some more flat glass pieces. When I saw the glass from before, they looked like test pieces and I just wanted to make more and experiment with shapes and colours. Because of how much glass can change in firing, I'm not totally sure what to expect yet but I'm looking forward to seeing the finished results. They look bigger than the last few things I've made and use more bluey purpley colours with a hint of green, moving away from red completely. 

Also this is the dog I've been looking after this week, because this post has far too much writing in it and needs more pictures!

Glass experiments

Here are the glass pieces I did under the kind supervision of The Cultural Sisters in Longport. Some of them didn't turn out exactly as I expected but I think they're all pretty great so far.

Above is one of my pre-firing photos for comparison.

I wanted to try creating the above comic grid layout I designed earlier in the year in different materials, such as my foray into textiles.

I guess its kinda funny that I took my original inspiration from windows in gothic architecture and now I've done a full circle and I'm trying to make drawings of windows out of glass. 

I made some smaller triangles which I thought could be incorporated into the final comic because there are a lot of triangular shapes and arches within gothic architecture. Glass was often used to tell biblical stories, so it would be my attempt to nod back to that.

The flower motif was created by cutting out paper and placing it between two layers of glass. I thought it would burn away and the silhouette of the flower would be seen in the glass frit around it. I suppose I didn't contend for the fact that the paper wasn't exposed to any air and even if it did burn, it wouldn't have anywhere to go.

This is some of the glass I mentioned earlier that I did on a Saturday crafternoon with The Cultural Sisters before it was fired. I haven't actually seen the finished glass, but I've received an email that says "it has all turned out lovely!" so I'm looking forward to getting my grubby paws on it. Am thinking about incorporating it into the comic project I've been slowly working on.