OceanMelt's Melty Thread

Whats up TMP. Happily starting my progression thread here. Been interested in glass art my whole life. Even the cheap janky stuff in tourist shops would always catch my attention for whatever reason (still does). Learning how to blow glass was always a desire, but guess I always had too much other stuff going on to put it into motion. And for better/worse I chose science over art in college. I finally circled back around a few months ago and signed up for a class. I actually signed up for a hot-shop class, but fortuitously ended up in the flameworking class. Fast forward another 45min and I was hooked. The class turned out to be a 4 day/20 hour workshop on intro to boro. Not having a place to practice yet and obviously having not mastered any skills, I decided to take it again. Definitely expensive, but an invaluable opportunity in building some muscle memory on the basics. I have since finished setting up a studio in my garage.

Without a doubt I’m still humbled by the degree of difficulty with what it’ll take to learn this medium. I may have some understanding on a few techniques now (in theory), but a lot still seems almost like magic. Which is rad and why I love it so. No delusions about getting rich or quitting my job. I’ve just been searching for an artistic outlet, so here’s hoping this is the start to an endless journey:)

I’ll do my best to keep this a pic heavy thread. Thanks in advance for looking.

Cheers-

Starting at the absolute beginning….these are the very first pieces of glass melted. Obviously nothing really to look at, but it was all about taking baby steps and getting a feel for the glass. I kept all of my class survivors for a reference point to look back at some day.

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First bubble, point, and bit of creativity...

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Getting to use some color and a bit more shaping.

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Implosions and pendant shaping.

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Exciting times, ya got a good attitude. I think things will progress quickly for you.

Can't fight the desire to learn pipe art. And everything I've read and watched lets me know it all starts with the spoon. I've also seen enough advice on leaving color alone in the beginning. So I set a goal of 50 clear to start out with.

First ten. Sorry, some of those are hard to even look at...

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Tried twisting up some icicle ornaments for the holidays.

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Now the glass has you hooked! Looking good keep up the practice.

Next set of ten. Having lots of trouble picking out the mouth hole and can't seem to push a straight bowl to save my life. Sizing is starting to get a hair consistent I suppose.

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i can clearly see progress in just a fews day. good idea setting goals and sticking to them for clear shaping before moving on. your attitude is awesome and i can imagine you making some really cool stuff in no time! sub'd this thread

it seems almost everyone thinks picking out the mouthpiece hole is an art you must master, but if its a pain, just get a pair of diamond shears and learn how to work them nicely; they leave a perfect hole easy to ream into a mouthpiece every time in very little time, after a little practice.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by hashmasta-kut

it seems almost everyone thinks picking out the mouthpiece hole is an art you must master, but if its a pain, just get a pair of diamond shears and learn how to work them nicely; they leave a perfect hole easy to ream into a mouthpiece every time in very little time, after a little practice.

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Just trying to figure it all out. Diamond shears are def on the next order!

Next set of ten. Second to last one was shaping up to be one of my best to date, but I forgot to flash it before detaching the blow tube....and pop. Then I dropped a blank onto it. Double fail. Pushes seem to be getting straighter though.

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Wanted to change it up and try some pendants, but obviously things don't survive without a kiln. Tax refund can't come soon enough!

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First attempt at some wrap&rake. Finding that sweet spot where the color stretches off but doesn't tear is harder than I guessed.

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Hey! Welcome and thanks for sharing!

Your spoons have a nice shape so props for that! I've been at it 4 months or so and finish all my mouthpieces by picking them open and it's still a pain. So just keep practicing, there's other techniques too. On pushing bowls, I'm just starting to get this down but I make sure to heat evenly around the bowl hole, then take care to have the piece and your push straight up and down when you push. Good luck on your new adventure!

Thanks Ghost. Yeah, I've noticed that taking the extra time to ensure a straight push is key. That and endless repitition :)

So what's up with my reamer (Sundance)? The edges have quickly worn down to the point where its going to be a round reamer soon. Didn't have any issues with the reamers used in my workshops.

So is it me or the tool?

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More heat on glass,less pressure on tool...I just use a pencil reamer same on last least few years.

Ok cool, I'll pay more attention to that, thanks.

If its the economy reamer than yea, they are kind of cheaply made! Get some 1000 - 2000 grit sand paper and redo the edges(600 or 800 will work but not as smooth!) I just re-sanded all of my tools this weekend and yes my reamer looked exactly like yours! Nice progress, keep it up!

I start with one of these and then finish with fine sand paper or steel wool, then final stage is brown paper towels or wadded up newspaper Attachment 70581

Thanks fellas, I have lots of fine sandpaper/files so I'll give it a go! And yeah, pretty sure I bought the economy one.

Next set of ten. Feel more comfortable shaping, but straight pushes are still my nemace.

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Bare with me, I promise the pics will get more interesting eventually...

Also made a litter dabber, prob a bit to thin for comfortable use, but fun to use some color!

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The trick to the angled bowl push is hold the blow tube up at a 45 degree angle when you push your bowls. Keep it up buddy
It

^^FYI if you get tools from arrowspring they fix free.I got one of the kilns randomly and like better than the big names.

http://www.arrowsprings.com/html/tools.html

props! exciting stuff. looks like you're starting off right using clear and setting achievable goals. you seem very patient and disciplined.. a lot more so than i can say for myself anyways. subscribed. keep it coming! this thread is going to blow its cap in no time. as for the reamer - i ruined a graphite skull by using it while the glass was too cold. remember you should never have to FORCE anything. especially graphite. just remember your delicate pencil lead in grade school when you were taking that important test and that mean nun wouldn't let you get up to sharpen it if you broke it because men are dirty rotten cheaters and probably up to no good...

what were we talking about? oh yeah.. marver/ream when its still hot and moves. if you're having to push very hard, you're probably working it too cold. I'm still new to this as well, so this is beginner advice, but these are problems that i have run into as well. looking forward to more pics. cheers!

And fifty. Definitely more consistent on shaping, but still much work to be done. It will be fun to start making some with color. I'm thinking it will also help show flaws and areas to focus on...

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by James M

The trick to the angled bowl push is hold the blow tube up at a 45 degree angle when you push your bowls. Keep it up buddy
It

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Big thanks James! Totally was spacing on this! Didn't get all of my last pushes great, but this was def part of the problem.

So with hitting my little goal, I decided to push my limit. 1st attempt sherlock. Pretty much followed (or tried to) the Revere video exactly. My seal def had some gaps, and it was tough bringing it together, condensing, and reshaping. Felt good to struggle and make it to the end though :)

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Another little dabber, this one a bit more usable.

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Also trying to learn how to make cane. ISO still puts a smile on my face, so its def something I'll be working at down the road. If anyone has any pointers to cool cane making.....much appreciated!

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Tried a frit implosion, with really no idea what it would look like. This one was nothing great, but it gave me some cool ideas to experiment with.

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That's all the updates for now. Thanks for looking!

Nice work! I was not expecting that on the frit implosion mine usually come out looking like a sea urchin or a kidney stone or something really spikey. What type frit did you use? Superfine ? Powder?

Thanks paulsafo. It was GA triple passion (small). I covered the face and then laid down a spiral of clear.

I see. Good stuff man you're making me remember the importance of fundamentals. I'll be going back to clear spoons for a minute :) keep up the great work.

Tried a single piece sherly.

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First flower implosion. The colors are a bit drowned out bc I snapped a pic before it completely cooled (waiting on kiln) in anticipation of a crack.

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