Here's the finished pieces installed.





There's a space above the window AC that was a corregated plastic filler that became brittle and cracked over the years since it is west-facing. Granted it's 10 years old and we don't use the AC much (too noisy and does't cool a non-insulated, western-facing wall in So Cal very well) so it gets forgotten throughout time.

This was a compromise of sorts since the idea for that space, as little as it is, has changed many times. My boyfriend and partner in life said he had an idea of what he wanted to see there and wanted to make it. Time passes on and I had my own ideas, but not expressed to him.

My original idea was a 4-panel piece showing the same tree in each of the seasons. I've seen this in a series of perfume bottles that I absolutely adored. I bought rods to do the leaves on the torch, but ended up tabling that idea. Note I said "tabling" because things always change around here.

The compromise came to light since he likes ravens and I wanted to do a piece for a monthly challenge. Lightbulb goes on and I can "kill 2 birds with one stone."


I wish I remembered to take a before picture of the broken plastic. Well it now houses another glass piece.

So here's more technical info:
This was done with BE clear thin, BE thin black strings, BE thin black, fiber paper and fiber blanket.

I make the background with the stringers and a blowtorch. I suppose I could have used the stringer glass but 1) I would have to go and get that and 2) I wanted the stringers to be in specific locations.

Once the stringers were "made", I partial fused them to the clear.

The second firing was with the raven that I cut out with the saw. I used 1/4" fiber paper to cut out the raven and then backed it for more depth with another raven cut from fiber blanket.

The fiber blanket was placed on the kiln shelf and the clear was placed on top of that. The black raven is on top. They are placed to look like they are sitting on top of the stringers. This idea was from a KCET (local PBS station) commercial where birds perched on wired give a composer an idea. Well it worked for me too. This piece was then taken to a partial fuse.