I made this on the first day of class this session, sort of as a warm up. I generally like to use the ‘hodgepodge’ frit, the frit that’s left over from other frits, or that’s been mixed in. I can’t say it’s my best paperweight. I like them to be rounder, not so pointed. Also, I would rather have more glass between the color and the outside.

You’d think paperweights were as useful as preschool ash trays, but I actually use my paperweights when photographing my pieces.  I have a  big roll of paper I use as a backdrop, and the paperweights keep it from slipping off the table.

Ironically, I made this one after I made the blue goblet. I say ironic, because it’s kind of mutant in comparison. I was shooting more towards a pilsner glass shape rather than a martini glass.  Somewhere along the way, it got out of shape and I never got it back on shape again.

I made this cup thinking it would be a good front-runner in the goal to create a birthday present for my friend. He likes to drink Manhattans, which are traditionally drunk out of a martini glass. I asked David Vogt  how to make one, and he demonstrated. this doesn’t quite have the martini shape, but I don’t think that’s terrible because the martini glass is really a terribly impractical shape. it tips too easily and is hard to drink out of without spilling, even for the sober.

These are more from the same set of bottlecaps I made in Februrary.

I think I bought the letter charm and the letter brad when the Paper Studio close its doors to the public (they are still mail order and open for classes) It was a sad day, but 40% off made it less sad. the typed paper behind the alder cone is a card from a card catalog, which I use to store glazes, and little ephemera like the polymer clay millefleur slice in the bottom center bottlecap.

I bought the key charm in the top middle from a vendor at a convention.  I think I had bottlecaps in mind when I bought it.

This bowl is called “suckbowl”  not because of its quality but because of how it’s made. David demonstrated it, and I knew I had to try it out.  You start by applying color around a bubble, then blow the bubble into as big a sphere as you can manage.  Getting it nice and hot, you pull it out of the gloryhole and suck, to collapse the sphere in on itself. This takes timing, because then you have to jack it off the pipe and use tongs to place it onto a still-soft cookie foot.

As you can see, mine got a little off center when I sucked the air out of it. I felt sad, but I wasn’t the only one who had problems.  The cool thing about making a bowl like this is that the lines criscross for a nice effect, and the cookie foot provides a smooth base with no need of grinding. The bad thing is that the rim is thicker than i’d like.