Donna Branch Glass Studio

Staying Focused

2009-03-19T13:11:00.015-05:00

Glass, cast, kilnformed, carved with battuto, sandblasteted, acid-etched

Maintaining focus is difficult for most of us at some time or other, so I wanted to share some interesting information that I came across while doing some reading because I thought it might be helpful to others.

One of the articles that I found helpful is Lori Woodward Simmons article "Out of Sight, Out of Mind" on Clint Watson's Fine Art Views (which I highly recommend). I thought Lori's method of staying focused should work well, particularly for artists. Lori discusses how most artists perform a lot of tasks during the day that are unrelated and that we often get sidetracked very easily. Her theme is that we, as artists, are visual; and if your work that you have to do that night or the next day is not right in front of your eyes, so that you can see it, it is completely out of your mind. I know this is true for me. She goes on to say that because we wear many hats as artists and business owners, we probably will not ever be able to "do it all", but that we can build powerful productivity habits if we get the "the real work out the night before, so that I see it first thing in the morning". Great article!

Most of us know the basic rules of how to stay focused and it is written about by Dave Cheong in his blog, but I don't think it hurts any of us to review these now and then, so here is another one at Michael Angier.

What did you think about these articles? I would love to hear in the comments.

The Serenbe Project: Installed

2009-03-05T14:33:00.048-06:00

The Serenbe Project, which was the building of a 12-foot white oak tree, graced with 175 cast glass leaves was installed on October 31, 2008. Robert Rausch of Gas Design Center, Tuscumbia, Alabama, designed the project, Jason Smith, a blacksmith from Decatur Georgia, created the iron tree blacksmith and I created the cast glass leaves. The project resulted in a beautiful installation and it is so gratifying to collaborate with two other very gifted artists! The project is permanently installed next door to The Hil Restaurant on Selbourne Lane and graces the entranceway leading to the Serenbe property offices.

Serenbe, is a nationally acclaimed sustainable community located 32 miles southwest of Atlanta in Palmetto Georgia. The New York Times featured Serenbe in its' Travel section on Sunday, March 1, 2009. Thank you to my good friend, Julian Hazlett, calling this to my attention. Cottage Living named Serenbe on of its' 2008 Top Ten Neighborhoods.

The beautiful glass leaves in the picture were made from Bullseye Glass of Portland, Oregon. Many thanks to them, especially Geraldine Gladden, for providing such a fine glass to cast, and great customer service. Thanks also to Olympic Color, who provided valuable information about the mold material. The process of making the leaves is shown here.

A funny thing happened during the installation. We had arrived in Serenbe the afternoon before the installation in order to preview the site and make sure we had all of the tools we needed. Since we were not familiar with the area, we thought we might stay at the Farmhouse at Serenbe, however, the F-350 (which was packed to the gills) would not make the turning radius between the split rail fences. This called to mind a quote from Henry Halem, one of the founders of the Glass Art Society, who says something to the effect that "you can always tell the glass artists, because they are the ones with trucks". Maybe, another time at the Farmhouse, because it is such a beautiful setting definitely worth returning to enjoy.

I am grateful

2009-03-01T09:29:00.010-06:00

I'm grateful for snow in Alabama...

Thank you to all who have expressed your prayers during my family illnesses. I am so grateful to have all of you who have remembered to call, write and think of my family at this time. My Mom is continuing her treatments with chemo and my husband will return to the hospital for his second round of nucleur treatments at the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center in March. The doctors at the University of Alabama Birmingham have been so wonderful and commited and I am also grateful to each of them.

This is a short post and I hope to be able to stay in touch at least a couple of times per week. I will be posting pictures of the completed Serenbe Project very soon.

What are you grateful for today?

Interview/Podcast Tonight with Local NPR Station, WBHM 90.3FM

2008-10-23T19:56:00.007-05:00

I announced on Tuesday that I would have an interview aired tonight, at 6:30pm CST on the local NPR Station, WBHM 90.3FM.

The interview did mention that there were 33 or 35 leaves. There are 175 leaves!!

Before I'm off to sign more leaves....a total of 175!.....I wanted to post the link for the podcast. Enjoy. https://www.wbhm.org/Tapestry/

Interview on "Tapestry" on NPR/WBHM 90.3, October 23

2008-10-21T15:25:00.005-05:00

An interview on "Tapestry" on the local NPR station WBHM 90.3 will be aired on October 23, 2008, at 6:30 pm. The interview about The Serenbe Project was taped at the studio, so there is a good bit of "raw" sound and I think it will be entertaining.

There should be a picture on the WBHM website that shows a real limb that I found on which I installed some of the Serenbe leaves.

Hope you enjoy.

35 Days: Serenbe Installation

2008-09-22T19:47:00.006-05:00

35 Days Until Serenbe Installation: This weekend I started to clean the cast leaves by smoothing them on the lathe and diamond wheel. When I get them the way I like them, I will sign and date each leaf.

Hopefully I will be able to get some shots of the lathe work as well as the application of the signature and the finished leaves.

The majority of the leaves (about 120 of them) are between 7-8 inches and the remaining 30 leaves are various sizes from 3 -10 inches. There will only be a couple of 10 inch leaves.
The portion of the project that entails producing the leaves nears completion. As I discussed earlier, the installation will take place on October 30-31. We will begin early the morning of October 30 and work until the installation is complete.

42 Days: Until Installation of The Serenbe Project

2008-09-15T15:56:00.003-05:00

I'm still working on the Serenbe Project which is slated for installation starting at 7:00am on October 30 and spilling over into October 31 if need be. That's 7:00 am EST, which is very early. I plan on traveling to Serenbe on the 29th of September so that I can visit the site and see any changes that have been made by the blacksmith.

Sorry for the lack of pictures. The Microsoft Meltdown contributed to that, however, I understand that Blogger had its' own set of issues. More pictures are ready to be posted of the process of weighing the glass when these current issues with Blogger are resolved.

Microsoft Meltdown

2008-09-10T19:15:00.003-05:00

Sorry for the lack of posts these past few days....there has been a Microsoft meltdown on my computer. I had planned to post 4 images of the process that I use weighing the glass, but words will have to do tonight. I will attempt to post the information tomorrow in my next post. Somehow the computer does not want to upload to blogger, and it is very frustrating....especially when you are posting under a time constraint. Do you ever wonder if Microsoft has a clue about its products?

52 Days Left: Until Installation at Serenbe

2008-09-05T16:28:00.003-05:00

Tonight is the opening at Artwalk in Birmingham, Alabama. Several of my friends are showing at Artwalk and I'm going by and visit with them a minute or two.....then back to work tomorrow in the studio bright and early.

These are the friends who will be at ArtWalk this weekend: Julian Hazlett, Debra Riffe, Lisa Dunn and Donna Steele. I hope they have a good show.

53 days: More on the Glass Studio

2008-09-04T10:59:00.007-05:00

This is the latest post on the studio processes regarding The Serenbe Project. I talked with Robert Rausch this morning and we have decided that we will be installing on October 30-31. I can't wait to see the leaves in the natural light. It will be beautiful!

Go here for my lastest post about the studio

http://donnabranchglassstudio.blogspot.com/2008/08/cast-glass-serenbe-project-installation.html

Ten Basic Steps for Making Cast Glass Leaves: Serenbe Installation: 59 days

2008-08-28T20:58:00.010-05:00

I loaded ovens this evening. It took a while to get the glass loaded into the moulds. So, here is the process. I will post more pictures of the process in a future post, probably tomorrow.

Make an original model or pattern
Invest (pour) plaster into the mould (creates negative space in which to put glass)
Remove the pattern material
Dry the mould
Apply kiln wash to the mould & cure
Wash and dry the glass that will be used
Determine how much glass it will take to fill the mould (on a future post)
Weigh the glass
Fill the mould
Fire the kiln

The Cast Glass Serenbe Project Installation: 54 days

2008-08-28T15:40:00.009-05:00

Ok, I published this post on 9/3/2008, but don't see how to re-list it with its' correct date. Enjoy.

During this project there are a lot of studio processes that I have had to refine. I'm showing one today. These pictures show a process that I use after I have determined the weight of the glass that it will take to fill the mould.

Basically what I worked out is that I number the moulds, for this project, then I number the leaves that are in that mould. For example, in the mould to the left, mould no. 3, I numbered each leaf in that mould. Then, after I have determined the weight of glass that goes in each leaf (a process for another post), I don't have to weigh it each time. I just replicate what I did before.

This system has worked well for me, since I have several different moulds for The Serenbe Project. I made a total of 11 different leaf patterns. Since I keep a notebook page for each mould number, after I calculate the weight of glass needed for each leaf, I write that down on the page with that particular mould information. The next time that I cast in that mould, I just look the info up in my notebook, that gives me the total amount of glass that I need to fill each leaf in the mould, I weigh the glass, fill the mould and fire. I also mark the mould each time that I fire to casting temps (1500+degrees). This will enable me to track the performance of this mould material and I can determine how many times I can re-fire the mould. It also gives you more reliable cost information for calculation of retail pricing.

60 days: The Serenbe Project

2008-08-27T19:01:00.016-05:00

After the Bullseye glass cullet is washed and dryed, I store it like this next to the kiln and the scale so that when I get ready to weigh the glass, I can load the scales, weigh the glass and load the mould from the same place. Also, I don't have to move the moulds as they are very heavy.

This is Bullseye casting cullet on the left and Bullseye casting billets on the right. Bullseye is some of the best glass made. The billets have been cut on the wet saw, then washed, then stored

Ok, if the cullet is too large, it has to be made smaller and I do this with a sledge hammer and a garbage compactor bag (because they are thick bags). Safety glasses are a must.

I'm crushing the glass a bit here to make it smaller. The very small frit I use to help secure the wire.

What I thought would be a good idea was to blog about the remainder of the time from now until installation at Serenbe. There is somewhere around 60 days left until installation and today is DAY 60.

Tonight I applied kiln wash to the new 21" diameter mould and the wash will cure at 500 deg. I left the lid of the kiln propped open until it reaches around 120 and then I will completely close it. Another oven is just about ready to be unloaded (leaves). I added some amber color to these leaves. I left the lid open a bit on this oven also so that it would cool about 10 more degrees. Then I will remove the leaves from the mould, reload the mould and fire again.

Glass Studio Processes and The Serenbe Project

2008-08-26T19:31:00.012-05:00

These moulds pictured are still for The Serenbe Project. Take a minute and visit the Serenbe Community, it is a delightful place. After the clay model is removed from the glass mould, the moulds have to be checked to make sure there are no undercuts (places where the glass can become lodged). This pictures on the blog tonight show how I finish the moulds.

You can see the greenish gray area on the top edge of the mould. That is leftover clay that has to be removed. I finish removing the clay, and sand down the glass moulds

This is how I finish the edges and remove the remaining clay.

I then brush out the mould to make sure that it is clean before taking a warm damp rag to go over it one more time.

After the mould is cleaned like this, it is ready to be placed in the kiln to be force-dried.

I found these cool little paintbrushes at Harbor Freight Tools. They are good for a lot of things in the studio and they are so inexpensive, I just throw them away!

At this point, the mould is still very wet. The plaster material with which I invest the mould has a very short working time (under 10 minutes on a cooler day). This means that most days in the South, you better have your plan together when you begin to mix, because on a 95 degree day with high humidity, the working time is more like 5-6 minutes. I still like this material very much.

These glass leaves will be installed at Serenbe in late October.

Cast Glass and The Serenbe Project

2008-08-25T19:49:00.007-05:00

A quick post tonight because I have to get back to work. Last post, I discussed the problem with the wires as the glass becomes molten. I came up with a solution, which was great! Here are a couple of pictures that I took right after these leaves came out of the kiln tonight. The important thing was that the wire extend from inside the glass in the middle not on the edge where the glass is thinner. It worked!

This mould is the round one to fit the kiln. It has been force-dried and is ready to be cured at 1475 degrees for this kiln.

The Serenbe Project

2008-08-23T19:00:00.021-05:00

This was a very busy day in studio doing more work on The Serenbe Project , which will be installed toward the end of October. In case you have not read any of my earlier posts about The Serenbe Project , hop over there and check it out.

I was having trouble with the wires, which are embedded in the cast leaves, "falling" to the side. I came up with this solution, shown on the right, I drilled a little hole in the mould, and placed the end of the wire in the hole. So, when the other end of the wire is embedded in the glass, the drilled end acts as an anchor.

This is a close-up of the moulds and the embedded wires. This seems to have solved the problem.

I'm washing all of the cullet, getting it ready to place in the moulds. After I wash the glass, I put the glass in containers which are placed close to the kiln so that it is ready to weigh and place in the mould. This glass is Bullseye cullet for casting.

The other problem that I had was that the moulds that I had made were wasting kiln space (and electricity). The way that I solved this problem was to design a mould that was the exact size of the kiln shelf, which means that it used all of the available kiln space. I "dammed" the plaster with aluminum roof flashing mounted on a round piece of wood (this kiln shelf is round).

This is the new round mould which looks like it was a good solution. The clay leaves have just been removed (to the left of the mould). After trimming the mould with a dremel,
and cleaning the clay residue off of the inside of each leaf cavity, the mould was put in the kiln to dry it. This will take about 2 days. I blogged before about the Castalot mould material that I'm using. I really like this mould material.

More Bullseye glass being washed.

Beautiful Bullseye glass ,washed and ready to fill a mould!

Preparing Kiln Wash and Coating a Mould

2008-08-21T15:58:00.023-05:00

A couple of people have asked me how I prepare kiln wash and apply it to the kiln floor, kiln shelves and the moulds for The Serenbe Project. This time when I used the kiln wash, I took pictures of the process so that I could post here.

I mix my kiln wash according to the manufacturer's instructions, which was 4:1 in this case.

I mix kiln wash, a bucket at a time, so that when I need it, it is ready. I measure out the water that I need and the amount of kiln wash that I need. For example, if I have 12 cups of water, then I would measure out 3 cups of kiln wash. I always put the water in the bucket first and then sprinkle the kiln wash on the top of the water.

The picture (above right) shows the kiln wash floating on top of the water (before being stirred).

This picture (above) shows the kiln wash after I have stirred the wash some.

After I have stirred for 20 minutes or so, or until it dissolves, I apply the kiln wash to the mould (in this case), kiln shelf or kiln floor. Using a hake brush, I saturate the brush, lightly run the brush over the rim of the bucket, then lightly brush the wash across the mould in lines going toward and away from me. When the first coat is absorbed, which will be quickly, I apply the second coat at a right angle to the first coat, so I'm painting this on from side to side for the second coat. For these moulds, I only put three very light coats of wash. The number of coats of kiln wash that you use depends on the application. On the floor of my kilns, I applied at least eight coats. I reapply kiln wash to the floor about once each year, depending on how much each kiln is used.

The mould on the left is a mould to which kiln wash has been applied, the mould on the left has not had the wash applied yet. The hake brush is on the right hand side of this picture. The other little brush that I use to coat the inside of the leaf cavity is an old BBQ brush.

After I finish applying the kiln wash, I place the moulds in the kiln and fire to 500 degrees to cure the wash, WITH THE LID SLIGHTLY PROPPED OPEN WITH A KILN POST. When you prop the lid open, this allow moisture to escape from the interior of the kiln. This is the manufacturer's directions for this wash. No matter what type of wash you use, you have to dry it in the kiln before you can fire on the shelf or the mould.

Return to Blogger

2008-08-13T18:41:00.000-05:00

ok, a while back I wrote about blogging for artists and said that I had opened a blogging account with Go Daddy because they offered podcasting. The short story is taht I have returned to Blogger. I returned for several reasons. The primary reason is because the Go Daddy templates are very "fixed" (you know we artist do not like to be tied down), and because it is a very s l o w blogging servie. I was very disappointed with the service. Some of my friends told me that they checked my blog for studio updates, but they did not have all year for the images to load....it's time to go!

This is a lesson learned. Blogger probably will add the podcast feature later because they do offer a good product and the price is great!I plan to customize the template that I use on blogger, but until then....I will just blog.

Tara GlassArt Studio and "Reality Life" = Blogging

2008-06-12T07:25:00.009-05:00

Although there have been no posts here, this does not mean that I have not been busy. Indeed, I have. For the past several days, I have been searching and reviewing other blogging platforms (I hope to share that info for others). There have been other features that I have been wanting to use on my blog that are not possible with blogger (at least the free version). So, I went on a search and read and read and read. I think I'm ready to make a change, but sometimes it is what the techies don't tell you that is most important. Anyway, I have to take the risky attitude of nothing ventured, nothing gained, and I hope you will take a leap over to the Tara GlassArt Studio blog. All things equal, I will start posting at the Tara GlassArt Studio blog tonight. This new blog also provides my own URL and more exposure for the blog. The blogger blogspot will be left up so that this link will be provided and hopefully we will have more people taking part in discussions.

Tara GlassArt Studio blog, I think will be more "real". After all, isn't blogging really "reality life" in writing. One thing that I hope will be enjoyed is that I have installed a blog casting feature and will be using that as often as I can. That freature will make it "real" and also provides us with more of what I call "texture" in our lives. If I can learn the technical part of the blogcast, I will provide a blogcast from the Alabama Folk School, the week of June 22, when I go there to teach and to learn from my students.

So, as they say down South, saunter on over to Tara GlassArt Studio blog and take a gander. It will be fun. And, please tell me what you think!

A Summer Art Workshop in the Catskills

2008-06-04T19:38:00.009-05:00

My friends Cliff Simon , who is a set designer and supreme (no pun intended, he made Diana Ross' wedding cake, supreme(s), get it? Ok, it's time to go to bed) and Julian Hazlett just got back from the Catskills where Cliff took part in a workshop for painting of set designs. Cliff sent the pictures of his workshop at Cobalt Studios Cliff is really talented and I hope you enjoy the pictures. He is a professor in the Theatre Department at the University of Alabama in Birmingham.

If Wishes Were Horses, We'd All Be Kings.......Mother Goose

2008-06-03T18:59:00.004-05:00

The first person that welcomed us to the neighborhood when we moved to our current home was our young neighbor. She was 8 at the time. We have watched her grow and she turned 16 at the end of April. She has always been able to "out skateboard", "out bicycle", and do everything better than any boy in the community. Sunday afternoon, our doorbell rang and there she stood with her horse, Dudley, standing at our front door, on the front porch. She just wanted to show us Dudley and said that he got better gas mileage than her Toyota truck.

Today

2008-06-02T19:57:00.010-05:00

I just heard from my friend Julian Hazlett. He sent me an email to say that he had enjoyed a wonderful lunch at the Culinard Restaurant which had just opened at the Innovation Depot in downtown Birmingham, Alabama. We are planning to meet for lunch in the next couple of weeks at Culinard.

Posted my classes that I will be teaching at the Alabama Folk School, on the Cultural Alliance and heard from Bonner Wagnon who said I did a good job covering all of the details. I had attended a seminar taught by Bonner, that covered the nuances of entering information relative to one's career in the Cultural Alliance website calendar which is called Active Culture.

Talked to my good friend Debra Riffe today for a while. Debra is so funny. She makes me laugh at the most simple things and we enjoy swapping stories of the South together. She will be showing her very wonderful linoleum block prints this weekend at the Aldridge Botanical Garden Juried Art Show. I plan to go over and visit her at the show for a spell.

Debra and I often talk about why we need texture in out lives, especially Southern texture. More about that on another post.

Sweet Home Alabama

2008-05-30T20:41:00.007-05:00

In celebration of The Year of Alabama Arts by the Alabama State Council on the Arts, a few months back when Southern Living had written an article about my work, I was thrilled. Shortly after that I received an email from the Alabama Bureau of Tourism saying that they had sent out a notice in their e-news about the Southern Living article as I had registered on their site as an artist. Now, I find that my page is still there!! (I thought they would take it down at the end of 2007)

I love to garden. Today when I checked my small vegetable garden, my beans were up. I can't wait to taste that part of summer.

Birmingham Business Journal

2008-05-29T18:48:00.005-05:00

I finally picked up several copies of The Birmingham Business Journal from February 15 of this year so that I would have a copy of the article that they wrote about me working on my business plan. It is a very nice article.

This afternoon, my friend, Julian Hazlett, called me to say "Hello" and to ask what was going on. He had visited New York and has returned home. It was great to hear from him. We were discussing traveling to Selma, Alabama on Sunday for Kathryn Tucker Windham's 90 birthday celebration. Word has it that Kathryn has purchased 1000 combs and will teach everyone that attends to play the comb.

The Business of Art

2008-05-28T19:36:00.012-05:00

I have posted several times about the business side of art. This year, I have focused on the business side of art as it relates to web site development, revenue sources, business plans, etc.

In January of this year I attended a web summit entitled smARTist Telesummit. This was a web workshop that was organized by Ariane Goodwin and conducted on the web. It featured discussions led by experts on money, licensing, web design, marketing, taking care of yourself and many other valuable topics. smARTist Telesummit was very well organized and full of information.

Today, I was contacted by the staff of Ariane Goodwin and they requested permission to use one of my images in some of the follow-up marketing packages!!! Needless to say I was thrilled! I have Ariane Goodwin's book about writing an artist statement and it is an excellent resource. The book contains exercises that you do whereby you develop your own language for your artist statement. I have not finished the exercises, but I will be working on them and will post here when I'm done.

Tonight I have been working on a newsletter that will be sent to my mailing list. This is an email marketing program that I purchased from Go Daddy with "spam compliant" attributes. I'm excited to finally get this finished and I will be emailing that out later in the week. I feel like I accomplished something big today.

Monday Monday...but it is Tuesday Tuesday

2008-05-27T20:51:00.004-05:00

Today is Tuesday and I worked on the financial section of my business plan today. This week I plan to call on the gallery that represents my work, which is located in town. Short post today, gotta run!

Memorial Day on the Tennessee River

2008-05-24T21:15:00.015-05:00

Each Memorial Day Weekend, Decatur Alabama sponsors a hot air balloon festival called the Alabama Jubilee. Decatur is located on the Tennessee River in North Alabama and is a beautiful place.

These pictures were taken during the 2007 balloon festival. The first one is taken with a very large cotton field in the foreground and the balloons are off in the distance.

The second and third picture was taken as we got closer and the last picture was taken from the Tennessee River Bridge and you can see two balloons that look like small dots. We were returning home from a trip to

the farm when these were taken. My friend Debra Riffe planned to go to the balloon festival this weekend. I hope the weather was great in North Alabama for the festival.
The quality of the pictures is not that good, but I think you can see how beautiful is, particularly when you see them riding the wind over the river.

TGIF

2008-05-23T20:05:00.005-05:00

It's Friday and will be a busy weekend working more on the Serenbe Project. Tomorrow, the studio has to be cleaned and things put back in place. Then, it will be ready to go again.

What do you see when you look in the mirror?

2008-05-22T18:06:00.020-05:00

I received an email today from Bob Straka that contained the following story and I wanted to share the story and give Bob credit for a super challenge : pass it on

'With graduation season in full swing, it’s an opportune time to sample some wisdom from Steve Jobs, who gave the commencement address at Stanford University in June 2005. Here’s a snippet from what he told the students that day.

"For the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: ‘If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?’ And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something."

What do you see when you look in the mirror?

Thanks, Bob.

May 19, 2008 Summer and Teaching Glass at Alabama Folk School

2008-05-19T19:24:00.013-05:00

Today is Monday. I feel as though I am out of a cave, as I have been working on a very big project. More on that later in the year.

I'm doing some brainstorming for the class that I will teach at Alabama Folk School.
I will teach two classes. Each class is one week, and June 22 - 27, I will teach "Let's Kick Some Glass!!" and it will entail all of the basics of how to work in kilnformed glass. The class does not require prerequisites and will include basic design theory and basic studio practices. Glass selection, glass cutting and grinding, and firing schedules will be covered. I hope that we will have a good reception to the class and I think it will be fun.The second class, August 24-29, will be Mosaics: Telling a Story or Painting a Picture with Stones, Twigs, glass and ceramic tiles, broken china, yarn and anything else we can find.

One of the things that I love about the South this time of year is the rhododendrons in bloom. I took some picture of the ones in my yard and posted on the blog. They finished blooming this weekend and I'm glad I can share this beautiful picture with you.

May 6, 2008 Cast Glass, Carved,

2008-05-06T18:35:00.009-05:00

I am still going through exhibition applications and trying to make decisions. Had to pick up work today, as an exhibition closed on last Friday. Also have some correspondence to write then I will be done for the evening. It has been a long day.

May 5, 2008, Cast Glass

2008-05-05T18:55:00.015-05:00

Previously on my blog I showed how I formed the pieces of plastiscene to fill the crevices in the mold box. This first image shows the leaf in the mold box, which has been "dammed" and sprayed with PAM. I then mix the plaster with an electric drill and get ready to pour.

This picture shows the mold box after I have poured the investment into the box (covered the leaf with the plaster). If you look carefully you will see my respirator, which I use regularly.

Finally I use a level to shim the mold box to make sure that it will cure on a level platform.

This is the mold after the box is removed and the clay (plastiscene) leaf taken out. The clay was removed very easily. I anticipated some problem with this, but had none.

Today was spent doing a lot of paperwork. I am deciding what exhibitions for which to apply and this takes a lot of time. Meanwhile, here are some other photos of the cast leaves process. I have been taking a lot of photos to share. Until then.....

Cast Glass Leaves and the Serenbe Project

2008-04-30T19:51:00.004-05:00

I have not posted for a while because I have not remembered to post until right before I go to sleep at night. There has been so much to do. Just wanted to post a short one tonight. On Friday, the Southern Roots Exhibition closes so I will be getting that work back. Decisions have to be made about applying to some future exhibitions. Hope to have some new pictures for the next post. I'm still working hard on the Serenbe Project and have new models ready to invest. It seems as if every minute has been filled.

Cast Glass Leaves

2008-04-10T19:38:00.007-05:00

Back to the Serenbe Project: I have been working on the white oak leaf designs, thinking about the sizes and shapes. During this process I collected some white oak leaves and I'm drawing small studies of the leaves. I don't quiet remember who said that " it is in drawing that one sees". Also show in the picture is a sculpted white oak acorn. I continue to study and refine these forms.

Alabama Studio Weekend...Y'all Come!!

2008-04-08T19:33:00.012-05:00

This image is the property of Alabama Studio Weekend Website.

Robert Rausch, a designer with whom I'm working on the Serenbe Project, wrote last night and gave me the information about Alabama Studio Weekend. Alabama Studio Weekend is the celebration, advancement, and preservation of Southern culture. This type of celebration is part of the Slow Movement which I talk about sometimes. The three major partners of Alabama Studio Weekend are Alabama Chanin, Billy Reid, and Gas Studio. This is gong to be a great weekend, so be sure and check out all of the links.

I've been re-calculating the number of leaves of each size to be installed on the iron "white oak" tree which is the Serenbe Project. I think I will be increasing the number of different leaves that we will be making so that the tree will look more realistic.

Casting Glass

2008-04-03T19:53:00.003-05:00

Today I met with the Bessemer Development Board and they officially gave the "proceed" with the studio building. I hope that this will enable me to have another outlet for teaching. It was a productive meeting and now I have been asked to find other artists who may want to move into the building. They are offering spaces for $50.00 per month....and no that is not a typo.

Cast Glass: More about the Process

2008-04-02T20:15:00.011-05:00

Earlier in my blog I had posted about studio work in casting glass. In case you did not visit, it is in my earlier post on March 13, 2008. The next step in the casting is to "dam" the inside and outside walls of the mould box wherever there is a "join". In the earlier posts I had rolled "sausages" of plasticene clay and then took the clay and lined this portion of the box so that the investment (plaster) material would not leak out. It leaks out sometimes because, the wood does not perfectly join. This step is kind of like re-caulking your bathtub. I lay the roll of clay on the crevice and thentake my index finger and run it along the line to make sure that the clay is embedded in the cracks. You can review earlier blogs to find out about the Serenbe Community or go to I will post a couple more process pictures for the casting process on the blog with captions.

I am going to meet the Bessemer Development Board and a contractor at a historic building in Bessemer, Alabama tomorrow afternoon to discuss the rennovation of the building for artist studios. The next step in this process will be to recruit artists who need affordable space. The space will cost approximately $50.00 for 200-250 sf at this point. That is very reasonable and the project is exciting. I hope to do most of the mold pouring and pattern making in this building. So far, I do not have that many interns. Hopefully, I will get more responses to my ad. If everything works out, I plan to move my studio to this building later in the summer.

I had the pleasure of visiting with my friend Debra Riffe today. I enjoy our "Salon" sessions and encouragement as well as constructive criticisms of different things that are happening with our careers. It is great to have her as a friend . Her web site can be found in my "Salon" section on the right hand side of the blog. Because studio work is so often done alone, it is great to get feedback from others and hear what they are doing. Debra is teaching a session this Saturday on linoleum block printing and I plan to attend the session (because I missed the one last fall) with my friend Julian Hazlett, who is another very talented artist.

Other than The Serenbe Project, I talked with the Alabama Folk School director, Megan Huston today about the classes I will teach this summer. These classes are listed on the right side of the blog and I hope I will have enough students to register. The classes will be fun and Megan and I discussed blogging from the class and posting some pictures of the classes. I look forward to teaching and enjoy it very much.

The Slow Life

2008-03-24T15:40:00.012-05:00

I haven't written since March 13. My husband and I left town to visit our farm in Tennessee for some much needed rest and relaxation. It was wonderful to be in slow motion and now I have to get back into the "groove" of things. Although we did have work to do, it was a very different pace. When I need to "fill my well" and recharge my creativity this is where I go when I am at the farm: http://www.donnabranch.com/sanctuary.html When I cannot go there in reality, I can visit that special place virtually. I call this place my secret sanctuary. My secret sanctuary is always featured on my web site, so if you want to visit often just go to http://www.donnabranch.com/sanctuary.html

Cast Glass and "The Serenbe Project"/Inside the Studio

2008-03-13T18:30:00.015-05:00

Today I wanted to show more of the process of "The Serenbe Project"http://www.serenbe.com/. I have posted an ad for interns. Last week I was contacted by the Redevelopment Authority of a small town located near where I live and they wanted to offer me space in a building that they will use as studios. The Auburn Rural Architectural Studio http://jcsm.auburn.edu/whatsHappen/RuralStudio.html has completed a plan for the arts district in Bessemer, Alabama. This was good news for me, because I knew if my intern project was successful, I would soon be out of space. I am meeting with the director of the project tomorrow and hopefully will be able to use the space if interns want to work at their leisure. This space will be invaluable to me.

The first thing that I will do is to work out a prototype in order to define the process. The mold material that I had originally intended to use is not refirable, so I have ordered a material that is refirable. In a large project like this, the expense of using a material that is non-refirable would be prohibitive.

In the photo above, I am rolling out "sausages" in order to "dam" the mold box. This ensures that the investment material will not "leak" between crevices in the mold box. After the mold box was made, it was shellacked. The mold box is a minimum of 2 inches larger than my pattern. The pattern is made of No. 1 Plasticene and after you get the material warm, it is fairly easy to work with. Plasticene is an oil-based clay which does not dry. That means that it is reuseable as long as it does not have mold material embedded in it.

Cast Glass Leaves and Internships for the Serenbe Project

2008-03-10T19:55:00.011-05:00

Internships are available for the Serenbe Project http://www.serenbe.com/. The following is the ad that will be distributed beginning tomorrow.

Internships available

Award winning glass artist, Donna Branch, Tara GlassArt Studio, is taking applications from individuals who wish to serve as interns on a project known as “The Serenbe Project”. Serenbe is a planned, sustainable, green community located 32 miles outside of Atlanta, Georgia (http://www.serenbe.com/).

The Serenbe Project will entail the casting of glass leaveshttp://www.donnabranch.com/ and the installation of the leaves on an iron “white oak tree”. The project is to be installed in late October 2008.

An Applicant can be any age or level in their artistic experience and does not have to be a professional artist; interns only need to possess a good work ethic and a passion for learning. An internship could be accomplished with only a few hours per week and can be done at the interns own home/studio in the first phase. Interns may work on any phase of the project or the entire Project.

Experience gained by this internship will be knowledge of project organization, pattern making, mold making, making glass frit (crushed glass pieces), firing & cooling schedules, installation, experience in a public art project, and general studio practices.

If interested, please contact Donna Branch at donnabranch@taraglassart.com or 205.477.6661

You may visit The Artist web site at http://www.donnabranch.com/

You may read about The Serenbe Project at http://www.donnabranchglassstudio.blogspot.com/

This ad will also be posted on the first page, right hand side, of the blog throughout the project

Slow Movement....So, What is it?

2008-03-08T15:58:00.016-06:00

According to Wikipedia, the Slow Movement first began when a protest against the opening of a McDonald's restaurant in Piazza di Spagna, Rome inspired the creation of the Slow Food organization.

The Slow Food Movement is part of the larger Slow Movement which has existed in some form since the industrial revolution. According to http://theworldinstituteofslowness.com/aboutus.html the slow movement is the perfect antidote for the poison of our current hurried, fast world and a great way to get in touch with oneself.

If you are unsure where to start, start slowly, and be sure to check here, http://theworldinstituteofslowness.com/aboutus.html. The slow lifestyle is whatever you make of it. So, take some pieces of it and integrate into your lifestyle and discard others that do not work well for you.

For instance, the slow food movement heralds the enjoyment of regional flavors, regional produce and celebrates traditional regional foods, which are often grown organically. An interesting organization in the slow food movement is Southern Foodways Alliance, http://www.southernfoodways.com/ and of course, they celebrate "The Cornbread Nation", as every Southerner does.

I encourage everyone to learn about this movement and ways that we can improve our relationships, our families and our planet. It is very important that we all realize that by becoming a slow energy saver, we can focus on what we need to do relative to evergy saving to reduce energy use and pollution.

It's easy, remember, just start the slow movement with yourself....by downshifting.

http://www.slowmovement.com/

The Slow Movement...So What's NEW In the South?

2008-03-07T16:12:00.010-06:00

The Slow Movement web site identifies the slow movement as a "movement which aims to address the issue of "time poverty" through making a connection." The South has finally arrived.

http://www.slowmovement.com/

A lot of people are wondering "why" the slow movement. What is going on with people? Why are we so stressed? Why is everyone so irritable?

Everybody needs connections. We need connections to family, friends, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents. We need connections to community, to neighbors. Not to long ago people were very connected. Where I grew up, the family backyard was a regular meeting place. Many families grew their own food. What happened? Our society has become so face paced that we are constantly rushing off to the next meeting, next task, next errand. What are we doing? The Slow Movement http://www.slowmovement.com/is a growing cultural shift toward slowing down...downshifting as it were.

Southerners, I think, have always experienced "the slow life" to a greater extent. Now, it is nice that the rest of the world is catching on. http://www.donnabranch.com/

The Serenbe Project & Cast Glass Leaves

2008-03-06T12:55:00.018-06:00

In preparation for The Serenbe Project, today I ordered new relays for two of my ovens and investigated casting materials and decided to use Castelot from Olympic Color Rods, http://www.glasscolor.com/ Olympic Color & Supplies were great and very helpful on the phone. Castelot is an investment material for glass casting http://www.glasscolor.com/casting/castalot_sheet.aspx

Also I have written an ad for internships for this project. This will be an important part of the project and I hope that it will offer artists who have a passion for learning an opportunity to explore the anatomy of a project like The Serenbe Project. http://www.serenbe.com/ if anyone is interested in a Serenbe Internship, they can reach me at donnabranch@taraglassart.com

Turn Your Passion into Profits

2008-03-03T18:41:00.017-06:00

On Saturday I attended a wonderful seminar entitled "Turn Your Passion into Profits". There was so much discussed it made my head spin. My friend Julian Hazlett and I rode together. Once there, my very good friend, Debra Riffe, met us. Debra is an extraordinarily talented individual who creates original linoleum block relief prints and needlepoint art which also contains her designs. Her images are fantastic and can be found at http://www.driffedesign.com/ Debra can also be found on Etsy at http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5005930 I thought that was very smart and like the idea of Etsy. Julian's work is at www.home.earthlink.net/~julianhazlett/maxie and he creates amazing tiles with women's faces. He is very talented and I enjoy his friendship so much. It is great to have good friends with whom you can discuss ideas and get other opinions. Julian, Debra and I have discussed starting a Salon. We talked about that may be one way that we could stay more focused and accomplish more. I like the idea. That is one of the things that was stressed in the seminar on Saturday....to make sure that you have a good support group...one that you know will be honest with you about your work, goals, decisions. We learned so much. As I had previously written, I have really been working hard toward honing my business skills as an artist. As my time at my day job winds down, it is time to learn everything I can about doing an excellent job as a businessperson. Sometimes this is mindboggling to me. There is always this juggling act and so many hats to wear. Below is part of what we learned at the seminar which was sponsored by the Cultural Alliance of Greater Birmingham Alabama. http://www.cultural-alliance.com/ The staff of the Cultural Alliance is very helpful and they are so intent on seeing the area artists succeed.

Michael Bell and Bradford Kachelhofer from The Modern Brand, LLC presented at the workshop and they were very knowledgeable. They can be found at http://www.themodernbrand.com/ They were very enthusiastic and had a lot to offer. We learned that you are your number one salesperson...that you represent your art...to inform people about your art at every opportunity; the importance of networking; determining your audience; printing resources and web resources press releases.

It is very difficult to take care of everything when you are the studio owner.....then there is working full time. It is very difficult, but you have to keep your eyes toward your goal, do one thing at a time, and full steam ahead....and no, there are not enough hours in the day. Debra Riffe and I discuss this often. She is a great friend because she thinks critically and doesn't mind being "the devil's advocate". We bounce ideas off of each other and talk about keeping each other focused.

Today, on Monday, I had the pleasure to hear Truett Cathey, Founder of Chik-Fil-A. It was an amazing speech and was very uplifting. Birmingham Southern College, Samford University and University of Alabama in Birmingham Business Schools sponsored his visit. Mr. Cathey spoke of his convictions, both religious and moral. We were greeted at the doors with "the cows" and it was great. He spoke of living your convictions everyday, treat people like you want to be treated, and go the extra mile. It was a great lesson in business and in life. I came away from the luncheon, truly inspired to be a better person.

During this time that I have focused on business a little more, I have realized that I must develop other items so that I will have different price points. I think this is what the value of the Serenbe Commission will be because I will have the opportunity to discover. Now, I am designing smaller pieces. I am not finished with the designs, but am very excited about the prospect of this and it will be good for business.

Workshops I will Teach at the Alabama Folk School

2008-02-28T17:18:00.006-06:00

If you will look to the right of this post, I have listed the workshops that I will be teaching this summer, as of this date. I'm really looking forward to teaching and love doing it. I'm also working on the news release for Serenbe http://www.serenbe.com/ and will post as soon as it is completed. I've been looking for someone to work with me on my web site and I have found a couple of people that I believe will do a good job. My friend Debra also has been looking for someone and we shared the name of the guy that will help me. We often share resources. It is great to have a good friend with whom you can talk. Sometimes just by talking with someone else the solution becomes crystal clear. The link to the Alabama Folk School is: http://www.campmcdowell.com/FolkSchool/ Check it out!!

The Serenbe Project

2008-02-27T19:52:00.019-06:00

I am very excited to announce that I will be collaborating with a designer and another artist on The Serenbe Project. Serenbe is a "green" sustainable community and you can learn more about it here: http://www.serenbe.com/ The community is located about 32 miles south of Atlanta, Georgia. Here is a map describing the location. We have been awarded this commission to build an entrance way to the Serenbe Property Development offices. Serenbe wanted something that was more like a landmark than a sign. The project will be located on the corner of Selborne Lane and Garny Way and will grace an open breezeway. The project is to build a "gateway" which will resemble a white oak tree. The white oak will be adorned with glass leaves.

I am very excited about this project and hope that it will help in building my springboard for leaving my day job in about 1 1/2 years. It is often frustrating when you want to be in the studio all day creating, but work a full time job. Basically what you end up doing is working two full time jobs. Anyway, I'm very excited about creating full time in a short while. My Mom always says "to every thing there is a season" and I do my best to remember that. I have worked extremely hard for the past five years to move my career forward. You can check out my work and my web site at http://www.donnabranch.com/

Since I have been devoting more of my attention this year to the business side of an art studio, today I drafted a news release for The Serenbe Project. I will be posting the news release here after the designer and the other artist "sign off" on it. Robert Rausch, an award winning designer, whose studio is in Tuscumbia, Alabama, contacted me to ask if I would be interested in the project. Naturally, I was thrilled that Robert wanted my involvement in the project. We are working with a blacksmith, Jason Smith, from Alabama. You can visit Robert Rausch's web site at: Stellar Idea http://www.stellaridea.com/ and GAS http://www.gasphoto.net/ Hopefully, I will have a web site in the next couple of days for the blacksmith and can post his link. Over the next few days and months, I will be posting often about the development of the Serenbe Project.

"The Laramie Project"

2008-02-21T20:54:00.021-06:00

This writing ties into what I was writing about in my previous blog about the many talented people in Alabama. I wanted to write tonight about the University of Alabama Birmingham (UAB) Theatre's presentation of "The Laramie Project" written by Moises Kaufman , members of the Tectonic Theater Project, and directed by UAB student Luke Harlan. The show will run February 20-23 at 7:30pm and at 2pm on February 24, in the Alys Stephens Center's Sirote Theatre.

You can find all of the details here: http://main.uab.edu/show.asp?durki=116374 which is the site of the press release from the University. The Laramie Project was written in reaction to the 1998 murder of University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard in Laramie, Wyoming. The play is based on hundreds of interviews with the town's citizens. Please use the link to read about the awards that this young director has won.

I had planned to go with my friend Julian, who paints these wonderful tiles, see the tiles at www.home.earthlink.net/~julianhazlett/maxie to see "The Laramie Project" tonight, but have taken a cold and sore throat. I'm very disappointed that I will not be able to go because after the play, the cast will hold a discussion about the making of the production. Cliff Simon, who is also a friend of mine, is the set designer and hopefully he will be a guest blogger one evening. It would be great to hear about his process of creating the set for this play, what he was thinking, and how he arrived at his designs. His site can be found here http://www.cliffcakes.com/sets/ Cliff is very talented guy and we are very fortunate to have him teaching at the University. Visit the Sets Website at:http://home.earthlink.net/~set-designer/sets/

Perhaps this blog will be a place where there can be a dialog about the issues explored by the play. If anyone sees the blog, please feel welcome to post a comment. I hope there will be a post by someone who attended the play and the discussion afterwards.

Teaching at the Alabama Folk School

2008-02-19T17:52:00.001-06:00

As I wrote the other night, I will be teaching at the Alabama Folk School at Camp McDowell in Nauvoo, Alabama. Camp McDowell has been a camp and conference center for the Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Alabama. Since 1948, people of all faiths and walks of life have used it as a place to rest, learn, grow, worship and play.

In 2007 The Alabama Folk School was added to the Camp McDowell offering and I am truly honored and excited to have the opportunity to go there to teach during Summer of 2008. It is an 1100 acre playground of forests, canyons, and waterfalls. Located in the northeastern quadrant of Alabama http://www.campmcdowell.com/FolkSchool/Directions.htm the Alabama Folk School promises some wonderful scenary. Megan Huston, Director of the School, is great to work with and if that is any indication, we will have a great class. It has been a longtime puzzlement to me how Alabama can have so many talented natives and yet, for a long time had no folk school. I am very glad about this. I will write about Alabama natives on another post. sometime.

I will teach two classes. Each class is one week, and June 22 - 27, I will teach "Let's Kick Some Glass!!" and it will entail all of the basics of how to work in kilnformed glass. The class does not require prerequisites and will include basic design theory and basic studio practices. Glass selection, glass cutting and grinding, and firing schedules will be covered. I hope that we will have a good reception to the class and I think it will be fun.

The second class, August 24-29, will be Mosaics: Telling a Story or Painting a Picture with Stones, Twigs, glass and ceramic tiles, broken china, yarn and anything else we can find.

That is a long title, but I want anyone who reads this to be inspired and motivated to come and spend a week with us. This class is going to be a blast! At this point, I plan to lead the class on some walks around the campus to find unusual materials that they can use. I have not completely decided on each and every project and I may give a choice of projects. Hopefully, we will have time to conquer a class project that we can leave at the school as contribution. Each person will leave with at least one (large) project or a couple of smaller projects.

The last class that I taught was at the Birmingham Museum of Art. http://www.artsbma.org/ and, yes, when you go to the main page, that is a glass gallery. More on that at another time.

Where I will be Teaching this Summer

2008-02-15T17:37:00.003-06:00

Just a quick post today. I am posting a photo of a piece of my work. The title of the piece is Relic of a Memory No. l and it is cast, kilnformed, carved with battuto, sandblasted and acid-etched.

Just got word that I will be teaching at the Alabama Folk School this summer. Please join me in a later post for announcement of the dates and titles of the classes. You can visit the Alabama Folk School here:http://www.campmcdowell.com/FolkSchool/ You can visit my web site at http://www.donnabranch.com/

February 14

2008-02-14T12:48:00.001-06:00

This is my first blog post and I'm glad I finally started my own blog. Lately I've been working on my business plan. That means looking for demographics, market segments, defining customers and doing a lot of writing. Tomorrow the Birmingham Business Journal, http://www.bizjournals.com/birmingham/ is going to publish an article about me doing my business plan. At a workshop organized by the Cultural Alliance, http://www.cultural-alliance.com/ I was asked if I would mind being contacted by Birmingham Business Journal so that they could do a feature article on me. Of course, I was thrilled to talk with the editor of the paper. She was very nice and complimentary during the interview and made it a fun time. Anyone who works in the arts knows how important it is to obtain good publicity. It just happened by being in the right place at the right time and having a previous relationship! It is very encouraging when something like that happens. Sometimes, it is hard to remember that it is important to constantly work on this part of the studio when you would rather be in the other part studio. I'm looking forward to the article.