53 days: More on the Glass Studio

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

Glass Studio Processes and The Serenbe Project

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.

Workshops I will Teach at the Alabama Folk School

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

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.