Hi and welcome to our first blog!  It’s Becci here and although I am writing this first blog, I’m hoping that Rich will take his turn too occasionally……..

It’s hard to know where to start so I figured I’d just share with you what I’ve been doing in the studio this week, which is micro-casting.  This involves the use of powdered glass painstakingly added to a silicone mould with drops of water (and hopefully no air bubbles….) and then frozen.  After a few hours, the glass is ‘popped’ out of the moulds and placed on a kiln shelf ready for firing.

You may wonder how on earth the heat of the kiln doesn’t reduce these frozen objects into puddles of nothingness.  I still wonder that!  All I know is that it works and, it’s very satisfying.

Putting the glass powder into the moulds takes hours.  This is because I have to do lots of moulds at once otherwise it’s a waste putting the kiln on for just a couple of small items.  Despite taking hours though, I love it.  It’s an opportunity to sit in the studio, which is lovely and warm, put on the radio and just engross myself in the process.

I have spent hours perusing the internet for moulds to use.  My favourite is this Halloween cat.  He’s come out rather well, even down to the fur on his back standing on end.  I’m very fond of him but, I have no idea what to do with him yet.IMG_1904

My next favourite is these black roses.  I love gothic art and have yet to find a way to introduce it within my glass pieces but I think with these black roses, I can make a start.  I have one or two ideas and when they come to fruition, I will let you see the final product.

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I also love the cream and pale pink roses.  They have a sort of ‘antique’ look about them.  As with the cat, I’m not quite sure what to do with these yet – they are so beautiful though, I think they need to be the centre of the piece rather than just the decoration.

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I’m also including pictures of these daisies.  I like these because they are fun, bright and happy-looking.IMG_1905

The possibilities for micro-casting are endless.  You can see other micro castings I have done on the shop page – the blue soap dish has micro-cast shells on its edge.  In the meantime, I’m going to keep the radio on, the radiator blasting and will continue to indulge myself in the art of micro-casting.  I’m looking for a bat mould – but I’m having trouble sourcing that!

Until next time – when hopefully this will be written by Rich…..

Best,

Becci x