My Studio Shot

A couple of months ago, I was asked for a photo of me in my studio.  I decided that instead of making it pristine, (which is so not me), I'd get it taken, "as is".  So here I am.  With my too many stringers, shorts (short glass rod pieces), bags of murrine, bits of glass, broken beads that I need to revisit, wire, miscellaneous tools plus other odds and ends.  Yes, I gather it around me on my reused kitchen table from the 80's that is covered with a steel sheet.  I want to be able to reach lots of options.  And you might recognize my re-used cutlery container from the dishwasher.  With its sections, I can sort some of my short rods and keep them together - plus move them if needed.

When I posted this photo on my Facebook page, a lot of the discussion was about my hood.  I bought the metal hood from a former student who was getting out of lampworking.  We added the two light tracks on the inside and had a switch wired in too.  I can move the lights individually along the track and the flexibility of each lamp helps me aim the light in the direction needed.  You don't see the two magnetic bars (screwed into the metal) which hold many of my steel tools.  I love having my tweezers, pliers, shaping tools, hemostats and others visible and in easy reach.

Retractable Lights Studio Table

I saw this retractable lights studio table by Cypress based interior design firm Ais Studio. With a few modifications, doesn't it seem like a dream for glass and other art forms? The lights go out when the central doc is lowered and you can retract half or all of them. Stylish and fireproof would be so cool. I'd love one for teaching students.

Studio Clean Up- OMG!

There's an old movie called "What About Bob" that focused on the key words, "baby steps". So with that in mind, I started working on cleaning up my studio.

I knew my table top needed to be one of the first things and secondly, my little single drawer that my table has.

So this first photo is of what came out of my over stuffed little drawer and the lower photo shows how small that drawer actually is.

Pulling out the contents reminded me of the skits of the clowns piling out of those teeny tiny mini cars. I think I could have filled one of those cars with my 'stuff'.

Did I find treasures? Well, yes and no. I knew all of it was in there, plus extra. And it didn't let me down. There was more of what i knew was there and lots of extra packaging and miscellaneous that had to get tossed out. (which is good for the soul, by the way)

So now I can find things in that drawer. It is being kept tidier and I now can close it easily. Beforehand was a bit of a struggle. So here is one of my baby steps. And although I fight it, neat and clean sure does make life more easy.

See you tomorrow!

Complete Lampwork Set up Available

Unfortunately, another lampworking friend is closing up her shop to follow other avenues. I'm sad to see her go. Here are her complete photos of what's available.

You can contact her for all her details at psanthuff@gmail.com.

Complete Lampworking Set-up

Complete lampworking set-up for both soft glass and Borosilicate. Includes the following and more, all in excellent, gently used condition:

EQUIPMENT:

• Nortel Red Max torch with top-mounted pre-mix minor burner and marvering pad
• 12-foot hoses and all connections, gauges, flash-back arrestors, etc. for both oxygen and propane tanks
• 27” x 55” steel desk work space with two handy drawers
• Creation Station with universal arm and hand rest
• Olympic kiln digital programmable Model HB 86 E, 13 x 13 x 20 (outside dimensions) with stand
• Custom-made exhaust system featuring a galvanized hood with mounted fluorescent light and a duplex electrical outlet to handle attaching additional lighting if desired, Suncourt DB 210 in-line duct fan and ducting to fit standard 36” double-hung window. Separate carbon monoxide detector can be included.
• Propane tank

TOOLS and SUPPLIES INCLUDED:

• Good supply of mandrels including 1/16” x 9” & 12”, 1/8” x 9”, 5/32” x 9”, button mandrel, custom made mandrel holder stands.
• Suede welder’s apron
• 2 pair high-quality lampworking eyeglasses
• Good selection of various tools including different size tweezers, mashers, graphite marvering tools, button and lentil graphite molds, Zoozii Kalera Trio and Lentil Trio brass molds, glass rod holders, etc.
• Several glass-making books and DVDs
• Linoleum used as floor protection (if desired), and a naugahyde protective screen (to stop flying glass) on custom-made supports (see photo)
  
  

SEPARATELY AVAILABLE:

• ¼ - ½ lb. lots of most colors of Moretti glass and much larger quantities of white, ivory, black and clear
• Selection of frits, powders, and other goodies
• Large selection of beads -- semi-precious, glass, crystal (Swarovski), bone, etc.