I've spent the last week or so applying metal leaf to the next piece in my Artifacts series. I decided to use variegated metal leaf. I think once I add the next few layers, the variation in the leaf will make the piece look more aged.

Here's my latest batch of glasswork. It's from a couple weeks ago but I still wanted to share it here. I fired the oval bowl I cut out a few weeks ago as well as some experiments. The smaller red and black circle is to experiment with some candle draping molds we got. The other smaller pieces are experiments in how small pieces work in a full fuse firing schedule. Here's the kiln before firing.

 And here it is after firing. Most of it worked, though there were a couple of failures.

Here's what the painting looked like when I went out this morning.

It was almost dry, just a bit tacky in a couple places. So I set to work taking the contact paper off. It was harder than I thought. I actually had to cut through the paint to do it.

It took a lot longer than I expected but I'm glad I did it when I did. The paint did leak under the contact paper in a couple places. It was still wet when I cut the contact paper off so i was able to wipe it off. If I had waited longer the paint would have dried. Here's the end result!

I'm really happy with how it turned out. I still need to put on a clear layer of acrylic medium, sign it, and varnish it. None of that will really change how it looks though.

I'm back! We took a trip to Ohio at towards the end of July to visit family, and we've spent a couple of weekends in Springville, California with my parents. I did some glass work on those visits (I'll share that work later). But now I'm back home and back in the studio - er, garage and dining room table.

I made some progress with my Montana de Oro painting. Here's where I left it before I left for Ohio.

I wasn't happy with how the area around the anemone turned out. I decided to try to block out the anemone with contact paper and do another pour around it. Here it is with the contact paper cut out.

The contact paper is extra shiny. I painted over the edge of the contact paper with acrylic gloss medium a couple times to seal the edges. Then I mixed a few different colors and poured them over the piece. Here are some pictures of the pour as it's drying.

I've been experimenting with my pours in this piece. Usually I think my paints down with water, or water mixed with acrylic flow release. In this piece I've used acrylic pouring medium. The pouring medium keeps some body to the paint. The end result is a layer of acrylic instead of the stain painting I usually do. The colors typically stay more vibrant. It also captures the way the colors flow together.

I'm excited to see how this one turns out. Unfortunately it won't be dry until at least tomorrow. Then I get to peel up the contact paper. Hopefully the paint didn't leak underneath.