Glass Fusing - WOW! So Cool!

I keep finding so many fun things to do!  

On August 17th I attended a GLASS FUSING class at The Devil's Workshop taught by multi-talented artist (and ad-hoc photographer!) Melissa - check her out on Twitter @ladywildebeest .


I've never tried anything like this before - and it was so cool!  It's much easier to do than you'd guess.  Basically, you use a miniature pizza cutter thingamajiggy to score where you want to cut.  Then you use some kind of pliers more or less to snap off the piece you're working with.  You can add layers, paint them, add more layers, and use different colours, shapes and sizes.  These four pictures are from Aug. 17th.  You can see my six pieces (pendants) in their pre-kiln stage.

Today, August 29th, I finally got around to picking up my pieces after being fired.  The firing takes several hours, and then of course the glass needs a lot of time to cool down.  So cool to see how they all turned out!!!  

I like some of the pieces more than the others, but since the whole endeavour was a new thing - an experiment - I've got to say I am quite pleased with the results!  And keep in mind, I was winging it - I had no clear plan or idea of what I wanted to make.  I just wanted to do something creative.  The three blue ones in the centre are my faves.  I really enjoyed doing this and cannot wait to give it another whirl!

Netflix: Misc. Documentaries 4

This was a bit of a disappointment.  Bukowski got drunk, smoke, wrote, got laid, and then did it all again the next day.  Blah blah... worked at the post office... Blah blah... got tons of rejections slips... He got drunk again, used the word "cunt" lots of times, wrote some more... Blah blah... 

WOW!  So many interesting back stories!  This was fantastic - tons of talent, lots of dark insight into the music biz, a sharp look at a different time and place, and some wonderful bits of trivia about so many songs I know and love (Gimme Shelter and Sweet Home Alabama to name a couple).  Highly recommended!

Pretty good, but... It would have been nice to know more about the internal change - did they REALLY renounce all thier prior beliefs?  Or did they just get rid of the outward symbols in order ot make it easier to find a job.  I think there was sincerity to their actions/changes, but a bit more introspection would have been welcome.

I love dogs, so it's no suprise that I liked this (and my dogs are both rescues).  The focus of this movie is on shelter dogs being trained as guide dogs, service/therapeutic pets.  The dogs are trained by women who are in prison, which was interesting to learn about.  There were vignettes of the people who received the trained dogs in which they discussed the positive impact the trained dogs had made in their lives.  A feel good flick.

Ahhh... stories of redemption... people who make a difference.   The film focused on lifers who volunteer in the hospice program, serving other inmates at the end of life.  I was misty eyed several times.  Worth watching.  I wish the movie had explored questions about sentencing, the roles of prison (punish or correct?), three strikes laws, justice and race, etc.  but I guess that would've been another movie entirely.  Worth watching.

Netflix: Misc. Documentaries 3

This was absolutely fantastic!!!!!  A frenetic stroll through the heartbeat of a place as it morphed and reinvented itself, while setting the scene and defining what's cool.  Five stars!!!!!

Another winner!  I had no idea what to expect and I was too lazy to change the channel.  As I watched, the movie became more and more captivating.  An engrossing story/slice of life.  

Highly recommended!

Interesting yet disturbing.  Scary to have another reminder of just how influential pharma companies are.  And, while I'm not one for male bashing, it's worth noting how the topic is framed almost exclusively as a woman's health problem: something must be *wrong* with her.  

Maybe guys should  just - oh never mind.

A real disappointment.  It was basically just a love fest - and I do adore Calvin and Hobbes, but I didn't need to watch a movie about them.  Better off just rereading some of the old comics.

Meh.  It was nice to see how fond the man and the elephant were of each other, and all warm and fuzzy that he wanted a good home for Flora (and I like elephants), but, dude - what were you thinking when you got an elephant as a pet and then had her in a circus for most of her life?  Glad she got a home, but the owner did little to elicit sympathy.

IMPROV!

YAY!  Tonight was the first class of an intensive Improvisation course I just signed up for.  It feels so good to be back at it!

I've taken many improv classes over the years.  I've done a couple at Second City and did the first four levels of improv training at the now defunct Bad Dog Theatre Co.  In either case, I've been away from it for a few years.  Man, have I missed tapping into that side of my brain, into that type of creativity.  So much fun!

Like so many of the other things I've been doing this summer, it's not about prowess or talent - it's about doing something enjoyable (but if I may say so, I'm not terrible at it!)

We did a number of games and activities (making an offer, saying yes, listening, establishing the space/scene) that I've done before and it was cool to feel so comfortable right from the outset doing these things.  Throughout the course of the evening, I became a peeping tom, a raccoon hunter, a champion bowler, and I spiked some chick's drink with a roofie...  Okay, none of that really happened, but all of it was believable for that moment.  

There was great energy in the room (classmates are various ages, various levels, various backgrounds), and everyone was laughing quite a bit.  Awesome!

I can't wait for the next class!

I ain't no Picasso!

The latest trend around Toronto seems to be drop-in art studios, painting workshops and themed "Cocktails and Canvas" events at bars/pubs around the Greater Toronto Area.  (Painting as a social thing, in a bar doesn't appeal to me at all - I prefer a quieter environment when it comes to being creative).  

Now, like so many other things, I quite enjoy painting (with acrylics)  despite my obvious lack of talent.  Years ago, a roommate and I used to work on canvases together whenever we were bored.  Every picture we made was awful and sooner or later they all ended up in the garbage.

I realized that lately I've missed painting, missed getting in touch with that type of creativity.  So, when I discovered PAINTLOUNGE, I immediately signed up for a couple of workshops.

Now, PAINTLOUNGE is not quite "Paint By Number" for grown-ups...  They give you a sample picture (rated by skill level as "easy", "moderate" or "challenge") and suggest colours and approaches, but you can put your own spin on it.  (You can also go in for solo work and do your own thing.)  They supply all materials, and it's no big deal if you spill some paint here or splash a few drops there - BONUS!

Using a blow dryer to get the background to dry more quickly.

This was Monday night's masterpiece (my picture is on the left).  I wish I had done the background stripes differently - fewer colours and wider bands.  Also my birds look fat, especially the one on the far right!

Again with the blow dryer (but this is from Tuesday night's session).

My painting is on the left - I rather like this one!  I like the colours I used instead of the 

purples and pinks.

I plan to keep up with this whenever I have time (PAINTLOUNGE is not too far from where I live).  I find it totally relaxing and the time just flies by.  I doubt that I'll ever paint anything worthy of framing (never say never), but prowess isn't the point - having fun and zoning out for a few hours is.

* * *

UPDATE - August 22nd:  I had so much fun the first couple of times I went to Paintlounge that I returned today and brought my friend Katrin with me.

Before changing into painting T-shirts and smocks.

Getting started...

Yeah, we totally rocked it!

Netflix: Misc. Documentaries 2

Terrific!  An important topic and a well done documentary.

Wow!  What a guy, what a story, what a movie!  Definitely worth watching.

This one got to me... and I'm not even a cat person.  If you like animals at all, this is worth seeing.

Even though this is an important topic, the film was dull.

This was good.  An interesting story of exploitation, agribusiness and injustice.  It'll piss you off (as it should).