Signs of Spring, Fused Glass Ikebana Bowl

Footed, fused glass Ikebana bowl

A few days ago the temperatures dropped 40 degrees in three hours as a low pressure system passed through, and the next thing we knew, we were covered in a blanket of snow several inches deep. Today, the sun is shining, the birds are singing, and the flowers are beginning to bloom.

One of the first signs of spring that comes to our yard are the delicate miniature irises that grow along our rock retaining wall. To bring some of that spring beauty indoors, this morning I headed out with scissors in hand. When I came inside with my prize of three white and purple irises, I found the perfect bowl to put them in -- a footed, fused glass bowl that, with the addition of a pin frog to hold the flowers upright, became the perfect Ikebana bowl.

Two weeks ago, I attended the Glass Craft and Bead Expo in Las Vegas. One of the classes I took at the Expo was a mold-making class with Petra Kaiser, using Kaiser-Lee board. Kaiser-Lee Board (KLB) is a material that is easily cut and carved with "tools" like a putty knife or a spoon. In Petra's classes, she teaches how to carve the KLB into building blocks that can be used to create a variety of different molds for glass fusing.

The iridized glass reflects the colors of the rainbow.

The bowl has a base of clear iridized glass. The irid glass's metallic coating gives a rainbow sheen to the finished piece, which is decorated with chips of colored glass, glass frit, and vitrigraph stringers. I think the simple, organic design is very complementary to the irises.

I don't typically sell any of the fused glass pieces that I make when taking classes, so this bowl has a home, at least for now, on our dining room table. However, I do plan to make more of these lovely bowls!

Happy spring!

Dana

Resources: 

Update! 6/29/15 - Petra now offers an ebook that includes how to make the mold for this bowl, as well as other projects. http://fuseit1.estoreadvanced.biz/education/e-book-multi-tasking-molds-with-klb/

To find out more about Kaiser-Lee Board, classes with Petra Kaiser, and free tutorials using KLB, check Petra's web site: http://www.kaiserlee.com/

The best place I have found for pin frogs is Aftosa, on line: http://www.aftosa.com/

What in the world is Ikebana? Check wikipedia! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ikebana

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