Watch the video here.
This
week's Trash to Treasure project is some art glass. This idea was
discussed on a couple of the online mini groups I belong to a few
years ago and it is so much fun to do. Since we are working with an
open flame this is definitly not a project for the kids to do
unsupervised but with proper supervision I think it should be fine.
That is for a responsible adult to decide.
The
art glass we are trying to replicate is like the stuff you might see
in a museum or in the lobby of a nice hotel. Here is a link to some
online examples of this type of art glass.
Since
the city of Seattle is home to one of the best (at least I think he
is) artists in this field we see lots of this type of art glass when
we visit the Seattle area. There are pieces for sale in lots of
places and some are priced so that a normal tourist or collector
could bring an example home with them. This makes this project a fun
one in miniature because you can display your finished creation
either in your dollhouse or make a mini museum or art fair for it to
be on display. Now that I think about it an art fair might me a fun
mini project for my “someday” list..... (Just what I need, more
projects on that list LOL)
The
plastic used in this project is the stuff that so many things we eat
seem to be packaged in lately. I got both grapes and cherry tomatoes
in this packaging on a recent trip to the store. It is also common in
the deli department. We need the clear stuff that is fairly sturdy. I
have found the part of the container that has ridges on it gives some
fun results, so use all parts you can.
I
always use the Sharpie brand pens for this project, I have no idea
what other pen types would do. I love Sharpie pens anyway they are
handy to have around the craft room and come in so many wonderful
colors anymore. You can buy them individually and get just the colors
you want or what I do is watch for the big sets of them to come on
sale. The color will be intensified by the heating/melting process so
even the colors that barely show when you put them on the plastic
will show up nicely on the finished piece.
I
always work with a small bowl of water on my work surface when doing
this project. First the plastic does catch fire pretty easily and a
quick dunk in the water will put it out. Sometimes you can even use
the piece if you dunk it fast enough. Also I like to cool the pieces
immediately so I drop them into the water to do this quickly. I find
they hold their shape better and don't droop while cooling this way.
I have also gotten some really neat textural effects by re-heating
the wet pieces, the water and ink sometimes work together and bubble
a bit. It doesn't always happen but when it does it can be very
pretty.
After
I finished filming I experimented with cutting some pieces into
different shapes and you can see the results in the photos at the end
of this post.
Just
have fun with this project and let the plastic and heat work their
magic to create some really pretty minis.
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