tools of the trade: tapestry loom
I have a tapestry loom. It’s homemade. There’s no fuss or frills, and it’s likely to rust at some point since I decided not to paint the pipe after I’d cleaned it. It has a lot of character though. I like the crusty, worn look of the pipe, reminding me of the old, well-used and […]
this week in the studio: 7/1/11
Well, I’m back at it…kinda…with lots of distractions…as if I can function any other way, right? Over the past several weeks I’ve been running back and forth between here (South Texas) and Houston. My super woman MIL recently decided to change careers again (she does this every few years) and has decided to unload […]
this week in the studio: 09/10/10
You know, it can’t be a dull week in the studio when a tropical storm blows up out of absolutely nowhere, the eye passes within spitting distance of your town, and causes you to loose power for 13+ hours. I can’t describe how thrilling it was to try and work with no AC and dogs […]
defleecing the rats
We have an ongoing problem here at Chez Idaca: we are incredible pack rats. You see, the problem is that both Todd and I were trained to create art with quite literally anything that comes to hand. This comes in handy at times when improvisation is necessary, but unfortunately, it also means we tend to stockpile […]
this week in the studio: 9/3/10
Since it’s the end of August, and most everything is dead and crunchy outside from lac of rain this week in the studio has been focused on taming the chaos that is our office. The shredder has been working overtime, but the file cabinets are now organized and the endless piles of paperwork are significantly […]
dichroic glass
Dichroic glass is pretty nifty stuff to play with. More than likely, you’ll have seen it without really knowing what your looking at. Overly simplified explanation: Dichro is basically glass that has had several incredibly thin layers of metal and/or metal oxides fused to it’s surface creating colorful patterns that shift color depending on the angle […]
misadventures: pets at work
See this sweet and innocent looking little kitty? Yeah, that one there. There’s a reason my dad calls her the “debble kitty”. Now, imagine if you will: a beautiful and sparkling clean studio (we’re imagining remember) rows of fresh leaves that have just received their last coating of PMC and are almost dry enough to load into the kiln […]
PMC
Precious Metal Clay (PMC) is made up of fine particles of metal held together with water and an organic binder to create a clay-like substance that can be molded or formed similarly to the clay used in ceramics. Once the clay is dried, the piece can be fired in a kiln. During the firing process, […]