Use Museum or Quake Wax to Secure Your Breakables

Most artists who work with sculpture are aware of museum wax or quake wax as it is called on the west coast. I have had the same jar for years and only a little bit is needed for your breakables.  The wax will not damage wood or other surfaces but it takes some effort to remove it. It can be used for your china as well.  Just form a few ball sized pieces with the wax and set them equally spaced on the surface where the object will be, press the base of your object on it and twist lightly.

Click here to see a sample jar of museum wax.

Crushed Glass Paves Way to Better Roads in NSW Australia

BY NATHALIE CRAIG
17 Aug, 2011 12:00 AM

In a first for regional NSW, glass crushed and processed at Tuncurry's new glass processing plant has been used on Great Lakes roads.

A total of 100 tonnes of glass was used at the two demonstration sites, an amount equivalent to more than 550.000 stubbies. One of the two demonstration sites is Hawks Nest's Tuloa Avenue as well as Glen Ora Road at Nabiac.

The recycled glass was used in the asphalt as a partial replacement of sand.

The processing plant is part of a regional strategy to provide a recycling solution for glass bottles and jars collected from Great Lakes, Taree City and Gloucester councils.

"It's about sourcing local markets and local materials," Great Lakes manager of waste, health and regulatory services John Cavanagh said.

The processing plant is funded by the Australian Food and Grocery Council's Packaging Stewardship Forum (PSF) and the company JR Richards and Sons.

It will recycle more than 4500 tonnes of glass collected through council kerbside recycling systems annually.

Read the full article here.

Trelawny Jamaica Residents Get Creative With Glass Beads

FALMOUTH, Trelawny:


THE HEART Trust/NTA's Falmouth Vocational Training Centre (VTC) is equipping residents with skills to become entrepreneurs and to serve Trelawny's burgeoning tourism industry, recently offering a training programme in the old and beautiful art of glass bead making.

Approximately 18 persons from various communities in the parish recently completed a three-week course conducted by international expert, Professor Kudjo Owusu from Ghana, who has practised the art for some two decades.

Recycled glass bottles were crushed into fine powder, and the material used to create beads, mainly for jewellery. Participants were also taught how to make the clay moulds and kilns, which are necessities in the bead-making process.

The hope is that persons trained in the skill will start small businesses or boost existing ventures, by producing craft items that are unique and sustainable.

Participants in the glass bead-making course at the HEART Trust/NTA's Vocational Training Centre in Falmouth fill clay moulds with powdered glass to be placed in the kiln for the heating process. The three-week course was conducted by Professor Owusu.

Read the full article in The Gleaner here.

The Wall Street Journal Discusses Bottle Trees

August 12, 2011

Bottle Trees Join Grand Tradition of Pink Flamingos, Garden Gnomes
The Blooming Things Are Good All Year, If You Like That Sort of Thing.
By GWENDOLYN BOUNDS
 
It's the ultimate in low-maintenance landscaping: a tree that blooms all year long, needs no water or pruning and never dies.

Sales of man-made "bottle trees" are flourishing among homeowners wanting something more interesting in the garden than a birdbath or gnome. Styles vary, but most trees are crafted from steel with branches capped by colorful empty bottles.

The trees have long been a fixture of rural Southern yards and in Caribbean island communities, where property owners commonly decorate real—but dead—trees with bottles.

The manufactured versions, which can be short or tall, are popping up everywhere from New York to Alaska. Many are hand-crafted by people who are into welding and are sold on websites such as thebottletreeman.com and bottletreecreations.com. Gardener's Supply Co. says bottle trees made in India are one of its top sellers in garden decor, a category that has been growing 15% annually, the company says.

"Bottle trees are the modern pink flamingo," says Felder Rushing, a garden author in Jackson, Miss., who is writing a book about the trees. "People are bored of the plantings we have. And you can only have so many naked goddess statues out there."

Bottle trees have their shortcomings. They can blow over if they aren't anchored well. And bottles must be positioned carefully on branches so they don't collect rain. And the trees aren't necessarily pest-resistant: "You'll get caterpillars going inside the bottles to make cocoons," says Jerry Swanson of Princeton, Wis., whose bottle trees are now standing in 34 states.

Read more of this very interesting article here.

ModRocks Recycled Glass Pebbles

I came across these interesting clear recycled glass pebbles by ModRocks.

According to the website, "Consumer bottles are crushed into small pieces, tumbled and then mesh mounted onto 12" by 12" interlocking sheets. Average sheet thickness and individual chip size is approximately 1cm or 3/8" each."

"These are 100% post-consumer recycled glass, and since there is no melting involved, very little energy is used in the production process."

"The clear color plays well with whatever light source is available, and they pick up grout and surrounding colors beautifully. We show a few different images here of the same product. The large photo is the tile grouted with grey grout and there are two closeups of the product grouted with white and with grey."

For more information, visit the ModRocks website.