Japanese Tomb Found with Glass from the Roman Empire

The Huffington Post has a fascinating article on Roman glass beads being found in a Japanese tomb.

"They are one of the oldest multilayered glass products found in Japan, and very rare accessories that were believed to be made in the Roman Empire and sent to Japan," researcher Tomomi Tamura told AFP. "The gilt artifacts, which are 5 millimeters in diameter, contained traces of the chemical natron, which Roman craftsmen used to melt glass." "A natural salt, natron was also used by the Ancient Egyptians in the preparation of mummies."

Click here to read the full story.

Instructional Video on Bottle Cutting and Grinding

I had not checked Youtube for a while and recently came across this interesting video (hisglassworksinc) on bottle cutting and grinding. The artist cuts and grinds wine bottles and creates drinking glasses.  He uses a Covington 12 inch flat lap grinder for the grinding steps.

Click here to watch the video.

"Sculpture and Design with Recycled Glass"

Just a short note to let everyone know that the book has been doing amazingly well and it is being sold all over the world! It was recently picked up by a trendy book store in a commercial district in Lagos, Nigeria.

Class on Becoming a Professional Artist: May 9th and May 16th

I am teaching another session of this class. We keep the class size small and personal so everyone has time to ask questions, etc.

May 9 and 16th 7-9 PM Washington Lee High School

Learn what it takes to become a professional artist and the do's and don't of preparing your professional resume. We will discuss how to properly enter juried shows, art licensing, proposals for book, agents, art grants and avoiding art scams. Leave with a solid overview of potential opportunities and career tracks.

Arl. Res. $49 Arl. Sr. $35 Non-Arl. Res. $65 Non-Arl. Res. Sr. $49

http://www.apsva.us/adulted

Artist Scams-DO NOT ACCEPT ANYTHING FROM A SCAMMER

I came across a post about artist scams on an artist blog site and the author seems to suggest playing out a scam is ok. The artist says she figured out the email she received was an artist scam but decided to play with this scammer.  She brags that she went as far as to accept the check but did not cash it and kept it as a "souvenir."

This is really an incredibly unwise action by this artist. Please note that no artist should be accepting anything from a scammer or giving out your personal address.  Do you really think law enforcement officials will believe your response that you were just "playing with a scammer" when you accepted that check?  DO NOT DO IT. You will look like you are a willing participant in this scam.

Do you have a favorite broken glass sculpture or glass vessel?

Did you know that most broken glass objects can be recast into a new sculpture, paperweights or decorative tile? A large percentage of my commissioned sculptures begin this way!  I love working with all the different types of glass.

A Recent Commission: Orange Murano Glass

A recent art client had a favorite large orange Murano glass vessel that was damaged in a move.  They wanted a taller sculpture so I created a "Glass Flower Reborn" work.  I love the color orange and I think the sculpture turned out beautifully.

 It is 14 inches high at its tallest point. The glass was frosted on one side so I turned some of the pieces over to give the sculpture more depth. The orange color did not shift color during casting (a sign of a high quality glass).  I then used silver foil to give some added embellishment to the "flower."