Wednesday, October 7, 2015

Hugs and Kisses from Mummy




Hugs and Kisses from Mummy by Lisa Vogt
C’mon, admit it. We all love to get hugs and kisses especially when they’re sugary sweet treats from our favorite mummy. You’re going to think I’m silly, but I had more fun bringing this raggedy creature to life than I’ve had in a long time. It’s true. While dressing this grinning little fellow in ill-fitting wraps, I found myself singing along with the radio and generally floating around my glass studio. So much of what I make requires careful planning and detailed accuracy. Most of the time that type of precision is exciting, but other times it’s a tedious labor of love. To the contrary, while making this night walker I found that using sloppy fitting pieces actually brought out more of my mummy's friendly, freestyle personality. 

And the best part is yet to come; this seasonal sensation is super-fast and scary easy to make.
Here’s how.

Cut and stack the glass.
The eyes have it. They give your mummy character and flaunt his mischievous mood. Whether you want your mummy to be adorable, goofy, or even scary, the best way to communicate it is with the eyes. To make these eyes I cut two ¼ inch squares of white glass. Then I cut two 1/8 inch squares of black glass with a dichroic coating. Stack the dichroic on the white and fire to a full fuse temperature so the glass balls up making round dots. When making eyes, I usually make a few extra so I have several to choose from when it comes time to give my characters personality.  

Next, cut the base layer out of black glass.  Then cut a small, clear window for the mummy’s face. Stack the clear on the black base. Now cut a series of random, elongated triangles, out of white glass. I cut some of my strips with a straight edge and others without, so they had subtle curves to them. These curved pieces let the black base peek though after firing. Play with the placement of the white pieces covering most of the black base until you get the loose style that feels right and makes you want to sing along with the radio. Trim the strips by cutting off any excess glass.
  
Nip opal orange stringers to size and tuck them in between the white strips of glass for snazzy color and dazzling contrast. 

Now for the creepy spider. Cut the spider body out of a patterned dichroic glass. Bend black stringers in the flame of a candle. Nip them to size and arrange them to look like legs. Stack the spider body on top of the bent stringers.  
Fuse.
 Fire to a full fuse temperature. Slump in a rectangular mold.

Slump.
The beauty of glass fusing is that the fun never ends. Let your imagination unravel and soon you’ll be dishing out hugs and kisses from a mummy too!

Until next time, fire away!
Lisa 

For this 7 inch x 14 inch Mummy plate I used System 96 glass. Wissmach 96-02 Opaque black for base, cut to 7x14. Wissmach 96-03 Opaque white for bandages, cut in strips. Spectrum 100sf clear for face, cut to size. Opal orange stringers for details. Opal black stringers for spider legs. Scrap dichroic for the spider body.

Want to SEE how this fun plate is made? Check out the video!
Get Fired Up! With Lisa Vogt
You-Can-Do-It Video Series
Get Fired Up! 2 Hugs & Kisses from Mummy by Lisa Vogt

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