JAM FINE ARTS

I am exploring ways to reuse bottle glass. I won't be making one of these, but I admire the technique.

Pictured - studio assistant, Zuul, suffering maximum ennui as we sort through scrap stained glass in Wisconsin  today. I got 50 lbs of blue and green glass.

I deleted my Facebook account. I liked Marketplace but I have a lot of other sources for preowned, salvaged, defective, overstock mirrors, and glass, I found my favorite source of stained glass scrap on Marketplace and I bought a lot of used beads.

Unfortunately, Facebook has announced that it will allow more hateful language on its site. As the mother of a beloved AuDHD gender fluid child, I don't want to surround myself with that kind of discourse. The place was a minefield of phishing, security attacks, and catfishing accounts. I also hated the intrusive ads. Relatives reposting bad AI and misinformation  was cringe. I expect it to get worse. I love my family and friends and acquaintances, but garbage that floods FB is not worth my time.

Amazon used to list open box and returned items under listings for new mirrors. That is no longer the case. They now have that stuff listed somewhere else on the site but it is hard to find and I'm not having any luck finding mirrors.

Today, I checked Ebay and Etsy.  Nothing.

I ordered a used 18" mirror on Mercari for very cheap.

On Etsy I discovered Behrenberg Glass Company. I am on a waiting list for large defective glass chargers.

After businesses do inventory, I often find deals on mirrors because they discover they have been sitting on some mirrors they are not using and they are taking up warehouse space. I purchased several 30" mirrors for very little in late December/early January 2025. 

I also keep an eye on business/warehouse liquidation sites and Grafe Auctions.

The following copy is for the Saatchiart.com listings for Lichen 1, 2, & 3.

Enjoy the refreshing colors of the natural world with this radiant beaded art piece, meticulously crafted to evoke the delicate patterns of lichen on a 30" round convex acrylic mirror. This invigorating artwork features a vibrant mosaic of woven beads, each placed to mimic the intricate designs found in nature.

The convex mirror substrate not only enhances the luminous beauty of the beadwork but also brings a dynamic, three-dimensional quality to your space. Perfect for those who appreciate eco art and upcycled creativity, this piece transforms everyday materials into an evocative celebration of the environment.

The harmonious blend of biomorphic and nature-inspired elements makes this artwork a unique addition to any space. Plus, with convenient hanging hardware on the back, installation is effortless. Elevate your decor with this captivating fusion of mosaic and bead weaving—where environmental art meets innovative design.

This piece is part of a series of three. Purchase one or two more to create an enchanting wall installation.

I am back from vacation visiting loved ones and doing a little hiking and exploration of Montana. Montana is gorgeous in the summer.

The Charles M. Russell Museum in Great Falls, Montana was fun to visit. Russell was an epic western painter, whose art is a snapshot of life in Old West Montana in the later part of the 1800s. The museum also featured precious exhibits of historic photographs of native Americans. The Russell Museum displayed on an incidental wall an exquisite Bierstadt which took me by surprise. Theirs is a scene from the Sierra Nevada mountains which are quite a bit to the south and west in California. I was delighted to encounter this treasure in Great Falls.

I am working on updating JAMfinearts.com. The portfolio has to have a landing page with an index of series and similar types of art work. As it is, a visitor has to scroll too much. 

I am also scrounging around for more salvaged mirrors. I will make more Canopy pieces and one more Lichen Pattern as they come in. Eventually, I will devote a wall in the house to the series and take an installation photo. The Lichen Pattern pieces will be listed on SaatchiArt.com. They are light and easy to ship.

I am weaving more green, fluffy, hyperbolic tiles to add texture to some of the mirrors in  the canopy series.

I am also taking an Intro to Sustainability class to see if I want to invest in  a certificate in that field.

I submitted Canopy 2 for this show. I also plan to show Canopy 1 at the Elmhurst Artists' Guild's Summer show.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

NOTIFICATION OF ACCEPTED ARTWORK: Wednesday, July 31,2024 by 11:59 p.m.

LOCATION: North Shore Art League, 620 Lincoln Ave., Winnetka, IL 60093

DROP OFF: Tuesday, August 13, 2024, 11:00 - 1:00 p.m. SECOND FLOOR GALLERY. 

EXHIBIT OPENS: Tuesday, August 13, 2024

GALLERY HOURS: 
7 days a week, 9:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m.

OPENING RECEPTION: Thursday, August 22, 2024, 6:00-9:00 p.m.

SHOW & TELL SALON: Thursday, August 29, 6:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m.

LEARNING SYMPOSIUM: Sunday, September 22, 2024, 1:00-5:00 p.m.

PICK UP: Sunday, September 22, 2024, 12:00-1:00 p.m. and 5:00-6:00 p.m.

Artists are responsible for on-time delivery and pick up of their art. All work left beyond the pick-up date is subject to a $10 daily storage fee.
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I'm hoping this comes to an Imax near me soon. My kids can go see Bey and TayTay in the other theaters.

Photo: Picture of shards of Tiffany Favrile glass in the collection of the Queens Museum.

I have been busy fashioning scrap stained glass that I have been collecting from all over into mosaic tiles. 

Fun Fact! Stained glass artisans often don't bother to use their scrap glass and there are a lot of them out there trying to unload it. I visited a stained glass shop and school that had boxes and boxes and boxes of scrap. After looking through maybe three boxes the proprietor showed me more and also said there were full crates outside. I was dumbfounded. I took two boxes, but should have grabbed more.

I'm guessing if you are making stained glass projects according to patterns you don't have time to go in and sort your scrap and reuse it.

I started by sorting glass shards into more or less the color palette I will be using. Then I started cutting and shaping the reddish glass into tiles for a maquette. The warm colors in the palette are rosy and pinky and, unfortunately, rarer in stained glass. But I have enough for the maquette. I was unmoved while working with the reds. Ho hum.

Good yellows are extremely hard to find. Yellow stained glass runs amber or has an acid green hue mixed in. Neither of those will work for this project. I am mixing some glass paint to approximate the hues I need for the project. I'm painting repurposed clear sheets of glass that I've cut into tiles. If I get the commission there is an expensive glass paint company that will custom mix paint colors for you. I will invest in those then.

For the last three days or so, I started processing the blue scraps. Dear Reader, cutting and shaping the many varieties of blue glass I've collected has been an immersive and heady delight. Every time I toss a new tile onto the done pile, it's like gazing into an increasingly deep and enchanted pool. Just gorgeous. I have plans for this glass.

Oh! and I'm really excited about this new translucent grout. Normally, I hate grout, but this stuff is The Answer. No, it's not the cheesy glitter grout.

Thanks to Lynne Kornecki of ArtBeat for interviewing me for ArtBeat's Artist Spotlight. Click the logo above to visit the article at ArtBeat. Text of the article follows:

The opening reception for Elemental Impact is Friday, November 17, 2023 from 6 to 9 pm at the Epiphany Art Center's Chase Gallery. This is a group showing of Chicago Sculpture International and will feature the work of 34 sculptors. The exhibit was curated by K. R. Fowler. For more information follow this link to RSVP and get more information.

​I will be showing  "Arctic Ice Sheet" from the Floe Series.