Sun energy powered my glass kilns

We've been utilizing renewable power from the sun with the solar panels we had installed on our roof last fall. After they were installed and we had trees trimmed back our electric bill was reduced to $20 a month. That's the minimum charge from our local electric company.

When I fired up the glass kilns last month to create glass trays from recycled louver glass I wonder how much the electric bill would be in July. Now I know as I received the bill recently. Only $30 more than what we would normally have to come up with.

We had the PV panels installed in October along with a solar hot water system. The panels were generating a little more than what we were using. Through the net metering system we were basically able to run the meter backwards. Then accumulated energy produced was used when I powered up the glass kilns last month.

Knowing what I know now I would have invested in two additional panels for the roof in order to save power to use when I turn on the glass kilns for fusing and slumping glass.

Request for Green Products

I had a request recently from one of the resorts on our Kohala coast to show them samples of recycle glass trays for the "green" bungalows. If they like what they see they would order a dozen or so. I felt since I hadn't secured a job in the accounting field yet this project was something I needed to pursue.

OK, simple enough. I'd create a plain, as in no color, prototype made from recycled window louver glass. You may also know this as glass from jalousie windows (see photo). Almost every building in Hawaii has these types of windows due to the need to control intermittent breezes to cool a home or business.

I've been given bundles louver glass in varying lengths over the years. It's nice to work with since it is fairly thick and comes in consistent 4-inch wide strips. Almost all of the glass I am given has some amount of cleaning required because it is used, however the louver glass always comes with fine paint specks. The most common method for painting buildings is spraying so the glass come to me with a fine layer of paint that I must scrape with a paint scraper.

One of the many benefits of working with recycled glass, besides it being basically free is that I get exercise for my arms when scraping the paint from glass. I always try to look at the positive side of any situation.

Louver glass comes in a variety of styles and colors. There is the basic style that is clear, then is comes with a tint, kind of a smoky grey, plus textured clear. For this project I used a clear glass that was textured on one side. I fused/slumped two layers with the texture sides facing each other. The finished pale green tray had very small sparkly bubbles that were captured within during the fusing process.

It is so much fun getting back into working with glass after almost two years as an accounting student. And BTW the hotel loved the look of the trays, but decided to pass on the project at this time because they hadn't figured out how they were going to mount these in the shower stalls? So I learned from this project to ask more questions before offering to produce custom samples. Plus get a deposit for production of prototypes.

Since I was on a roll I made more of these trays, adding color and embossed design elements. They are available for sale at the Firehouse Gallery.

Starting a new career - using my left side of my brain

My studies are coming to an end the middle of this month. I've been taking accounting classes for five semesters now, some online and some I drive 120 miles round trip to attend. I'm a better student than I was when I was in my early 20's. Gone are the days of sipping daiquiris instead of attending lecture classes. Going back to school has been fun and fairly easy.

I was fortunate enough that the college transferred 15 hours credits from my BFA toward the accounting degree so I didn't have to take another semester. I'd encourage anyone to attend college classes no matter how old you are. I'm a perfect example that you can teach an old dog new tricks.

Learning junkie and painting

I think I'll always be a learning junkie. Since I graduated with my BFA in 1981 I have continued my education attended workshops and classes relating to business, marketing and similar subjects, along with taking creative classes like learning to paint.

As a student I was in the design division of the fine arts department at the University of Kansas, not the fine art department. My concentration was in structural fiber, aka weaving, so I never took any painting classes while in college. Hard to believe that a person with a Bachelors Degree in Fine Art was never required to take a painting class. However that's the way it was when I was in college.

My first painting class in the early 90s was a beginning watercolor class taken from well-known Hawaii artist Marcia Ray. I wanted to find out if applying watercolors to paper worked the same way as dyes did on fabric and yarns. I learned there were no similarities to watercolors and dyes. I do remember my final project, a still life painting of a bowl of mangoes, looked pretty flat.

I took more of an interest in painting since I found a close-up appreciation of acrylics while volunteering at our local arts council gallery. So in the mid-2000s I took a beginning acrylic painting class from Mary Hinck who holds a MFA in painting. I had met Mary many years ago and always like her personality and her very large abstract paintings, so I jumped at the change to take a class with her. She showed us the basics and set up still life arrangements in class. I did learn about applying acrylics to canvas and working with mediums, which I was clueless about. After that class I came to the conclusion that realistic painting was not my style. A couple of years later I took an abstract painting class, only to be told I should be teaching the class.

After working with acrylics in my recent collages on canvas (image above: "Seascape", 18 x 14" collage/acrylic painting with handmade recycled cast paper and coconut fiber) I feel that oil paints may suit my purposes better. I like to work with the (acrylic) paints when they are still fluid, so I'm thinking oils. I remember in grade school that smell of turpentine working it's way up from the basement when my mother would host her painting group at our house. I also remember the same smell, which I liked, as a teenager at a friends house where his mother was an artist. However do I really want to invest in new mediums? I'll keep it in the back of my mind and when the timing right I'll pursue oils.

Smartphone = iPhone

It's Spring break so I'm taking a break and posting again. I'll try to post more often by utilizing the alarms on the iCal (calendar) on my new phone. I had been wanting to upgrade my old flip phone as it looked like a dinosaur compared to the phones the "kids" had on campus. Our best provider for coverage of wireless phone service on the Big Island of Hawaii is Verzion, and I really wanted an iPhone since it would sync with my Mac. But Verzion didn't offer the iPhone because Apple only offered it to AT&T customer....until last month.

I used my $100 upgrade allowance thought Verizon and went for it. My monthly wireless bill only increased $30, so I felt it was worth it. Now I'm able to access the Internet anywhere that there is a phone signal. The phone also has built-in GPS, which is really handy. I could have paid an additional $20 if I wanted the GPS to tell me where to turn. Or another $20 if I wanted to utilize the phone as an Internet server. For now I went with the minimum, technology changing as fast as it does, who knows what I'll be talking into in a year.

I'm really happy with the bells and whistles, and all the apps available. I've also found that the ring tone I selected that came with the phone is a favorite of many others. Standing in line at the post office or grocery store I find myself digging in my backpack for my phone when I hear
my phone ring, only to realize that it was another person's phone.

Happy New Year!

It's the start of a new year.
My new year's resolutions include creating more art. I've been hitting the books since going back to school almost 18 months ago taking accounting classes at the University of Hawaii. My left side of my brain needs a rest and I know creating art will do the trick.
Hope everyone has a great and successful new year.

"Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man." ~Benjamin Franklin

Planning for group art show in Sept. 2011

I was honored last year when I received an invitation to be in a group art show at Wailoa Center, the State of Hawaii Arts and Cultural building Hilo on the Big Island. I accepted and started on sketches for pieces larger than I usually work in so to accommodate this spacious art gallery.

Unfortunately a week ago all ten artists were informed that the two coordinators of the show were bowing out as they took on more lucrative opportunities to further their careers. The show would be canceled unless someone stepped up to the plate to coordinate the show. Not wanting to miss the rare opportunity to display my work at the best art gallery space on the island I volunteered to be the lead coordinator for the show which was already titled "Big Island Style".

I feel comfortable taking this on as I had already been doing a similar process with the art shows at the Firehouse Gallery. Plus this show had far fewer artists to manage. I can easily manage the the printed collateral such as postcards and catalog since I have years experience as a graphic artist in my printing company back in the 90s.

I will have to recruit new artists to fill the slots of the original coordinators, however this shouldn't be a problem as there are so many talented and professional artists on our island. I have a few in mind as I am writing this today.