Clayton Hill Studio

Posted on June 14, 2017 by claytonhill

T.G.I Summer!!!

Finally – some Michigan sunshine! Chloe met the big pool. We even tried getting her in, to float on a raft … Based on the flailing and wrestling match to get her back on the deck, I’d say she didn’t like it. So, she has her own wading pool on the deck … which she loves.

And then we made dinner … an impromptu chicken salad: (shredded chicken, carrots & parmesan cheese, pepper, chives, sautéed mushrooms, diced water chestnuts & pickle, a touch of mayo), on a lightly toasted sandwich. It was good!

Of course, we played with puppies … Some of them are starting to open their eyes! Smile As we roll into next week, we’ll start the always entertaining (and MESSY) process of introducing them to gruel!

And, then I painted a bit in the studio … Love them! So, now it’s time to see what the kiln does with them … Fingers crossed!

Happy Summer!!!

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Posted on June 8, 2017 by claytonhill

CowBell & the Baboon Aszzz …

Chloe got through her first heat. Good golly it was painful! I needed to take pseudo-affected ibuprofen through-out the whole ordeal! So, let’s just describe the hot-mess, horror story with her rear end swelling to a situation x300 % base-line, combined with irritated, raw-looking redness, and my own ovaries and hormones screaming in sympathetic protest! So hideously swollen, I ended up buying special ‘panties’ for the girl. Yep, $30 and some velcro-magic later ~ and it was all under wraps! Cuz, really … Who wants to see that level of discomfort??? OK … here you go(!), but I warned you! … It. Is. SCARY!!!

I Know… I KNOW(!!!) … You Cannot UNSEE THAT!!! Well, there ya go! The pain and trauma I’ve been going through during Chloe’s first ‘cycle’. [I never said this was a family-friendly/SFW site …] But, Chloe is coming back from the dark-side. Parts are retracting, sh*t is shrinking, and body-image is almost back to plump-girl-norms … I have a PTSD appointment. And, CowBell is once again chasing Yorkie-sisters and snoring like a COPD/WWF –champ!

So, I made a few stamped ring-dishes tonight … My therapist approved! Glass = Good Therapy! Winking smile

Wow … I’m not sure I can take any more of these ‘cycles’ … But here she is, all back to her normal, goofy-self! My sweet Chloe CowBell …

***PS – I’m pretty sure IT was strobing/pulsating ‘911’ or ‘S.O.S.’ in it’s hay-day … Just sayin’…

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Posted on June 7, 2017 by claytonhill

Life in our zoo …

I played a bit in the studio tonight … Working on more reverse enameling projects. I have a lion (or llama – you decide) spoon rest, an elephant ring dish, and two stamped plates in-the-works. I hope to combine reverse-enameling with crackle glass on the plates … We’ll see …

I also fire-polished my tile cabs … Now to drill holes, attach bails and or wire-wrap!

And – a quick pic of one of our pups … one week old and full of cuteness!

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Posted on June 2, 2017 by claytonhill

Staying Busy …

Pretty busy week here at Clayton Hill … Our Tubby had babies on Monday! Strong, healthy tawny and blue pups … and Mom! All are doing great! Miss Tubitha likes her some food, she does! Which is a blessing – as she likes my cooking (calories), along with kibble and puppy food! Just look at all that squishy-faced LOVE … OMG’osh!!!

So, while I’m taking my turn at pup watch, I plotted out pendants from my murrini blanks. I luv them! [Not pictured playing, but here she is – and please, don’t worry … Chloe is loving her playtime with Ceasar and Victor. She will get to meet the babies when they’re bigger!]

Meanwhile, the studio is not silent – I’m making up spoon rest and dish blanks by the kiln-load! Our next vitrigraph pull will just have to wait …

But – we did sneak out during a Mom-&-Pup nap, to get the garden tilled and ready for planting … LATER. Finally – to keep us all fed on-the-quick … I made up a double batch of cabbage crack (Napa Cabbage Salad – minus the bell pepper)! DH is promising grilled chicken and (our own) asparagus later today! [HAPPY]

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Posted on May 27, 2017 by claytonhill

Clean Studio = Tired, But HAPPY!

Spent a couple of days this week cleaning up/organizing my haven, uhh STUDIO! Good golly, it’s been a while. But she’s all back together – I can find stuff, AND I have open spaces to work! What a cool idea!!!

DH and I had our pink cane pull. While it didn’t do what I thought … it’s growing on me. We used the long, slow ramp-up, like we did with our red cane to make sure the colors stayed true. (So, it was a 5-6 hour vit pull …)

I also made my murrini/component tiles. That’s our ‘product’ in there. I know- such a silly thing, but it makes me happy! Now that I’m certain our murrine works without issue, I’ve listed a few colors for others to try. Check it our in our shop or on Facebook … Next week, I hope to start mapping out cabs on the tiles for jewerly – we’ll see.

And, with a few days worth of 3-kilns running – I have our reverse enamel projects slumped and done. I’m happy, and DH says ‘They’re Great!’ [Wow! …] Along with a several new night lights slumped, waiting for assembly…

Next up, a weekend of ER nursing fun(!) and pup watch – as our Tubby is going to be a Momma!

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Posted on May 25, 2017 by claytonhill

Fingers Crossed …

My back is on fire, but I have three kilns running, jewelry tiles cooking and a new product line just about ready to go … Fingers crossed that my kilns behave!

My studio is a disaster, but – ya know … I was CREATING! It’s all good. Here’s what I’ve got:

Our next couple of vitrigraph cane stacks cut and ready to go … Hopefully we’ll start pulling tomorrow!

The coffin kiln is slumping spoon rests, night lights, ring dishes and a special Day of the Dead Pup!

I also have the baby kiln cooking with other night lights in new colors (no photo). Meanwhile, I have a load of tiles cooking (and another load prepped) for some jewelry pieces – using our own murrini!

If all goes well with the kilns, we’ll be offering up coe90 murrini cane on FB and in our Etsy shop. Just one more test run to make sure they’re all behaving … Stay tuned! Winking smile

So, I’m going to crash for a bit while my kilns work their magic. Next up – cleaning this studio!!!

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Posted on May 20, 2017 by claytonhill

More Reverse Enamel Trials …

The good news – I have my bubble squeeze program down pat! Here are my latest spoon rests fired with white luminescent backing. The bad news – I’m still having issues with color burn out, even while adding more venting …

So, I’m trying a different enamel. Nothing like diving in, so here are more spoon rest trials and a plate …

I also determined a better outlining technique for me! Squeeze bottles with needle tips – must appeal to the nurse in me – and it gives me better line control! Now, I have a few ring dish and night light pieces waiting for their turn in the kiln.

And, to keep the family well fed, we tried this Stuffed Cabbage Casserole recipe – quick, easy and I love it! We added diced tomatoes and a bit of cinnamon. Here’s my photo:

Leaving with a quick picture of the Cowbell … she had a rough day playing in her pool and romping with the Neos this week, so she crashed hard! Silly girl!

Next up, a weekend of ER nursing fun …

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Posted on May 18, 2017 by claytonhill

Updates – and studio news …

Our cheap-man’s stromboli (chicken & mushrooms in crescent dough ‘braid’) from the other night is good … The family says it’s a [not-so-healthy] keeper-recipe …

Moving on, DH & I had our pull – the ‘feared’ red cane … It worked, and I love it!!! Smile

So, now I have my rainbow murrini (not all pictured here) … I have a few more must-do colors coming(!), before we will start on mixes …

While I wasn’t so pleased with our last ‘cartoon’ spoon rest – I like the idea! Plus, I realize that I have enough enamels here to play with products and temperatures until we get what I’m shooting for … So, round 2 is in the kiln. Here are a few more options/ideas I have in-the-works …

And, I’ve got another kiln up and firing with more night-light shades – because I love color!

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Posted on May 13, 2017 by claytonhill

Interesting …

A pre-fire/post-fire comparison: Of course, I could try to play off the changes, like some post-diagnostic STD slides … But, no – I tried to follow guide-lines. My layers were not so thick that they caused cracking … Apparently, FM-HF peach, yellow and red get some deep level V-D ‘spots’ … Who knew?!? I’m glad I only fired the one – as the ‘test’ piece …

Because, NOW I have the ‘mandala-ALA-MANIA’ to fire … yep, a few issues with line-thickness there … But – maybe … throw in some abnormal-like STD spots, accept a certain level of bipolar-ness … and I have a master piece!?!

Either way – I head back to work today … so, dinner will be a chicken/mushroom version of this recipe – minus broccoli (allergy) + mushrooms (DH loves them!) …

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Posted on May 10, 2017 by claytonhill

Moo Goo Gai Pan & Studio Work …

Like much of my cooking, what started out as a small meal turned into enough to feed an army (squad – at least!) … I had a hankering for some stir-fry veggies, stumbled on this Moo Goo Gai Pan recipe (DH loves the name!), altered a bit with spices and veggie selection … Here’s my photo:

Now, back in the studio. We had another murrine/cane pull from the vitrigraph kiln … My goal is to create the 6 rainbow colors (which means I still need to pull a red pot), and then move into color-combinations … My cane collection is definitely growing!

I’m still making component parts for more color themed tiles … I love the last photo – dripping stringer art … Smile

I wrapped up my mica donut pendants …

And, I’ve been playing with reverse enamel glass painting … I’m starting to get slightly better control of my line thickness. Now to fire a few of these to move to the next step … Time to get busy!