Maggi Blue

Maggi Blue

Maggi Blue would be the last person to call herself an artist. She is a lover of color, a collector of skills and always curious at heart. She has been a graphic designer for over a decade and has been absorbing other mediums like glass, metals, printmaking, fiber (to name a few) like a sponge. She is currently a glass artisan, metalsmith and designer on the coast of Maine. She works out of her studio when she can and can always be found online. www.magpiecreative.com is her passion, www.creativitychronicles.com is her dumping ground, www.facebook.com/magpiecreative and @magpiecreative (twitter) are her online voice.

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Medium Mashup: Working with Fused Glass and Silver

How-To
It is true. Even the best of us get bored. We work and learn and experiment with one medium or one itty piece of said medium (which, like a new love, we are infatuated with - can think of nothing else)but, after a while -things can get stale. It's normal. The beauty is to realize that all these lovely and wonderful and awe inspiring mediums do not have to live in a vacuum. When you get bored with onedo a little of what I like to call Medium Mash-Up. My latest mashups have been with my own fused glass and silver. You can only fuse so many pendants and plates before you've had enough. For me, that means it's time to move on to another process for a while. After working in silver (mostly rings) and loving itone day I found myself staring longingly at my lonely and unused kiln (I think she was jealous of my new fling, er, medium) - it was then I decided to bring my glass and silver work together and introduce them. I began taking small bits of my favorite pieces of sheet glass and fusing them into amazing little gems that I could set like stones. Using the knowledge that glass likes to naturally be around an 1/4 thick, I knew that by cutting small squares, they would bead up

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A Creative Resolution: How to Use Holey Molds

How-To
The holiday season is over . The ham has been eaten and all your resolutions have been made (and probably broken). The time for making and giving out all your large and time consuming presents has passed...now what? Creatively stunted? Need a change of pace or something that is easy, simple yet stunning? I know around this time of the year, I sure do. I need an activity that has a fast turn around time and the oomph to push me to create more. Sometimes just the act of creating can push you kicking and screaming through a creative block. Enter the fun (and inexpensive) holey molds. What a perfect way to use up scrap glass AND to produce a baseline piece from which to creatively expand upon. The best part? As the name denotes...they fuse with the hold already MADE - no messy, time consuming drilling! (Which, in the dead of winter in Maine - for me - is a pain in my rear as I have to go out in my unheated barn to drill.) Beware though...they are totally addictive. The minute Im done with one kiln load...I immediately fill em up for another go round. The process is very easy - spray molds with mold release , fill with frit (I use crushed scrap glass) and fuse. Viola, a w

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How to Make a Suncatcher Ornament with Scrap Glass

How-To
As a "crafty" person, the holiday time can be rough . Not only are we lugging around 7.4 million pounds of "product" to various craft shows, we also have the expectation upon us that we will hand make everyone's holiday gift...because, we're crafty like that (plus, you and I both know that it would KILL us to buy gifts that we could otherwise make - it's in our DNA). So, at the end of the day - our backs and feet are killing us, we'd rather die than smile or make small talk with one more person, we have a car full of stuff to unload (which we also both know will stay there for another 3 weeks until we can't stand it much longer)...and I have to MAKE a present for your sister's husband's aunt's niece who is in college? Oy. Enter the scrap glass suncatcher slash holiday ornament. This has been my go-to holiday gift, birthday present, housewarming trinket....the "oh-my-I-can't-believe-that-day-has-come-so-fast-and-I-have-nothing-made" gift. Not only is it eye catching and totally customizable (big/small/ornate/simple) it is a snap to make, a snap to fire and it digs into and uses some of that HUGE pile of scrap glass that stares at you every time you even THINK a

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How to Run the Perfect Art Show - Secrets REVEALED!

Business Tips
As artisans selling our wares, we all want to know 100% of the time that every craft show that we choose to participate in will be wildly successful and well worth the time and money spent. Not only do you have to find the time to set up, work the show and break down...you also have to make sure you have enough inventory. This is all secondary, though, to the dreaded booth fee. The booth fee is like gambling a small fortune, not knowing what the end profits will be and if the show will be well attended. Here are the secrets to a perfect show... THERE ARE NONE. Its a crap shoot, folks. Ive been on both sides as a show attendee and a show organizer...and one thing is for sure, its always a gamble. You cant control the attendance, the venue (generally speaking), the vendors surrounding you, the weather, the state of the world...nada. The only thing you CAN control is your own attitude. Who am I kidding, I do have a few bits of advice to share... Check your attitude. The power of a positive attitude, a pleasant demeanor and general courtesy to everyone (vendors, attendees, venue staff, volunteers etc) can make or break your show. No one likes to be stuck next to a

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Bullseye Thinfire Shelf Paper to the Skin's Rescue

How-To
As a fused glass jewelry artisan I have probably spent as much time on the look and feel of the backs of my pieces as the fronts. I have found that the feel of the glass on the skin is as much a selling point as the colors or design. Its the same conundrum fiber artists have been dealing with for ages: wool is an amazing fiber - easy to knit with and warm - but the majority of folks just cant stand that itchy feeling on bare skin. The same principle applies to glass. What you use on your kiln shelf can determine exactly how your pieces will feel on the skin - and in turn, can make for a happier customer. After experimenting with various methods including kiln wash (produces a very rough feel) and thicker fiber papers/boards (again, too rough) I have settled down into a very happy marriage with a thin kiln shelf paper. It wasnt such bliss in the beginning, though. Like most artisans, we tend to be cheap (not because we dont want quality, but because we want to stretch every last penny in order to buy more glass). There is nothing more unsatisfying than spending money on the accouterments instead of that glorious piece of glass youve been eyeballing for mont

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DIY To the Rescue: How to Make a Frit Piston

How-To
As a self-described cheap glass artisan who lives in rural Maine , finding or making the tools I need myself (rather than buying them online and having them shipped) is a must. As a total beginner, I found that making frit with my scrap glass was actually messier and more dangerous than I had originally suspected. Hammering away on my back deck proved to be a situation which resulted in wasted scrap glass...and tons of cuts. I finally admitted finding a proper tool to make my own frit was a necessity (to my deck AND my hands) - but $50 (plus shipping) for a Frit Piston was just not in my budget. So I took an hour to roam the Home Depot (which, yes, even in rural Maine you will find one) for ideas on how to hack my own solution. What I came up with, after wandering the isles for an hour and confusing the bejesus out of the HD employees, was a frit maker that was within my budget, easy to clean, easy to transport (albeit a smidge bulky) and perfect for the job...and all available in the plumber's isle. What you need is very simple: (1) 8" Galvanized Steel Pipe (Nipple) with a 2" diameter opening and a 2" cap to thread onto the end (1) 12" Galvanized

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