The Delphi Blog

It's not just writers that suffer from writer's block. Artists fall victim to a similar condition. You're sitting alone in your workspace looking around and...nothing. You've lost the ability to produce a new idea, much less a new work of art. Sometimes the "absence" is temporary - just a moment or two. Other times you mull around for weeks feeling lost. What do you do to get your creative juices flowing again? We asked our Facebook fans to share their ideas. Here are a few of our favorites: Play loud music. Cut and break glass. - Amy M. Step away. Look for inspiration elsewhere. Go to a museum, watch a program about something unusual. Just do something new. - Jacque D. Pinterest ! - Dawn M. Go for a walk. Look for nature to inspire you. -Shirley J. Clean your workspace. Then get out and explore somwhere - even if it's only the mall or a local park. - Deanna A. Look through a Delphi Catalog . - Marjie B. Go to an art show or gallery. - Deborah S. Color in a kid's coloring book. - Jude W. Take a walk in the woods, sit and listen to the birds, walk down to the water and watch a sunset. - De

We are thrilled to share with you the Winter 2012 new products from Uroboros Glass. Each of these new products is based on Uroboros' unique manufacturing strengths, while adding depth to their most popular product groups. Streamer Bits Glass (all offered in 90 and 96 COE) White Streamer Bits on Clear Cobalt Blue Streamer Bits on Clear Red Opal Streamer Bits on Clear Noodles and Stringers Sprinkles (offered in 90 and 96 COE) Glass Noodle Bits, Mardi Gras (offered in 90 and 96 COE) Noodles and Stringer, Mardi Gras (offered in 90 and 96 COE) Cobalt Blue Opal (offered in 90 COE) Pastel Green Opal Noodles (offered in 96 COE) Pastel Green Opal Stringer (offered in 96 COE) Frit Celadon Opal is now available in all grain and package sizes (offered in 96 COE) View these and other NEW fusible glass products here.

Congratulations to the following winners who participated in our Bottle Art Kit Contest. Each of the winners will receive one of four new Bottle Art Kits from Diamond Tech Crafts . We appreciate your feedback and enthusiasm regarding these awesome new products. Check back frequently for new contests and great prizes! Cynthia Massei Sandy Arbogast Mary Causey Johanna Cropley Interested in Bottle Art? Get inspired with our free eBook, artist gallery and bottle cutting how-to videos.

We are so excited to introduce the new 7-Piece Flower and Foliage Mold by Craig Mitchell Smith . A few weeks ago we posted a couple of videos on Facebook to demonstrate how to use this mold to create several different projects (watch the videos here) . Now we want to hear your ideas on what to do with this versatile mold. You can create anything from hanging sconce lights to slumped frogs to jellyfish! "The functionality of this mold is endless. Every other mold we sell has a finite application - i.e. make a bowl, make a necklace, etc. This is really endless but will require a thinking shift on the part of the consumer, said Delphi Executive Director Lisa Parks. Tell us what you would create with the mold , Jan. 10 - Jan. 20, 2012 for a chance to win it! Entries will be accepted starting at 8:30 a.m. EST on Jan. 10, 2012. The contest ends at 4:30 EST on Jan. 20, 2012. To qualify, fill out the entry form in its entirety. One winner will be chosen at random and notified before Jan. 30, 2012. Enter Here. Who is Craig Mitchell Smith?

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

Delphi's Winter Open House is one of our most popular events of the year. Free to the public, visitors can attend previews of many of our most popular classes - even new classes! Don't miss this exciting chance to meet our fabulous instructors and network with other artists. When: Saturday, January 14th 2012, 10am to 4pm 10:00 am - 11:15 am Free Flameworking Previews Glass Bead Making / Beads on Minor / Intensive Bead Workshop / Intro to Boro/Boro Jewelry / Decorative Blown Glass Spheres / Marble Making 11:30 am - 12:30 pm Free Stained Glass Previews Beginning Lead Came / Lead Came Construction / Cutting Art Glass / Soldering Made Easy Bandsaw Magic / Designing & Installing Kitchen Cabinets Beginning Stained Glass / Copper Foil Studio / Tiffany Lamps / Panel Lamps 12:45 pm - 1:15 pm Free Jewelry Previews Beginning Metal Clay / Simply Soldered Jewelry 1:30 pm - 2:00 pm Free Mosaics Previews Mosaic Home Dcor / Mosaic Art Tables Architectural Mosaics / Mosaic Walls, Floors and Accents 2:00 pm - 2:30 pm Free Other Crafts Previews Copper Enameling / Switch Plate / Copper Jewelry / Beginning Sandblasting / Enameling on Glass 2:45 pm- 4:00pm F

We're excited to tell you about four new bottle art project kits from Diamond Tech Crafts . Each kit Includes instructions and supplies for one project. (Bottle and g2 Bottle Cutte r not included.) The kits are an easy and afforable way to do something different with your old glass bottles. Read a little about each kit below, and let us know what you think for a chance to win one of the new kits for FREE! Post a comment about the new kits to Twitter (use #bottleartkit) or post to Facebook (tag @DelphiGlass) or here on our blog. You may enter once per day, up to 3 chances to enter daily, four winners will be chosen to win a free kit. Now through Jan. 6, 2012. Garden Treasure Kit Create the ideal environment for growing and watering any type of plant with the 3-in-1 Plant Keeper. Use this kit in conjunction with the g2 Bottle cutter, to create this garden helper from recycled bottles. Keepsake Box Kit For all the keepsakes you treasure - a special photo, a dried flower, concert or theatre tickets, vacation trinkets, cards and letters keep them close at hand and inside this unique Keepsake Bottle. Luminary Kit Add a dancin

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

Perhaps you've had a bad experience with bottle cutting in the past. Or perhaps you've never tried it because the process seems too daunting. Fret no more. Dr. Lauren (I’m not really a doctor, I just play one in this blog) is in the house. Here are my 7 recommendations for relieving bottle cutter seperation anxiety. 1. Practice good bottle hygiene. Make sure that you remove the entire label from the bottle you want to cut. Even the smallest amount of sticky residue will interfere with the scoring process. We recommend using rubbing alcohol to get most labels off, but if you have a really stubborn label try nail polish remover with acetone. 2. Always keep your cutting wheel oiled – this is a big one. The better you oil the wheel, the smoother your cut will be – a lot of the separation issues I hear about are quickly resolved when the wheel is oiled – bonus - the more you oil the wheel the longer the blade will last! 3. Remove stress. Remember a good cut doesn’t require a lot of pressure. Most people think that the bottle will separate much better with a deep cut, but that is the opposite of what will happen. When

Do you love making lamps? Enter Delphi's "Light Up Our Blog" contest for a chance to be featured on our blog and to receive a Flower Power premium glass pack from Uroboros Glass . Other entrants will be considered for features on our blog as well. Email a photo of your lamp, and a little about you (the artist) to [email protected]. One entry per person please. All entries must be received by Feb. 29, 2012. Stained glass entries only please. Delphi Glass will notify winner by replying to email address. Delphi Glass reserves the right to deny entry to the contest for any reason. Winner will be chosen by Delphi Glass associates. Participants acknowledge that Delphi Glass may use their photos, with artist credit, for reproduction in any medium, including print and electronic for the purpose of advertising, trade, display or any other medium. Lamp pictured, top left, created by John Metcalfe. The contest is over. Read about the winner here . View all of the entries here .

The Feathers of the Phoenix Plate is the most complex plate I have made so far . Making the glass feathers and fusing the plate is an 8-step process. It starts with a glass brick that is fused from layers of transparent and opal glass dammed between four kiln bricks . The brick is then sawed in half and bookended, then fused again. After fusing, the brick is sawed into thin slices with a round diamond bladed Taurus 3 glass saw. The slices are again bookended together and fused with a piece of clear glass on top. All the glass feathers turn out beautifully and never look the same. They can be used in jewelry and plates. The feathers are laid out on a black piece of opal glass and fused flat. Then a transparent piece of glass is placed on top, and the plate undergoes another 12-hour fusing. The last step is slumping the platter in the 10" by 10" plate mold , and rubber feet are attached to the backside of the plate. Learn more about Michelle on her website. The views, opinions, positions or strategies expressed by the author and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinio