The Delphi Blog

As the weather starts to warm up, everything around us begins to blossom again. The flowers bloom, the trees start to turn green again and the birds come back to sing for us. It all means that spring is here. Now is the time to embrace this beautiful season where nature seems to be calling us back out into the wild.   When you think of spring, what comes to mind first? Is it flowers? Or birds? Perhaps it is a beautiful landscape that’s lit up by the lingering sun that now sets later in the evening. Whatever it is, all you need to do to find inspiration to create something spectacular is open your door and walk out into the world.   But if birds and flowers aren’t your idea of the perfect theme for your next stained glass, fused glass, mosaic or glass jewelry project, you’ll have to dig deeper. Sure, all of it has been done before but no one has seen what you have through your eyes, and isn’t that what it means to create art?   Butterflies are a great spring theme and you can make them your own by creating them in the way you see them. You can also imagine yourself somewhere else, where the world might look different during spring t

Ask anyone what the most wonderful time of the year is and you’re bound to get a lot of responses about the winter holidays. But here at Delphi Glass, our favorite time of the year has to be during National Art Glass month when we host our Annual Art Glass Festival.   We love it because we truly have some of the most talented customers around. Every year, it seems the entries get more and more incredible. Click here to visit the gallery of our previous Art Glass Festival winners. Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned pro at creating glass art projects, we encourage you to enter for a chance to win great prizes ranging in value from $100 to $400. We have a wonderful variety of categories that you can enter your work under. Some of them include beads & jewelry, blown glass, flameworked glass, kiln formed glass, lamps, large panels (entries for this category must be larger than 2 square feet), mosaics and small panels (less than 2 square feet).   You don’t need to be in Lansing, Michigan either to participate. You can enter from anywhere online until March 31, 2016. If you’re going to bring your entries to the Lansing location, make su

Whether you’re making a fused glass project or a unique piece of glass jewelry, why not let it really shine by adding some glowing pigment? CBS Aqua Glow is a powder that works well with glass fusing as well as fused glass jewelry. While it appears yellowish in color, once exposed to a prolonged light source such as a lamp or the sun, it illuminates in an illustrious aqua color in the darkness.   What’s neat about this pigment is that it reflects a gentle color to the art you create when you see it in the light. But once the lights go out, it becomes even more spectacular. CBS Aqua Glow is compatible with all COEs too and that makes it an excellent pigment to use when creating anything from glass beads to lampworking and beyond.   If you’d like to use this pigment in your next glass project, you’ll want to get the ratio just right. Glow pigment mixed with glass powder uses a ratio of 1:4, with the smaller portion being for the glow powder. You’ll also want to cap, or encase, your glow powder inside layers of glass so that you’ll get a smooth texture when creating your pieces and keep the glow pigment from wearing away, which w

If you’re looking for some inspiration so you can ring in spring with a festive seasonal piece, get your copy of Delphi’s free Easter eBook . Did I mention it’s free? Easter is on March 27th this year and wouldn’t it be great to make something beautiful to display for Easter dinner? You’ll definitely want to take a look at the projects featured in the free Easter eBook, where every artist can find creative motivation from stained glass to glass fusing to mosaics to glass jewelry. If you’re looking for fused glass ideas, the fused glass bunny dish would be an adorable addition to your Easter table. You can let it just be art or you can give it some jellybeans to hold for the kids. For a grand Easter decoration that you can put up in the window, try the stained glass cross panel. When the light from the spring sun hits it, it will light up your room and your heart with love. If you like using recyclables to create your works of art, try making the mosaic bunny vase using a recycled bottle. You can use our included mosaic pattern or you can let your own imagination run wild. Either way, it will make such a beautiful centerpiece

Every artist that works with glass knows how important it is to have the right tools. Without them, we’d never be able to bring our visions to life. When cutting glass for a project, a quality cutter is essential.   Gemini Saw Company has thought of what we need when cutting glass with the Taurus 3 Ring Saw . Improving on former models, this ring saw has a 1/5 HP motor and is so lightweight at just 14 lbs., you can take it anywhere. Plus, the saw part snap outs of the water bath, turning it into a hand-held saw. It has its own water so it can easily be used as a portable saw.   But perhaps the best feature of all is the round diamond bit blade. It’s a 5-3/4” multi-directional blade which means you can cut seamlessly in any direction you choose. The greater blade exposure means more precise cuts. As you begin to cut your glass piece, the working area illuminates with a built-in bright white light to make it easier to see what you’re doing.   Another upgrade from the previous model is the larger work surface. It’s 25% larger at 17-3/4” x 16” with a 5-5/8” depth. It also makes much less noise than older models

Each month at Delphi Glass, we’d like to put the spotlight on one of the many talented artists we see daily in our Artist Gallery. For the month of February, we’re delighted to introduce Stephanie Murphy, who goes by the name aMosaicist in our gallery. Stephanie was born and raised in Palmerton, Pennsylvania, and now lives just south of there in a town called Schnecksville. After earning her nursing degree in college, she became a critical care nurse for 10 years. But in order to care for her autistic son, Patrick, she had to leave her career behind. Throughout college and beyond, Stephanie began using art as a coping mechanism for the stresses in her life, especially when it came to raising her autistic son. “In college, I filled my electives with art classes, drawing and ceramics, to give my brain a respite from the vigorous nursing courses. Creating art gives my left brain some rest and my right brain some much needed exercise. I can go on vacation without ever leaving home. Creating mosaic and fused glass art is something I do for me.” Stephanie has been creating mosaics for 13 years and fused glass for about 4 years. She got her start by

The art of assembling small fragments of glass, stone and other materials to form a larger image is known as mosaics. What is much less known is that this practice is about 4,000 years old or so. Some of the most famous pieces of the world’s artistic history were mosaics, like this Roman piece found in Turkey of a gypsy girl, estimated to be from the 2nd Century CE. If you’re looking to make your own bigger picture, you’ll need to choose your mosaic pattern and round up your mosaic supplies, which will include making sure you have enough mosaic tiles to get the job done. That might seem obvious, but if you’re new to the artful world of mosaics, here are some little tips that will help you create a mosaic you’ll be able to brag about:   1. Start small and simple Don’t even think about trying to tackle a mosaic wall or flooring project first! Start with something small and simple so you can get your technique worked out. Coasters or picture frames make for great practice mosaic projects!   2. Get sketchy Choose a mosaic template you like from an image you find in a book, online or even from a photo you’ve

Frit Molds are becoming increasingly more popular, especially with all the new styles of jewelry molds coming out. Getting a beautiful finished project can be tricky at times. Issue #1: Glass tends to stick; and create sharp daggers on the sides of the glass project. This can happen when the glass separator is getting thin or worn away. Boron Nitride MR-97 is the answer. It is a versatile product that can also be used on stainless steel molds as well. Think of it like teflon on your frying pan. It will not allow the glass to stick to the mold. Projects pop right out and are ready to wear. You do have to follow the instructions and reapply as directed. Watch a video on how to use Boron Nitride MR-97. However if you do get spurs on the sides of your project, simply use a wet hand sanding pad to clean up the edges. Issue#2: The frit is trapping a lot of air bubbles that you can see in the finished project. Thats frit for you. Air bubbles will happen, however if you change the soak or hold time based on the size frit you used, you may have better luck. For example, if the mold calls for a 10-minute hold for fine frit, then it might be 25-3

Winter is a wonderful time for projects that warm us up. Whether we’re making something that depicts the chilly winter weather or creating something sunny and tropical to help us think warm thoughts, any of the winter variety glass packs are a fabulous choice.   When it comes to stained glass supplies, these sets of eight sheets of 8”x8” glass in assorted color schemes including blue and white hues as well as creamy whites with touches of warm color will bring your next stained glass project to life. Whether you use it to create lamps, panels, doors, or décor, there are no limits to what your imagination can dream up.   These winter glass packs of stained glass are a lot like how we look at life. It all depends on how we look at life. Some of us will look at these sets of colors and instantly think of windy, blustery snow-filled days. Some will look at that cold and depict it in a positive way, embracing the art that winter burns into us with her frigid blasts of air to create stained glass projects that celebrate winter. Meanwhile, others will feel inspired to lament the colder temperatures and endless snow, and perhaps showcase this in

Late Summer and Fall 2015 provides an opportunity to expand your artistic horizons. Delphi's Creativity Center in Lansing, MI presents new techniques introduced by Guest Instructors on the cutting edge of art glass innovation. This season renowned glass artists Wesley Wong, Margaret Zinser and Tim Drier impart their innovative new ideas and techniques to student glassworkers at Delphi. Get to know each artist and their work, then see which class is right for you! Class sizes are limited so register now to ensure your opportunity to work with these amazing artists. Wesley Wong Wesley Wong is an award-winning artist who designs and produces custom glass art from his studio in San Jose, California. His passion for glass started in 1981 with stained glass, which eventually lead him into mosaics and fused glass. His work features lots of bright colors and intricate patterns and has been exhibited in many juried glass and mosaic shows throughout the United States. Receive a 10% discount on any 2 of Wesleys September classes. Receive a 20% discount on all 3 of Wesleys September classes. Please call Delphi Creativity C

The Summer 2015 session of art glass classes at Delphi's Creativity Center in Lansing, MI is gearing up to start soon. This season renowned glass artists Peter McGrain and Deb Crowley impart their innovative new ideas and techniques to student glassworkers at Delphi. Get to know each artist and their work, then see which class is right for you! Class sizes are limited so register now to ensure your opportunity to work with these amazing artists. Peter McGrain Award winning artist/designer Peter McGrain has been working with stained glass for over 30 years. During this time he has handled every type of stained glass project imaginable; ranging in scope from intimate experimental panels to large-scale architectural installations. In all, it is his attention to composition and technique that make his imagery so successful. Check out Peter's work on his website or our Pinterest board. Class: Introduction to Traditional Glass Painting Friday, June 5, 2015 9:00 am - 5:00 pm Register Now Description Painting on glass is by far the