ph:  (650) 648-3084 | email: Aleks_Barilko@yahoo.com

This page is dedicated to the latest stuff I am working on.  The images you see here were taken by a real camera this time and uploaded instantaneously for you to enjoy.  Video will be coming soon.

Glass Color Gone Wild

posted May 26, 2011 6:51 PM by aleks barilko   [ updated May 27, 2011 10:13 AM ]



This year for pumpkins, yes pumpkins I am getting an early start so as to avoid the nightmares come August, I am playing with some new color combinations.  Some are odd, some are down right weird. Take a look and let me know if any should be repeated. Other colors to be tried will be Purple (in the form of Amethyst) and more Yellow combinations.  Not just the pumpkin colors will be played with, although it is difficult to tell from the image, the stems are also being "altered".  Double color, double trouble.
 
 


 
In other projects, there may be a wine stopper forth coming and maybe a bottle or two.  Also it looks like this will be tomato year as well.  On another note, this oddly cool weather is making for nicer and nicer hotshop days.  So come on by and check us out before it gets sweltering. 

Glassblowing Live!!!

posted Jan 12, 2011 5:54 PM by aleks barilko



For you fans out in cyberspace, this one is for you.  Fan may have been an overstatement but starting tonight you can now plugin to Watch Me blow glass.  At about 8pm tonight Jan. 12th, those of you who log in will get to see me make the first pumpkin of the year.  Comments are enabled so if you feel like sharing or requesting something let the class know.  Don't be shy and I will try not to burn/maim the camera or the camera man (Thank you Larry!)  Tune in to see the magic.

I like Decanters

posted Nov 11, 2010 6:33 PM by aleks barilko   [ updated May 26, 2011 7:30 PM ]



Who needs pitchers when decanters work just as well without the additional issue of a handle?  I say this since my frustration with pitchers is at an all time high.  I have the shape down (or shapes depending on my goal) and I can attach a handle, the issue comes in at doing this straight.  So far I have a lot of side handled pitchers.  And while this may be useful in the restaurant biz for servers, it's not so appealing for everyday use.  The trouble is you have to keep the whole thing spinning!  If you stop your whole piece sags, and then so does my spirit with sadness.  I was given some recommendations on alternate ways to attach the handle and I will work on those.  Mostly will try with less rotation redundancy.  Right now I am implementing almost a double flip, losing heat and my center point.  The plan is to do the whole shbang upside down, that way only one flip.  Will this work?  Will find out tonight.  



All this pitcher/decanter work is just to fill time until I am back at making my new obsession: a birch tree that is a lamp.  It will be multiple pieces for the body and possibly lamp-worked leaves.  The picture in my head is pretty amazing, I just hope I can make it a reality some day.  

The End

posted Oct 20, 2010 5:44 PM by aleks barilko   [ updated May 26, 2011 7:31 PM ]



Two pumpkin patches, one boutique, and an ongoing display, later I have found that over the course of this last pumpkin season around 183 pumpkins were made.  That is a 300% increase from last year!  With numbers like that I shudder at what may be produced next year.  Major thanks are due though to all the help and patience I received from Larry and William (super thanks guys.)  On the done with pumpkins side of my life I may now make squash.  Although not a big change from pumpkins it adds just a little bit of something to the mix.  

New materials will be needed though:
  • sheet glass
  • pastarelli (a giant fork)
  • and a new gott steamer pad (the old one has vanished)
  • some threaded copper tubing
  • and always MORE color (its a habit that is not soon going to break




Other projects will be continuing making roll ups so that I can continue to make more birch themed vases, a chess board and maybe some custom chess pieces.  Some currant projects in the last weeks have been doorknobs and lampshades.  I got lucky since the first lampshade done actually not only looked good but also performs beautifully, This was probably due mostly too luck since I forgot to actually measure the fixtures.  Doorknobs, on the other hand, have been fun and involve the word "ream".  I may be replacing all the doorknobs in the house with custom ones that will match the custom water glasses that have also been produced.  Is it weird to match your china to your doorknobs?  And if it isn't weird should I go on to continue matching other things?  Matching panels on the fireplace? Random glass blobs in the right colors?  I see no end in sight.  

I know this is a truly awful image, I blame Sony Ericsson and their lack of Android 2.1+ on their camera phones 

Posting Sabbatical

posted Aug 22, 2010 2:52 PM by aleks barilko   [ updated May 26, 2011 7:34 PM ]



After my little (only a "couple" of months) posting sabbatical I am back.  In the midst of pumpkin season nothing interesting to report except I am starting to have pumpkin making related nightmares.  It all starts with me making one type of pumpkin with some specific pattern, looking away for just a moment and when I look back it's a completely different pumpkin!  Very distressing with  a very specific order for pumpkins this oct.  

In other news, signed up and completed the class on Australian Roll-Ups.  In this class I finally learned to fuse glass, that is where you cut it up and put it together in a kiln, cook it, shape it, and in general make big glass tiles with patterns in it.  This will be useful for playing with glass at home, plates here I come.  The other wonderful knowledge to come out of this class is how to take those tiles you fuse and then pick them up onto a blown glass piece. This allows for much more detail in pieces.  My first one was, I admit, rushed and maybe a little uninspired in terms of the fused tile I made.  But the pick-up was great and I actually made my first non-cheat bowl. 


For the second piece, I created a birch tree pattern. For this pattern I tried to mimic the birch wood pattern while still make the eventual piece blowable.  The difficulty: White is very stiff (slow to heat, hard to move) and black is very soft (super quick to heat and moves a little too well).  Much trouble ensued in trying to get the two colors to play nice together.  Needless to say, having learned this new and awesome way to play with glass I will continue bringing more patterns into my work.  Expect to see tons of birch patterns.  Something about it really appeals to me.

Roses for the Lady

posted May 27, 2010 6:02 PM by aleks barilko



So today I will work on some requested long stem roses as well as continue working on the cloud pattern.  Not sure on the patterns but some challenges with using talc from last time that I am going to try and avoid will be 1. Use gloves:  my hands were burning due to the proximity to the piece.  2. Use tools:  this was kinda stupid on my behalf but i did grab the talc with my bare hands and threw it at my piece.  Not advisable something about the powder super heating in my hand and under my fingernails that make this a less than desirable approach.  Also a suggestion has been brought forth on making indentations in the glass where the powder will  layer to maximize the color depth.  Another approach I may consider is a variation of the throwing color and see maybe about layering powder on shards.  The goal is to have a clod look to in terms of colors and depth.  If you have requests for long stem roses for your sweet ladies/gentlemen in your life let me know.  You can pick the color.

Chilly Murky Day

posted May 17, 2010 5:04 PM by aleks barilko



Like the day outside todays glass will probably have a lot of blues and greys. Going to have to continue working on pumpkins so will take the time to do some color experiments leading up to what I will probably call the "Sky" series.  Will be attempting layering blues and greys to get certain kinds of cloud colors.  But to make my own silver lining I will also do at least one or two yellow colors to see what would look best as the sun.  Interesting how weather affects moods and perception.  Todays turn for the morose has also soured my effort in working with brighter colors.  Hopefully both the colors and the clouds will be brighter soon.

Colors:   
  • Canary Yellow
  • Opaline
  • Dense Black
  • Sky Blue
  • Grey
  • Pigeon Grey

The Great Glass Pumpkin Madness

posted May 10, 2010 5:49 PM by aleks barilko   [ updated May 10, 2010 6:52 PM ]



As Mother's Day fades into memory, with the pitcher done, I will begin the long and repetitive journey into pumpkin land. Lots of color experiments from last year as well as some new ones will be incorporated so that at least, even though I am repeating the same motions on the pumpkins, I get to experiment with color.  With glassblowing it is always a quest to find new and awesome color combos and reactions.  So far I have two favorites: a yellow/aqua and red/gold.  Need to find some more that work and call to me on that oh-so-deep-soul level.

Colors: 

  • Apple Red
  • Metallic Aqua Blue
  • Coral Red
  • Iris Yellow
  • Iris Lt Yellow

Why are Handles so Hard?

posted May 6, 2010 5:12 PM by aleks barilko



A third attempt is in order for the pitcher gift.  So far my efforts at the body of the pitcher have improved, color and shape, but the handle is still .... well pathetic.  Or more positively ... "decorative".  Something about over stretching and just not getting it lines to match up.  Also in the exciting news like category I may do up to two new pumpkin patches this year.  This news is still in rumor form so may not pan out.  Hoping that the pitcher works out and maybe adding more pumpkins to the storage today should be pretty packed.

Colors:

  • Transparent Yellow Rod
  • Opal Green Cane
  • various colors for pumpkins

Pitchers Take 2

posted Apr 29, 2010 5:21 PM by aleks barilko



Pitcher from last time turned out usable but a little on the "leaning" side of balanced.  So for this round I will try the experiment again, with the same colors.  Also need to start ramping up for pumpkin season, as I am sure that it's right around the corner.  So probably not a over exciting night but doing pitchers without Treg and training Larry instead.  So I need to train 
Larry on making pitcher handles and to train myself to not make leaning tower of pitcher.  I may also make a clear carafe for a friend that may be leaving the country soon as he is a big wine aficionado.

Colors:  

  • Transparent Emerald Green
  • Transparent Honey Yellow
  • Opaque Coral Red
  • Some kind of white
  • assorted green cane

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