Failure of the Week

It might be easy to think that everything at Catfish Corner just swims along merrily, with man and beast living in perfect harmony. Where creation is a daily occurrence and all is peaceful and productive. A place where perfection reigns. Ah......no...... not at all. We are pretty normal here which means not all goes according to plan. 

I had been saving a large cylindrical vase....1/4" thick glass for a very special production. Didn't know what, but knew that some day the right image would make itself known for a stage-blasted glass etching.

The image emerged and the project was set to be completed. The drawing was in place and the image was x-acto bladed through the mask. It was to be the image of Ladee, Sandy Gilbert's beloved and departed Belgian mare. 

The plan was to do the first stage on a set number of placements that would require a lot of time in the blasting booth. This would be the foundation for the next four layers of carving. With a 1/4" of glass I felt confident there would be an easy hour of blasting to get to the required depth.

Well......surprise, surprise......

as the media was sent through the sandblasting nozzle an ominous black spot appeared only minutes into the first layer of carving.

What the????? A hole appeared right in the middle of the section I was working on. No 1/4" inch of glass here....more like a 1/16th! I had just wrecked the whole piece.

Glass is a very unforgiving medium. You either get it or you don't ..... and I did NOT get it. Change of game plan. Now it became more of a lesson than a creation. Instead of having four layers of blasting to plan, I was thinking of how to salvage this piece to be a vase that couldn't hold water! 

Of course, there was no way to make it into anything that I had imaged for it to be. Let alone something for a special occasion. So, back to the drawing board! 

So.....now I don't know what I will have to offer for the Refuge Farms Fall Gala! But I WILL have something for the silent auction. It just won't be this!!

The Saturday, November 3,  Fall Gala is the event of the year for Refuge Farms. It's a time to gather supporters and volunteers, and those who are curious to want to learn about the place that saves horses. It's held at the University of Minnesota Leatherdale Equine Center at 6:30 pm. 

The Fall Gala is set for November 3rd so please call 715-772-3379 or email refugefarms@hotmail.com  and get your tickets reserved!