For the past couple of days, I’ve been working on a piece that I started last Fall when I was at Pilchuck. I was gifted the wax from a mold that @wallooce had made during our workshop with @sallydonuts She got a couple of dings during my trip home, and as I considered attempting to repair them, I decided to do the opposite. Instead, I began diagraming the pathways of my pain. My obsession with hand sculpted elements takes its toll on my hands, so I work slowly. I think that in the end, my slow pace and attention to detail are some of the things that show my unique style. . . . . #csusbglass #glassartist #lostwaxprocess #silverashstudios #theoriginalasharamirez #disabilityartist #disabilityart #fibromyalgiawarrior💜 #fibromyalgiaart #fibromyalgiaawareness💜

Tonight we made a plaster mold of my face for some work I plan to make this Spring @artdesign_csusb The entire process took about 90 minutes so it’s a good thing I’m practiced at meditating because the feeling of being entombed can be a little overwhelming. Things got a little sketch for a minute when I had a tickle cough and I thought I was going to have to bail before it all set up, but deep breathing got me through it. Swipe for unmasking.

Happy X-Mas!! This years’ batch of ornaments turned out so much better than my attempt last year. Last Fall (2022), I finally fufilled a life long dream that I had, of learning to blow glass. As a brand new transfer student @csusb, I was so nervous attending my first studio arts class on a new campus. I somehow managed to land one of 12 spots in ‘beginning glass’, taught by @daniellebrensinger and assisted by @manofsubtlety . I got a bit lost and went to the wrong studio first, then had to interrupt the class to find out where I was supposed to be, which didn’t help my nerves. It turns out I was exactly where I needed to be. I immediately joined @csusbglass and found my place in the hot shop. Last years ornaments were too big and heavy to hang up because I was still working too thick and cold, and none of them had a successful loop, so I did not give them as gifts to my family. This year, I tore a tendon in my forearm and was really unable to work in the hot shop much as a result. I made this batch on my last day in the hot shop. I chose to work small and delicate to keep them lightweight and accommodate for my healing injury. I have a big family, and I needed to make a lot of ornaments in my 2 hour session, so I kept the color application simple. With the help of my partner Amanda and @adrians.gallery I was able to make 15 of these little guys with only 1 goofy loop and 1 failed loop, leaving me with 13 for my family. It’s amazing how far I’ve come in a year with the support of our @csusbglass community and professors. I am thankful to you all.

Here is a little footage from our Advanced @csusbglass class as we learned how to do “The French Pull” last week. It’s definitely a team effort, but after the third round, we had some success! A special thanks to @thought.pollution for challenging Kathy with the task of teaching us the technique and to Kathy for rising to the challenge. It’s been a great semester learning from her. #undercovereminemfans . . . #csusbartanddesign #csusbglass #glassart #hotshop #glassblowing #glassblowingvideo #silverashstudios #theoriginalasharamirez

For those of you who have been patiently waiting to figure out what it says, the wait is over. @sierraorr When I was asked how I wanted to finish the surface of my text based sculpture, I decided that backfilling, sanding, and painting the letters wasn’t for me. Instead, I beat the letters up with tools to make a lot of rough marks and dings, and then lit it on fire! I love working with fire and flames 🔥. It’s hypnotic and beautiful and dangerous all at the same time., and the toasted look really brings out the character of the texture. This piece is coming along nicely and I should be able to put the final touches on it Monday. Special thanks to my favorite assistant, @ted.ramirez20 for taking some video while I torched it. 😍 . . . #csusbsculpture #csusbartanddesign #johnmuirquote #textbasedsculpture #silverashstudios #theoriginalasharamirez

When the prompt is to make a #textbasedsculpture and I can’t decide what word to use so I use a whole quote. . . . #csusbartanddesign #csusbsculpture #workinprogress #silverashstudios #theoriginalasharamirez

$I just found this picture in a book that my mom gave to me because of my interest in sacred geometry. It’s supposed to depict “God” creating circles, waves, and fractals. But to me, it looks like he’s using a pair of jacks on$

I just found this picture in a book that my mom gave to me because of my interest in sacred geometry. It’s supposed to depict “God” creating circles, waves, and fractals. But to me, it looks like he’s using a pair of jacks on a blob of glass. Just imagine a wet newspaper in his left hand and an unseen gaffer and bench. #glassonthebrain #benchedduetoinjury #imissblowingglass

Clean up and texture is finished on the fungi, now I am onto the yucca pods. I foraged the pods near home and then dipped them in sculpture wax. Now I’m working on removing the excess wax in order to prep them for bronze casting @artdesign_csusb with @lafeverbronze . . . #csusbart #bronzesculpture #workinprogress #theoriginalasharamirez

I’m finally getting around to posting a video of the bronze pour @heritage_bronze a couple of weeks ago. It was so hot in there that we had to put away our phones bry they were overheating! Thanks @lafeverbronze and @artdesign_csusb for putting this class together and arranging a field trip to see what we are in for. . . . #csusbartanddesign

Wax mushrooms from the molds I made last week. I’ve been working on cleaning them up and getting them ready to cast in both bronze and glass. I try to pull several waxes from the alginate molds before the alginate dries and deteriorates. I can usually get 2, but if I’m lucky I can pull 3. The subsequent wax pulls are not always as good as the first but sometimes the second pull is the best. I like to have extras in case I make a mistake, then I have a back up. . . . #csusbartanddesign #csusbglass #csusbsculpture #mushroomart #silverashstudios #theoriginalasharamirez