March 4th, 2010 by Ron Branch

I’ve always relied on writing for peace of mind, brainstorming, problem solving, and channeling creative energy. It feels distinctly recreational.  I hope this will hold true for writing about my work.  With that in mind, I think it’s best I jump in without too much forethought or strategizing, and keep it … recreational if possible.

As a simple introductory post, I’m putting up this old picture I found of some clouds blasted more than twenty years ago. It marked a specific turning point in how I work. I was determined to find a way to get something other than the typical sharp edges created by cutlines , which I did manage to do, but with great difficulty. It took at least another 10 years before I became comfortable with the technique that evolved. In fact, it’s really STILL evolving. It seems like each new project teaches me a little more.

This “blurring of the edges” is useful for depicting so many things that are otherwise very difficult with sandblasting. You can see (click to enlarge) that it is not only the edges of the clouds that are softened, the interior workings are made up of not-so-sharp/not-so-soft forms as well. For some reason it was a long time before I started utilizing this to emphasize depth by blurring elements in the background or even the foreground. Once I started doing it though, it’s now hard to resist.

This car etched for Mercury Glass Co. was the first time that I can think of that I deliberately tried to blur the background to create a depth of field.

At the time I was also using this same technique to create the very controlled looking affects such as the high-light on the edge of the hood which is bright, bold, and somewhat sharp in comparison to the traditionally approached softer free-handed one on the back fender.

February 7th, 2010 by Ron Branch

My wife and business partner Micky has finished her first mosaic.

She did a great job, but is disappointed in how long it took. I’m going to do my best to get her to do more. Her hands are very gifted in whatever she works on. If she does a few more I’m sure she’ll come up with plenty of tricks for speed, and I’ll never be able to keep up with her.

Her next project will be even more ambitious – five stained glass windows for the “Farm Cafe” in Portland Oregon which she will be starting in about a week. I’ll be doing a little photo spread of the process as it unfolds here on the website.

February 5th, 2010 by Ron Branch

I got a chance to do something in stone today. This was the fourth pet grave marker I’ve done in about a month.

I like working with stone so much that I think I will actively market this particular product as best I can to the Vancouver area. I’m not yet sure what the best way to do this would be. Probably brochures in pet stores or a small add in the paper? I like that it helps someone who is in pain. The marker is a physical and symbolic statement; it says, “you were important to me, and I’m never going to forget you”.

January 26th, 2010 by Ron Branch

Here is a job that just came through – clear cabinet door glass with a stained glass pattern sandblasted onto it. It’s what we call a “simple etch” – just peel and shoot. Click on the image to see the steps involved for even the simplest of projects.

This is also called a “single stage blast”. It is basically two-tone, black and white, or in this case – clear glass and solidly sandblasted glass. Often the work involves many more tones, or “shades of gray”. In multi-stage blasting this just means that parts of it are less than solidly blasted.

January 5th, 2010 by Ron Branch

The sandblast booth is done at last, which is good – it’s going to be a busy end of the year for us. The website is also pretty much done now, a bit bare bones at the moment, but I have big plans for it.

January 2nd, 2010 by Ron Branch

We did finally get some snow, but it was a few days late. It was completely unexpected and unforecast – the weather-folks up here were quite embarrassed. Four inches dumped on us during rush-hour and caused some people to be stuck in traffic for as long as five hours!

The Florida restaurant job is complete, and we are getting ready for the next job, which is another big one – a library. Hopefully for this one we will have time to take pictures.

December 23rd, 2009 by Ron Branch

This is a sample piece I am working on with Chuck Franklin. We are finding just the right “underwater” look for a large project that will end up in a West Palm Beach Florida restaurant.

The end product promises to be quite stunning. Multiple panels of wavy glass provided by Rich Lamothe of Glass Strategies which will be mounted behind some large copper fish made by Eric J Leonard of Springbox. The whole thing will be lit with powerful LEDs. It’s like a big glass and metal puzzle – designed by Chuck Franklin. Produced by Chuck Franklin Glass Studio.