Beachwalker Boxes Blog - Beachwalker Boxes: Unique Handmade Wood and Glass Boxes located in Austin, Texas

Dogs! Cats! Parrots!

9/24/2015

We love pets, and we realized recently that we have not been giving adequate attention in our work to the animals most of us live with. We live with dogs and birds, and we know many of you people who are owned by cats, so we've been focusing these animals recently. To left, a rosewood box with two cast glass preening parrots on a wood and copper perch. Each parrot is individually sculpted. Below, two dog-on-rug boxes (our dogs love to sleep on rugs). First, a white cast glass dog on a needlepointed rug (yes, I needlepointed that rug- without a pattern painted on it, thank you). And a small black glass dog sleeping on a handmade rag rug (and yes, I made the rag rug, too).

And for you cat people, two new cat and fish boxes: an orange glass cat reaching a paw down to fish in an etched mirror aquarium on a walnut box, and woodburned cats on a maple box reaching up to catch 22K gold goldfish etched on many pieces of plate glass glued together and polished to a shine. All cast glass pieces were cast by us in our own kiln using the lost wax method, and the 2 glass aquariums were etched by hand by us using our own sandblaster.

Fairy Tale Boxes

2/21/2015

We love fairy tales, and love using boxes to tell fairy tales in two iconic images on the outside and inside. We've been on a fairy tale jag recently, so here is our newest effort: a "Snow White" box with the wicked Queen's magic mirror on top (surrounded by a woodburned and 22K goldleafed frame), etched with the beginning of those famous words (mirror, mirror on the wall...)... and the rest on the inside, with a woodburning of the witch's hands holding out the poisoned apple. It's walnut on the sides and maple for the top and base, with a touch of red enamel paint on the edge of the lid for that "white as snow, red as blood, black as ebony" look. It's hinged.
Below, an older box of "Rapunzel": Rapunzel with her long golden hair leaning from her balcony on the top, and a silverleafed pair of scissors inside. And next to it, the pieces for a "Red Shoes" box: a woodburned dancing girl with the ribbons of the red shoes twining around her, making her into a marionette. On the inside, the same girl, a skeleton, still dancing in the red shoes.

And below, our newest "Little Red Riding Hood" box, with the wolf inside, and next to it, the pieces for a "Cinderella" box, with the woodburned ragged girl being presented with the golden dress, and a pumpkin nearby. Inside, the glass slipper on a red cushion. Below that, the woodburned pieces for a "Sleeping Beauty" box: on top, the sleeping girl's face surrounded by thorny branches, and inside, the spinning wheel with a hand reaching out to touch the spindle.

New Spring Work: Cat and Fish, Medusa, Little Red Riding Hood, Spring Art Fairs

2/1/2015

Our newest box is also our new favorite: a sandblasted cast glass cat fishing in a koi pond with a curious paw. The pond is mirror etched underneath with fish, which were then goldleafed and painted in the etch. The box is curly cherry. We love how the cat is reflected in the mirror, and how this box combines all of our passions: woodworking, glass casting, and glass etching.

Also new is our rosewood Medusa vase box, with a cast glass Medusa head on a gorgeous handcarved curvy rosewood box. The snakes on this are great- this piece, like the cat box, looks great from every angle. All glass pieces are cast using the lost wax technique- sculpted out of wax, molded in plaster, the wax melted out, and the molds filled with glass and fired in a kiln for days.

And last, our new "story" box, a Little Red Riding Hood with Little Red walking into a dark forest on the lid, and a snarling wolf inside. This is a woodburned and painted maple top and base on a red padauk wood box with beautiful joinery.

And our Spring line-up of art fairs is shaping up: March 27-29 in Houston at Bayou City Art Fair, April 3-5 in Dallas at Deep Ellum Art Festival, April 10-12 in the Woodlands (near Houston for The Woodlands Waterway Art Fair, April 18-19 in Wimberley for The Blue Hole Art Fair. There may be a few more (we're deciding if more will kill our souls), so stay tuned. And come out to see us at a fair this Spring!

Glass Women, Glass Faces

12/29/2014

Our gorgeous new box- kiln-cast glass helical female figures in 2 kinds of shift-tint glass, the picture to the right shows them in indoor light. The colors flicker back and forth depending on how much of each light touches them. They are fixed in black epoxy in a wenge frame on top of a curly walnut box carved with curves on the lid and bottom, with wenge legs.
Below is also our newest cast glass face in negative space. It's cast in clear glass with several colors of dichroic extract cast with the glass, giving it surprising shifting shimmer. And also below, our cast glass creepy faces box with handcarved walnut legs.
And finally, our glass mermaid box. It's a WOW. The whole box, inside and out, was covered in shiny black epoxy, so it looks as if she's rising out of black water, and her reflection in the black water is gorgeous. It's lined with blue suede. This took MANY days, because each of the 4 sides of the box (inside and out, had to be coated and left to dry for 24 hours, one side at a time. But it was worth it.

Glass Cat, Violets, Horse

12/20/2014

Our newest finished boxes! To right, a cast glass violets box in green and purple. Each petal (60 of them!) was made individually in wax, detailed with a toothpick, and carefully assembled on a wax box. It was cast in plaster, the wax was melted out (or "lost"- hence "lost wax"), glass was carefully added to melt correctly, and the whole thing was fired for 3 days. I sandblasted float glass with a butterfly for the top and colored it with iridescent dichroic extract and fused it. Pretty, pretty. Tom made this lovely simple wenge base for it- it looks a bit like flowers growing out of a flower box. This one was a real labor of love.

Below, an orange cast glass cat crouches next to a little vintage brass birdcage with a green-painted brass bird in it. They are attached to a curly walnut top, on a curly walnut box. And finally, a custom order- a sandblasted abstract glass horse on a box of holly and wenge with a woodburned initial "J." It has a red suede lining on the inside base.

Weird New Boxes: Monster, Hand, Black Glass, Cat

12/8/2014

Our finished sea monster box: swirly cocobolo with green cast glass head, body, and tail. It's lined with green suede, and weighs about 10 pounds! The wood is just gorgeous. And another new finished cast glass box: a glass hand cast into the glass top, polished sides, and a delicate lacewood and walnut base. The glass changes color depending on the light: inside it's blue, outside it's purple. It's really pretty awesome, and it's one of our less expensive cast glass pieces!

And some pieces in the works: our first experiment in cast black glass, which turns out to be a booger to polish: a black glass box sandblasted with a swirly design. We're thinking white holly wood for a top and base. And next to it, our newest box in the works: an orange cast glass cat crouching by a vintage brass birdcage (we painted the little bird green) on a beautiful walnut top. It will get a walnut box under it. Once these are finished, they'll be for sale!

Creepy Fantasy Girls: Mermaids in Glass and Wood, and a Glass Medusa. East Austin Studio Tour Is This Weekend!

11/11/2014

Some of our newest efforts: a cast glass mermaid in an indigo blue set into a wooden box top with shiny black lacquer so it looks as if she's rising out of dark water. This will be set into a simple shiny black lacquered box with blue suede lining. Below is another mermaid, this one woodburned and painted on maple and waiting to get a box, too. And also below, a green cast glass Medusa head fresh out of the Beachwalker kiln. Scary, no? And don't forget that this weekend is the start of the East Austin Studio Tour. We're #283 on the tour, right in the hotspot of Cesar Chavez and Comal. Come out and see us! And please, support a local artist on the tour by buying local art. It matters.

New Golden Girl, Violets, a Glass Menagerie.

10/27/2014

Here is our new cast glass gold girl box. The figure is kiln-cast glass using the lost wax method, sitting on a mahogany box. She turned out lovely, I think.
Below, our new cast glass flower box: purple and green glass in a lost-wax cast box that took A LONG TIME to make- all those little petals and leaves in wax. Luckily, it worked out and is absolutely stunning. This will get a wood base and a glass top much like our rose box. Also below, one of our new glass cats, in orange. This will sit on an aquarium box, I think, with etched glass fish, so he's reaching down to catch them. I personally dislike cats, but they do lend themselves to glass.

And below, one more cast glass cat (this will be sandblasted white) and an abstract-ish horse (also to be sandblasted white). Animals and more animals this week out of the Beachwalker kiln.

Cthulhu Rises! Hell! And also something sweet.

9/23/2014

Here is our lovely cast glass tentacles box, all finished with a little ship of wood, paper, and string on the cast glass top, and a base of sapele on a ring of jarrah with live edge.The bottom of the box is faceted inward and highly polished to let lots of light into the box, which is cast of a shift tint glass that is green under inside light and a lavender blue outside. Wowza, if I do say so myself. And Tom constructed this weird-ass base that is so perfectly a work of art in itself.
Below, our cast glass hell box- the box has a flame design on the ruby red glass, and a wenge top and base. The top has a skeleton (made of bone, of course) on it (with a convenient small hole for, as seen here, a flower). And finally, since we don't always do monsters, our sweet cast glass golden girl, sitting on the lid of a tall, plain, polished sapele box.

But those of you with darker sensibilities will be pleased to know that snakes and sea monsters and beetles and skulls are all in the works to counteract the sweetness. For instance, below is an experiment in negative space casting: a skull in a light lavender gray glass (the lavender color will NOT show up in the pictures, which is frustrating Tom). The skull is the empty space. Creepy, eh? This will go on the bottom of a wooden box, on top of mirror to reflect light, with a split etched glass top so you can see the skull beneath. And also below, another negative space adventure with a face in rhubarb shift tint glass- this one will go on the top of a wooden box.
And get your ass out to the Art & Wine in the Square Festival in Georgetown, TX, next weekend (Sept 17-28) and get loaded and come see us. And buy something. You know you always wanted a hell box.

Glass Body Parts! Also Roses and, of course, Tentacles.

8/30/2014

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Our lovely roses box, all finished with a dark wenge base and a clear glass top with an etched hummingbird with dichroic extract fused into it for subtle glimmer that echoes the pink and green of the roses on it. Hello, but it turned out great. On to body parts!

Below, a few new things right out of the kiln:a box with faces cast in 4 different colors, one on each side that blended together beautifully. Aint that seriously creepy? But in a really pretty way? A head top is also shown, in a lavender blue, with 3 heads put together. This will probably go on a different box, since too much pretty creepiness would probably result from putting them together.

And below, a top with a glass hand rising from it. Zombiesque! Also, a new tentacles box in cast glass. Both hand and tentacles are in shift tint glass, so they appear different colors in natural vs indoor light. Behold! Ah, I do love tentacles. I feel a bug phase coming on, though. Beetles. Lots and lots of glass beetles

And we'll be at Septemberfest at the Museum of the Southwest in Midland, Texas next weekend. Come out and see us and all the other artists there!