Green and White Plate

Here is a green and white with black boarder sushi plate I made. The green part is actually a green with some white swirl in it. I think the black boarder sets it off.

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Fly Away Kid

Here is a picture I did for a friend at work. Her beautiful daughter was quite a good model, she posed well and had great facial expression. Here she is flying.

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Blue Bottle Paperweight

I have a friend who had a birthday this week, I melted a blue bottle into a paperweight for her.

the pieces of glass did not melt together as much as I thought they would but it came out pretty nice anyway.

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See Photography work at Visual Perceptions by Lombano

Tiger Orchid

This is a picture of an orchid I took at the botanical gardens in San Diego, Balboa park. sometimes you have to get down and look at objects from a ground level prospective, to get a picture that has not been done before.

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Twisted Letter Opener

Here is a letter opener I made from a railroad spike. Using the forging technique of drawing out, I created the blade portion. then I decorated the handle by creating an indentation and then twisting the handle. It is stained with a purple metal stain, then a blue pigment was put into the grove, and then it was sealed with a epoxy coating with mother of pearl in it (the picture does not capture the color of the mother of pearl).

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Little Red and Yellow Fish

Here is a cute little fish I made out of some scrap pieces. I have not decided what to do with him yet. But I like the yellow and translucent colors.

Since I used scrap glass there was a break in the two pieces forming the body, which when fired caused the two pieces to pull apart a bit. but it adds to the interest of the piece.


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Blue Form Fold Art

Here is a piece of copper fold formed using the techniques of Brian Brain. the form has different folds, which make it mimic a piece of folded material but it is copper. The copper is then turned blue with a technique for making a blue patina on the copper as opposed to the normal green seen on roofs and statues.

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Rail Road Spike Bottle Opener

Here is a old railroad spike I turned into a bottle opener, I particularly like the original patina on the metal, giving it that pitted dark brown color, so I tried to preserve it during the forging process. so only the end which was drifted to turn into a bottle opener was the new metal exposed.

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Flock of Pelicans

Here is a picture I took at La Jolla Cove, one of the more scenic places on the west coast. here was a very choppy day creating waves crashing against the rocks, and I got a flock of pelicans in the picture flying by.

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Cool Flower

sometimes there are very cool things many people just walk by. But with just a little bit of looking and changing the perspective, or distance that we normally sen an object from it can create a great photo.

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Cool Plate

This is plate I made using primary colors, of white, blue red and black.  The picture does not even capture the red to show how good it looks in person. but I like the design. It is simple, clean and modern.

I used the blue on each edge and as can be seen from the picture below, I used the blue under the white so that when looking from the side the blue goes all the way around.

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Hi Ho Silver

Not only do I make bottle openers from horseshoes, but also from just plain old steel bars. usually 1/4 inch by 1 inch. They make hefty openers which feel good and have weight in your hand. They are aesthetically pleasing to the eye.

Each one comes out a little different, giving each its own character, which is the same for real horses.

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The Ocean Blue

I got an email from a friend asking how I got the ocean to look so blue. The answer is that this is its color. I did no post processing on this picture. the sky, ocean, beach and rocks with moss are the actual colors the camera recorded.

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Sun Set in La Jolla

Natural wonders attract many people to see them. The sun set at Wind n Sea beach in La Jolla is such an attraction. Literally hundreds of people come every day to see the sun set. Here is a photo which not only shows the beauty of the sun set, but frames it with some flora, and has the iconic surfing hut in the photo.

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Copper Fold Form Leaf

Here is a leaf I made using copper and the fold forming techniques of Brian Brain. notice the very natural forms the copper takes, with just folding and unfolding

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The Birds and the Lady Bugs

Here are some glass ornaments which I made from glass. The big yellow bird is a yellow-belly sap sucker, made from yellow, red and iridescent glass.  The two blue birds on the bottom are very popular gifts I have made for people.

The lady bug, is actually translucent and looks great in the light. But it is not well shown in the picture.

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Green Plate

Using hot working glass techniques allows for some great designs. this plate is made form glass with green and white swirls, and then black boarders for contrast.

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Horseshoe Bottle Opener Japanese Brown

A friend ordered a bottle opener from my website. Normally I make the horseshoe bottle openers and just finish them in a clear epoxy finish, leaving the steel color of the metal. However she ordered it in Japanese brown, so I made one and here is the picture.

The Japanese Brown stain is an old recipe used to create a protective coat of basically rust, this coating prevent more moisture from getting to the metal underneath thus protecting it. I think it came out looking very nice.

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Moving Water

Moving water with rocks with makes for some interesting photos. The water reflecting light off the water, the shape and color of the rocks, makes for a pleasing photo.

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Crashing Water

Water crashing into rocks make for some photography with movement. it is hard to capture the moment when the waves hits the rock and bounces the water skyward. I will get the hang of it some day.

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Here Comes the Sun Flower

I was just walking around the neighborhood in La Jolla, and some one had planted a patch of sunflowers in front of their house. This flower stood out. Taking a closeup of the flower revealed details we normally don't see.

the yellow peddles with brown on them, the center of the flower with the stamen which will eventually become sun flower seeds.


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Bon Appetit

Being able to work with glass give a wide range of expression. I particularly enjoy recycling object. Wine bottles are a favorite of glass workers. The glass is free once you drain the bottle. here is an example of a bottle I did and imprinted the words Bon Appetit on it. it also has some grapes, grape leaves and vines

I particularly like this wine for the taste and the green tint to the bottle glass


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Fold Forming and Blue Patina

Fold forming is a technique developed by Brian Brain, in Canada. it basically is using metals natural properties to form different shapes, from just working the metal by annealing it, folding it, then unfolding it or stretching or shrinking it. this forms many very natural shapes. So it is a very wonderful and natural process, possibly the basis for the shapes we see in nature.

This leaf shape was created by simply folding a piece of copper in half, then stretching on edge by hammering, then when unfolding the leaf with a twist is formed. The blue patina is just from covering the copper in salt water then exposing it to ammonia   Most people know the green patina that copper has, but it can have other colors depending on the chemical processes involved.


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Something You Don't See Every Day

Sometimes a photo just happens as you are walking around. I was at Sea Port village and there was a circus act going to be performed. The performers were getting ready back stage, and I happened to be walking by. The Umbrellas in their tricycle were very colorful. so I took a few shots.

The colors, the unusual configuration make for a great picture.



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Green / White Sushi Plate

Here is a small sushi plate I made using some green and white mixed together glass, then used white around the green, then added a black frame.

You can seen from the picture below that the boarder is black on top but I used a green layer under it to accent the green in the top of the piece.

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Turning a plain piece of steel into something useful is fun and rewarding. This is a steel bar I turned into a horse bottle opener. Very useful on hot summer days.

 The head and face are very appealing.

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See Photography work at Visual Perceptions by Lombano

Visual Perceptions

My photo line is Visual Perceptions by Lombano. My philosophy on photos is that they should have a view or irrespective you are not normally seeing. This picture was just taken from my neighbors front yard. many people walk or drive by and see the flowers in the garden. But I guarantee they do not appreciate the detail in each flower, unless they bend down to see it from a few inches away.

The flowers have not just great yellow or orange colors, but have details in brown and white which are spectacular. When printing these pictures at 3 feet in size they really make a statement in a room

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See Photography work at Visual Perceptions by Lombano

Glass Fish

When working with glass almost any shape is possible. just using some simple shapes I was able to make this fish. It was the first piece I ever made. The body is translucent and the fins are yellow some covered in clear glass which gives them a depth.

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See Photography work at Visual Perceptions by Lombano