Catherine "Kater" Cheek is a writer and artist.
Catherine Cheek
Author's posts
Dec 22
Glass Pumpkin 2
This was the first pumpkin I made at the workshop I attended last Saturday. Many of us had trouble getting good grooves using the optic mold, because it cooled the glass down so quickly we couldn’t blow it out hard enough. The grooves on this look good, mostly because it stayed small. It’s about six …
Dec 21
Review: Hot Time in the Old Town
Hot Time in the Old Town: The Great Heat Wave of 1896 and the Making of Theodore Roosevelt by Edward P. Kohn This was the worst sort of book–not good enough that I really enjoyed reading it, but not bad enough to take it to the library without finishing it. I am not the right …
Dec 20
Blue Bowl Set
Last session, I tried to make a set of bowls as a belated wedding gift for my brother and his wife, and it didn’t work out. One got broken, one exploded, and one had glaze flaws. This time, I decided to not think too hard about the end result, and just do the best I …
Dec 18
Poppy Plate 4
I’ve made numerous plates like this. They are a great size and shape for pie and small sandwiches. You have to really take your time to keep them from getting warped or cracked, but when they work, you have a set of matched almost-stacking plates. To start with, you need a half dozen blemish-free styrofoam …
Dec 16
Glass Pumpkin 1
I took a short one-day workshop at the Mesa Art Center to make these glass pumpkins. They are basically just like ornaments, except we used an optics mold for both the bit and the base. I didn’t really have a pressing need for pumpkin ornaments, but I had really missed hotshop. I hope I can …