Subterranean Layers 3 - Back

This is one of few pieces I have created so far that looks as good, if not better, from the back.  The crispness of shapes and lines is much better from the back.

Subterranean Mosaic from the back - vertical image

The piece of "anchor" glass I put all of the layers  on top of, was a pale transparent aqua.  It seems to work in much the same way the Earth's atmosphere works to impact the way we see color. 

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The trade off is the clarity of the stringers and their surrounding color for the delightful bumps and textures of the rocks.  I also like the clarity of the wavy pattern that remains visible in the top side of the large rocks.  Much of that is lost on the back side. 

Subterranean Mosaic from the back

Because the "grass" green stringers were place before the frit, where they made contact with the anchor glass, there is not the pronounced reaction like there is on the top.   Notice the dark line or layer at the bottom of the grass below.  This is actually a top view and is the place is where the green stringers and the cyan frit overlap.  There must be just enough sulfur/selenium in the green (as in the French vanilla,) to react to the cyan which copper bearing.  Surprise, once again!!!

Subterranean Mosaic from thefront

While I did not plan for the visual placement of this "dirt" layer, it is not out of place even though it is not consistent with the color scheme.  Note to self:  "Cyan reacts with almost everything??"

Subterranean Layers 2- Front

Below the first layer of watery waves is a second layer of larger rocks.  These began as squares and were individually full fused fired several week ago.  They are just small enough to become almost circles in this process - any larger and they would look more like rounded square.

Subterranean Layers 1- Front

I have been drawing stratified layers of grass and earth for a couple of years now.   I decided to make a mosaic-like flat glass panel that mirrored these stratified drawings.  I began with green 1mm stringers and broke them, randomly, into 1 to 1.25 inch pieces.

Subterranean mosaic - grassy layer

Next I put in a layer of small chunky rock-like buttons that I made several months ago.

Subterranean mosaic - grassy layer with small "rocks" underneath

Several weeks ago I placed 10 pieces of dark 2mm stringers on a wavy mold for slumping.  My hope was that these stringers would become parallel lines or, in this case layers.  As you can see in the image below, the stringers are somewhat the same, although much to my surprise, they are. not exact

Subterranean mosaic - grassy layer on top, then small rocks and underground river waves below

On top of the small "rocks" I sprinkled fine cyan frit and above the concentric stringers I sprinkled fine periwinkle frit.  These three "bands" create the top three layers of the subterranean landscape. 

Subterranean mosaic - Close up of grassy layer on top, then small rocks and underground river waves below

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Bunny Nightlight - Thin white glass on white and salmon streaky opal glass with a clear base - ready and labelled for firing

The lion's share of the time spent on this little nightlight plaque was spent on the shaping of the rectangles to make the body ears, haunches, feet and tail.  I very quickly assembles the shaped pieces so that I could get it fired prior to the next session - I was impatient and did not want to wait a week. 

Bunny Nightlight - Thin white glass on white and salmon streaky opal glass with a clear base - pre-firing

There  are pros and cons to this speedy approach to assembly and this time I was pretty lucky.  If I were to take a great deal more time, I would not have overlapped the pieces, but ground each piece to perfectly align with the piece next to it.  This does not always result in seamless edges, however. In fact when tacking, and not full fusing, the edges between carefully fitted pieces are often accentuated - its like they pull apart.  I took a chance on overlapping, particularly since I selected thin white glass, as opposed to 2mm white glass.  White, for some reason, is particularly difficult to work with, so I opted for the thinnest piece. 

Bunny Nightlight - Thin white glass on white and salmon streaky opal glass with a clear base.

I am looking forward to seeing how much light is able to travel through this translucent glass and if the layers of white work or become a distraction with a light source behind the image.  This "light source" consideration adds an entirely different layer of planning and reflection to the creative process.  What first attracted me to glass was the transparency and intensity of colors.  By layering two transparent colors, a third color is easily created without adding the actual third piece of glass. I am most concerned about the locations where  there are actually 5 layers of glass.

I don't think transparent colors will be particularly appealing in a night light, however, for a couple of reasons.  For one thing, fully transparent glass, even in layers, will allow the light bulb and bulb housing to clearly show through when lit - a big distraction for any image created.  I also prefer a nightlight to defuse and softened light, and not blast light in the night darkness.  I am hopeful that a more translucent, and not transparent glass, will create a softer glow and not a lighthouse beckon blasting out light beams to guide the way!!!  I am also hopeful that the tail of the rabbit (the bottom of the circle being the place where there are 5 glass layers,) does not just appear to be a gray blob.

Using the Heavy Equipment

Although very time consuming, planning and executing cold work can be very rewarding.  A colleague who has been working with glass for several years (since retiring,) has been experimenting with nightlights recently.  They are relatively small, so easy to handle and store.  The cost of glass and firing is relatively small, as wells  (in addition to being small, it stays flat - so only ONE firing!.)  And of course, they are functional!

In the spirit of the season, I decided to try a new challenge on one of these small plaque-like beauties - grinding and shaping on the heavy equipment.

For the background, I simply cut two 3" X 4" rectangles - one clear and one "bunny" pink.  For the rabbit, I cut 7 rectangles and one small square and headed to the grinder.  Anywhere there is a curved edge, indicates where the grinder wheel was applied.  Notice the roughness of the edges.

Rabbit cold work - assembling the pieces after grinding and cleaning

Scoring and breaking glass, when done successfully, results in straight edges.  Scoring techniques lend themselves easily to the creation of all things geometric with straight sides.  The key to attractive end products is careful planning and measuring (and of course scoring and breaking.)  Even plaids, window pane openings, and frame-like bordered square and rectangular plates, plaques and bowls are a ruler and glass cutter away.

Once the rectangles and squares are cut for these free-form "collages," the time consuming part of grinding begins.  Each of the 8 pieces designed to create the rabbit require grinding and shaping. On e go the safety goggles AND if I do much of this type of work - I need a good, waterproof apron!

Rabbit cold work - assembling the pieces after grinding and cleaning

Additional care and measurement is needed if the edges of the final piece  align or border one another perfectly.  I decided in this rabbit, to overlap the pieces.  The end result would probably look better if I had selected a different glass - such as a 2mm French vanilla or a 2mm opaque white; this glass in thin (1mm) white.

Rabbit cold work - top of head and ears before firing

As I have continued to work with glass,  I have become more aware of how the appearance and properties of the material change after firing.  Notice the texture in both the white and the salmon pink and white streaky; there appear to be small waves if texture in both materials.  When I first began, I was troubled if these textures ran in different directions or changed directions mid-stream. 

Rabbit cold work - top of head and ears after firing

 Comparing the before firing and after firing of the ears, however, reveals that even when tacked (as opposed to full fused,) these surface textures go away.  Also notice around the edges of the rabbit.  The bond between the two glass pieces does not maintain a smooth, continuous flow or edge, as I expected.  This appears to be true whether the edge is white on salmon streaky or white on white.  The roughness created in the grinding process appears to exaggerate the break in the fusing line of the edge between pieces as in the top left on both ears. 

Pattern Bars in Repeating Pattern - Embedded

Embedding pattern "slices" into  a larger piece and repeating the pattern can create visual interest.  This piece is about 9" X 12" overall.  Each of the six pattern pieces is approximately 1.5" X 6" X 1/4". 

Pattern Bar

My first attempt at pattern bars with color was actually scrounging to find scrapes of glass I didn't have plans for that would be color-compatible......learned a lot and would do a lot differently the next time.

Below you will see two slices of a green/blue/yellow pattern bar embedded in clear glass. The process for creating these pieces reminds me of the process used to turn Fimo Clay into beads and repeating-pattern jewelry.  At the beginning of the assembly process, the clay is  tremendously more maleable and getting rounded corners and circles is very easy. 

In addition to the assemble process being very similar, the next steps are also.  With clay, the artist makes a cane, or long roll of a planned color pattern.  Continuing to roll the "cane," compresses the pattern, but if done correctly, maintains the integrity of the image.

When making a long "roll" using glass, the diameter create is the diameter that remains - compression does not significantly reduce the image size.  Glass is not maleable when cold.  It is possible to purchase  15"- 16" long "stringers" of glass in .5 mm, 1mm, and 2mm diameters and "rods" in 3mm and 5mm diameters.  If these are aligned, like spagetti, then fused, they become a glass cane.   Sheet glass and frit can also be combined to form canes.  All glass canes have to be dammed with fired to hold their diameter.

Using the cane patterns means cutting slices from the large cane just as you would slice a refridgerator cookie roll for baking, or slice sausage to create patties.

As you can imagine, cutting the clay canes takes less pressure and a sharp blade to retain the pattern of each slice.  Cutting slices of the glass cane requires a wet saw.

Above are two of the slices from a larger "cane" that was about 5 inches long.  In theory
 this cane would have produced 20 slices (remember, glass always wants to be 1/4" in thickness.) 

Award Anyone?????

Large, clear glass "chunks" with something engraved on them, or something embedded in them, are sometimes seen at awards ceremonies and retirement celebrations.  It matches a metal trophy for "need to dust," and is probably similar in weight.

Fused layers of 2mm glass and other glass elements, dammed, then cold worked, to form 5" X 7 " X 1.25" block.

When dropped, both can break your toes, but unlike a trophy that dents when dropped, glass can shatter into thousands of pieces.  I am not sure if this increases its' value as an award, but somehow that seems unlikely.

Fused layers of 2mm glass and other glass elements, dammed, then cold worked, to form 5" X 7 " X 1.25" block.

My biggest challenge in casting this particular chunk was trying to omit the air bubbles.  I was not very successful.

Fused layers of 2mm glass and other glass elements, dammed, then cold worked, to form 5" X 7 " X 1.25" block; emphasis on embedded aqua and white streaky rectangle

The two largest air bubbles are locate to the upper right of each of the embedded chevronesque features.  The layer that contained the chevrons had many pieces of glass put together in somewhat of a puzzle fashion.  These seams must have trapped enough air in the central portion of the piece, that it could not all escape when molten. 

Fused layers of 2mm glass and other glass elements, dammed, then cold worked, to form 5" X 7 " X 1.25" block; emphasis on embedded chevrons.

The aqua and white streaky rectangle, that is placed at a different layer in the block, appears to have missed the air bubble challenge despite the fact that pieces are placed around it, as well. 

Fused layers of 2mm glass and other glass elements, dammed, then cold worked, to form 5" X 7 " X 1.25" block.

I am glad I learned how to do this, but will think about using complex patterns with color that can be formed into block like this, then sliced apart with a power saw.  I will share an example of this type of work tomorrow - it is currently a "trending" use of glass in visual art! 

Approaching Pattern Bars

Glass has a few interesting properties.  One of them is that when molten, it will flow to a thickness of 1/4 inch.  If a platter, for example, has one spot that is thicker than 1/4" because of creator embellishments, that spot will flow to 1/4 inch and deform the edge of the platter - which will also be 1/4 inch thick. 

Full fused layers of 2mm glass as a result of damming.

There are a couple of ways "around" this.  One of them is to "tack fuse" your piece instead of "full fuse."  Tack fusing means that when fired, the temperature inside the kiln gets hot enough to begin to melt the glass.  Pieces of glass touching one another will bond to form a unified surface, thus "tacking" them together.  While edges of glass will round slightly, exterior edges do not fully round and edges of layered glass remain elevated.  The glass does not become fluid and level out to 1/4".   Areas that are a depth greater than 1/4 inch are determined by the designer and not by the kiln.

Full fused layers of 2mm glass as a result of damming.

Another way "around" the 1/4" property rule is to limit the space in which the molten glass is able to flow.  Just like with water in a river, this is called "damming."

Full fused layers of 2mm glass as a result of damming.  Notice that a portion of one layer is NOT clear.

By constructing a defined and confined space in which to place the "cold-worked" glass, the shape of the final produce is limited only by the boundaries created.  Not as easy as it sounds when the temperature inside the kiln is raised to a level that turns the glass molten (1500+ degrees F), but a means to a "greater than 1/4 inch end," when done successfully. 

Full fused layers of 2mm glass as a result of damming.

 

At the current time, it seems as though the majority of the time, pre-existing kiln posts and shelves are being re-purposed to create small dams.  I have recently seen a mold designed to result in a thicker end-produce.  Until now, the only molds I have seen resulting in a 1/2" to 3/4" product were small and designed for pendant jewelry.  These ovals, "donuts," and hearts would span a diameter of 1 to 2 1/2 inches.  The growing interest in glass creations with actual depth, complex patterns, and variations in thickness appear to be driving creative " work-arounds." 

Birdbath

Although I had anticipated a different result, the glass portion of the birdbath bowl has created an appealing effect.  It has a little watery wave and starry night mix.  The unpredictability of the reaction of the stars, regardless of their proximity to reactive glasses, adds to to complexity of the image. 

Birdbath glass bowl using silver foil stars, cyan, royal blue and French vanilla frit on a Tetka circle.

If I make a similar patter in the future I will not place French vanilla next to a blue, since these react to form the rather unappealing dirty brown.

Birdbath glass bowl using silver foil stars, cyan, royal blue and French vanilla frit on a Tetka circle.

Combining the slumped bowl with the holder helps a lot of light move through the pattern and adds to its appeal.  As you can see from the side view below, there are actually many "almost transparent" swoops that increase the amount of light able to travel through the pattern and not just reflect off of the surface glass.

Birdbath glass bowl in holder - using silver foil stars, cyan, royal blue and French vanilla frit on a Tetka circle.

Even though I have called this a "birdbath," I am not now sure I will put it to use on the deck for bird use.  For one thing, it is NOT as stable as I assumed it would be - afterall, it is glass.

Birdbath glass bowl in holder - using silver foil stars, cyan, royal blue and French vanilla frit on a Tetka circle.

Secondly, it is MUCH shallower than the mold it was slumped into, so will hold only enough water for a hummingbird or petite sparrow.  The "gunboat" robins that tend to hog all bird-centered locations in our yard, would topple this over with the first wallow to splash water.

Birdbath glass bowl in holder - using silver foil stars, cyan, royal blue and French vanilla frit on a Tetka circle.

Currently, the "birdbath" has become a garage door and key holding vessel.  It is large enough to hold several items, shallow enough so that all items are easily sorted, and rowdy keys and openers are not likely to send the holder, with bowl, flying.

Birdbath glass bowl in holder - using silver foil stars, cyan, royal blue and French vanilla frit on a Tetka circle.

In addition, the sentry fish above, seem to enjoy their new guarding responsibilities and feel comfortable and compatible with the colors.

Birdbath glass bowl in holder - using silver foil stars, cyan, royal blue and French vanilla frit on a Tetka circle.

I think the birds are out of luck!

Silver Reaction????

Doing more experimentation with silver foil, French vanilla and cyan or light turquoise did not turn out quite the way I expected.  I decided to use frits, and cut out silver stars on a clear base.   Below you car see a cobalt frit (the darkest blue, French vanilla frit, lite cyan and silver stars.

French vanilla, cyan and cobalt frit with silver stars on clear, Tetka plate.

 The plate example above uses only three colors of frit.  All of the stars are cut from the same material and are exactly the same size.  The first stars that are very visible look like they are dark gray and outlined with brown or charcoal gray.  These silver stars have reacted to the French vanilla they are resting on top of.

French vanilla, cyan and cobalt frit with silver stars on clear, Tetka plate.

The five stars that are the most visible in the image above all appear to have reacted the same way and turned a translucent gold.  Surprisingly, these stars are resting on three different colors of frit.  I expected all stars on top of French vanilla frit to react by turning dark and revealing a clear reaction boundary line like the first image.....hmmmmm.

French vanilla, cyan and cobalt frit with silver stars on clear, Tetka plate.

This portion of the plate shows all three colors of frit, reactions between the French vanilla and cyan (which looks sandy brown where it has reacted,) and stars that have both reacted and turned brown AND reacted and turned translucent gold.  So, what is the magic combination - GOOD QUESTION???

French vanilla, cyan and cobalt frit with silver stars on clear, Tetka plate.

French vanilla, cyan and cobalt frit with silver stars on clear, Tetka plate.

The presence of the brown reactive French vanilla and cyan appears to have a reactive effective on the silver stars a LOT of the time, BUT not ALL of the time!  

Happy Spring!

A large serving platter occasionally comes in handy,  so I decided to make one using a specialty glass.  Because of the complexity and uniqueness of cascade and infusion glass, I decided to do very little cold working and just let the glass make its own statement.

Serving platter using French vanilla and light turquoise cascade and inclusion specialty glass from Bullseye.

This particular piece of  glass is made at the factory by combining two colors of glass:  light turquoise and French vanilla.  So, where does that other brownish color come from, you ask?  Let's take a look.

Serving platter using French vanilla and light turquoise cascade and inclusion specialty glass from Bullseye - focus on light turquoise.

Light Turquoise is a copper bearing color.  In fact, all of the glass colors that fall in the aqua, cyan, turquoise, and even emerald green and teal green are bluish because of copper.

Serving platter using French vanilla and light turquoise cascade and inclusion specialty glass from Bullseye

 - focus on French vanilla.

French vanilla (the creamy, whitish color,) is a sulfur/selenium bearing color.  Glasses in the yellows, golds, and red ranges, such as medium amber, marigold yellow, cinnabar opal, pumpkin orange, and tomato red, contain sulfur/selenium to create their color.

Serving platter using French vanilla and light turquoise cascade and inclusion specialty glass from Bullseye - focus on location in glass where the two colors mixed in the manufacturing process.

Where these to colors of glass mix, a reaction takes place, resulting, in this case, in the range of brown colors, as seen in the close-up above.

(Many glasses containing sulfur/selenium can also be stained if fired with silver.)

Serving platter using French vanilla and light turquoise cascade and inclusion specialty glass from Bullseye - emphasis on cascading effect and gravitational pull in the manufacturing process.

When these sheets of glass are created, the molten Light turquoise and French vanilla come out of separate crucibles and flow downward (or cascade,) covering the rolling sheet.  Where the touch and begin to mix (infusion), the reaction occurs.  Think of the image above as a flow of hot, molten glasses flowing together just prior to cooling to a solid state.

Serving platter using French vanilla and light turquoise cascade and inclusion specialty glass from Bullseye.

I cut this piece of cascade and infused glass to form this large serving bowl, then fused it with a sheet of clear 2mm glass.  For the second firing, the combined glasses were slumped into the bowl shape.

The set of coasters sited in yesterday's post contains the scraps (mostly French vanilla,) remaining from this larger piece.

Functional and Colorful #2 (3, 4, 5)

I only had one small piece of cyan scrap, but had a larger piece of "cascade and infusion" French vanilla, and light turquoise cascade - 3" x 12" of the cascade, in fact, left over from a large bowl.  I cut four 3" x 3" squares for the central portion each coaster, then cut 16 border pieces from the streaker pieces. 

Trivit on top

I was concerned about what the reaction would be on all of the edges of the French vanilla sitting next to the light turquoise.  On 15 of the edges, there is only a fine line defining these edges. 

Coasters, with French vanilla cascade in the middle and the turquoise/white streaker around the edges.  The French vanilla and turquoise will react and did, as you can see on the edges bordering the central square. 

Coasters, with French vanilla cascade in the middle and the turquoise/white streaker around the edges.  The French vanilla and turquoise will react and did, as you can see on the edges bordering the central square. 

Where there was a large blob of turquoise in the French vanilla cascade, the turquoise turned brown.  The 16th edge is much more clearly defined as a result of this cascade mix of reactive glasses at the time of forming the sheet.

Coasters, with French vanilla cascade in the middle and the turquoise/white streaker around the edges.  The French vanilla and turquoise will react and did, as you can see on the edges bordering the central square. 

As with the trivit, I added four bumper buttons to the bottom of each coaster to protect both the coaster AND the surface it will be sitting upon. 

Coaster stack with bumper protectors on each piece - French vanilla cascade in the middle and the turquoise/white streaker around the edges.  The French vanilla and turquoise will react and did, as you can see on the edges bordering the central square. 

Cascade and Infusion is a type of glass created by glass manufacturers, such as Bullseye.  Each large sheet of glass is unique.  All appear as though two or three colors of molten glass are poured into an "anchor" color of glass and allowed to flow vertically downward like a torrent river pushing water and silt south.  In the majority of these pieces, the added colors are located in the middle of the large sheet, however with cutting, many of the added colors look as if they divide and smaller piece of glass down the middle (i.e. large sheet cut in quarters.)  I'll share an example of this product, fired, tomorrow.  It is actually the other piece of the smaller French vanilla pieces in the coasters above.