Glass Storage

During the holiday period, I decided to build a new glass storage unit to segregate my Bullseye stock from the rest of the glass, as it had been getting mixed up some times.

This is a view of my result.  The transparents are stored on the top row, and the tints, cut down clear, and opalescents on the lower row. The full sheets of tekta stand in a Bullseye crate at the side.  The cullet is stored over a section for segregating glass and some smaller finished projects.

The ladder leans against the bottles of powder that I have in a shop display unit that twirls around so you can get to the things at the back.

You can also see a corner of my cutting bench, with the knee of some one having a coffee with me at the time of taking the photo.

Now to get back to work.

Christmas Show

Parade Artists completed its (now) annual Christmas Show in the Wasps Hanson St studio building last weekend.  We used the same kind of set up as last year since it  worked well then.  

The ceramics section ready for the show

The various media - Ceramics, Glass, Painting and Textiles were each set up in a group.  There were also plinths and display sections throughout the show area where the various forms were in mixed displays.

Glass section at the end of the day

Some of the paintings displayed

We were fortunate to have sponsorship from Kopparberg and also to have Supper in the Suburbs provide a  pop-up cafe

Some of the Kopparberg and some of the baking from Supper in the Suburbs

Some visitors enjoying the drink and baking

Although the weather was bad on some days, people still came to the show.  The numbers of visitors and exhibitors were down on last year, but we were not down hearted as can be seen from the faces of these three artists.

You can follow Parade Artists on Facebook through out the year.  Plans for other shows will be announced there.

Testing Fibre Paper

A new product has come to my attention courtesy of my glass supplier. I was given a quantity of 1mm and 3mm fibre paper to test, so I have been combining a range of fusing activities with the testing of this product. I think it is worth knowing about and so include my report to the supplier here.

Eco Fibre Papers


Performance

The appearance of the Eco fibre paper is the same as standard ceramic fibre paper. The feel is less fibrous with fewer sharp “prickles”. The fibre paper cuts easily and cleanly with scissors or knives. There is much less tearing than with ceramic fibre paper.

The burnout of the binders creates a “chemical” odour, a faint smell similar to finger nail polish. The odour starts at about the same temperatures as ceramic fibre paper, but continues to higher temperatures – up to ca. 600C.

The unfired strength is as good as ceramic fibre paper. But after firing the fibres have little strength, becoming “fluffy” without changing shape. The effect is that the paper comes off the shelf with the glass at all forming temperatures. Spreading powdered batt/kiln wash over the fibre paper reduces this grabbing of the glass, but does not eliminate it.

The texture imparted by Eco fibre paper is indistinguishable from ceramic fibre paper. This can be reduced by smoothing batt/kiln wash over the fibre paper.

The fluffy nature of the Eco fibre paper means there is almost no dust. The cleanup is easy as the fibre paper can be pulled or wiped off and the final clean with water is simple.

This is a one use paper. Trying to fire a second time leaves a heat mark and fires fibres into the bottom surface of the glass at temperatures above 700C.

I have not yet tried to use this in a rigidised form, or as a mould material with colloidal silica, but it would appear to be well suited for this.

The Testing Conditions were for kiln carving (830C), fusing (804C) tack fusing (770C), and painting (580-650C) in gas and electric kilns. The fibre paper tested was of 1mm and 3mm thicknesses.

Benefits

The amount of ceramic fibre in the Eco fibre paper is very much smaller than standard ceramic fibre paper making it more healthy to use. There is less dust with the Eco fibre paper, meaning less dust in the studio atmosphere, and easier disposal.

The cost of Eco fibre paper is about 1/3 less than the equivalent thicknesses of standard fibre paper.

Disadvantages

The Eco fibre papers stick to the glass very easilly and requires sprinkling of powder over the paper to reduce (although not eliminate) the sticking.

It is a one use fibre paper because of this sticking, whereas the standard papers did not stick to the glass, allowing more than one firing with careful use.

Availability

Eco fibre paper is available from Pearsons Glass.


I have yet to test the fibre board made by the same company, but look forward to obtaining some for testing.

Stephen Richard

Verrier, 4.6.10

Addendum 17.6.11

The performance of the Eco fibre paper in a rigidised form is much more fragile than the "standard" fibre paper. It is not recommended for rigidising, as there is much less strength in the fired out rigidised form.

Chandelier

In the autumn I was asked to provide a chandelier for a large hallway. The principle was to have repeating features that would break up the light from the central hanging.

I made a drawing and a few samples of the pieces to be incorporated. This was approved.

Before Christmas I delivered the finished piece. It consists of two polished stainless steel rings suspended by chains from a central lighting point and several hundred pieces of cast glass of different sizes.

Recently I was able to see the piece installed. It is not immediately obvious upon entry to the house, as there is a landing immediately above the entry. But it is revealed as you move into the house and happen to look upwards.

And as you move up the stairway, the chandelier becomes more obvious both in size and appearance.

It stands out - although only of clear glass - whether against the daylight or as here within the stairwell.

The individually cast pieces of glass break up the light from the light source as can be seen from the above photo.

Each piece is cast with linking wires to attach all the pieces together. Each column of glass ends with a piece having only one link. The inner ring of glass pieces are of a smaller diameter (ca. 35mm dia.) than the outer ones (ca. 50mm dia.) to help fill the spaces that would otherwise be left if all pieces were of the same size.

It is not a surprise - with glass of 6mm thickness and diameters up to 50mm - that this is a heavy piece. Bolts fasten the central hanging point to the beams in the ceiling as is advisable for any large chandelier.

Westercraigs Nursery

After a number of months, some changes at the timber yard and fitting volunteers around the job, the tree slices are in place. They range from 1220 to 1900mm tall and are 50mm thick.

The openings were cut by Andy from the Milnbank Housing Association. I am pleased with the result, so here is a kind of photo diary.

This shows the South West corner of the nursery playground

This is the South East corner of the playground

North East corner before glass installation

South East corner with glass installed

South West with glass and the washing line

North East corner with glass

North side with glass

North West with (most of the) Glass

Too often there is a problem in installation. And in this case the problem was a hammer that missed the nail and hit the glass. This is being remade and will be installed soon.

A general view of the playground facing South East

I'm not sure if the children will notice the coloured light, but I hope their parents will

A view from the outside facing East

Earlier posts about this project are here:

Westercraigs Nursery, cont.

Monolith Project

Westercraigs Nursery Continued

I have had a visit to a timber yard where all the trees cut down by the city are delivered. This organisation then processes them with a team of trainees drawn from those out of work and wanting to learn new skills. I was taken there with some of the nursery school pupils.

There are lots of tree trunks and branches scattered around the yard, but what I really was interested in were these sawn planks.

When they are standing up, it is clear how big they really are. The glass pieces created for the school based on the students' designs will be inserted into holes made in these big planks.

Meeting, Holding, Passing

Inspired by my previous commission, I struck out with the bold colours to develop another piece. This piece - Meeting, Holding, Passing - has been influenced by the transitory nature of friendships. People come together, interact on various levels and then separate, sometimes for a lifetime. For me at its simplest it represents two people meeting and then turning away. There are of course, many additional meanings that this piece can carry based on the viewer's experience and that is my intention.

This is made from glass strips fused together and mounted in stainless steel; ca. 350mm wide by 550mm high and 250 deep at the base.

Further detail view.

Sculpture Commission

Among the things to be done at Christmas time was to prepare a sculpture based on a previous one. This earlier piece - ca. 400 wide by 450 high and 150 deep - was formed from shaped strips that were fused and then shaped again before mounting in wood and steel.

In the case of this commission the client wanted a flat piece with a completely different colour scheme. It was one that is bolder than I normally commit to, but was completely appealing to me. The intention was to include various shades of red and green which can interact with each other. Depending on the viewpoint, each strip shades the colour of the next door strip.

This image gives the overall view of the piece. It is ca. 400mm wide by 330 high, mounted in wood and painted aluminum.

This image gives a detail of the piece showing a bit of the interaction of the colours.

What is important for me is that the client was delighted when she picked it up and was not worried at all by the delay.

Monolith Project

In the months leading up to Christmas - in addition to the usual pre- Christmas rush - I have been involved in a project lead byWestercraigs Nursery School. This has involved a whole community of children. Westercraigs, two primary schools and one Secondary school were part of the project, involving a whole campus of schools and beyond. Some of the people involved are shown here:

This shows some of the funders, the makers, and some of the designers - the children from 4 to 17 years of age.

The pieces designed by the children and made in the studio are to be inserted into rough sawn planks about 75mm thick with the bark remaining on the ends. The pieces made will be inserted into apertures cut into the planks. These planks will be set up around the nursery playground to enhance and define the outdoor space for the children.

We brought the children into the studio to tell them something about glass, how it is put together and then heated in the kiln - as we had decided early on that kiln formed pieces would suit the designs developed by the children. We sent the children away with some samples of coloured glass to help maintain their interest and attention.

After several visits to bring their designs and see progress on some others, we began to seriously produce the 26 pieces required for the project.

These images show some of the techniques used to interpret the designs given to us. In a few cases the older children made the panels from design to kiln.

The following images show some of the panels as interpreted. We tried to keep to the spirit and descriptions given to us by the children. It has been refreshing working with people who are interested in primary colours - contrast is important to them.

One of the pieces in the final two images is repeated as there was a failure in the first firing of it.

One-Day Fusing Experience

An old - but young - friend brought two of her friends for a day of working together in the studio. She had some designs in mind and had enough previous experience that I could leave her to get on while I took the other two through how to cut glass. Neither had cut any glass before coming to the studio.

They both took to it well. Within 45 minutes, I was ready to let them go with designing. By lunch time the designs were prepared and the colours selected. The period just after lunch was the time that their designs were drastically simplified as they came to grips with the nature of the glass.

The person I am going to concentrate on is not better than the other, it is just that her design went through a significant transformation. She early on decided on using strips to create a sinuous design which would be formed to be self supporting. This determination to do many repetitive cuts of strips might have tested many, but she took to the task well, with few shattered strips. She was a bit dismayed when she thought she had done enough strips, after two hours cutting only to find that she had at least half as many again to cut.

At the end of the day, we laid the strips out on the stainless steel mould with a layer of Thinfire over.

I liked the pattern of subtle coloured shadows the strips threw onto the paper below. Unfortunately, the light levels mean that the camera did not pick up so much of the colour as my eye did. Still It provides a mysterious picture when out of context.

The resulting curved strips were assembled by the student a couple of days later - yes I know, not strictly a one day class. This is where the limitations of the curves came into play. Even though the design has been modified a lot, the feel of the original comes through.

The remaining pieces and off-cuts of the strips were combined into objects intended for hanging. The rule of kiln forming is to avoid all waste.

Now to shape the main piece. This will require watching, as so much of the piece will not be supported during the early and mid stages of the drape. I will need to make sure that I am not interrupted. So is it early morning, or late night?

Glass Supplier to the Fashion Industry

My involvement with the London Fashion Show began some years ago when I did some work for Amy Stephenson's father. Of course, I didn 't know it at the time. In the Summer Amy and her father came to talk about body casts and possible uses. They took away a mould to try out some ideas. In October they came back with some samples they had prepared and proposals for my involvement in producing glass pieces for Amy's outfits. The first sketches of the ideas are below:

We began experimenting with various means of attaching the glass to the cloth. We looked at slots, holes and looped wires. The holes won out in the end. We also tried out some backing for the glass pieces. This picture shows some of the brass and copper mesh that we fused to the backs.

The fronts appear unchanged whether they have backing or not.

We found that the copper stuck best, but only on black backed items. Later, when some unbacked pieces were dropped on the cutting room floor, it was discovered that the backing was not necessary.

We also tried out the wire connections between pieces. An example of these tests is below.

As we proceeded and Amy experimented with and developed her ideas, the structures simplified, but the decoration and shaping became more precise. Things were pretty relaxed at this stage with ideas coming and relatively long time scales to prepare the pieces. This did not last.