Blenko

At the beginning of the summer, our group visited Blenko in Milton, WV.  What a treasure we have in our own backyard!  While there we had the opportunity to make two water pitchers and a candy dish.  It was a wonderful experience!  My favorite activity was making the water pitcher.  

To begin, one of the workers would gather the glass on a blowpipe.

Next, he would bring it to our chair where we would shaped it in a tool that looked like a large wooden ladle.  

We would roll it back and forth and the glass would take on the rounded shape of the ladle.

Then we would blow a tiny puff of air into the blowpipe so as to open up the glass.

After opening it a bit, we brought it over to another station and placed it in a mold.

Then we would have to blow a lot of air through the blowpipe to make the glass take the shape of the pitcher mold.

Then we would break the blowpipe from the pitcher and take the pitcher from the mold.

One of the workers then put the pitcher into another furnace to heat the top so it would be pliable enough to make the spout.

When it had been heated enough, we used a metal tool to smooth the top and form spouts on each side of the opening.

After adding the spout, we had one final step...placing the pitcher in the annealing furnace.  Four hours later, it would come out on the other side.

A few days later, we got to bring our pitchers home.  They are a beautiful work of art!

The Art of Kiln Glass

I found an amazing video on the art of kiln glass.  I am so excited to share it with you.  This video shows examples of work by many different artists.  I want you to notice that many of the artists mentioned practice in other mediums besides glass.  Choose one of the artists from the video to research further and prepare a presentation for the class.

For some reason, the embed code is not working properly so you will need to follow this link in order to watch the video.

The Art of Kiln-glass from Bullseye Glass on Vimeo.

Slumping Fused Glass

Before I went on the trip across the state to visit glass making facilities, we had been learning about the art of fusing glass.  I would like to pick up now where we left off.

You watched a video about the process of fusing glass so that it forms a new piece that is flat.  Now I want to introduce you to how fused glass can be formed into vessels.  This is done through a process called slumping.  You begin by fusing a piece of glass in the kiln.  Then you place it over a mold and put it back in the kiln.  The heat will cause the glass to bend to the shape of the mold.

Watch the following video and answer the questions below.  This video not only shows you how slumping occurs but also shows you how certain types of glass can have reactions when they are heated  while touching each other.  It also shows you how to use stringer to create a linear design.



Linear Reaction Plate from Bullseye Glass on Vimeo.


Answer these questions in your journal:

1.  What tools were needed for using the stringers?
2.  Why did the stringer not change colors in some places?
3.  There were two different firing schedules in this video:  one for fusing and one for slumping.  What are the differences in the temperatures for these two processes?

WV Glass and Ceramics Project Trip Day Six

Our last stop of the trip was a fabulous ending!  We went to the Pittsburgh Glass Center, where we got to watch an artisan make a blown glass bowl.  We then got to make our own glass ornament!  It was an amazing experience.  We toured the facility and walked around in their gallery, where we viewed many beautiful pieces that were hand made. Most of these pieces were for sale and as I wandered around the gallery, I started thinking about how they determine the price of each piece.  As an artist, I have always struggled with how to price my art.  A professor once told me to think about how many hours the piece took to make and then how much each hour of my time is worth.  But I feel there is a bit more to it than that, such as the cost of my materials and the amount of training I have in the particular medium.  For example, I have many more hours of training invested in photography and ceramics than I do in oil painting or printmaking.  Therefore, when factoring that in, I would likely charge more for a bowl than an oil painting.

In talking to the glass blower we worked with today, I learned that some blown pieces take 20 to 30 minutes to create, while others may take two hours to complete.  She also told me some of the more intricate glass pieces are made through flamework, meaning the artist could spend days on them.

If you were a glass artist, how would you determine the price of your pieces?  I want you to develop a scenario in which you choose your method for creating a glass piece, decide how long it would take you to complete the piece (based on what we've learned about the process), and how much your materials would cost (you will probably need to do some web-based research for this info).   And lastly,  in this imaginary scenario, don't forget to mention your training.

Below, I have added some photos of some pieces I saw in the gallery today:

This seedling was the least expensive piece I saw in the gallery.  It's detail is extraordinary!

This piece was in the medium price range.  It was created by the artist who walked us through the process of making a glass bowl today.  She said this vase took her two hours and that after blowing the piece she had to take it to the cold shop to cut the detail into it.

This piece was the most expensive I saw.  Notice the intricate detail.  A design like this would be created through flamework.  This is one of those pieces that could easily have taken days to make.

WV Glass and Ceramics Project Trip Day Five

Today was another wonderful day on the trip.  We went to the Carnegie Museum of Art and Natural History, in Pittsburgh, PA.  They had some amazing pieces in the Art Museum.  Afterwards, we traveled a couple of blocks to the Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens.  It houses thousands of species of plants and also displays glasswork throughout the garden exhibits.  The work is from various glass artists, but it is probably best known for its display of Dale Chihuly's glass.

Dale Chihuly has been making glass since the 1960s and his work is know all over the world.  Because he is so well-known, he works with a crew to create his pieces.  After a car accident in 1976, he lost his vision in his left eye.  The loss of peripheral vision made it difficult to work on the pieces himself.  He found that if he hired others to do the work for him, he could step back and direct them as to how he wanted the piece made and that distance between him and the piece allows him to better achieve his vision of what the it should be.

I was very struck today by these skinny figures designed by Chihuly.  I found their slenderness whimsical and dreamlike.  How would you describe them?  Why do you think he chose the frosted white coloring?

You get to try your hand at designing figures.  You will use aluminum foil to mold your figure.  

Aspects to think about:

1.  Will your figure be skinny like these or will you add curves?

2.  What gesture(s) will your figure be making?

3.  What message will you convey with the body language of your figure? 

WV Glass and Ceramics Project Trip Day Four

Today we began by traveling over to Cambridge, OH to Mosser Glass.  At their facility, they use molds to make glass items.  They make these items for a variety of uses such as pitchers, bowls, platters, and novelty items.  They also make speciality items for uses in labs and dentist offices.  Today, we watched them make headlight covers for classic cars and pitchers.  It was very impressive the way every member  of each crew had a job and they all worked together as a team.  After we finished watching them work, we headed to the gift shop to browse their beautiful glasswork.

Above are some examples of some of the glass Mosser makes.  Below is a video showing the entire process of the crew making a pitcher from start to finish.  As you will see, there are many steps.  In order to make this pitcher, it first had to be conceptualized.  Sketches had to be drawn and the mod had to be made.  You are going to design a glass piece.  You will need to decide what the piece's purpose will be and how you can make form and function work together.  You will need both sketches of the object and sketches of the mold.  Don't forget the mold will need to be in reverse and that you will need to consider your negative space.

Mosser Glass from Jennifer Edwards on Vimeo.

WV Glass and Ceramics Project Trip Day Three

As a potter hobbyist, today was very exciting for me!  We got to tour the Museum of Ceramics in East Liverpool, OH and then headed back across the river to WV to the Homer Laughlin China Company where they make the well known Fiesta dinnerware, among other ceramic items.  I will post more about Homer Laughlin at a later date.  What I want to share with you today is the intricate patterns I saw on the china at the Museum of Ceramics.  They were quite beautiful and very well done.  Watch the slideshow below and see for yourself...

You are going to design your own china pattern.  I want to see thumbnail sketches of details, all of your drafts, and finally the finished design on paper.  Your design can be floral in nature, geometric, modern, traditional, etc....  Have fun!