Glass Art

GLASS!

… It’s such an interesting material, right?! I mean who would have ever thought that you could take silica (in the form of sand) and combine it with soda ash and limestone and melt it all together at a comfortable 1700°C to create a smooth clear material? Well someone thought of it, and thank goodness they did! Glass can not only be used for functional purposes such as windows and glasses to put your favorite beverage in, but it makes a great material for art! Common glass art forms include stained glass, blown glass, kiln-formed glass, sandblasting, and copper foiled glass. All of these glass art-forms are very unique and can provide astonishing results.

Stained glass has been around for centuries and is still commonly used today. Stained glass can provide a beautiful ambiance to any room, but is most commonly found in churches. It is often referred to as “illuminated wall decoration”.  Stained glass typically requires a good amount of artistic skill to conceive and appropriate, aesthetically pleasing design, as well as some engineering skill to assemble the piece.

Blown glass is one of my personal favorites, mainly due to the versatility. This is likely the most favored glass-art technique used today. There are almost endless possibilities when working with blown glass. Glass can be formed into any shape desired, and a very wide range of colors is available. Compatible glass must be used when blowing glass due to the internal stresses left in the glass once cooled. I would highly recommend watching a documentary on glass blowing such as “Degenerate Art”. You will be amazed at the possibilities when working with blown glass.

Kiln-Formed glass is also referred to as “warm glass” and is most commonly seen as dishes, plates, or tiles. Although these pieces may seem very simple, the technique is quite scientific and requires very precise temperature control and material selection. After a piece has been kiln-formed, it is often inspected with polarizing filters to detect any minor stress fractures.

Sandblasting is another of my personal favorites. Something about the simplicity of the art when sandblasting makes it unique and comfortable not only to create, but to view and handle as well. Areas of glass can be sandblasted to different depths, providing a 3-D like feel to the image being blasted into the glass. I would strongly recommend giving sandblasting a try if you are ever presented with the opportunity J

Last but certainly not least, is the copper foil technique. This technique consists of wrapping cut sections of glass in tape made of copper (around the edges) and then soldering the pieces together. This technique was commonly used in lamp making, even by the famous maker Louis Comfort Tiffany. This technique requires a steady hand and a lot of patience but can produce some very beautiful results.

So there you have it, a quick rundown on the more commonly used techniques of glass art. Take a quick gander on the World Wide Web for examples of each of these techniques and give one, two, or maybe even all of them a try! Each technique requires a unique skill set and produces considerably different results. You might be amazed at what you create when you combine your creative side with a material like glass!!