1st Glass rotations.

Part 1

I personally missed the first day of glass work due to issues with the timetable. To my knowledge the first day involved making roman glass but because I was not there i am unsure of the techniques used and plan on being caught up on a later date

Part 2

On the second day we experimented with making 2D textures on glass. I experimented with sandblasting cutting and engraving as well as learning how to use some of the sanding tables. When it came to my 2D surface I found that I struggled with the with how delicate the glass was compared to the materials I am used to meaning that I broke most of my glass making the finished piece a lot smaller than what I started with.

For the design of my surface I used my wave life drawings as inspiration were I tried to mimic the water like texture on the surface of the glass to make it appear water like. I did this by using the thin cutting wheel and layering different cuts into the glass to give it the appearance of the surface of water.

I liked the end result of this and felt that it was unique when compared to all the other pieces that everyone else had made for mine had an illusion of depth were as the majority of others stayed in a very 2D format. using artistic drawings and pictures rather than playing with texture.

Part 3

When it came to the third and final part of glass work we were given the task of making a 3D model using glass. I chose to follow the same theme as my 2D piece and somewhat integrate the technique i had used into my design.

I had decided to make a wave shape using the technique I used in my 2D shape but also giving it more depth. I decided to shape small tubes of glass and see if i could layer them in a way that when placed in the kiln they would fall into a natural wavy format were i can then finish it off and add the final texture with the wheel at the end.

Sadly after making all the glass rods and playing it in the kiln they did not stick to the bottom glass correctly and I was unable to work them any further. I feel that if I were to experiment with a few other techniques the tubes could make a nice effect and could give me a nice unique looking piece. Later after laying down all the peices of broken glass in a pile while I cleaned up after my work I found that it had a nice effect and had some interesting effects with light. It was from this that I decided to fuse different sizes of cut glass into a line with four layers each with a stepped format. The finished product came out extremely well. I was somewhat worried that during the fusing process I would lose some of the detail on the glass but it did not and the finished product came out better than I thought that it would.

Outlook

I enjoyed glass I found that it is nice to work with and you can get some very pretty results but due to the issues I have with my hands I found that the delicate nature of glass was a little too dificult for me to grasp and I ended up being too heavy handed and broke most of when I was making. I feel that with practice this would become less of a problem but it will always be there.

in conclusion I feel that I will revisit glass working techniques as possible secondary aspects to some of the products I make but highly doubt It will ever be my specialization.

#PDP