Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Show on the Road!



This image says it all. The American Summer has been chock full of travel and adventure. Mostly teaching and lecturing. Suitcase in tow and annealing schedules on the board I am off to the next stop.

I will be teaching at all four Bullseye resource Centers this Summer/Autumn. The class titled "Kiln as Chisel"  explores the many facets of manipulating glass in a kiln. Exploring "tactics" within my own practice students are exposed to a "Kitchen sink" of ideas. About one quarter of the class revolves around silvering glass. This is the process in which a "mirror coating" is applied to the surface of glass. In this case Kiln formed glass. 

The silvering solutions I have come to love and rely on are produced by Angel Gilding. They have created a kit for the class, and for the students, interested in silvering glass onwards after the class. The kit is a hybrid of what I have been ordering from them for years; they are user friendly and reliable products. If I ever had an issue or problem they have always been more than happy to assist! (Although there have been very few issues....mostly "what ifs?" and "can I do this?"... )  

Pictured above is the kit provided by Angel Gilding and some Bullseye Glass Billets. "A match made in heaven" HA! See what I did there! 

Some really amazing results are coming from these classes see below! 









More to come in the fall! If you have not signed up for a class do so now!!!!

Sunday, April 12, 2015

Shattered

On Sunday March 29th I opened a solo show at Master Works Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand, titled "Shattered." These works were made/started/considered over the course of my residency at Pilchuck Glass School and completed in Australia.

It was a slow, but steady, turnout because of the ICC World Cup. I know. Cricket. Of all things! I don't even know how the bloody sport is played! New Zealand made it to the final so of course. They Played Australia, of course. Australia won. Of course! It was overall a great afternoon with many folks valiantly braving the NZ holiday.

New Zealand and Australia have an interesting rivalry. Not unlike Canada and America. I chock it up to similar accents. Their flags are very much alike with only a few stars designating a difference. If you ask a kiwi they would say the Aussies are just greedy, that is why they have more stars ;)

The work looked great. It was lovely to see all 13 new works side by side. Some of the work was incredibly fresh, out of the kiln hot and packed into crates. Well, not THAT new, but you get the picture. Forward are a few images. I am most excited by the works where I have broken slabs of plaster and let the glass gently ooze over and into. These works are sawed, sandblasted, hand finished then silvered.

"Slab" 2015
Broken refractory slabs, fused glass, cold worked, and silvered.
540 x 640 x 35mm


"Always After" 2015
Fused glass over broken/discarded bits of refractory material from "Slab" 
Fused, cold worked, and silvered glass.
425 x 425 x 10mm


"Break and Mend 16" 2014
Broken, fused, cold worked, and silvered glass.
770 x 430 x 6mm


"Break and Mend 17" 2015
Broken, fused, cold worked, and silvered glass.
895 x 460 x 6mm


"Shattered 1" 2015
Broken and fused glass.
New freestanding work with light emanating through the cracks.  
590 x 495 x 50mm


"Break and Mend 18" 2014
Broken, fused, cold worked, and silvered glass.
870 x 460 x 6mm


"Break and Mend 19" 2014
Broken, fused, cold worked, and silvered glass.
610 x 475 x 6mm


"Ooze 2" 2015
Broken black glass with black glass oozing through.
920 x 300 x 6mm


"Ooze 1" 2015
Broken black glass with black glass oozing through.
590 x 590 x 6mm



Sunday, February 15, 2015

Smoke & Mirrors! (as well as heaps of laughter! )

In June (15th-19th) I will be teaching a fantastic class that will cover all things fused, slumped, and silvered. The silvering process, or applying a shiny silver coat to the back of glass to make a mirror, is something within my studio practice that I love.

When I was a young glassy bub I thought to myself, "alright, lets put that mirror in the kiln and manipulate it," which you really cant do, I discovered the hard way. You must first fuse, slump, and shape the glass before applying the mirror coating.

In the not so distant past it was something I outsourced, but because of rising costs and the desire to experiment more I have incorporated this practice within my repertoire. We will cover the do's and don'ts as well as proper handling and disposal. You will also leave with a sweet coupon code to purchase the chemicals required to mirror your own glass in your studio.

In the course we will also explore leading techniques, by this I mean lead came, solder, and copper foil construction techniques. This, alongside the silvering, is something that fascinates me. Stained glass is such a dated craft. I love this pedantic way of joining two pieces of glass together, or in some cases many shards of glass together. In contemporary glass/sculpture I believe there is a great deal of exploration to be had.

We will examine these techniques both conceptually and technically as well as have a great time along the way.

I am very excited to teach at the Pittsburgh Glass Center for the first time and it should be a hoot!

Click on the link to learn more!












Smoke & Mirrors!

Also! They have scholarships! Apply by March 15th! Money for classes!

Check it out!

Scholarships!


Monday, February 9, 2015

What have I been up to you ask?

Oh a little of this and a little of that. I have recently completed a residency at Pilchuck Glass School. It was a wonderful time spent on the Pilchuck campus during the North American Autumn. There was only the full time staff as well as the other residents: Sarah BrilandYuka OtaniDavid KingAnne Petters, and Irena Czepcova. I made, I laughed, I ate. Oh boy did I eat. Yessh.

It was highly productive period. Some of this work will be forwarded to a show in Auckland, New Zealand, a piece will be hung at the U.S. Embassy in Canberra, Australia, and a few works have been commissioned. Unfortunately a few pieces and components (important ones ugh) were damaged by TSA during transit. But that is a whole other post.....

Here a few works in progress....




Broken then fused seperatley. Much of the new work looks for patterns within the breaks and finds continuity between panels. This stems from an observation I made in grad school. I was looking out my  fourth floor studio and noticed how independently poured slabs of concrete were linked by a single crack. 



Experiments in creating sculptural works. Using no silvering. Just light. 


A kiln full of broken panels with cover sheets. 


Fused, sawed, sandblasted, then "fire polished"


I have also started silvering the panels myself. 


Crates! A perk of using Bullseye sheet glass is that it comes with high quality foam. So easy to pack out a crate. 


These are probably my favorite new works/experiments. Black on black. Very simple. Very clean. 


Big ginger! I have also started to drop the glass into the kiln. Not arranging anything and leaving the break more to chance. A less heavy handed approach. 


Large white panel. 


And then my little helper. Irena :)