Summer at the Glass House

August 20, 2015 – Summer at the Glass House

I wasn’t sure I’d have time to do much fused glass work this summer, but I signed up for a 7-week session at the Workhouse anyway.  It turned out to be a surprisingly productive couple of months.  I completed 12 pieces, made numerous components that I’ll use in the future, and have started work on several more pieces that I’ll finish up in the fall.  I took advantage of the opportunity to experiment with some new techniques and materials.  I’m most excited about the sandblasting that produces a matte finish on the glass.  You can see that in the two pieces below:

I also did two pieces with photo transfers.  In the first, I used one of my own photographs.  It’s a view of my former house in a small French village.  

For the second photo transfer piece, I printed out a quote that I found in a fascinating book on neuroplasticity of the brain, The Brain that Heals Itself by Norman Doidge.  You’ll also notice that I used some frit (small fragments of glass) that reacted with the base color.  

During one of our class sessions, we used the vitrograph.  This machine allows you to make “stringers,” thin strands of glass that you can manipulate into curves while they’re hot.  By putting several colors of glass into the vitrograph machine, you can make stringers that contain a rainbow of colors.  I took pieces of the vitrograph stringers I made and placed them on a circle of French vanilla glass before fusing the piece.  

My instructor, Sandi Martina, encouraged us to try recycling various types of glass.  This is a piece I made using shattered tempered glass.  I love the amorphous, organic shape. 

I experimented with the reactive qualities of glass in the next piece, which includes both opaque and transparent glass.  Certain glass colors contain copper or sulfur that react with other colors or with silver.  When the reaction takes place, a halo is formed.  I also applied some circles of silver foil to the surface of the glass before the second firing.  Finally, I created recessed circles on the underside of the glass by using a material called Fiber Frax.  This process is called kiln carving.  

If you remember the pot melt I made in the spring, you’ll see that I incorporated it into the piece below.

The largest piece I made is about 11 inches square.  The focal point is a broad band of thin stripes created by setting stringers into reeded glass.  

There was plenty of time to make dots and cabochons.  In the photo below, you see the pieces of glass for dots and cabochons arranged on the shelf of a small kiln prior to firing.  

Add caption

The cabochons in the piece below came from fragments of a puddle, i.e. a stack of 7 squares of glass that was fired and then broken into rough chunks.  The chunks can be  fired again to make cabochons – or they can be fused “as is” onto a piece.  The results are always a surprise!  

Just to finish up the session, I made a couple of small dishes using one of my favorite colors of transparent glass.  

 

Classes at the Workhouse are on break now until the fall session starts in late September.  However, I’ll be going in for open studio time before the end of the month and I’ll also be working in my studio at home. 

Platters

June 13, 2015 – Platters

Platter-sized works of fused glass blend art with functionality.  Here are four that I’ve made in the last couple of years.  They are 11 to 12 inches square, so they’re a good size for serving fruit, cookies, crudités, or other edibles.   

This piece looks great filled with ripe strawberries.  I call it my Mother’s Day piece because I made it in early May.  The colors in the border come from thin shards of colored glass called confetti.  I’ve also added dots and frit during a tack firing for texture. 

This is one of the first pieces I made.  I love the subtle sparkle of the clear iridized glass as well as the soft gray tones.  The black and white accents give the piece more contrast.  This platter is a perfect backdrop for a colorful assortment of crudités or fruit.

I was inspired to make this piece when I found a beautiful piece of red glass.  The piece wasn’t large enough to fill the center as a square, but I solved that problem by modifying my initial idea and making the center in two parts.  The central color is so strong that I felt black and white were the best choices to complement it.  I’ve used red, white and black confetti and black frit for surface interest. 

Finally, this very colorful piece incorporates several components that I created over a period of several weeks.  At the center of the piece is a plaid square that was fused separately before being incorporated into the larger design.  Likewise, slices of a previously fused pattern bar became elements in the corners.  I added stringers, frit and additional pieces of glass to the larger piece during subsequent firings.  

All of these pieces of fused glass are washable by hand.  I would not recommend putting them in the dishwasher or microwave, however. 

Pot Melts

Until a few weeks ago, I’d never heard of a “pot melt.”  It sounds vaguely illegal, but it actually refers to (1) a technique used by fused glass artists; or (2) the product created by the technique.  In simple terms, this is how you do a pot melt:  Place some pieces of glass into a ceramic pot that has a few holes in the bottom.  Prepare a steel ring by lining it with Fiberfrax, a material that prevents glass from sticking to the metal.  Place the pot in a kiln, supported by a piece of “kiln furniture,” so that it is suspended over the ring.  During the firing, the glass melts and pours out of the holes in the pot and fills the ring. 

Doing a pot melt is something of an adventure because you don’t know exactly what the resulting piece will look like.  I used a pot with three holes to create the piece you see below.  It’s approximately 6 inches in diameter.  I love the organic quality of the design a pot melt produces.  

The finished pot melt

 

The pot and ring

The pot filled with glass

It took a lot of work to clean up the edges of the pot melt.  I used a belt sander and a lap grinder to smooth the outside of the circle.  Now that I’ve made a pot melt, I can slump it (for example, I could turn it into a bowl) or use it as a component in a larger piece.  I’m still considering the options.  In the meantime, I'm eager to do some more pot melts! 

Recycled Glass

At a recent class at Workhouse Arts Center, we experimented with recycling a sheet of ordinary tempered (safety) glass.  Using a neat tool called an auto punch, we shattered the glass and carefully scooped up the pieces.  You’ll notice that the glass has a pale greenish tint.  Then we arranged them in the desired shape and fired them.  This method allows you to create amorphously shaped works.  The tempered glass can’t be combined with the glass we normally use for our projects because the two types of glass have different COEs (coefficients of expansion).  I sprinkled some mica powder on the glass dish that I made and slumped it into a shallow bowl.  If you have any tempered or plate glass that you’d like to get rid of, please let me know.  I might be able to recycle it!  

Fragments of tempered glass, ready for firing

 

After firing (full fuse)

After slumping

Small Is Beautiful

I like making small pieces because it’s a great way to try new ideas of design and technique.  The size I often use is a 4-inch square, gently slumped to form a shallow dish that can hold a variety of objects, from food (nuts, olives, etc.) to jewelry.

The first two pieces feature stringers, i.e. long, very thin rods of glass.  Stringers come in a variety of colors.  To make stripes, I place the stringers into reeded clear glass.  One side of the reeded glass has rows of grooves or channels just the right size to hold a stringer.  For the black and white striped piece, I placed a stringer into each channel.  The stringers are black and white opaque glass.  Opaque glass does not allow light to pass through.  The red “frit” was tack fired onto the piece following the full fuse.  

I recently sold this piece at the Mantua Made Market.

The next piece is a “bubble” piece.  You’ll notice the plaid pattern, formed by using stringers in two pieces of reeded glass.  Once the stringers are glued into place, one piece of reeded glass is placed on top of the other piece, at a right angle.  This forms the plaid pattern and creates tiny air pockets, which result in bubbles.  Most of the stringers in this piece are transparent glass, which means that light shines through them.  

4-inch "bubble" piece - $35.

The last 4-inch piece was made last fall (2014) using a special clear Bullseye glass containing bits of green and red – perfect for the Christmas season.  This piece is still available.

4-inch square - $25

If you are interested in purchasing any of these pieces, or if you would like to special-order a piece, please contact me.

Draped Pieces

Draping is a way to shape a piece of fused glass.  The shaping is the final step in the process of creating a piece.  After you’ve fused the piece, you place the flat glass over a cylinder and fire it in the kiln.  As the glass heats up, its weight causes it to drape down.  It’s impossible to predict the exact finished shape of a draped piece.  Large draped pieces can be used as vases.  Smaller draped pieces can be used as tea light holders. 

Mantua Made Market Preview

Just in time for Mother’s Day, local artists and craftspeople will be selling their creations at the spring Mantua Made Market this coming Saturday.  Unique art and craft items make perfect gifts! 

The market will take place on Saturday, May 9, 2015, from 10 am to 1 pm in the parking lot of the Mantua Swim and Tennis Club.  Our beautiful Mantua community is especially lovely at this time of year, with all the azaleas and dogwoods in bloom.  Come out and enjoy the fine weather (we hope!), good company, and live music as you stroll through the market.  Food and beverages will be available for purchase. 

Matthew Thompson and I are delighted to be participating in our second Mantua Made Market.  At the fall 2014 show, we had a very encouraging response to our fused glass work.  This time, I’ll be showing approximately 20 fused glass pieces and will be happy to take special orders. 

Four of my creations are featured in the market flyer (below).  In the coming days, I’ll post more photos of my work in this blog.  

Welcome

Welcome to the gallery of fused glass work created by Robin Thompson.  I started studying fused glass a few years at the Workhouse Arts Center in Lorton, Virginia.  After taking a couple of weekend workshops, I signed up for my first 9-week session in the summer of 2014.  I've continued studying at Workhouse under resident glass artists David Barnes and Sandi Martina. 

I have worked in various art media since the 1970s, including painting (oil and acrylic), pastel, drawing (charcoal, graphite and colored pencil), and stained glass.  Color and light  have always fascinated me, and I find working in fused glass tremendously exciting.  It's a medium that's constantly developing, with new materials and techniques.  

Please contact me if you are interested in purchasing my work.  I participate in the Mantua Made Market, which is held twice a year.  

Draped piece, 2015 (7 inches high)