Cast Glass Piece
Moderator: Brad Walker
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Cast Glass Piece
Some... not very good... photos of a study I did. Photography ain't my thing.
Dimensions 6" x 4" x 3"
A detail of the face.
This was more of a technical exploration rather than a finished piece. I "slip cast" the colors in by using a diluted powder and gum arabic solution and letting the water evaporate between color applications. Took about an hour to do all the colors. I used a pot-melt of scrap glass for the "base" color glass. I used the "pond scum" mummy wrap mold technique and got a few cracks anyway. Of course, I rushed the whole thing, so go figure.
Live and learn. Patience is not my virtue.
Dimensions 6" x 4" x 3"
A detail of the face.
This was more of a technical exploration rather than a finished piece. I "slip cast" the colors in by using a diluted powder and gum arabic solution and letting the water evaporate between color applications. Took about an hour to do all the colors. I used a pot-melt of scrap glass for the "base" color glass. I used the "pond scum" mummy wrap mold technique and got a few cracks anyway. Of course, I rushed the whole thing, so go figure.
Live and learn. Patience is not my virtue.
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to reach the images go to:
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sra ... g.orig.jpg
and
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sra ... g.orig.jpg
I found that once I have been to one of the images, both popped up in the original message.
interesting work.
Barbara
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sra ... g.orig.jpg
and
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sra ... g.orig.jpg
I found that once I have been to one of the images, both popped up in the original message.
interesting work.
Barbara
clicking on those links didnt work, but if you copy and paste the url into a different browser window it does....
i like the chair a lot, i'm not gonna go into the face cuz it reminds me of this nightmare i always had when i was 5 lol....
what's the carving on the bottom of the chair and on the seat back?
peace
- l
i like the chair a lot, i'm not gonna go into the face cuz it reminds me of this nightmare i always had when i was 5 lol....
what's the carving on the bottom of the chair and on the seat back?
peace
- l
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Very creepy........I like it
We are castle lovers and have lots of gargoyles and medieval weaponry strewn about the house. Your piece would fit in perfectly......
Lisa
We are castle lovers and have lots of gargoyles and medieval weaponry strewn about the house. Your piece would fit in perfectly......
Lisa
Lisa Allen
http://www.lisa-allen.com
Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.
http://www.lisa-allen.com
Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.
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RE: Your comments
Sorry not everyone can see the images. Mayhap it's time to find a different upload server for images.
The carvings on the back and bottom of the chair are nothing specific, just "scrumbly" texture to make it look like stone.
Barbara. Uh. Oh. The dreaded I-word. I've found that people use the term "interesting" when they don't like it but feel they have to say something nice anyway. Well, don't worry. I can handle criticism. Not everyone is going to like something.
Personally, I ain't that crazy about the piece. I mean, I like creepy even knowing that very few do. "Disturbing", "creepy", "kind of sick" are, IMO, much better to hear than "Oh isn't that precious!"
It started out macabre in wax and pretty much demanded macabre colors in the end.
The carvings on the back and bottom of the chair are nothing specific, just "scrumbly" texture to make it look like stone.
Barbara. Uh. Oh. The dreaded I-word. I've found that people use the term "interesting" when they don't like it but feel they have to say something nice anyway. Well, don't worry. I can handle criticism. Not everyone is going to like something.
Personally, I ain't that crazy about the piece. I mean, I like creepy even knowing that very few do. "Disturbing", "creepy", "kind of sick" are, IMO, much better to hear than "Oh isn't that precious!"
It started out macabre in wax and pretty much demanded macabre colors in the end.
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Re: RE: Your comments
Actually interesting isn't a dirty word with me. I felt it draw me in. My husband and I read a lot of fantasy and like this sort of image.John Kurman wrote:
Barbara. Uh. Oh. The dreaded I-word. I've found that people use the term "interesting" when they don't like it but feel they have to say something nice anyway. Well, don't worry. I can handle criticism. Not everyone is going to like something.
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Re: RE: Your comments
Don't worry John - I like enough for everyoneJohn Kurman wrote: Not everyone is going to like something.
It is soooooooooooo cool.
- Paul
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Thank you for whatever you did to make the photos show up on your post. I tried many times to look at images and always got the 'sorry' message- I thought it was another attempt at making us mac users the 'step-children' of the internet.
Anyway, I think the sculpture is VERY interesting. Your use of color makes the piece! So the effort paid off. I like it and think it IS a 'finished' piece. I would like to see you explore this more. Perhaps a series. Don't sell yourself short, interesting is a good thing. I am glad I got to finally see it.
I am really interested in learning how to cast. I think my biggest obsticle is that I don't particularily want to learn all that much about mold making but I still want to learn to cast. I know that doesn't make much sense but if I could get someone else to make the molds........well I can dream can't I?
Thanks for the visual.
glenda
Anyway, I think the sculpture is VERY interesting. Your use of color makes the piece! So the effort paid off. I like it and think it IS a 'finished' piece. I would like to see you explore this more. Perhaps a series. Don't sell yourself short, interesting is a good thing. I am glad I got to finally see it.
I am really interested in learning how to cast. I think my biggest obsticle is that I don't particularily want to learn all that much about mold making but I still want to learn to cast. I know that doesn't make much sense but if I could get someone else to make the molds........well I can dream can't I?
Thanks for the visual.
glenda
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Ah. Carp!
Well, I tried a different server to upload the images and still just a little red x, which might be interesting if you are into red x's but only makes me say "D'oH!". If anyone knows of a FREE upload site that will share images, me so happy.
BTW, I am primarily a bronze caster, but have cast glass (both sand and investment) since 1996. I've also done fused and slumped work and was considered quite the whiz at glass cutting when I used to do stained glass back in the 80s. I now primarily cast bronze when I ain't building foundry furnaces and glory holes and such like that there.
BTW, I am primarily a bronze caster, but have cast glass (both sand and investment) since 1996. I've also done fused and slumped work and was considered quite the whiz at glass cutting when I used to do stained glass back in the 80s. I now primarily cast bronze when I ain't building foundry furnaces and glory holes and such like that there.
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That face should help the kinder sleep well....I don't think........
Colin
PS love the chair........
Colin
PS love the chair........
Colin & Helen from the other albany<img src="http://members.westnet.com.au/sheltie/i ... b-logo.jpg">
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Re: Ah. Carp!
i use http://communities.msn.com. they allow deep linking, although since the links don't end in .jpg you can' tuse the above img button, but have to use the url button.John Kurman wrote:Well, I tried a different server to upload the images and still just a little red x, which might be interesting if you are into red x's but only makes me say "D'oH!". If anyone knows of a FREE upload site that will share images, me so happy.
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Whoa.....holy crap-ola - John! This little treasure got my attention. Finally, some original thought. Your use of color rocks!
Ok man will ya' share? What did you use for mold material and what glass did you cast? Are we looking at frit layering? What size frit(s)? Did you use fusers glue?
Awesome.....keep on doin' this.
Ok man will ya' share? What did you use for mold material and what glass did you cast? Are we looking at frit layering? What size frit(s)? Did you use fusers glue?
Awesome.....keep on doin' this.
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I'm not much for documentation, but I'll try to quote from memory. Memory serves, of course, but in a halting and surly manner.Ok man will ya' share? What did you use for mold material and what glass did you cast? Are we looking at frit layering? What size frit(s)? Did you use fusers glue?
Mold material: Good ol'fashioned potter's plaster and silica flour (325 mesh). That's all. I slaked the splash coat for a good 5 minutes, then applied about 1/8 - 1/4 thickness to the wax piece. I then covered the piece in what I call a "pond scum mummy wrap", which is basically tufts of fiberglass mesh torn from a roll and soaked in half-and-half plaster/silica and then wrapped over the splash-coat. Again, about a 1/8 - 1/4 inch thickness. I then invested the piece in a coddle mold about an inch thickness, with half-and-half plaster/ silica.
I've only anecdotal evidence that the mummy wrap does any good. Most of the time the piece comes out with nary a crack, but sometimes I get cracks. It may be superstition. Plus, it is much harder to deinvest the piece with the mummy wrap on. I soak it in water and carefully take chunks out with dental tools. A PITA.
After steaming out, I lined the mold in kind of a slip-cast fashion with a watered-down mixture of CMC (carboxymethylcellulose) gum and Bullseye powdered glass. The "horns", "violations", what have you, where the eyes, ears, and mouth are were black powder which I applied with those glaze squeeze bulbs that have long tubes (don't know the technical name for 'em). I kept adding and smooshing the powder into the "horns" until no more could be added. Don't ask what proportions of colors for the rest of the piece, because I don't keep track. I remember the face and hands were roughly equal parts pink and white, but the "base"color contained some blue and black powder in the scrap, so it all went kind of purple on me.
It took about an hour for all the colors (the black "horns" and three slightly-more-red pink applications on top of each other in slip-cast fashion) to dry out (i.e., for the water to either evaporate or wick into the mold), and the mold was ready put in the kiln. The slip-cast color layers ended up being about 1/4 in thickness on the face. I put the mold in the kiln at 200F for 24 hours, but obviously that was not long enough for the mold to dry out as I got cracks anyway. Again, superstition and dumb luck heavily invoked. The slip-cast colors end up being hard to the touch (fingernail will scratch it off, but it is not powdery).
The "base" glass was scrap I had lying around and busted up with a hammer. Some parts clear Bullseye, other parts Bullseye with all different sorts of color in it - mostly blues and black. The frit busted into pieces ranging from dust to about 1/2 inch in size. I put some frit into the mold level to the top of the piece and the rest was placed in a drip crucible suspended about 2 inches above the mold. I was worried that the crucible frit would melt before the mold frit and glass would spill over, but such was not the case. Probably because the crucible was placed so close to the mold. I use an old jewelry dewax kiln which has about 18 inch height to play with inside.
I used the firing schedule in Halem's book for casting and took it to 1650F to soak for about 4 hours. Sometimes I soak for 8 hours depending upon how intricate the piece is. I may be overdoing the temp and soak time, but it works for me.
That's my story and I'm sticking with it.