a Study of Glass: The History and Working Artists

Don’t Drop That!

A study of glass: the history and working artists.

What is glass?

Sand – Silica Lime – Calcium Carbonate Soda – Sodium Carbonate Salt

Other materials in glass: Lead Borax Arsenic Or any alkaline matter

Naturally Occurring Glass

Pure Sand - Quartz

 Quartz is a MINERAL!!  Formed as magma cools  Last thing to form on the Bowens Reaction

Series  The slower it cools the larger the crystals— these are known as phenocryts  Large quartz crystals are usually found in caves—cooling process allowed for the evaporites to form and the crystalline structure to grow.

Volcanic Glass  Obsidian is a dense volcanic glass.  It is formed in lava where the lava cools so fast that

crystals do not have time to grow. Glass, unlike crystals, has no regular structure and therefore fractures in smooth shapes. Obsidian was used by many native cultures to make arrowheads and blades because the intersections of these fractures can form edges sharper than the finest steel blades  Source: Sierra Madre – Mexico and Guatemala

Fulgurite

What is a Fulgurite  From the Latin fulgur meaning thunderbolt  Natural hollow carrot-shaped glass tubes formed in

sand or soil by lightning strikes.  Size: couple of centimeters – feet  Color: black, tan, green, or translucent white  Interior: normally very smooth or lined with fine bubbles  Exterior: generally coated with rough sand particles  Rootlike in appearance



Largest known fulgurite ----

13 feet long

WOW!!!!!

Glass: A brief history A timeline of innovations

Glass: A brief history ď‚— Early man is believed to have used tools made of

obsidian, a natural volcanic glass.

Glass: A brief history ď‚— Glass beads are thought to be some of the earliest

man-made glass objects, dating back to around 3500 BC in both Egypt and Eastern Mesopotamia.

Ancient Egyptian Beads ~ Kent Art & Antiques

Glass: A brief history ď‚— The first instructions for glassmaking dates back to

650 BC. They are contained in tablets from the library of the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal.

Recently identified Old Persian Clay Tablet from Persepolis

Glass: A brief history ď‚— Glassblowing was discovered sometime between 27 BC

and AD 14. Glassblowing is attributed to Syrian craftsmen from the Sidon-Babylon area. The long thin metal tube used in the process has changed very little since then.

Glass: A brief history ď‚— English glassmaker George Ravenscroft (1618-1681) is

credited for developing lead crystal which he patented in 1674.

Glass: A brief history ď‚— Friedrich Siemens invented the tank furnace.

Glass: A brief history ď‚— American engineer Michael Owens (1859-1923)

invented an automatic bottle blowing machine.

ď‚— Belgian engineer Emil Bicheroux developed a process

using rollers to produce sheet glass of a more even thickness. This was known as the Fourcault method.

Glass: A brief history ď‚— The float process was introduced in 1959 after the

Second World War. The float process combined the finish of sheet glass with the optical qualities of plate glass. In the float process molten glass is poured across a surface bath of molten tin.

Molten float glass floating atop liquid tin.

“I’m obsessed with color—never saw one I didn’t like.”

Working Artists in Glass Dale Chihuly

“One night I melted a few pounds of stained glass in one of my kilns and dipped a steel pipe from the basement into it. I blew into the pipe and a bubble of glass appeared on the end. As far as I could remember, I had never seen glassblowing before. My fascination for it probably comes in part from discovering the process that night by accident. From that moment, I became obsessed with learning all I could about glass.”

Working Artists in Glass: Dale Chihuly  Dale Chihuly was born in 1941

in Tacoma, Washington.

 He studied interior design at

the University of Washington and graduated in 1965.

 He then enrolled at the

University of Wisconsin, which had the country’s first glassblowing program.

Working Artists in Glass: Dale Chihuly  He also went on to study at the

Rhode Island School of Design where he established their glass program and taught for 10 years.

 In 1968 he received a Fulbright

Fellowship and he went to work at the Venini glass factory in Venice.

 In 1971, he co-founded the

Pilchuk Glass School.

Working Artists in Glass: Dale Chihuly ď‚— Dale Chihuly is one of

three living American artists to have a solo exhibition at the Louvre in Paris.

Working Artists in Glass: Dale Chihuly Chihuly's The Sun was on temporary display until January 2006 at Kew Gardens, London, England. The piece is 13 feet (4 m) high.

In 2000, Chihuly's commission from the Victoria and Albert Museum for a 30-foot-high (9.1 m), blown-glass chandelier dominates the museum's main entrance.

Working Artists in Glass: Dale Chihuly SKY BLUE BASKET SET WITH COBALT LIP WRAPS, 1992 17 x 15 x 16"

PUTTI IN NEST KISSING OPALESCENT HUMMINGBIRD, 1999 28 x 16 x 16"

"America most helped me in a philosophical way. I went from being a professional to an artist. But the things inside me were always inside me.“ – Lino Tagliapietra

Working Artists in Glass Lino Tagliapietra (tah-ya-pee-eh-tra)

"Lino Tagliapietra is perhaps the world's greatest living glassblower.“ - Dale Chihuly

Working Artists in Glass: Lino Tagliapietra ď‚— Born in 1934 on the

island known as the center for Venetian glassmaking, Murano. ď‚— He began his apprenticeship with Archimede Seguso at the age of 12.

Working Artists in Glass: Lino Tagliapietra  He achieved the title of

Maestro or Master at the age of 21.  He came to the United States in 1979 to teach at Pilchuck School in Seattle.  In the eighties he transitioned from traditional Venetian style to that of an independent studio artist.

Bilbao 16.25 x 15.75 x 8.75

Working Artists in Glass: Lino Tagliapietra Angel Tear 32.75 x 17.25 x 4.5

Makah 23 x 13 x 7

Working Artists in Glass: Lino Tagliapietra

Picadilly 15.5 x 16.25 x 15.25

Endeavor

Working Artists in Glass Karen Pester “Moths To a Flame is located in Southern California. Karen creates glass that is both functional and beautiful. Influenced by travel abroad and in the United States.. By mixing old world glass making techniques with modern technology and science, the glass creations have a distinct look and creative flavor not found anywhere else. Karen is one of very few artists that are manipulating glass in the kiln to make the animals stand.” – Moths To A Flame