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