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Glass Experimentation

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Title: Glass Experimentation
Artist: *AJGlass
Image: Created by using an Epson Perfection 1200U scanner and PhotoShop.
Medium: Glass
Type: Soft Glass, 104 Coefficient of Expansion (Moretti/Effetre, Vetrofond, Lausha, CiM)
Description: Various experimental glass pieces – including beads, pendants, light catchers, and other objects.

Details: What you’re looking at are the results of a whole bunch of glass experiments that I carried out using various different types and colors of glass. The experiments included compatibility tests, color tests, design tests, tool tests, acid tests, and tests using different types and colors of frits, enamels, and pixie dusts. Some of the above beads are also mistakes which turned into interesting experiments. This is but a very small sampling of the large number of glass test pieces that I’ve created over the many years that I’ve been working in this medium.

To get a sense of the size and scale of these pieces, look at the frosted dark topaz bead at the top right of this image. It is approximately the size of a dime.

Discussion: Experimentation is a necessary and fun part of working with glass. Over the years, I’ve done a considerable amount of it. And every time I purchase a new glass or powder, I do more.

Glass is often notorious for its unpredictability. Different colors and different types of glass may not get along with each other – and some, violently and catastrophically so. This incompatibility is sometimes not evident until the glasses have been worked together in the flame.

So, before I make any new glass pieces that I intend to sell, I first usually make a few experimental pieces to see how they come out. The way I view it, there’s no point in making a lot of something if the colors I’m using annihilate each other – thus leaving me with a scummy, ugly, or oddly single-colored bead. Or, if the colors combine to create a third color which doesn’t go well at all with the other two. There’s also no point if the glasses are not totally compatible (such as with the mixing of some Finnish and Italian glasses and some Italian and Chinese glasses) – thus causing the piece to tear itself apart from internal stresses.

Pieces with odd color combinations don’t usually sell well for me. Those that become scummy don’t usually sell at all. And those that are made from incompatible glasses, I simply won’t sell because they’re dangerous.

When it comes to new glass shapes, in order for me to create them I first need to practice. To do this, I will often create half a dozen or more misshapen glass pieces before I get the shape down well enough to begin creating saleable pieces. The misshapen ones are works in progress. Aside from their weird imperfect shapes, there is often nothing else wrong with them. However, in order to maintain the quality that my glass work is known for, I don’t typically sell them at shows. They are on occasion adopted by my family and friends for use in various personal projects.

Finally, when it comes to frits, enamels, and pixie dusts, all sorts of things can go wrong. Frits may create odd or undesirable colors or not properly strike in the flame. Enamels may be swallowed by base glasses or come out poorly speckled. Pixie dusts may not adhere or may become burned during shaping. It’s through experimentation that I can work out problems with these types of powders, maximize their appeal, and create new designs, textures, and colors in my glass that would otherwise be very difficult to achieve.


For More Information: A further discussion of glass colors can be found in the Artist’s Comments section of my Studio Glass Rods deviation.

Further discussions about glass powders can be found in the Artist’s Comments sections of my Studio Frit, Studio Pixie Dust, and Studio Thompson Enamels deviations.

A comparison of Frit, Enamel, and Pixie Dust powders can be seen by viewing my Studio Enamel Frit Pixie Dust deviation.

Legal: Copyright © Aaron J. Greenblatt. All rights reserved. Commercial use prohibited. This image and commentary may not be used for any reason without expressed written consent.


Please click here for more images of my glass work.

Please click here for images of my glass studio.

Please click here to view my photography work.
Image size
938x1094px 1.14 MB
© 2010 - 2024 AJGlass
Comments38
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Lady-KL's avatar
I feel like I'm looking at a collection of pieces of candy and weird animals that live in tidepools. =D I like it.