Don’t Drop That! A study of glass: the history and working artists.

What is glass?

Sand – SilicaLime – Calcium CarbonateSoda – Sodium CarbonateSalt

Other materials in glass:

LeadBoraxArsenicOr any alkaline matter

Naturally Occurring Glass

Pure Sand - Quartz

Quartz is a MINERAL!!Formed as magma coolsLast thing to form on the Bowens

Reaction SeriesThe 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 GlassObsidian 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 FulguriteFrom the Latin fulgur meaning thunderboltNatural hollow carrot-shaped glass tubes

formed in sand or soil by lightning strikes.Size: couple of centimeters – feetColor: black, tan, green, or translucent whiteInterior: normally very smooth or lined with

fine bubblesExterior: generally coated with rough sand

particlesRootlike in appearance

Largest known fulgurite ---- 13 feet long

WOW!!!!!

Glass: A brief historyA timeline of innovations

Glass: A brief historyEarly man is believed to have used tools

made of obsidian, a natural volcanic glass.

Glass: A brief historyGlass 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 historyThe 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 historyGlassblowing 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 historyEnglish glassmaker George Ravenscroft

(1618-1681) is credited for developing lead crystal which he patented in 1674.

Glass: A brief historyFriedrich Siemens invented the tank furnace.

   

Glass: A brief historyAmerican engineer Michael Owens (1859-

1923) invented an automatic bottle blowing machine.  

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 historyThe 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.

Working Artists in GlassDale Chihuly

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

“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 ChihulyDale 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 ChihulyHe 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

Dale Chihuly is one of three living American artists to have a solo exhibition at the Louvre in Paris.

Working Artists in Glass: Dale ChihulyChihuly'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 ChihulySKY BLUE BASKET SET WITH COBALT LIP WRAPS, 199217 x 15 x 16"

PUTTI IN NEST KISSING OPALESCENT HUMMINGBIRD, 199928 x 16 x 16"

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

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

"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

Born in 1934 on the island known as the center for Venetian glassmaking, Murano.

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 Tear32.75 x 17.25 x 4.5

Makah23 x 13 x 7

Working Artists in Glass: Lino Tagliapietra

Picadilly15.5 x 16.25 x 15.25 Endeavor

Working Artists in GlassKaren 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