wild grows again...

Difficult to believe that it has been so long since I posted to the Blog! So much is going on and okay, no excuses, I've just been busy! The Behemoth kiln has been working away. It just seems to odd to be able to put several hundred small pieces and have them all done by the morning. There is a slight design flaw in this kiln that since it is a "clam shell" design where the entire kiln tilts up exposing just the floor of the kiln (allowing the easy placement of pieces, not having to "climb in" the top), the pivot points keep coming out of alignment so closing it flush is becoming an issue. I'm still working on that! When it is in good form, it's a great kiln.

I have also been spending a lot of time at the large torch doing borosilicate marbles and spheres and absolutely loving it. Gotta love GTT torches -- I continue to be amazed by my Mirage!

Not that I need anything more to do, but I took a class at CBS Dichro in paperweight making with Don McKinney. This involves working in a regular Hot Shop, gathers of molten glass from crucibles, working with a Glory Hole furnace, glassblowing benches, etc., and creating incredible pieces that I didn't think possible. It was interesting that the techniques that are used in glassblowing are nearly identical to what I teach on a more micro scale in lampwork. I had already climbed much of the learning curve. I have to say, though, that working hotter and bigger, well, it was phenomenal and I wanted more!

After speaking with one of the other people in the class (who had taken the class several times before) I came to the conclusion that the natural progression of where glass art is taking me is right down this path. It dovetails so very closely to what I'm currently doing. The thing is, though, it takes more equipment, tools, and subsequently more glass objects to be made and sold to afford more.

The first piece of equipment to enter the studio was the Glory Hole furnace.

In a regular hot shop Glory Hole, like this one from the Corning Museum of Glass in New York, large art pieces are possible.

Obviously, my studio cannot support something as large as this, so I have a smaller studio version of the larger GH's.



This is the smaller version that I now have in my own studio. It runs very hot, and the opening is five inches, so that's the maximum diameter of pieces I can do. It may not sound like much, but that's actually a lot of glass. Besides, THIS fits in my studio, the big ones don't! The inner diameter is much larger, but the ring of fire blanket at the front keeps much of the heat recirculating inside the GH. It was designed by my paperweight instructor, Don McKinney, and is a workhorse!

Well, a Glory Hole furnace is only one piece of the puzzle when it comes to doing work on regular blow pipes and punties. I have to be able to get larger gathers of glass, and that is where a crucible kiln comes into the picture. This is kind of a specialty furnace, and not many manufacturers make them. The story of how mine came to me is a blog entry in and of itself, but suffice it to say, I now have one from Evenheat Kiln company:

This one holds a 40 pound crucible of molten glass (I'm using Spectrum's System 96 nuggets). This is what allows me to do larger work, not only in pieces like paperweights, but for glassblowing as well.

As a crucible kiln, this one is a little over kill with features. The red controls on the right are very sophisticated, and not entirely necessary if the kiln is used only for crucibles. The good thing, however, is that this kiln gets much hotter than standard glass kilns (up to 2300 degrees). This means that, if necessary, it could be used as a ceramic kiln for firing. I like when equipment is flexible enough!

The Universe, as well, sees to it that opportunity is spread around. The great expansion of the electrical in my workshop for the Behemoth kiln called for 50 amp receptacles. This kiln is 30 amp (different plug and circuit). The electrician will be paying another visit! That's okay, really!

Something else that is new is the addition of a webcam inside my studio. I currently only have one camera focused on the borosilicate glass workbench where marbles are done. This allows me to do demonstrations, have friends in far away places watch me work, and just learning yet another skill that will make its need known someday!

The Wild Wares Glass Webcam is my website. Look for the Webcam link on the left side.

Let's see... next on the shopping list are tools (Jacks, blowpipes, punties, etc.), a glassblower's bench, a generous grant, and more patience!

I cannot express how amazing this medium is. I marvel how when I first set foot in the LA Adult School Stained Glass class at the local High School years ago, that it would grow to what I have today. I cannot be more grateful!

Back to the studio...!