Fumed Magazine

DO Girls Blow Better?An Interview with Dellene Peralta

Behind the MagicThe History of Dichro

Issue 1December 2012

Snoddy Fumes Wig What Jersey Blown Crossing Over DFO Review

FUMED

Pages 3-10Iamge 1- Cee Dub

image 2- Chris Carlson 2011image 3- Kobuki 2006

image 4- I love Boxie 2012image 5 - Kobuki 2006image 6- Kobuki 2006

image 7- Glass Otaku 2012image 8- Cee Dub

Pages 11-14image 9- Qrisee Zen

Image10- Sundance Art GlassImaage 11- Sundance Art Glass

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Pages 23- 34Image 16- Mark McCourt 2009

Image 17- Becadive 2010Image 18- Jarrod Schoenemann

Image 19- Dellene PImage 20- Jarrod Schoenmann

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Image 25- Sun Dance Art GlassImage 26- “ “Image 27- “ “

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Pages 46- 50Image 29- Earl Wilson , New York Times

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Credited photography in order as placed in magazine

Pages 53-66Image 34 -Caroline Willamson

Image 35- “ “Image 36-Happyglasswork.comImage 37- Caroline Willamson

Pages 67- 75Image 38- Jarrod Schoenemann

Image 39- “ “Image 40- Cee Dub Imag41-CeeDub

Image 42- Luna AngelicaImage 43- Cee DubImage 44- EusheenImage 45- Cee Dub

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Pages 75-81Image 48- Glassart.wordpress.com

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SnoddY Fumes

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Bob Snodgrass and his family traveled throughout the United States until they came to Oregon in 1990 and decided they liked the weath-er, the people, and the atmo-sphere. “There was a larger collection of artists at the Saturday Market than all the other places I had been too.” He has worked with glass with glass since 1971 in Ohio, where he is originally from. But it wasn’t until 1981 that glassblowing be-came his full-time occupation. “I traded my woodworking tools for glassblowing tools,” says Bob.

There is no doubt that Bob Snodgrass is the Godfa-ther of artistic hard glass in this country. In North Ameri-ca, Eugene, Oregon is the mec-ca for artist boro glass (Pyrex, Duran, Kimble glass). There is no greater concentration of glass artist then there. This is due to the presence of Bob Snodgrass and his students. His dedication to quality art has earned him much respect in the community. Some of the glassblowers in the area can trace their roots back to Bob Snodgrass.

Snodgrass Family GlassContent copyright 2012. Snodgrass Family Glass. All rights reserved.

When he first started working with glass he was not pleased with the results so he experimented. Bob discovered that silver and gold specially sprayed into hard glass would change colors when the back was blackened. This technique and many others were pioneered by Bob. In addition, many of the modern glassblowing tools owe there creation to Bob Snodgrass.

Bob says, “I am an inventor. I got stuck in glassblowing because there are so many things to in-vent in it. I invented a new field in glass. The glass I work with is actually a spin-off of scientific glass. In that process, I found that silver and gold could be blended and sprayed into the glass. A new technique of spray-ing metals into glass changed the parameters of color possi-bilities.” With such beautiful

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results, as well as smokers’ pref erence towards glass parapher-nalia, the glass market soared. Bob Snodgrass took on many apprentices and now has a huge extended family of glassblowers. “Taking on ap-prentices was good for stimu-lation.

I gained momentum because I let people look over my shoul-der. Now days I just teach in-tensive classes.” Although he can make anything he wants to in glass, from dragons to neon fish, from elephant goblets to chess sets, marbles are his spe-cialty.

“Hand blown marbles, for those who have lost a few.”

The marbles are so intricate they appear to be worlds in themselves. When asked why art is so important in society, his response turned to the glass marble. “Art is about magic. A little thing like a marble can change someone’s attitude.”

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Bob Snodgrass, like fine wine, keeps getting better with each year. Last year he made lots of wonderful glass art pieces. And it is not going to stop this year. Glassblowing classes with Bob Snodgrass are the best way to improve your skills. Bob Snodgrass teaches classes once or twice a month in Eugene, Ore-gon. These classes are extremely instructional where in the stu-dents ask their questions of Bob.

Classes are 2-5 days long, 8+ hours per day. His classroom has three Carlisle stations, so there is a lot of hands on work. Stu-dents are required to bring safe-ty glasses and a list of questions for Bob. Lunch and dinner are served. You’ll dine with the Sno-dgrass team, reflect on the day and watch videos. All levels of glassworkers are welcome.

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Getting StartedGetting Started

Tips to setting up your Bench

Once you get a small molten bead begin spinning and observe, take it out of the flame and stop spinning observe how the rod reacts. Start welding pieces of rod together, have some fun and thank your

host. Once you get some time to yourself then you can ask some important questions. I think the number one question you should ask yourself is how badly do you need to blown glass? I for one couldn’t see myself not doing it every day. Then ask yourself is this something I want to do as a hobby or a career? Do I want to be an independent contractor or work for someone else? Once you decide on a general direction you can consider your equipment bud-get. What torch do I need? There is a relation between the level of equipment an artist chooses and the potential out-come of the art. Smaller torches will give you a smaller spectrum of possibilities pertaining to scale. A larger torch will provide more versatility and a larger spectrum of possibilities; you will be able to get more glass hot. This does not mean that you can’t get creative with a small torch; it will just be on a smaller scale. When buying a torch don’t look for the best deal, buy a good product. When it comes to tools you can shape

glass with a butter knife.

There are a lot of ques-tions one must ask in order to devise a plan of action. I would like to suggest a simple approach that will save you a lot of money, energy, and most important time. First define and understand what borosilicate lampworking is. Find someone with a torch that will let you get on for a half an hour to an hour at a time. Ask them to see their scrap bin; generally they will give you whatever you want

from it. I think the best approach is not to have any preconceived no-tions of having to make anything useful or describable. The idea is to play and get a sense of how the glass reacts to different levels of heat (see Universal Glass Con-cepts). Take some rod and melt one end and you will see if it cracks

and how it melts.

Getting StartedGetting Started

Beginners Guide to Flame WorkingBy Torch Life

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Where can I rent shop space? See Studio Profiles for re-liable shops that provide a pro-fessional environment. If you’ve seen lamp working, you may know where to ask. Remember you will generally need your own torch and tools if you want to do your own thing. There are pro’s and con’s to renting rather than hav-ing your own space. For beginners it would undoubtedly help to be

around other artists.

Do I need ventilation? The answer is absolutely! You also need to provide an adequate amount of fresh air. A rule of thumb with ventilation is the fans pulling the air out should be slightly stronger than the fans bringing the air in the room. This creates a negative air pres-sure in the room and is called a makeup air system.

Where do I buy sup-plies? There are many suppliers for glassblowing articles, it is important to understand the difference between traditional glass blowing, and flame work-ing, fusing and slumping. If you are interested in flame working there are 3-4 main suppliers that have pretty much everything you need to begin. Begin by visiting the Web site listed below: www.winshipdesigns.com www.abrim-agery.com www.glasscraftinc.com www.arrowsprings.com What tools do I need? Rule number two of glassblowing: Gravity is the best tool we have, it’s free.The tools you will want to pur-chase will depend on the type of work you think your most inter-ested in pursuing. The absolute bare minimum list for all flame work is as follows:

The absolute bare minimum list for all flame work is as fol-

lows:

• A location suitable for this type of work,

• Torch, Kiln, Ventilation hood with a fresh air source,

• Tanks Oxygen and Propane (5gallon tank from bbq),

• Regulators, Gas hose (Type T welding hose, red and green), Hose clamps, Flashback arrestors (Keeps gas from igniting and get-

ting back into the tank),• Glasses rated for either soft glass or borosilicate (shields

eyes from UV rays),• Tube and rod, Lighter or

sparker,• Claw or grabber.

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This list only allows you to start to melt glass. It doesn’t include any tools for the purpose of shaping. As your ideas about glass grow so will your need for

more advanced tools.What size tubing and rod should I buy? The size you choose will depend on the items you want to learn to make. The most common sizes of tubing used by flame work-ers are 19mm, 25mm, 32mm, 34mm, 38mm. Start off with smaller sizes and work your way up. Clear rod is essential to almost everything you do as a flame worker. Usually

5 or 6mm rod will do fine.Once I get my shop together where do I start? Start by blowing bubbles lots and lots of bubbles, study the universal glass con-cepts. Blowing bubbles and gath-ering glass are the most essential skills in glass blowing. The shape and continuity of glass are some-thing you can practice on every-

thing you make. Who will I learn from? Torch Life is here to as-sist you on this journey, but you must seek your own training and ask lots of questions. Be wary of teachers that get mad when you ask a lot of questions, or tell you that there’s one best technique.

Good luck... Styles, Torch Life!

Table of ContentsTable of Contents

Snoddy Fumes 3-8

Setting up your bench 11-14

Featured Artist 46- 50

Wigg Whatt? 67-74

Event Review100-106

Getting Lathed 83-89

Table of ContentsTable of Contents

Do girls blow better?An interview with Dellen PeraltaBy Blake Maddox

23-34

Safety TanksSafe Handling of Gasesby General Air 37-44

Crossing OverBlowing Soft to HardBy Lance McRorie

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Casting For BlowersAn Introduction to MoldsBy Milon Townsend

75-81

History of DichroHow it all Startedby Howard Sandberg

91-99

The

LetterFrom

Editor

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I first got pulled into the glass scene by a couple of friends. One of my boys living in the land of glass, Oregon, hit me up and asked if I wanted to help some of his friends promote their work . A week or so later I am waist deep in glass by artist I had never heard of. Who is the Snodgrass cat? A girl blew this, Dellene? A dude named Hamm? I started taking glass to promote at shops, this is where I really found out what I had in my hands. Needless to say, after this I had to meet these art-ist. I took a little trip out to vis-it these people I was helping move their works around, this is where I fell in love with the glass indus-try. I was able to meet all of these wonderful artist, see them work , as well as hang out with them af-ter and get to know these people. Once seeing all of this glass as the art creations that they were/are, I decided that other people out there should appreciate this aspect of the glass world as I was able to stumble into. Help us keep this going strong so we can help keep you guys entertained with

the “ Degenerate Art”.

Until Next Issue!

Later OnBlake Maddox

Publisher

After seeing all the hype at the Degenerate Flame Off, it was clear that there was just some-thing missing in the glass field. There is not anyone out there catering to all the glass lovers. The people that make up the cul-ture am enjoy the artistic side of what it has to offer. This is what pushed me towards creating FUMED Magazine. I am fortunate and grateful that I have been able to bring together the much need-ed assistance. Without the them it would be very hard to put togeth-er this fine publication that you are now holding. Yes this issue is somewhat small but as we know in the glass world, big things can come in small packages. We aim to grow larger with each issue that will be printed every two months. This should give us time to cover all the shows out there, as well as give all of the artist a chance to create and prefect all of their new styles. In each issue we plan to bring out all of the new styles fresh out of the kiln. We want this magazine to show the culture, so for that to happen we need you guys that make up this large fam-ily. Send us pictures of your work, show us your workshop; we want to see all the new styles out there as well as help up and coming art-ist get their names’ on the scene.

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Do Girls Blow Better?An interview with Dellene Peralta

Do Girls Blow Better?An interview with Dellene Peralta

By Blake Maddox

Dellene Peralta is an artist to check out. She is the person who won the first Flame Off. Her styles as well as her skills are all across the board. She is amazing with doing what she does. There are not too many people that can Blow like Dellene. She has worked with and under many great artist and picked up nu-merous styles along the way. We at Fumed magazine were fortunate enough to catch up with Dellene while she was working at her shop to ask her a few questions about her sto-ry and how she made her way to the top of the glass scene. We would like to thank

as well as welcome Ms Dellene Peralta to Fumed magazine for being our first interviewed artist for our Magazine. What a great hon-or to have such a great Artist

here with us today.

Do Girls Blow Better?Interview with Dellene Peralta

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Dellene when and how did you first get started on the glass

scene? Well I was 21,and I learned from Clinton Roman, I was like making crafts and stuff at the time, I was kind of like doing the hippie thing. I had already been to college for a little bit for photography and you know painted and did lots of different crafts, Clinton was just like “Al-right you are artistic you need to blow glass.” He got me a little

Minor Torch. When I started we built this little 22 foot trailer for two benches and a few fans. Started blowing glass, little mushroom pendants then I made really simple millis. My first pipe had tons of millis all over it. It was all gold and silver. We only

used three colors of the, well I don’t know how many colors were around but most of them were crappy. So we used ruby, cobalt, and amber purple. Then fuming gold and silver. Soo that’s what he taught me was old school, side car hammers, bubblers, all Snodgrass style things. But was a little differ-ent because Clinton learned from Arik, Roaddog , and Red,. He paid Arik Ak or whatever, but hes just a tripper. Hes kind of a jer,k, but Clinton paid him even though he didn’t really learn from him he learned from Roaddog and Red. Why he has the same style as them. But um so yea I learned that style of pipe-making, just kind of did my own little thing. I was with him for like almost 3 year or whatever then after that I moved to Ven-tura, California. And I lived in a bread truck for about 3 years and traveled around and skate

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collabing with Robert Mickelson now, well right now as we speak im about to go back to

the shop ha.

boarded like crazy Until I had my son. At that time I was 24. I kind of just moved around from Colorado to New Mexico and then moved back up here to Eu-gene in 2002, and uh you know I’m still blowing glass. I just moved back up here because I missed it and liked it so much. It was good to come back. I haven’t moved

since 2002.

You do a good bit of collab work , who has been some of your fa-vorite artist to col-

lab with? Who have been my favor-ite collab pieces to work with? Hmm im trying to think who all I have worked with…haha Umm I

liked working with Eusheen.

I think we did well together. Im

That’s been fun Robert Mickel-son is awesome, were definitely on the same page of things. Umm I like working with my boyfriend Aaron. But I don’t know I cant remember everyone I have done work with. I think Eusheen We would put equal amount of work into a piece, well sometimes a little more or a little less, but yeah.

Do you enjoy incor-porating neon in your work? The neon thing is cool. You know I did it before and in like 2006 . but everything had like electrodes on it. They were fun projects but know its been getting into this whole um RS situation so its, wireless, the neon is wireless so you can sit it down and it will light up and then you pick it up and use it and sit it back down and its lit again, so that’s really funny. The whole new thing so more people are in-spired to mess with it because it doesn’t have to be a fixed thing. The piece im working on right now with Mickelson has NEoon on it. Haha he was like

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“why do you want to do that on it?” haha. So its fun. It is fun that everyone can inspire each other.

With that said are you liking all of the mini rigs that are coming out or staying

to larger scale? I mean I used to do tons of mini tubes. People wanted them all of the time back in the day for flowers you know? So its not really anything different for me. You know what I mean? Just to put a new little attachment , so its nothing new as far as im con-cerned. Just a different attach-ment . It just brings on a differ-ent crave, That’s cool whatever. You never know what’s going to happen in twenty years you know haha. You’re like Ohh Noo haha.

What are you working on now?

Umm as far as my self or col-lab work? I guess I’m still working on different sculptures . Always just trying to switch it up, make differ-ent things and just look at it . What’s cool about the oil is that you can have a small space to really bring in the sculpture aspect of it compared to the

snap and bowl piece.

What do you think of the Oil industry? Do you like the oil glass scene? Personally I love. I thinkg its cool its transitioned into something different. I feel like a lot of it got a little stale be-cause it was just the same. You cant really smoke flowers out of a big huge piece , or like this crazy gnarly thing. You have to stay in a certain limit. But as far as that goes it just brought in another whole element and ex-citement. That I think brought in you know just more different stuff and ideas and that’s what I like about it. People over do anything but I think some people are just scared of change.

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Do you think that the art of pipemaking is going to stay un-der ground in the art world forever? Noo. Its already been changing. You know? I don’t feel its underground. Its not up to the statures or whatever in the glass art world but its getting there. You know? Its being rec-ognized slowly but surely. I mean we have Robert Mickelson that’s all wanting to work with us. And make a bad ass pipe. He doesn’t smoke, and doesn’t know any-thing about smoking functions but he’s learning a whole lot, well different aspects of things and bringing them into his own art . So you know you have a lot

of that Open Consciousness hap-pen with these people who you know were like , “ Oh you know, pipers, go make a spoon.” Ha Its slowly coming around, and I think with more legalization its going to become more of an art, and less of a craft or a func-tional thing. I think people with that stigma of things being ille-gal will now be interested be-cause theyre not.

Do you have any words for any up and incoming or beginner artist out there? Ohh, umm, Don’t give up?.. haha and Keep on Spinning.. Be-cause its definitely tough in the Beginning.

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Safety Tanks

Safety Tanks

Inlet ConnectionRegulators are attached to the cylinders or manifolds by their ìinlet connectionsî. All inlet connections conform to speci-fica- tions and standards set by the Compressed Gas Association (CGA) and are marked with an identifying CGA number. CGA numbers identify the cylinder valve/gas service for which that inlet connection designed. Ex-amples: CGA 510 has been designated for standard fuel gas cylinder connections such as Acetylene, Methyl Acetylene and Propane. CGA 540 connections are designated for Oxygen service only. Fuel gas inlet con-nections usually have left-hand threads. Those with left- hand threads also have a ìVî notch around the inlet nut to further designate the connection for fuel gas service. All oxygen connections have right hand threads. All inlet connections must have a clean filter. Pressure Adjusting ScrewThe regulator adjusting screw controls the delivery pressure of the gas to the hose. As previ-ously stated, the regulators

Safe Handling of Oxy-fuel Apparatus Description/FunctionTypical Oxy-fuel workstations normally include the follow-ing items, each designed to perform specific function: Oxygen and fuel supply, regu-lators, hose, torch and opera-tor safety equipment. RegulatorsOxygen and fuel pressure reg-ulators are attached to the cylinders or manifold out-lets to reduce high cylinder or supply pressures to suit-able low working pressures for cutting and welding applications. Never use high pressure gases directly from the cylinder without a suit-able pressure-reducing regu-lator. Become familiar with the external parts of a regu-lator as follows: inlet con-nection with filter, pressure adjusting screw, high pressure gauge, low pressure gauge, outlet connection, relief valve (where provided).

Safe Handling of Gases, Cylin-ders & Apparatus Brought to you by General Air

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Outlet ConnectionsWelding hoses are attached to the regulator outlet connections. Fuel gas regulators have left-handed threaded outlet connections to mate with the left-hand hose connections and have a ìVî notch around the out-let connection to further designate the connection for fuel gas service. Oxygen regulators have a right-hand threaded out-let connection to mate with the right-hand hose connections.Relief Valve (where provided)The relief valve is designated to protect the low pressure side of the regulator from high pres-sure. Relief valves are not in-tended to protect downstream equipment from high pressure.FLAMMABLE Propane is a flammable gas. If this gas mixes with air or Oxy-gen, the mixture is subject to ig-nition or explosion if exposed to an ignition source. The low lev-el of concentration needed for propane is 2.2% in air. Store cylinders containing flammable gases outdoors or in well-ventilated areas. Away from oxidizers and never near sources of heat, flames or sparks.Never use a flame to detect for gas leaks. Propane is much heavier than air; therefore, it will flow to low points, to be ignited at distanc-es that may be quite far from the source or leakage.

function to reduce high supply pressures to a suitable working pressure range. When the ad-justing screw is turned clock-wise, the regulator allows gases to flow through the regulators to the hoses and to the torch. The threaded adjusting screw applies mechanical force to a spring and diaphragm which con-trols a pressure valve in the reg-ulator. If the adjusting screw is turned counterclockwise, ten-sion on the spring is released and the regulator does not allow the gas to flow.. Pressure GaugesThe high pressure gauge indi-cates the cylinder or supply pressure entering the regulator. The low pressure gauge indicates the delivery pressure from the regu-lator to the hose. All gauges are precision instruments, handle with care.

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They are usually installed in the gas system between the outlet of the regulator and the inlet of the hose leading to the torch or between the hose and the torch. Storage of Cylinders State and local build-ing and fire codes will apply to the installationand storage of compressed gases. The following informa-tion cov- ! ers some of the ma-jor requirements for the stor-age of compressedgases. Store all cylinders in desig-nated areas that are secured. !Flammable, toxic and Oxygen (or any other Oxidizer) shall be separated from each oth-er by a distance of at least 20 feet or ! by an non-combusti-ble barrier at least 5 feet high having a fire resistant rating of at least one-half hour. Inert gases (Argon, Nitrogen, Helium and Carbon

General Precautions

In most instances, im-proper application or mis- use of gas or its container caus-es accidents by inadequately trained personnel.

Hose

The welding hose transports low pressure gases (maxi-mum 200PSIG) from the regu-lators to the torch. Proper care and maintenance of the hose assists the operator in maintaining a safe, efficient shop or work area. Industrial welding hose is color coded for gas service identification. The hose that carries the Ox-ygen gas is green and the hose that carries the fuel gas is red. All approved domestical-ly fabricated hose are flame retardant. They will burn, but will not support a flame if the heat source is removed. Weld-ing hoses are often exposed to severe abuse. They can provide efficient service with proper care. Molten slag and sparks can burn into the hose ex-terior. The operator should frequently inspect the hos-es and replace if necessary.. Never allow the hoses to be-come coated with oil, grease or dirt as that could conceal damaged areas.

Flashback Arrestors Flashback arrestors are designed to prevent a flash-back from reaching upstream equipment.

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Always secure cylinders in transit or in storage to insure against their tipping over.Never attempt to lift cylin-ders by the valve protection cap. Always use a pressure reducing regulator that is properly conditioned for the gas being used. The internal working parts of the regula-tor are precision units. Only qualified technicians should clean or repair a regulator. Always keep the regu-lator free of oil, grease and other flammable substances.Never use oil or grease on the regulator, cylinder or mani-fold connection. Do not tamper with the relief valve or remove it from the regulator. Do not change the inlet connection on a regulator in an attempt to use the regu-lator for a different gas ser-vice.Never attempt to transfill gas from one cylinder to an-other, or mix any gases in a cylinder.

3Other major causes of acci-dents in the use of industrial gases are 1) improper instal-lation, 2) failure to provide proper and adequately main-tained equipment, and 3) fail-ing to follow the suppli- erís instructions in the operation of regulators and other com-pressed gas accessory equipment. Proper training is essential. You must be able to recognize emergency conditions, know-ing what action to take under circumstances, while prevent-ing exposure. Never identify contents by container color, except in the case of medical gases. Color codes are not uniform throughout the compressed gas industry. If an identifying label on the cylinder is not legi- ble, return the container to the supplier unused.Do not store or transport compressed gases in closed vans or automobiles. Always secure cylinders in transit or in storage to insure against their tipping over.

Always use a pressure reduc-ing regulator that is properly conditioned for the gas being

used.

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CylindersSecure the Oxygen and fuel cylinders. Cylinders are high-ly pressurized. Always handle with care. When moving cyl-inders, always be certain that the valve protection caps are secured in place. Replace cap when cylinders are empty. Store fulls and empties in sep-arate locations. Do not use a cylinder that does not have a label telling you the con-tents of that cylinder. RegulatorsCarefully inspect the cyl-inder valve and regulator threads and mating surfaces for traces of oil or grease. Make sure the regulator has the correct pressure rating for the cylinder being used. Do not use the regula-tor if oil, grease or damaged parts are detected on the reg-ulator or cylinder valve or if the inlets filter is missing or dirty. Momentarily open and close (called ìcrackingî or ìdust-ingî) the cylinder valve. This dislodges any loose contam-inant that is present. Open the valve only slightly; stand behind or to one side (not in front) of the valve. It is not recommended practice to do this to Acetylene cylinders in that you may exceed the minimum 15PSIA and the fuel could spontaneously combust.

Dioxide), since they are com-patible with all other gases, may be used within the separa-

tion distance. Outdoor storage shall be kept clear of dry vegeta-tion and combustible materi-als for a minimum distance of

15 feet. Cylinders stored out-side side shall not be placed on the ground (earth) where

water can accumulate. Storage areas shall be provided with physical pro-tection from vehicle damage. Do not store cylinders near elevators, truck loading platforms, gangways, or under operating cranes, or other areas where they can be dam-

aged by falling objects. Cylinders shall not be exposed to temperatures in ex-

cess of 125oF. Smoking and open flames shall not be permit-ted in oxygen and flammable gas storage areas or within 20

feet of such smoking areas. Observe local code limits set for the storage of flammable gases in buildings.Setting up Equipment for Use

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more that 1 1/2 turns. Keep the wrench on the valve in case you need to shut it off quick-

ly. Connect hoses to appropriate regulator and tighten with a wrench. Attach torch to hos-es and tighten with a wrench. Adjust regulator pressure settings for your application

and you are ready to start.

Attach the Oxygen reg-ulator to the Oxygen cylinder valve. Tighten securely with a wrench. Do the same with the fuel regulator. Before open-ing cylinder valves, release the tension on the regulator Stand so the cylinder valve is between you and the regulator. Slowly and care-fully open the cylinder valve until the maximum pressure regis- ters on the high pres-sure gauge. Now open the valve on both cylinders completely to seal the valve packing. If your fuel cylinder requires a wrench to open, do not open it

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flower vases — to sell at art shows or online.

“I must admit, I’ve become a bit of a glass hermit,” Mr. Ford said.

Mr. Ford, who grew up in Milford, N.J., “dreaming of something fun to do with my life,” found it at Salem Community College in Car-neys Point, N.J., where he earned an associate’s degree in scientif-ic glass technology through the only degree program of its kind in

the country.Historically, glass blowers have been drawn to South Jersey — con-sidered the birthplace of Amer-ican glassmaking — because the area’s pure sand and abundant forests provided natural resourc-es vital to the glassmaking indus-try. In 1739, a man named Caspar Wistar immigrated from Germany and founded the country’s first successful glass factory in Salem County. Many scientific glass-makers still remain in the region. “Most people do not know about our profession, but we are in demand,” said Bob Pontoon, a former president of the American Scientif-ic Glassblowers Society — Mr. Ford is one of its 650 members — which was

founded in 1952.

By day, Mr. Ford is a sci-entific glass blower for a large pharmaceutical company, creat-ing and repairing medical appa-ratus — full-jacketed two-neck flasks, custom-jacketed reac-tors, reflux condensers, hydroly-sis tubes — vital to researchers combating diseases like cancer. By night and on weekends, Mr. Ford is usually in his garage, working on his own personal creations — glass goblets, Champagne flutes,

Blowing Glass Is His Day Job, and His Other Job, TooVINCENT M. MALLOZZI

be able to understand,” Mr. Ford said. “The best part of my job is seeing some of the pieces I have made being used to test a brand

new cancer drug or something of equal significance — it’s neat to know that I play a role, albeit a small one, in the whole medical discovery process.” Mr. Ford removed his Did-ymium glasses, which he said he needed to “filter out the yellow sodium flame, which is difficult see through during the heating process,” and carefully laid the vacuum manifold in what looked like a box of cat litter but was actually vermiculite, a clay min-eral used for thermal insulation. His work complete, Mr.

On this night in his garage, Mr. Ford was squinting through a pair of Didymium safety glasses, repairing a glass vacuum manifold.

“The stopcock is broken off this man-ifold and needs to be sealed back together.” Mr. Ford, 28, works at Roche Pharmaceuticals in Nut-ley, N.J., where chemists, re-searchers and scientists rely on his works to extract, distill, store and test chemicals used in laboratory and university experi-ments. “To me, the scientists are the real heroes because they can manipulate molecules to create new drugs in a way I would never

“Chemists use these manifolds as a way to con-trol their chemical reactions in an inert atmosphere,”

Mr. Ford said, reaching for a blow hose.

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Ford began tinkering some more, breathing into decorative pieces scattered across a large table; it is a pastime that in recent years has become more of a business than a hobby. “Every morning is like Christmas for me,” Mr. Ford said. “I re-ally love what I do — it never gets old.” Before closing up shop for the evening, Mr. Ford, squinting again through his Didymium glasses and reigniting his hand torch, went about the business of attaching a glass base to the stem of a goblet. “It’s a rite of passage as a glass blower to be able to make a technical-ly well-crafted goblet,” Mr. Ford ex-plained. “To make one that is tech-nically acceptable, you sometimes need to throw out about 1,000 of them.” Mr. Ford held his goblet up to a light to check for any tech-nical errors. He could not find

one.“Looks like a keeper,” he said.

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50

Crossing Over

Crossing Over

for working Moretti; such as larger marvers, high end Japanese cutlery knives, my borosilicate glass press, etc. I always pause for a moment before each flameworking session to remind myself of the differences I need to keep in mind when working which ever glass type I have chosen for that night.

When working both glass types on the same night I do my best to keep my station or-ganized so as not to “mix-up” each glass type. Of course it is relatively easy to discern hard color from soft color, but there are a few colors that look so similar that in a rush one could make a mistake. Whether one is using Moretti/Effetre or the Murano/Vetro-fond soft glass; both of thesesoft glasses are totally com-patible.

Just like yin and yang, there are two main classifi-cations of glass types: soft glass and hard glass. For one to pick one glass type and to stick with it throughout their glass career is of course far easier, yet I feel the re-wards are far greater when one learns to work both. Some nights, I work hard glass, and some nights I work soft glass, depending on the orders I have, or the dictates of what mood I’m in that evening. I now am able to flip-flop back and forth from working soft glass, and hard glass with ease. This accomplishment of being able to “crossover” back and forth took some time to get used to. Let me first start out with what I’ve dis-cov- ered to work for me; my personal psychology of how I think about each glass type before I sit down to work it. When I sit down to work boro-silicate glass I first set up my work station for boro (put-ting aside my Moretti glass so that none can get mixed up or misconstrued, especially the clear). ). I bring out my “boro-tools” which are generally

Crossing Over:Learning to work both hard and soft glass

By Lance McRorie of FlameTree Glass, Inc.

Many times I work both hard and soft glass on the same night.

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differently to a reducing flame environment is to get a rod of borosilicate clear...say 5 or 6 millimeter, as well as the same millimeter of Moretti or Murano clear and set your torch to a reducing flame atmosphere. Then pro-ceed to work both the boro clear and the Moretti/Mu-rano soft glass clear in that same reducing atmosphere. The boron based clear will of course be unaffected by the reducing flame, while the Moretti soda- lime based clear will show definite signs of being reduced. Namely, a reducing “haze” will develop on the surface of the soft so-da-lime clear. 55 A reducing flame chem-istry can cause ill-effects in boro glass also, creating the usual unwanted effects; such as, causing even for the more reducing flame tolerant of the two glasses the colors to deviate away from palette. One borosilicate reduction example is the red-streaking that occurs when one works a plain opaque green borosili-cate glass color in too reduc-ing of a flame chemistry. On the other hand, let me con-clude this discussion on how hard and soft glass differ in terms of their

Both Moretti and Mu-rano have a c.o.e. of ~104 and thus react to a reducing flame in just the same way. Note that as a general rule, Moretti’s transparents are the hardest of the palette, and the opaques are the soft- est. Moretti black is the main exception to this rule, it be-ing a super dense transparent purple. When I begin to work hard or soft glass, differenc-es emerge in my mind; such as, heat base differences, timing differences, tool choice dif-ferences, flame tolerance dif-ferences, and thermal shock differences. (Remember: Hard glass’s c.o.e. is ~32-33, and Moretti’s c.o.e. is ~104.) I also keep in mind the different flame chemistry’s that are needed to bring out the var-ious colors I want to achieve will be fundamentally differ-ent as well. It has been my experi-ence that borosilicate can tolerate much more in the way of a reducing environment than Moretti ever “thought about” in the way of the col-ored borosilicate glass, espe-cially the clear borosilicate. A simple test to perform in order to get a better under-stand- ing of how hard and soft glass respond

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flame environment, one can can start their embarkment on the next test; working in an oxidiz-ing flame environment, then a reduction environment, and once again log all your results. Next, you can start to track each color’s respective behavior as it is subjected to the annealing process, record those findings as well. A reducing flame burns Moretti glass, inducing carbon into the matrix of the glass, and causes Moretti’s color to devi-ate away from palette A reduc-ing flame chemistry in Moretti glass should only be used for selective decorative purposes or of course when using reduction frit; a glass product that is sole-ly designed to be reduced. Remember: In Soft glass, namely Murano or Moretti glass: The soda-lime soft glass category of glass likes a neutral or an oxi-dizing flame as your normaleveryday working flame choices. Yet, many borosilicate colors will also muddy, and de-viate from palette as well when reduced. My point here is that the hard glass is much more “forgiving” in the area of flame chemistry than that of the soft soda-lime Moretti glass. The an-swers of which flame chemistry to use in order to produce which color lies in experience, and the learning of the color palette’s of both soft and hard glass. Now, let’s address the color palettes between soft and hard glass for a moment, and how they differ

respective abilities to toler-ate a reducing atmosphere, by making clear that “regardless of whether one is working the colored boro glass, or the soft soda-lime based colored Moret-ti glass; a reducing flame can be used to achieve “decorative” pleasing results. Although, one should, in my opinion as regards where to start with one’s flame chemistry when first learning to “crossover”, first learn ei-ther color palette thoroughly by working “neutral”, because it is supposed to be a perfect bal-ance of fuel to oxygen which should provide the middle “bal-anced ground” for one to start to understand which ever col-or palette is new to them; hard or soft. Then, after taking good notes on your results with all your colors in a neutral

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Borosilicate’s colors strike in accordance with not only flame chemistry and time in the kiln, but also one must regard the “amount of heat used” when working the color as well. One must also keep in mind that all the striking boro colors work on a type of “chemistry-timing” that governs the resultant col-or strike or “bloom” in many col-ors of the colored borosilicate glass. The basics of this “chem-istry-timing” are this; nuclei forming gives rise to the num-ber and/size of the crystals that form, which in turn give rise to the resultant color. 56 Borosilicate is again very dif-ferent in this regard as well, for boro can tolerate and even happily accept reduction.

I can sum up the myriad of differ-ences regarding color palette between soft and hard glass in one sentence. The color palette of Moretti and Murano glass is mainly comprised of “what you see what you get colors” with just a few striking colors, and borosilicate’s color palette is just the opposite: boro’s entire color palette is mostly comprised of colors that strike (either with a flame chemistry induced strike or the an-nealing induced strike which is con-tingent on two main factors, time and temperature.) Borosilicate colored glass has only a handful of “what you see is what you get colors” available in its color palette when compared to the color palette’s of the Soft Moretti or Murano glass; namely borosilicate glass’s cadmium based opaque colors.

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In regards to the flame chemistry choices for Moretti glass: For the “what you see what you get” soft glass color palette... an oxidizing flame keeps the colors from changing and keeps them “true to palette”. On the other hand, as regards the “boro” color palettes available on the market today, one can adequately use the reducing flame environment without much dis-tress to the glass, especially boro clear Keep in mind while working borosil-icate glass that any changes in the 1) amount of heat, 2) flame chemistry, or 3) time the borosilicate colored glass is actually exposed to any particular

flame chemistry or annealing process can change everything for the better or worse. For example, of course the ruby fami-ly of borosilicate colors if over-struck in the kiln can change to an unwanted liver color, due to the over production of crystals. This is the reason most people take borosilicate’s ruby family to transparent prior to the annealing process, and then time that family of colors to come out of the oven first, or at least prior to those pieces made with, say “less temperamental” colors. Now, let’s talk about regions of the flame, and where to work in the flame with either hard or soft glass and how the placement of your glass in the flame differs immensely between these two glass types. The placement of one’s piece in the flame is extreme-ly important. Soft glass with its much more temperamental nature forces a lampworker to learn how to use all the subtle regions of the flame when working their glass. Whereas, hard glass does not require near as much “pampering” regarding one’s heat base. For example, when using boron based glass in order to make a “proper weld “or seal one must be “white hot-to-white hot” in order for the two respective gathers to flow together as one, while Moretti is much more forgiving in this area when “weld-ing” two pieces of glass together; for instance, placing an arm on a human figure when sculpting. The timing of how one “keeps-alive” hard and soft glass, as well as how one seals two parts/gathers together are very dif-ferent. Flame chemistry is very im-portant to understand how to adjust properly.

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About the author; Lance McRorie is founder and President of FlameTree Glass, Inc; a full service hot glass supply company, and state-of-the-art flameworking school all rolled into one. Lance can be contacted at his studio at 1-888-FLAME- TREE, www.FlameTreeGlass.com or [email protected]. Many techniques work equally well with hard or soft glass. In some cases, the properties of the particular glass will either hinder a decorative technique. For example, soda-lime glass melts at a lower tem-perature and is generally more fluid throughout its longer working time than borosilicate. This is helpful for decora- tions that involve twisting or feathering the surface of glass objects. It can be detrimental in circumstanc-es in which you want colors to remain crisply defined shapes or stand out in relief from the surface of your project. Generally, you can perceive the tem-perature of the glass by its color, or how brightly it is glowing. At the same time, we should note one of the differ-ences between soft glass and borosil-icate: Soft glass (that is, soda-lime or lead-based) is a bit goopier than bo-rosili- cate at the same level of bright-ness. You will find it helpful to be aware of subtle differences like the one just mentioned. If you ignore the difference between these two categories of glass, you will tend to overheat soft glass and underheat borosilicate. Ex-perience and practice will teach you how to com- pensate for differences like this. 57

When I work either hard or soft glass, I am constantly adjusting my flame chemistry as well as how I posi- tion my glass in the flame in order to suit the color and immediate situation. So, always have an internal dialog with yourself when you work your glass, asking yourself questions; such as, “Am I in the correct region of the flame for this technique and color?”, and, “Is this flame-chemistry correct for this technique, for this particular color?” What does a reducing flame look like on your torch? A neutral flame? An oxidizing flame? I personally only use triple surface mix Glass Torch Tech-nology torches. In my opinion, Glass Torch Technology torches are “the Ferrari” of all glassblowing torches in the world today, and there is sim-ply no better torch technology on the entire planet in which to work either hard or soft glass. ., G.T.T.’s patent-ed triple surface mix technolo-gy helps one to get the most out of both hard and soft glass pal-ettes. In conclusion, I don’t feel anyone should ever have to de-cide to choose which glass type is better, hard or soft. The truth is neither one is better than the other, just different. One might be more appropriate for a certain job per se, but neither one is bet-ter over all; both have their in-herent strengths and weakness-es. Once again, one can learn so much more from learning both mediums, and letting that sub-sequent knowledge “crossover”. Hard teaches something about soft, and soft teaches something about hard. I want to conclude this article with an old Chinese saying, “In the landscape of

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Key d = the maximum thickness of the glass Rf h = the rate of fast heatingAT = the annealing temperature tsoak = the soak time at annealing temp. Rsc = the rate of slow coolingEnd = the end of slow coolRfc = the rate of fast cooling 58

These annealing cycles are an excerpt from Contemporary Lampworking, A Practical Guide to Shaping Glass in the Flame, Third Edition, Vol. 1 written by Bandhu S. Dunham. Chapter 8 contains a much more detailed explanation of calculating annealing cycles.

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Wig What?

Wig What?

I would like to call attention to the fact that when I type an article about lampworking the computer constantly tells me it doesn’t recognize the words I’m using. This is proof that our skill set is infinite. We are creating

new words.As we all know a lot of boro flame workers have very little stan-dardized instruction. Most of us just picked it up and ran. We all have different names for some of the same technique. Industry wide standardized terminology will be essential to our continued suc-cess. I’m offering these terms as a starting point. If you have sugges-

tions please contact us.

Terminology of Flameworking (lampworking)

By Glassblowers.org

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W

Wig Wag (sometimes called a reversal) - a line pattern consist-ing of spirals - This is when one takes rods of color and hand-makes solid color tubing. It is made with an endless variety of color patterns and twisted back and forth, creating a distinc-tive look. A higher level of skill is required to use this method. A specific type of wig-wag is called a reversal where the solid col-or tube is made and the axis is switched during the blowing pro-cess. The result is a stunning visu-

al treat.

T

Ti - Slang term for a titanium pad, usually on a metal swivel at-tached to a GonG bell curve that is heated up until red hot then

used to vaporize oil extract

Tetrising - getting reversals to line up smoothly

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SSpoon - A dry pipe used to smoke that is shaped similarly to

a spoon.

Sandblasting - High-pressure air mixed with sand applied to the surface

of glass to carve texture.

RRegulators - Brass fitting complete with gauges that con-trol the flow of gas and fuel

from the tanks to the torch.

Retti/Rettichello - a de-sign of two opposing spirals lay-

ered on one another

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MMillifiori- also called mur-rinni, these canes have patterns of color from one end of the rod to the other, when sliced like bread each chip will have an identical

picture.

Vortex Marble - a style

of glass marble

Sig Marble - a glass marble with the artists signature or ini-

tials inside

LLampworking - Lampworking is a type of glasswork that uses a gas fueled torch to melt rods and tubes of clear and colored glass. Once in a mol-ten state, the glass is formed by blowing and shaping with a variety of tools and hand movements. It is also known as flameworking or torchworking. Lamp-working differs from glassblowing in that glassblowing utilizes a blowpipe to inflate a glass blob known as a gob or gather, thereby inflating it by blowing air into the blowpipe, whereas, lamp-working manipulates glass either by the use of tools, gravity, or by blowing di-

rectly into the end of a glass tube.

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KKiln - device used to anneal

and cool glass slowly

Keck Clip - Small plastic clip used to secure a GonG down stem to the tube so it doesn’t acciden-tally get pulled out when remov-

ing the slide

I Implosion - a glass blowing design pattern created by pushing the color in-

side the clear glass

Inside Out - This style of glass has the color applied to the inside of the pipe creating two layers of glass. The layer of color on the inside shines

vibrantly through the clear outside

Inline - Refers to a “sideways stem” in the piece found in ashcatchers and waterpipes, the stem normally has

d-cuts or piercings throughout

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Casting for the Flameworker

I’m sure that one of the first questions you’re asking yourself is, “Why should I even be interested in casting glass in my kiln? Why should I step away from what I’ve been doing so

longand so well? Why do I need that?” I suggest that we ask ourselves a

couple of other ques-tions first. Am I a “flameworker”

or am I an artist who workswith glass? Am I willing to ex-periment, explore, and look at different ways of doing things? How long has it been since I learned a completely different technique, and what would the effect of doing that have on my

artwork? We cannot quantify what it would mean to not know and have been exposed to any of the friends who have been important to us and who have had an influ-ence on the way that we think and interact in the world. In just the same manner, we cannot imagine what new directions and approaches working with glass in a totally different way would open up to us if we were to take a step on that path less traveled.

The Essence of Casting Casting is different from flame-

working in many ways, but one

An Introduction

by Milon Townsend

Casting for the Flameworker

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Creative Glass Center of America’s Studio Creative Director Hank Adams (L) and Jack Larimore casting.

our preexisting sets of ideas, im-ages, and ways of working with the material. It is natural that we begin by executing work sim-ilar to that which we were pre-viously making, or that which which we were previously mak-ing, or that which is related to our previous work, and sim-ply producing it by using the new technique. Over time and through experience, however, the new process will begin to speak to us, and our observant internal eye will begin to see in new ways and create a new body of work that is derivative of the new process itself. While our earlier work was central to de-veloping our sense of aesthetic, use of color, and overall con-ceptual direction, the new work will build on that and ultimate-

ly depart from it. Some of us like to have a specif-ic plan for developing new and different directions, while oth-ers prefer to just plunge right in and see where it takes us. I like to start with a plan but not be

Flameworked figure in opaque red glass. Base cast from stone in water-clear glass with red di-

chroic/dark gray under layer.

• Casting will allow you to cre-ate a different class, type, or na-ture of objects than those that are possible through flame-working. These include large, flat panels with imagery cast into the body of the piece; light-ing fixtures; signs; and architec-

tural components.• Casting may be combined with the hot shop, the flame shop, and the cold shop, given an inter-changeable, compatible system

of glass. • Casting may be useful to flame-workers in supporting and aug-menting the work that they’re already doing, such as creating bases and environments within which to compose their flame-

worked elements.

A New Journey When we enter into a new arena of exploration, we bring with us

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• Castings of original flame-worked artwork. If you have developed a series of images or forms that you are adept at producing in the torch, these may be excellent candidates for casting in glass. You’d be able to work with the magic of per-fect symmetry, the repetition and rhythm of identical forms, incorporate a number of images together in positive or negative relief, or use colors in a differ-ent way than is typically possible through the process of working

glass in the torch. • Combining flameworking and casting in the same piece. You’d be able to make flameworked components, insert them in wax-es made from your silicone rub-ber molds, and end up with a casting that has individual and discrete flameworked parts cast

right into the glass.

too attached to it so as to stay open to the happy accident, the epiphany that is a suggestion more than a statement, the whis-per that must be listened for in

order to be heard.

14 The Flow/Spring 2009

Flameworked figure in white glass. Base cast from stone and convex form in zinc gray glass.

Flameworked flower in System 96 glass. Hot-cast in compatible

furnace glass.

Points of Departure Here are some of the natural jumping off points for a flameworker who is considering cast-

ing: • Bases for sculptures. Casting is extremely well-suited to the creation of a wide variety of solid, weighty objects with sim-ple or complex color patterning. Flameworked glass objects to be mounted can even be heated and pressed into the wax from which the glass casting will be pro-duced, creating an indentation that exactly matches the piece

to be mounted on the base. • Cast environments within which to display flameworked artwork. This could be archi-tectural settings within which fig- ures could be displayed, a coral reef for divers, or a moun-tain for climbers. It could be an abstract base or a component to go with a sculpture, an Art Deco–inspired design for a fig-ure, or a casting of a quartz or

amethyst crystal.

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As we go through the series of articles, explaining step-by-step how you can cast components for your artwork, we’ll list the supplies that you’ll need for

each type of project. Once you have begun to get your mind around the possibilities, you’ll find that kiln casting will add an infinity of options

to your existing work. Once you’ve gotten your feet wet and produced a number of actual cast objects, you’ll find that new ideas will begin to sug-gest themselves to you, freeing your artistic and creative self to explore vast new areas that you’d never even imagined exist-

ed . . . Enjoy!

Getting Ready In the next few issues of The Flow, we’re going to explore some of the many ways that you can easily incorporate casting into your artwork. Here’s what

you’ll need:

• Kiln with a digital controller• Silicone rubber mold-making

material• High-temperature casting plas-

ter mix, called investment• Casting wax

• Turkey roaster for melting the wax

• Wallpaper steamer for steam-ing out the wax

The only really expensive compo-nent is the kiln, which you prob-

ably already own.

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GEt Lathed

AND BLOW

GEt Lathed

AND BLOW

The glass lathe also fea-tures a carriage, which allows workers to shift one end of the object off center as it rotates. This stretches the hot glass out to form different shapes. Workers also utilize a built-in breathing tube, which enables them to fur-ther expand the glass, much like in traditional glassblowing. As the glass rotates, craftsmen may apply a graphite block or paddle to the glass, which further shapes

the surface of the object. One of the primary advantag-es to using a glass lathe rather than blowing glass by hand is that it allows workers to perform complex work in less time. The lathe holds the object in place, freeing up the hands to shape and form the glass at the same time. In traditional glassblowing, workers must hold the glass as its heated, then quickly apply forming and shaping techniques

before it cools and hardens.

A glass lathe is a tool used by glass-making companies and glass-blowing hobbyists. The glass lathe dif-fers dramatically from a traditional wood lathe, and is similar only in that it is designed to rotate an object. Unlike the wood lathe, it contains no cutting tools, and is not used for grinding or cutting. Instead, glass makers use the lathe to expand and shape glass into bottles, scientific glassware, and artistic

works. On a standard glass lathe, each end of the device features a rotating chuck designed to hold glass tubes in place as they rotate. Some type of heat source, such as a blowtorch, is posi-tioned along the center of the lathe. This torch heats the glass as it rotates, making it soft and malleable. By soft-ening the glass in this way, craftsmen are able to blend many different types or colors or glass together into a single

object.

Using a Glass Lathe with Glass Blowing

85

By DoItYourself Staff

A glass lathe also exposes the glass to even, consistent heat, which makes it much easier to ma-nipulate harder materials, like

quartz. Of course, the glass lathe may also pose some challenges and limitations for craftsmen who are used to more tradition-al glassblowing techniques. The size of each object is limited by the spindle length of the lathe, or the distance from one chuck to the other. Workshops may require several different lathe sizes to accommodate objects of different sizes. Some classical glass-making techniques that are common in hand-blown glass may not be pos-sible when glass is turned on the

lathe.

This article will help ex-plain how you can use a glass lathe along with going over the different methods of glass blow-ing, types of lathes, and how a

glass lathe works.

Glassblowing Basics Most people are familiar with the traditional furnace method of glass blowing. It in-volves inserting glass into fur-naces of varying degrees, and shaping the glass by introducing

a small amount of air through a blow tube. This method can also be used to blow glass into a par-ticular mold. Blowing glass on a lathe makes it easier by freeing up your hands because the lathe is holding up the piece of glass you are working on. This allows you to use an additional torch or blow pipe to form the glass if you

choose.

Types of Lathes Lathes are a common tool used for machining. There are several different types of lathes, including glassworking lathes, woodworking lathes, and metal-working lathes. The basic design is the same for all three types. The lathe is either it’s own bench style platform, or a smaller ver-sion that can be placed on a table. There are two upright pieces on either side of the lathe, called the headstock and tailstock. The headstock is stationary and will be the section that has all of the power controls. The tailstock is a mirror image of the headstock, but it is mounted on rails. There is a large wheel that you turn in order to move the tailstock clos-er or further away. There is a sec-ond smaller piece on the rails in between the headstock and tail-stock, and that is called the car-riag. Whatever material you are working on is mounted on a spin-dle and held by chucks. Chucks are basically metal pieces that have small arms called jaws that hold the material you are work-ing with.Glassworking lathes are

extremely common in the

Using a Glass Lathe with Glass Blowing

Using a glass lathe is just one of the meth-ods of glassblowing, and each can produce an amazing variation

of glass items.

86

cientific community. They are used to make all of the glass-ware that chemists use. Nearly every major university will have a glassworking lathe as part of

their Chemistry department.

Glassworking on a Glass Lathe Now that you are familiar with lathes, the function of a glassworking lathe can be described. The first step is to place the glass piece you will be working on on the lathe by holding it with the chucks on the headstock and tailstock. The carriage part that was mentioned earlier can be fitted with a burner for glassworking, called a car-riage burner. There are also circular burners that can be used in this same area. You place the carriage burner un-der the glass piece and heat it to the degree necessary for the type of glass you are using. You can use the rails to slide the burner up and and down along the entire piece you are working onThe tailstock can be slid back and forth during this process to add material to the glass, or to take

some away. You can also use a handheld torch for more intricate work if you prefer. Of course, as with glass blowing by hand, the best method for shaping the glass is introduc-ing air or gas. With many glass lathes there is a tube that is fed right through the spindle that allows you to introduce gas in-tothe glass piece as it is spinning on the spindle. Depending on the type of glassware, the types of gas will vary, be sure you are follow-ing the directions specifically for

your project.

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89

In addition to the tubing, you can also use a handheld tube to in-

troduce air yourself. The glassworking lathe is limited to producing products of a certain size based on it’s spindle. Larger lathes can make larger apparatuses. The number of dif-ferent types of glassware that can be made with a glass lathe is only limited by it’s spindle size

and your imagination.

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The hisTory of Dichroic Glass

by Howard Sandberg Although the origins of glass are ancient and found in many civilizations through-out history, dichroic-coated glass is a relative newcomer to the glass art world. Many peo-ple have heard the story of the artist rummaging through the dumpster looking for cast-off dichroic glass that was being thrown away by the scientific community. So what exactly is dichroic glass and how did it

end up in the world of art?

The Basics of Dichroic Glass Dichroic glass is actually a coating process that is completed in a vacu-um deposition chamber by vaporiz-ing quartz and metal oxides with an electron beam gun and condensing micro-thin layers on the surface of the glass in the form of a crystal structure. This coating that we commonly call dichroic glass today is actually an “in-terference filter” that is permanently

adhered to the surface of a piece of

The hisTory of Dichroic Glass

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glass. The technology used to manu-facture the optical interference filter has been in existence for over forty years. It is known as “vacuum thin

film deposition.” The roots of this technology date back to the late 1880s. The sig- nificant commercial development of thin-film deposition, however, waited to be spurred on by United States military and aerospace requirements in the 1950s and 1960s. This technology has played a key role in optical coating for a vast variety of optical instruments, lasers and laser systems, fiber com-munication links, optical record- ing/storage heads and media, display sys-tems, infrared guidance and detection devices, photoelectric converters, architectural glass, eyeglasses, and

many others. It was forty years ago when Jerry Sand-berg of Coatings By Sand- berg, Inc., pioneered his first vacuum, vapor de-posited, thin-film coatings strictly for art applications. Now when the word dichroic glass is mentioned, the name “Sandberg” quickly comes to mind. The Sandberg Family is the backbone

of this high-tech aerospace applica

tion reinvented for the art glass indus-try.

Chance Beginnings Back in the early 1970s, Jerry Sandberg was working for a vac-uum-coating laboratory in New-port Beach and happened to take notice of an artist digging in the trash for pieces of dichroic out of spec mirrors and started talking with him. This was the first interaction that Jerry had with the artist community and was immediately fascinated with the creative potential of the glass. Jerry then worked with these artists to create the first three dichroic glass colors spe-cifically designed for the art glass industry (Cyan/Red, Ma-genta/Green, and Yellow/Blue).

It wasn’t long before Jerry also started experimenting with the coatings in the kiln. A third generation jeweler as well as a world class engineer, Jerry used his knowledge to create some of the first fused dichroic glass jewelry. His experiences using

the dichroic glass

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glass was created in November of 1996. CBS had to sell directly to the end user, since distribu-tors were not familiar with the company and were unwilling to

carry its product. Within the year, some distributors were already requesting to open an account with CBS due to the multitude of artists re-

questing it by name. As the demand for dichroic glass grew, CBS also began to expand. Not only did the company expand production, it also ex- panded its product line and developed new coatings and patterns. We invit-ed well-known artists to come teach at our plant and learned about fusing, slumping and ma-nipulating glass. This all helped keep us in touch with what our clients were doing and allowed us to offer extensive technical

support to our

allowed him to see, first hand, what other artists were now ex-

periencing for the first time. www.TheFlowMagazine.com/

Summer 2010 www.TheFlowMagazine.com/

Summer 2010 For the next twenty-five years

Jerry con-tinued to supply the glass art market and continually expand-

ed the pallet of colorsat the request of his ever-grow-

ing groupof artists. A few other coating

houses soonstarted to offer similar vacu-um-deposited coatings due to the buzz that Jerry had createdand nurtured for many years. For Jerry, customer service and a quality product were para-mount. The first distributors started selling dichroic glass during the 80s as it became more

and more popular.

Developing the Company In 1996 Nona and Jerry formed Coatings By Sandberg, Inc. (CBS). Their mission was to supply the glass art market with reliable, consistent, uniform, and dura-ble dichroic glass coatings at a reasonable price. Customer ser-vice as well as customer support were key and still are to this day. Before Nona and Jerry were able to finish building their own custom vacuum deposition cham-ber with a price tag of one mil-lion dollars, the two had thou-sands of dollars in artist orders waiting to be produced. The first

CBS dichroic

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valuable customers. At this point we coined our slogan “The Art of Dichroic Glass,” since our products are specifically made with the artist in mind. In fact, the Sandberg’s specifically de-signed their chambers for the optimiza- tion of art glass as

well. Setting the Standard

By the new millennium CBS had single-handedly created the standard in dichroic glass coatings. Our colors were un-derstandable. The color shifts during hot working was predict-able. The coatings were stable, and most of all CBS was reliable. All of the top distributors were onboard with CBS and carrying inventory. As the leading manu-facturer of dichroic glass, CBS has a commitment to the well being of the struggling artist, on up to the world-renowned master, in the supply of quality

dichroic coatings. In recent history we have creat-ed many more patterns, special-ty rainbows, stripes, and images. Imagine, we started out with ten

patterns and sixteen solid colors and now have 25 patterns, 23 col-ors, and over 130 combinations

of the two! We have also coated a mul- ti-tude of glass including: archi-tectural glass, stained glass, blown glass, fused glass, cast-ings, bevels, rods, stringers, tubing, gems, jewels, drusys, cabochons, buttons, earplugs, ceramics, glass block, tile, and

more.

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We have coated premade items such as sculptures from Milon Townsend, handblown bowls by James Nowak, beads from Sharon Peters, and Swarovski and Wa-

terford crystal,

Dichroic glass coatings have come a long way in forty years but have many more years in store. Thanks to so much excite-ment in the art market, dichroic glass is now used for construc-tion in the form of tile, deco-rative skylights, mood lighting, lighting fixtures, mosaics, sinks, sconces, and sculpture. We real-ize that the future of dichroic glass is very dependent on CBS and its practices. We are con-stantly in a state of analysis, re-search, and development, and we now have distributors all over

the globe. We have also hired

in-house artists to help test and provide vital input for fu-ture products. We have expand-ed our sample department in an effort to offer smaller amounts at lower price points. Most re-cently we have designed a new dichroic surface texture know as Crinklized Dichroic. In the future, CBS will be experiment-ing with additional surface tex-ture, shadowing techniques, new deposition materials, unique pat-

terns, and more. In addition, in 2005 the Museum of Dichroic Art (MODA) was cre-ated, and it now houses the larg-est known dichroic glass collec-tion in the world. It is currently located in our lobby in Or- ange, California, and is available by appointment for guided tours throughout our facility on a

daily basis.

and have even worked with The Walt Disney

Company.

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Degenerate Flame OffEvent Review

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Meanwhile, Marcel Braun and crew were getting it hot with a boro glory hole. Their first few attempts to make some large bowls were unsuccessful. Once warmed up, they spun up a couple of really nice bowls using “frit” and the “crackle” technique. They also dipped into a molten pot of Amber Purple that Abe from North Star had brought down

and made the day before. History was made when Team North Star showed us all how they dip into a pot and pull out the Amber Purple tubing. This was the first time that full-col-ored boro tubing was made in pub-lic. It was an amazing event to witness. They triple dipped the tube to get a thick gather then pulled about 10’ of tube at a time, within 20 minutes the three pulls they had created 20 pounds and

about 30 feet of tube.

Since the beginning of the year Cornerstone Glass has been focused on the preparing for the Degenerate Flame Off. Corner-stone was assisted with PR by The Melting Pot (GLDG). A special thanks is goes out to Mer of the GLDG. He was instrumental in en-gineering the great atmosphere at the event. All of the sponsors gave away a lot of prizes to the au-dience as well as the competitors. The event was sponsored by Trout-man Art Glass, Winship Designs, The Flow Magazine, The Eugene Glass Source, TorchLife, Glass Al-chemy, North Star, Create Cloth-ing, and Profitable Glass Quar-

terly. Friday was basically the meet and greet day, with some awe-some demonstrations. The booths were abuzz with activity, lots of great tools, raw color, with tub-

ing being sold.

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Late in the evening as the band began to play, the atmosphere was relaxed as most of the compet-itors finished their projects. A couple of competitors had slight setbacks when their pieces broke, but most finished within the al-lotted eight hours. Nate Dizzle went over the time limit because his piece broke twice. As with any dedicated artist, he started from scratch — three times. He final-ly finished around 2:00 am Sun-day morning. Nate received my vote for the most dedication at this show. Truly, he only cared to see his vision completed; making a huge bubbler with a uranium glass crackle tube and two neon plasma towers. The legendary Scott Deppe made a huge skull and bones pipe with realistic ver-tebrae. Unfortunately, this amaz-ing piece also broke. As always,

Deppe played it cool.

Saturday was the competi-tion day. Around 18 competitors showed up to throw down. His-torically, flame working is domi-nated by male artists. It was good to see four, very talented woman compete while bringing their in-

fluence to the industry. It was a sunny and warm day — rare for Eugene this time of year. The action started around noon and lasted past midnight. The competitors had eight hours to complete their projects. Art-ists were working away while grooving to some beats from local DJ’s. As the projects began to take shape the audience became mes-merized by the variety of eclectic styles being displayed. After five o’clock the Ninkasi Brew started to flow, and the night started to

wind down a few hours later.

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There were visitors from all around the nation with vary-ing backgrounds and one thing in common; we are all drawn to the fire. Three incredible days brought an unprecedented level of artistry together. This event made it obvious that we are en-tering a golden age of flame working with more raw materials of a higher quality now available then ever before. This was abso-lutely the most fun I’ve had all year. I can’t wait for next year, and I’m glad that I was able to be

part of it. Keep the fire stoked.

Sunday was the award cer-emony. Buck was the People’s Choice Award winner and the judges agreed declaring him the all-around winner for the Degen-erate Flame Off. Buck is local to the Eugene area, and it was excit-ing to see him win two huge boxes of prizes. There was also a raffle with lots of great prizes donated

by the sponsors. North Star and Glass Alchemy have once again upped the ante with the colored tubing they are now pro-ducing. TorchLife is also offering dicro tubing on Simax clear, black, cobalt and ruby tubing. While speaking with Henry Grimmett, of Glass Alchemy, he said, “We want to be your [the artist’s] apprentice, and we are positioning our-selves to produce most of the prep work for you. The idea is to assist the artist and give them the ability to customize the prep work for easy integration into

their artwork.”

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