Bookshelf: Etching by Leonard Edmondson

Non-fiction books have improved:  Brilliant graphic design, better editing and cost-effective colour printing mean that, as craftspeople, we are spoilt for choice.  There are almost too many glorious books with easy-to-follow instructions and/or inspirational images. I can spend hours in bookshops, trying to pick the best book for my budget.

But we shouldn't forget the old, black and white manuals - and it's still worth scouring the secondhand bookshops and library "withdrawn for sale" shelves to find these hidden gems. They may not be as visually exciting as their modern counterparts - but they often include forgotten or sidelined information which can send your work in a new direction.

This is a lesson I learned from one very special book:

Back in 2002, in the first year of my Craft degree, I was actually taking joint honours with Fine Art. I'd loved printmaking on my Foundation course, and took the opportunity to spend a lot of that first year in the print room. It was during that time I dug out a book my Mum had bought for me in a library sale: Etching, by Leonard Edmondson. You wouldn't think it (I mean, it's a book on printmaking), but this book is almost solely to blame for the fact that I cast glass!

My focus was the collagraph technique, and there's a great chapter in Edmondson's book dealing with all the possibilities this technique offers.  It suggested that you didn't just need to stop at simply printing your plate: you could also try casting the collagraph in latex rubber, plaster and/or resin.  My initial plaster prints made me realise that I was actually creating a mould which (with minor modifications) could be used to form glass. Well, that kept me busy for the rest of my degree...

So, while I'm still drawn to glossy books with great layouts and beautiful pictures, I won't walk past a secondhand book stall without having a nose.  Do you have the same obsession with books (old or new) - and, if so, which books have inspired you?

Winter warmer: cast glass in the wild

Recently I've been pondering the possibilities of taking my cast glass outdoors.  I've done some sculptural pieces for a roof garden in the past, and there's no doubt that natural light brings out the best in glass. Light filtering through trees and the sun's changing position throughout the day mean that the work gains a fourth dimension: time.

But rather than the glass sitting on a plinth, I'm now considering how it might actually interact with the natural environment - using what already exists to support and display the glass. So a crisp autumn day this week was the perfect excuse to try out some ideas in the Clent Hills. OK, I had to improvise a bit, as I haven't designed special pieces.  But I think there's some potential to take the idea forward. We need more wild glass!

If you'd like to see more pics, this Wild Glass link will take you to the full set on Flickr.  To find out more about the wonderful location they were taken, visit the Clent Hills National Trust page. It's a great place for a walk, and there are some rather good pubs in and around Clent if you like a Sunday lunch.

...and again!

And so we reach the final instalment of my saga about Shape Shifters (the Dancers) - work which started a full five years ago!

In my last two posts I've explained the back story and design work and also the glass making.  Now for a little information on the laser cutting and final construction.

You might remember that I'd prepared some drawings in Inkscape, ready to be cut using a laser cutter.  Well, the morning of my booking came around, and I headed off to Black Country Atelier in Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter with my USB pen and a box full of plywood (purchased from Hobarts).

The drawings made in Inkscape (which you can see on the right) need to be imported into the software which actually controls the laser cutter - and then it's a matter of choosing both the right power and speed settings to enable the laser to cut through your chosen material.  Luckily, Black Country Atelier have a number of sample sheets with cuts made at a variety of settings - which reduces the amount of guesswork for a beginner like me!



The photo above shows the laser at work cutting one of my Inkscape files.  You can probably see that the plywood has been stuck to the bed of the machine with masking tape - that's to hold the wood flat (there was a little bit of curvature on some sheets).

With a little help, I managed to cut 5 pattern sheets in just over 2 hours, each variations on the design above.

Then it was a matter of construction...

Each layer of plywood was 3mm or 6mm thick, and by sticking these layers together, I was able to build up the final "frames" to hold the glass.  Here you can see some of the frames clamped together while the glue dries.

On the front and back faces, I added an extra relief layer - which I decided to stain in a darker colour.  This tied in nicely with the burnt edges of the plywood.

And this photo to the left shows the final form of the pieces.

I've still got to glue the back faces onto the frames - but that'll happen once I get the glass back from its acid dip!

I had a lot of fun with this project - and it was great to finally complete a design idea that's being lurking at the back of my mind for so long!

Dancing again

Earlier this week in Another Dance? I posted about some new work, which was really my opportunity to finally finish something started back in 2008.  In that post I'd got as far as making some cardboard models - to be used for mould making.

Well this photo shows those cardboard models set up ready for casting in silicon. 

I've previously used gelflex for shallow relief casting - but think I may have been converted to two-part silicon.  It holds its shape better, isn't so bubbly and gives a harder, stronger final mould.  The one major drawback is the price - because silicon can't be melted and reused like gelflex.

The walls for the mould are slices from a drainpipe, and these have been sealed at the base with clay.  The blue sheets underneath the mould are sticky back plastic - to prevent the cardboard lifting away from the board.

Here you can see the three silicon moulds, ready for casting themselves. (In a delightful shade of mint green!)

Again, I've used sticky back plastic to keep the silicon from floating away.  But instead of drainpipe, the walls for these moulds are slices of postal tube. I varnished the inside with a quick layer of shellac - so that the plaster wouldn't weld itself to the card.


Once sealed with clay at the base, the silicon moulds were then ready to be cast in SRS glass (a plaster-based investment) - which I buy from Special Plasters in Birmingham.  This has the necessary additions to reduce the likelihood of the mould cracking and failing at high temperatures.

This photo shows the final investment moulds once they've been released from the cardboard tube - and had the silicon removed, of course! I then went on to make a second set of investment moulds.

Once I'd finished the moulds, I left them to air dry for a couple of days.  Then came the firing:

Here you can see the six moulds set up in the kiln ready for firing.  I cut six pieces of fibre board (specially designed to survive kiln temperatures), and  cut a hole in each with a pastry cutter.  It works...but don't use it for pastry afterwards!

The pieces of board are then placed on top of each mould, to support small earthenware plant pots - which hold the lead crystal casting glass.  Once the glass reaches casting temperature, the glass melts and drains through the hole in the bottom of the plant pot (and the hole in the board) directly into the mould.  

Because I'm working with geometric shapes, it is possible for me to calculate the volume of glass I require relatively accurately using mathematical formulae.  In this case, the formula for the volume of a cylinder (πr² x h).  I can then multiply the volume by the density of my glass, to work out the weight of glass required.  I usually use Gaffer Glass, which has a density of 3.6g/cc.  There are other ways to calculate how much glass you need which don't require as much (if any) Maths!  I clearly just need to torture myself..!  You then need to add a little extra "for the pot" - as not all the glass will manage to drain through.

This final shot shows the glass after firing and removing from the mould.  You can see at the edges that the glass isn't shiny where it has touched the mould.  It needs to be polished.  With lead crystal you have the possibility of using hydrofluoric acid to polish - though some smoothing with a diamond pad may be required first.  I don't work with the acid myself, but take my glass to a commercial crystal company who will dip small pieces.

Well that deals with the glass side of things - but I still haven't covered the laser cutting!  I'll have to do one more post later in the week... Bye for now!

Another Dance?

I made these two pieces (Dance) back in 2008.  They were two of several experiments I did combining concrete and glass. Unfortunately this particular brand and mix of concrete wasn't fully compatible...so after a few months some of the glass cracked.

But I've always wanted to revisit these pieces: I felt the design worked, even if the concrete:glass combo didn't.  I particularly like the fact that the pieces will stand (or gently rock...) on all four sides.

Well, the laser cutting course I did earlier this month finally gave me the impetus to have another go: as the laser can deal with both curves and circles accurately and efficiently!

My first job was to create the drawing files which would be used to control the laser cutter.  For this I used Inkscape - an open source vector graphics program, which you can download for free.  It's fairly user-friendly if you've used photo editing or 3D design programs - and there are plenty of videos on YouTube for beginners.  This is a screen shot of one of my files in Inkscape, showing some of the basic shapes. The pieces with the deep curves instead of circles will form a low relief on the front and back of each sculpture.

I also added a few extra shapes into the spaces on this worksheet (which I'll use to make moulds for another project) - as I didn't want to waste any of my plywood!


For the original, experimental Dance, I reused some old glass casts from a temporary sculpture.  This time round, I decided the pieces deserved some glass which was designed with them in mind!  In the past couple of months I've been working on a series of work called Shape Shifters - and I suspected that this style would carry across to my new Dance pieces.

So I started experimenting with cardboard circles...  This photo shows the final three cardboard models. (The circles were cut using a little plotter cutter - I'm not that good with a Stanley Knife!)  The orange/brown colour is down to a layer of shellac - which stops either the gelflex or the silicon welding to the surfaces when I make the moulds!  These are relatively low relief models (about 15mm), as I want the final glass pieces to be between 18 and 20mm to fit within the plywood framework.

I chose the diameter of the models to match the inside of a drainpipe, so I could use a drainpipe to form the mould walls.  (My foresight and planning are finally getting a little better..!)

I'll add another post later this week, covering the rest of the process.

Shape Shifters

I've been working on a new series of work in the past month - the Shape Shifters - and realised that it was about time I posted some background info (and images) on my blog!

The Walkers (Shape Shifters) Image: Simon Bruntnell

As usual with my work, they started life far from the kiln (and indeed the studio): on my living room floor.  While Francis reads the paper on Sunday, or we watch an old movie, I often sit on the floor with a cutting mat, some cardboard, and a Stanley knife (my favourite tool).  Footling about is what happens next - sometimes it goes somewhere, sometimes it doesn't.  That week I was messing about with concentric squares.

I started rotating/twisting the concentric squares - which gave a satisfying spiral.

That, of course, made me wonder about other geometric shapes - would I get a nice spiral with those too?  And at that point I resorted to some help from the computer.  (When I move beyond squares, I find that SketchUp achieves far better hexagons and pentagons than a pair of compasses and a protractor..! I can then print them out, and use them as cutting templates)

And you also get the chance to play with your shapes on the screen, to save your index finger from unnecessary cutting! The screen grab here, shows my pentagon templates all stacked up and rotated.

And the spirals worked well with the triangles and hexagons too.  So my Sunday afternoon at the cutting mat soon ran into Sunday evening...and Monday morning...as I cut out lots of geometric shapes. The photo on the left shows the triangular and pentagonal stacks.

These various stacks were then enclosed in boxes and varnished with Shellac, so that they could be cast.  My first casts (of the squares) were done in gelflex (middle photo).  But I  wasn't that pleased with the final result.  So I moved on to try a soft grade silicon (photo on the right).  It isn't as economic as gelflex - because it can't be reused.  But it is stronger (and seemed to give a sharper result too).

And these "positive" rubber moulds, I made the kiln moulds for the glass. Again, the silicon moulds produced the best results (so I've now made my square Shape Shifter mould in silicon too!) As you can see from Simon Bruntnell's photo of the test pieces, the first glass came out relatively well.  Please note that these have been coldworked (they aren't fresh from the kiln)!

Now I want to do some further work on the colours and the presentation. I'm thinking of casting the shapes in Jesmonite as well as glass - so that I can start building up some tessellations.

Deep Blue: Folding

In my last blog post, I introduced you to the lovely Georgian decanters from Broadfield House Glass Museum. Now I'll try and explain how they inspired my final piece...

My normal glass casting method is based on the collagraph printing technique: I build up a relief collage in textured paper and card, from which I make my moulds.

And this is how I started the project - working in my sketchbook with patterns based around the diamond cuts on the decanters, and experimenting with different textures and relief levels.


But it just didn't seem right to be working in a two dimensional format: it wasn't doing the decanters justice.  The sketchbook work did, however, remind me of a folded box form from the book Paper: making, decorating, designing by Beata Thackeray


Using this as my starting point, I started researching / experimenting with folded paper forms - again using the diamond cuts as the inspiration.

Anyone interested in this type of folded form should definitely take a look at the work of Paul Jackson. As well as doing brilliant paper sculpture of his own, he has written books covering all forms of paper engineering. They all include great "basics", ideas to play with and real inspiration:
 - Structural  Packaging
 - Folding Techniques for Designers
 - The Pop-Up Book


However, once you start making taller three-dimensional forms in glass, you need much longer kiln times - in particular because they need to be annealed for such a long time to avoid temperature differences within the piece. For that reason I was keen to simplify - and perhaps create a "unit" which could be repeated to make a larger form.  I took the yellow folded form above as my starting point (because it reminded me of Sam the Eagle from the Muppets..!)

By cutting down the height of the yellow model to just two layers (between the horizontal lines) and adding a top and a base, I found a unit which would tessellate - and also sit - in a number of different ways.  I now had to think about how I could go about casting multiples in glass.  More about that next week..! 

Made in the Middle

It’s been a wonderful day in the West Midlands – peerless blue skies, and a feeling that Spring is definitely just around the corner.

While the boyfriend scurried down to London to watch his team, I enjoyed a more laid-back afternoon - taking in an exhibition at the MAC (Midlands Art Centre). Outside, Cannon Hill Park was throng, with lots of people out enjoying the sunshine – and long queues at the ice cream van (remember it’s February!). It was almost a shame to go inside the arts centre.

Made in the Middle doesn’t look jammed with work: it has a simple, clean layout. But it actually manages to pack in work from 35 artists / makers. I had a cake break after my initial look – and when I came back, found work that I hadn’t even seen the first time round! So if you get chance to visit, definitely give yourself a decent chunk of time.

The exhibition is run by Craftspace every three years, and it aims to showcase the best in craft from the Midlands.  It therefore covers all craft disciplines.  I’ll report on my other highlights in a couple of days. But first and foremost, the glass!

There were three glass artists on show: Stuart Akroyd, Charlotte Clark and Vanessa Cutler.

Stuart Akroyd works with hot glass techniques. I regularly see his work in gallery shops – but it tends to be small-scale objects, like perfume bottles.  So this was a great chance to see the larger-scale side of his practice. First up was a wall work, Shoal, where adapted "plate" forms have been grouped against a white background – with the colour and cold working throwing shadow and colour onto the wall.  A great addition to the exhibition was an area where you could pick up and examine elements and materials from people’s work – and a piece from Shoal was included in this section.

Also on display, was a pink and green charger – which was just singing: the lights were casting a beautiful pool of colour onto the plinth beneath, and picking out the patterning.

By contrast, Charlotte Clark’s cast work deserved to be outside in the sunshine. All the pieces showed off great control of texture and colour - but I don’t think the lighting did them justice. Compare my image with those on her website (ok, I know it's not the best snap, but still...) This is often a problem with three-dimensional cast glass in galleries…it cries out for a stronger (dare I say it, natural) light - which might be the ruination of other work. This is definitely a potential problem to ponder for my own work.

Vanessa Cutler’s work, however, was shown to full effect: two pieces exploring creative use of water-jet cutting skills. In these pieces, however, the water-jet has not been used to cut the glass. Instead, it has been used like a needle: to penetrate the surface and into the depth of the glass at points on a regular grid. Each penetration looked like the ghost of a nail. At first glance, you could be turned off: the precision says machine, rather than maker. But for me, there is artistry in those edges: the thick glass chosen gives you an alternative view into the pieces – showing off myriad reflections and repeats which are in stark contrast to the peaceful surface grid pattern.

Well that covers the glass portion of the exhibition - more on my other favourites in a couple of days!

Secretive urban nature

This week, I've been busy making bindings so I can turn an edition of The Urbanites into books.  The deadline is next Tuesday - when Simon Bruntnell has been booked for a photo-shoot! (Simon took the image above, of an oak-framed edition of The Urbanites).

The glass came back from acid dipping yesterday - so it has been a mad scramble to get the individual pieces seated within their respective book blocks.  I've just screwed the first one together (the binding uses book screws / interscrews)...it's looking hopeful. 

Presenting the pieces as books was the original concept for the collection: you have to take the trouble to open the book to appreciate the beauty within.  Just like the nature within our towns and cities...

Expect some photos next week!