The Art of Weaving Glass

By Robert Santacroce

The Art of Weaving Glass brings together the technical skills of fusing and the creative manipulating of weaving glass elements in a final artistic work. I am a self-taught glass artist working in the realm of fused glass art. My earlier work was an attempt to form gestures into glass sculptures that would open the imagination of the viewer to explore shapes and textures as qualities in nature in a spontaneous interaction between form and function. I started to layer multiple strips of glass in order to capture air bubbles within the movement of the glass as a way to enhance the gesture of form.

These first pieces led me to experiment with weaving glass as a tapestry. I began to see, after numerous kiln tests of varying temperatures, that I could create fabric out of glass. Once I achieved the desired direction, I began to focus on creating my own color pallet, as the range of colored art glass available is extremely limiting. I then began to develop my own sculptural forms fired out of porcelain clay, into shapes that would be interesting final gestures of my work.
When the assembled pieces of glass elements are slumped into these forms, the culmination of these several processes of manipulating the glass form a unique and varied work that is texturally pleasing.

I began to concentrate on producing gallery-quality works that show the transformation of the glass raw material and forcing it into a form beyond what it is supposed to do; a seemingly impossible shaping of the glass itself. I create a colorful texture in glass that is rarely experienced in this way. One must touch these pieces in order to sense their true texture and depth. Each of my Glass Carpets presents an opportunity for the viewer to travel on their own magical ride.
For me the greatest pleasure arrives each time I open the kiln and discover what actually occurred in the hours of heat. What one finds is nothing short of unexpected surprise and enjoyment.

For more information, please contact Robert Santacroce at 734 478-0630 or visit: http://www.santacrocedesign.net/index.html
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Using a Glass Kiln to Warm Glass is an Ancient Technique For Contemporary Design

By Alice Lane

Even before humans learned how to make glass, they were employing naturally formed glass (obsidian rock and fulgurites, which occur when lightening strikes sand) into knife blades, arrowheads, and jewelry. Manufactured glass is believed to have been invented in Mesopotamia and Egypt around 3000 BCE, and the eastern Mediterranean area was the world center of glassmaking for the next millennium. Warm glass, which is made by fusing different colors of glass in a kiln, was used in ancient Greek and Roman mosaics; and jewelry made of it was valued as highly as gold. Early objects such as colored beads and small jars were rather primitive and poorly made, but eventually the blowpipe (invented about the time of Christ) made glassblowing possible, which greatly improved the quality and made its production fast, easy, and cheap.

Glassmaking followed the spread of the Roman empire. The priceless Portland vase was made early in the Christian Era by layering of different colors and then cutting designs in relief. The rise of blown glass eclipsed the manufacture of kiln-fired warm glass for the next two millennia.

The technique of glassblowing reached its highest perfection in Venice, where artisans created vases, goblets, bowls and cups which could be blown to any shape; and which was then decorated with lacework in intricate patterns.

At the end of the nineteenth century warm glass was revived as a decorative medium, and it has become a very popular technique in contemporary art and design. Inexpensive modern kilns make it an ideal medium for school art projects as well as individual artists. Typically it is made by placing pieces of glass of different shapes and colors in abstract or realistic patterns over a sheet substrate. Pieces are cut by scoring with a cutter, and then snapping off with a pliers. Small colored pieces can be held in place with glue. A clear sheet may be placed over the finished design. Then the piece is placed in the kiln. Amaco offers two different models of glass kilns: a small, tabletop model measuring 10" wide by 9" deep by 9" high, suitable for small projects; and a production model measuring 41 1/2" wide by 24 1/2" deep by 13 1/2" high for professional use. Both models fire to Cone 07, and are completely programmable, hence very easy to use. The design may be placed over a ceramic mold which will shape it to a predetermined form (other than flat) when fired.

Contemporary artists use warm glass kilns to create unique translucent tiles for mosaics and window designs. Warm glass shaped with ceramic molds in the glass kiln is used to create striking vessels, jewelry, decorative containers, and free-standing sculptures. Look to Amaco for top-of-the-line kilns as well as a wide variety of warm glass materials and tools.
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