My finished Cosmos / Universe piece

 I have finally finished my Cosmos / Universe piece.  I am calling this piece 'My Universe'.  It is made from glass, both cold and hot worked.

I think it worked out how I originally planned it.  My idea was to take a 'core' sample of the universe, how I depict it, and create a glass mobile to represent this small sample .

My rough sketch looked like this.  

And this photo was always in my mind as a guide to what I wanted to show.  A sample digging down into the earth from deep space.

I made five different layers, each representing something that I felt was there, but perhaps we could not always see.

Deep Space

My first layer was to represent Deep Space.  I would have liked to have used black glass, but unfortunately didn't have immediate access to any, so dark amber it had to be.  I deliberately designed it to have the open weave kind of effect rather than being a solid slab, because I wanted to show that there was more to consider even outside of what we know about the Universe and Space.  This layer was created cold in the kiln, then the kiln is turned on allowing the rods to fuse together within a large metal ring that measures 40cm in diameter.  

Nebula

The next layer I wanted to depict was Nebula.  The colours of Nebulas fascinate me and are actually quite easy to translate into glass beads, due to all the beautiful coloured frits (broken glass) and enamels you can buy.   

Using a hot torch and some glass rods I made a lot of coloured beads, mainly in blues and pinks and purples because I felt these colours worked well between the (supposedly black) top layer and the next layer which wasn't going to have any colour at all. I didn't plan any particular effect of finished bead, I just picked up whichever glass I fancied working with, and poked it, swirled it, allowing the colours to implode which in turn allowed the bead to design itself.  Almost like I didn't want any control over the final outcome, I wanted it to be as chaotic and self-forming as it could be... with only a little help from me.

Memories

The next layer I have called 'memories'. It depicts the fact that if you have lived in this universe then you never actually leave.  I have used the cremation ashes of a friends dog encased within clear glass. I would have liked to have used the ashes of a loved one, but I don't have any, plus I thought that some people might cope better viewing the piece knowing it didn't contain an actual person.

These 'memory' beads are made in quite a uniformed manner. It has to be a controlled make to ensure that all of the ash is well encased within the glass, otherwise the beads can have sharp little pieces sticking out.  When a loved one died we are taught to look up to the sky and assign them a star, so I wanted this layer to be hovering above the earth in plain sight.  These beads, like the Nebula beads, are made on a hot torch using rods of glass.

Earth

I felt that if I was doing a core section of the universe then I needed to include a planet, and the planet that I thought that would be recognisable by colours would, of course, be Earth.

So I started this off the same way by doing a 40cm mish mash of glass rods in a steel ring in the kiln.  Once fused down after one firing of the kiln, the piece then had to go back in to be slumped into the shape I wanted.   I re-fired the piece on a slumping schedule to allow it to drape over an upside down ceramic bowl.  I would have preferred a shallower bowl if I could have, but having limited supplies at home I was quite pleased with the shape I actually got.

Lava

The final layer I chose to do was to depict lava droplets within the Earth.  So I made small orange beads for this and hung them under the Earth's 'crust'.

I am pleased with the final outcome, there are a few things I would have done differently, as I have mentioned, had I have had the materials or tools, but on the whole I am pretty pleased with it.

I expect that a small explanation of the final piece might help people understand what I am trying to say, although it could be perceived in whatever way that people imagine their own universe to be perhaps.

The piece measures about 40cm across by 60 cm long.  All the layers are held together with nylon fishing wire, and it is currently now hanging from my shed roof.   :)

We never really leave....

 For the next layer of my 'universe' core, I wanted to explore the fact that nothing ever leaves the universe... or does it and we just don't have that information?

We, as humans, will always stay in close proximity to the earth, apart from the small amount of people that have travelled to other planets, but in the grand scheme of things, we are never far from home.  Even when we die.   Where do we go?   What is left?  Where does that stay?

People believe many different things about death, beliefs formed by religion, culture or experience, but the reality is we leave a shell, a bunch of bones, a pile of ash, but we also leave a load of memories and influences.

I wanted to take the thought that we never leave the universe and depict it within the glass sculpture, making a statement that although our bodies are gone, we will always remain in some form, somewhere.   As a child we are taught to assign a star to our loved ones and imagine them in the dark night sky, so I tried to use that theory.

A friend, very kindly, gave me some of her dog's cremation ashes to make this piece with.  I would have liked to have used something a little more personal, but also understand that it could make it quite a challenging piece for some people to view... so I thought an animal might be a 'softer' introduction to the idea of working with cremation ashes for some viewers.

I shot a little video to show how the beads are formed.

Once the beads had been in the kiln overnight (this brings them slowly back to room temperature so they don't crack) it was time to take them off the mandrels and give them a clean.

Once all the clay was removed from the cores of the beads they are given a quick wash, it is then that you can appreciate how lovely the ash looks encased in the glass.

So, now it was time to put these beads with my other ones in my hanging mobile type sculpture.

I wanted two definite layers, the Nebula layer with the .... let's call it a 'Memory' layer, underneath.  I would like to think that our memories of our loved ones are always near by, just twinkling above our heads.

So, I am happy with the way that is going now, time to work on the next layer.  

Creating the first layer of my Universe 'Core'.

 So, I have taken a core sample out of the universe as I imagine it. I have done this with an imaginary 'cheese trier'... you know those metal tools that take a tube of cheese out of the wheel to test it?  That.

From this idea I have started with a top core layer.   I have made this in a dark amber glass. The glass colour of choice would have been black, but I don't have any, so the closest I could manage was the dark amber. 

As I was arranging the pieces in the kiln I was thinking about the 'Order' versus 'Chaos' theory.   The thin straight rods of glass looked very ordered until I broke them all up and randomly criss-crossed them in a chaotic way.... or was it?   Maybe by the careful placement of each piece, it could seen to be laid out in quite an orderly fashion, as I was making sure there were no big gaps or clusters of too much glass.

Into the kiln it went on an overnight fuse schedule to melt all the rods together.  The result the nest day was quite pleasing, even if it wasn't my chosen black, I think it worked ok.

From this I was going to suspend a load of hand made lampworked glass beads, with lots of colours going on to represent a Nebula layer of my universe core sample.

I turned on my Lampwork torch, which uses a Propane and Oxygen mix, put some music on, zoned out, and just made bead after bead.  Picking up which ever colour grabbed my attention. It was quite theraputic.

I then suspended these beads from the flat disc part using fishing wire.  I spaced them quite randomly, with no exact pattern.  They don't hang so well at the moment, but once the next layer is added on it will weigh it down a bit and look much better.

Planning to do the next layer very soon.

My sustainability project.

 I have finished my uni piece for my 'Sustainability' assignment.

Due to the fact the working with glass isn't one of the most sustainable art forms, I decided to create a piece that might draw attention to the plight of the planet instead.  

I also decided that I would not purchase anything to create this piece, but concentrated on working with things I already had.

In my head I wanted to make a clock, to draw attention to the fact that we have limited time left to help the planet.

I had a box of mini wine bottles that I scrubbed and dried, then popped in the kiln to melt down flat.

My kiln is quite an energy efficient one, as it's not soo big, but I did need to do a couple of firings to complete my piece.

Once they were flat I messed about for a bit trying to decide on a formation. Ideally I would have liked to use all twelve bottles, but this was going to make the clock too heavy to hang.  In the end I decided on a formation of eight bottles, leaving some to use in another project at a later date.

I cut the numbers out of old copper sheet that I had rescued from a fire pit.

Once that was all nicely fused I was just going to fit a clock part, when I came across a clock kit in my stash that had an interesting wooden ring. Immediately I thought this would be excellent as a 'warning' ring if painted red.  Warning road signs are usually red rings.  

Because there was also another piece of round wood in the kit, I could sandwich the glass in-between the pieces with glass glue and bolts - therefore making it a much sturdier piece to hang on the wall.

As I now had a red warning ring I felt like I needed a warning statement to go on it.  My daughter helped me out with that - I wanted both the words 'Time' and 'Waste' within it.  She she wrote... "Don't call time on the Earth, reuse, don't waste". That worked really well so I wrote it on.

I was VERY unhappy with this as my handwriting is appallingly bad.  So it was back to the drawing board for that.

After a quick repaint, I dug out my vinyl cutting machine and I had some scraps of black vinyl left that had come from my old shop many years ago.  I cut out the words by machine this time and it looked so much better.  Using the vinyl was something I wanted to avoid if possible, due to it being plastic.  If it wasn't lockdown and I could have found someone with nice handwriting I would have definitely done it that way instead.

Now it was time to put it all together and add the clock mechanism.

And my piece was finished.  And it holds it's own weight well on the wall... and you can tell the time so it's functional too, as well as being a conversation starter,

I have enjoyed this project. I particularly like working with materials that might have otherwise gone in the bin.  Giving something a repurpose is something I try to do in other aspects of my life, like adapting clothing and sprucing up furniture.  So this assignment was right up my street.

A little stumble...

  Today I had a meltdown, like a six year old might, when my project didn't end up looking how I wanted it to look!

The day started well with me managing to scrounge some nuts and bolts off my Husbands friend - I am trying very hard not to purchase a single thing towards the making of this clock, so if I don't personally have what I need I will ask other people if they have it.  If they don't I will have to rethink my plan.

I then had to mark off where to drill on my ring, and the piece that would sit underneath, and find a drill bit large enough to accommodate the bolt.  My first attempt at drilling a hole wasn't massively successful as the wood all chipped badly on the back.

So I gripped it to the underneath piece and decided to drill them together.  This didn't work well either as the wood then just chipped under the second bit.

So I then drilled right through both and into a scrap piece of wood.  This worked!

If at first you don't succeed, try and try again.... as they say.

I didn't want the bolts to be black, so I drilled a load of holes in a scrap of wood to stand them up in while I spray painted them.  I also painted the two pieces of wood as the same time to hide all the chipped holes.

Once the paint was dry it was time to work on the wording.

My daughter had come up with a nice slogan that I thought would work well.  I wanted the word 'Time' in it, and also the word 'Waste'.

"Don't call time on the earth, reused, don't waste"

I liked this so I then proceeded to write it on the ring, in-between the screw holes.

And this is where my meltdown began..... why I even attempted it in the first place is beyond me, I know my handwriting is complete scrawl.

I type, I have no need to write.  Maybe that's a skill I should work on for the future.

The worst bit was, I didn't actually have my meltdown at this point, where it would have been much easier to rectify... no, I waited until I had glued all the wood into place on the glass bottles and screwed all the bolts tightly into place too.  THEN I decided to have my tantrum.

I decided to pour myself a rather large glass of wine and put it all away to deal with another day.

Thanking the Kiln Gods

 The Kiln Gods were good to me overnight, when I opened the lid of 'big blue' my faithful kiln I was so relieved to see a piece that had worked how I wanted it to.  Always a risky business using recycled glass.

It had slumped down pretty evenly and the numbers had worked.  Big thumbs up all round.

So, off I went to my craft shed to find a clock mechanism that I know I have somewhere as I save all sorts of stuff for 'just-in-case'.

Instead of just finding a mechanism, I actually found a clock kit that someone had gifted me a few years back... now my idea had evolved somewhat, I could use this piece to add something else to the design.

The kit consisted of a wooden clock base, along with a wooden ring and the clock part.

I decided that the ring needed to be bright red... like a warning ring, to warm people about time ticking away to save our planet.

So I painted it all red.

I am going to give it another couple of coats, then work out how to assemble it all!

Deciding on a layout for my clock.

 Sometimes I have a determined plan in my head about where a design should end up, and other times  (most others) I just see how the pieces fit together and how much I like the look.

Not just with glass, but also with quilting and crochet, I will lay out a design, take a photo, move it around, take a photo...numerous times.  Then I go and make a cup of tea and flick through the photos, finally choosing a design/layout that way.

You seem to get a different view through a camera, you can certainly spot flaws and mistakes more in a photograph I think.

So I laid my bottles out in the kiln...

Then I decided that I really did need numbers, at least on some of them.

Using some old copper sheet that I had rescued from a fire pit, hence the beautiful colours on it, and cut it up.

I decided on Roman Numerals as it would be much easier to cut straight lines of copper sheets, rather than cut around shaped numbers.

I don't know where my head was when I did this, as I cut enough pieces to make up numbers 1, 3, 6 and 9, it wasn't until I was placing them that I realised I need a 12 instead of a 1.  thank goodness I caught that in time!

So, back to the kiln and laying out a design.

I finally settled on the middle design, it was a difficult decision which I pondered over for sometime.

The bottom design used all 12 bottles, which equated to the 12 numbers on a clock, but it just seemed a little bulky, plus I thought if I halved the use of the green bottles it would leave enough for another art piece in the future perhaps,

The kiln lid is now tightly shut and heating up nicely to fuse all the pieces together.   Fingers crossed!

Experimenting with what I have....

 Because I cannot really totally sustainably make a piece of glass art, I am going to head down the route of making a piece that will raise awareness.   I am also only going to use things that I already have. I am determined not to purchase anything extra but work around design issues to find a solution.

I have decided to make a clock - to show that time is ticking away for the planet and that we, as consumers, need to act now to help keep it safe.

The clock will be made out of the mini wine bottles, I have a clock part in my box of oddments that I can use.... the design will come to me as I put it together.  I have a rough idea of a design, but sometimes when working with glass - especially recycled glass, you have to roll with the punches and change the design at the drop of a hat.

I thought I might like to put some numbers on the clock, so while the kiln was on and melting the wine bottles flat, I added some little pieces of broken bottle to the corner with different things added to try and see if I could make marks.

The results weren't as pleasing as I had hoped, The Reichenbach green wasn't too bad but I would have  need a good thick layer before it looked decent, and the thicker I had it the more chance there would be of it cracking as the two glass types weren't compatible.

The mica powder just brushed right off, off the top fired piece and the piece with it underneath, which I found surprising.

The silver luster was very disappointing, I expected it to turn a nice dark metallic silver and it did ... nothing!

So that left the copper sheet piece. Now I know that copper sheet works well when sandwiched between two layers of glass, but didn't actually think it would adhere when just placed underneath - so this was a pleasant surprise.

Hopefully, I have found the way now to add numbers to my clock.  Happy days!

My Sustainability moodboard.

My next uni project is based on Sustainability.

To work with glass takes quite a lot of energy. The kiln I use for fusing and slumping is electric, and it could easily be said that the installation of solar panels to power that kiln could make it, in time, more sustainable than it is at the moment by using the national grid.

Lampworking the glass uses tanked propane and oxygen.  The oxygen tank could be replaced by an Oxycon which is run off electricity, but even though I have researched this I cannot find any information to say which would be better for the environment.

Propane is classed as a 'green fuel' as it's carbon content is much lower than other gases therefore its carbon footprint is lower.  Although it is still classed as a fossil fuel it is one of the cleanest burning ones.

To make this project more sustainable than I would usually work  - I am only going to use glass that has had a previous purpose.  In this case mini wine bottles.  I collect mini wine bottles wherever I go because it seems to be such a waste not to do something with them - and over the years I have managed to collect quite a few of this shape.

When you melt glass you have to work alongside the 'coefficiency of expansion', which is simply a measurement that tells you the rate that the glass will cool expand and contract when it is heated and cooled.  Glass with different COE's will not work together as one will cool down quicker than the other and cause a thermal split... the glass will simply separate, or shatter.  So, it is a risk when working with recycled glass as you obviously don't know what the COE is.

But my reasoning is that the wine producer for these bottles, PROBABLY orders them from the same place each time, which PROBABLY uses the same recipe to make the glass, therefore they might PROBABLY work together when melted.  It's a risk.  :)

This project is therefore going to be one to try and raise awareness, to try and make people think twice about just throwing things out, to encourage recycling and upcycling and to show that you can create something new out of something old.

I have decided to make a clock out of the bottles... I found a beautiful glass flower made simply out of blue wine bottles which inspired me to follow that shape.  From this image I have built up a mood board showing the things I will use and highlighting the things that are happening to our planet right now that we need to address.  The clock part will indicate that time is running out if we don't make changes now.