Helen, I adore you :) An Absolute work of art...Hope to see you soon again in my studio in India...Lots to learn from an amazing and talented artist like you..
Now this may be a silly question, but you mentioned the glass is at the same temperature as molten lava...can lava be blown & shaped like glass can? Or do they differ too greatly in composition/viscosity/etc for that to be a possibility?
RubyLovesRocket yea molten rock and glass are two completely different beasts, glass is one of the most unique substances on earth due to rhe fact that even when at room temperature it is still technically a liqiud, it has no uniform crystalline shape on a molecular level which allows it to take shape and be used in so many different ways. Lava will always try to form in a crystalline shape on a molecular level, so even if you do manage to get it into a bubble or some other odd shape the structure will simply be unstable and crack and shatter once it cools
Great question - Here's the answer from the Museum's Chief Scientist Dr. Jane Cook: The word “glass” covers an enormous range of materials with very different behaviors. Two important things for manufactured or blown glass are 1) how long does it stay soft and workable, and 2) how prone is it to crystallizing, that is, changing from a nice clear glass to something more like a rock. The glass that artists use at CMoG is formulated by chemists to be very workable and stable. Machine-made glass, like for bottles or windows, is also quite stable, but it is formulated to get hard more quickly, so the machines can run faster. But lava can also be many different things, as different as the thousands of types of rocks and minerals. Only a small number of types lava actually make volcanic glass, such as obsidian. And even that lava is very hard to work and crystallizes quickly if it doesn’t cool fast enough. Here’s two videos of glass blowers trying to gather and work lava near a volcano (note that this is a very dangerous activity): ua-cam.com/video/MW3DyDnnu6o/v-deo.html ua-cam.com/video/LFPu9fEQ_oo/v-deo.html Some artists will gather or purchase cold obsidian and reheat it to make work, blown, flameworked, or in a kiln. This is possible, but the glass is still uncooperative, compared to manufactured glass. An example is artists who work near Mount Saint Helens who make art using the ash from the 1980 eruption there.
She started as an undergraduate in college - hear more from Helen in this profile video about her Residency at The Studio ua-cam.com/video/Nh6kFTTMa2Q/v-deo.html
Can who ever is hosting this one do it from now on? This is the first long video I've watched all the way through because no one else explains what is going on. Also, if someone were to drop a fresh gather of glass, would it splash or shatter?
If you look back at the videos that they lived streamed from The Amphitheatre, they're all narrated. Some of the streams from The Studio are, some are not. If someone were to drop a fresh gather of glass on the concrete floor, depending on the viscosity/temperature, it would pool or spread like honey, or it would plop like puddy. Glass would not shatter until it's cooled to under 900°F or so and stopped glowing; and whether it shatters also depends on its weight, shape, thickness, and distance dropped.
I've not watched them all, but I have to say that this guy narrates like a really great teacher. The others are interesting and knowledgeable and clear, but this guy narrating this one is amazing and I bet the kids watching absorb a little more.
I'm admittedly cranky. It's a table knife. Of all the people you'd expect to know what goes on the table and where, the folks who make the stuff should top that list. OK, sure, "butter" sells the concept a little better via higher contrast, but is passing imprecise information worth it? That said, yes, glass artists are making rather extreme sacrifices to sell the art, not just theirs. If you love glass, even the stuff you're looking at right now, please support it.
Agreed! Watching the bubble expand, especially at night on the cruise ship, is always amazing!
absolutely beautiful piece from a very talented woman, I would proudly display that in my house
Helen, I adore you :) An Absolute work of art...Hope to see you soon again in my studio in India...Lots to learn from an amazing and talented artist like you..
Now I look on glass creations different when know how much work it is. Always loved Murano glass though
Thanks for watching!
A dozen or so videos into CMoG and this is my favorite so far. Too bad the "room temperature" view showed so little of the base.
Thanks for watching!
Nice piece.AWESOME.
Now this may be a silly question, but you mentioned the glass is at the same temperature as molten lava...can lava be blown & shaped like glass can? Or do they differ too greatly in composition/viscosity/etc for that to be a possibility?
RubyLovesRocket yea molten rock and glass are two completely different beasts, glass is one of the most unique substances on earth due to rhe fact that even when at room temperature it is still technically a liqiud, it has no uniform crystalline shape on a molecular level which allows it to take shape and be used in so many different ways. Lava will always try to form in a crystalline shape on a molecular level, so even if you do manage to get it into a bubble or some other odd shape the structure will simply be unstable and crack and shatter once it cools
Great question - Here's the answer from the Museum's Chief Scientist Dr. Jane Cook:
The word “glass” covers an enormous range of materials with very different behaviors. Two important things for manufactured or blown glass are 1) how long does it stay soft and workable, and 2) how prone is it to crystallizing, that is, changing from a nice clear glass to something more like a rock. The glass that artists use at CMoG is formulated by chemists to be very workable and stable. Machine-made glass, like for bottles or windows, is also quite stable, but it is formulated to get hard more quickly, so the machines can run faster.
But lava can also be many different things, as different as the thousands of types of rocks and minerals. Only a small number of types lava actually make volcanic glass, such as obsidian. And even that lava is very hard to work and crystallizes quickly if it doesn’t cool fast enough.
Here’s two videos of glass blowers trying to gather and work lava near a volcano (note that this is a very dangerous activity):
ua-cam.com/video/MW3DyDnnu6o/v-deo.html
ua-cam.com/video/LFPu9fEQ_oo/v-deo.html
Some artists will gather or purchase cold obsidian and reheat it to make work, blown, flameworked, or in a kiln. This is possible, but the glass is still uncooperative, compared to manufactured glass. An example is artists who work near Mount Saint Helens who make art using the ash from the 1980 eruption there.
Thank you so much for answering! How fascinating. You learn something new every day, as my mom says.
The hand held camera made me sea sick. Gorgeous piece that was made
I have a question...How long has Helen been sculpting glass?
She started as an undergraduate in college - hear more from Helen in this profile video about her Residency at The Studio ua-cam.com/video/Nh6kFTTMa2Q/v-deo.html
Can who ever is hosting this one do it from now on? This is the first long video I've watched all the way through because no one else explains what is going on.
Also, if someone were to drop a fresh gather of glass, would it splash or shatter?
If you look back at the videos that they lived streamed from The Amphitheatre, they're all narrated. Some of the streams from The Studio are, some are not.
If someone were to drop a fresh gather of glass on the concrete floor, depending on the viscosity/temperature, it would pool or spread like honey, or it would plop like puddy. Glass would not shatter until it's cooled to under 900°F or so and stopped glowing; and whether it shatters also depends on its weight, shape, thickness, and distance dropped.
GemFOX Food and Craft thanks!
I've not watched them all, but I have to say that this guy narrates like a really great teacher. The others are interesting and knowledgeable and clear, but this guy narrating this one is amazing and I bet the kids watching absorb a little more.
It would probably ooze like lava
Helen is a very informative host too.
I'm admittedly cranky.
It's a table knife. Of all the people you'd expect to know what goes on the table and where, the folks who make the stuff should top that list. OK, sure, "butter" sells the concept a little better via higher contrast, but is passing imprecise information worth it?
That said, yes, glass artists are making rather extreme sacrifices to sell the art, not just theirs. If you love glass, even the stuff you're looking at right now, please support it.
2:31
OK, actually 2:30.5