glass

Glassmaking: Morganica (Cynthia Morgan) demonstrates the technical and creative challenges of making art using glass through fused glass, coldworking, and experimentation. Primarily focused on the casting of glass, including pate de verre and reservoir casting, she also discusses less-used kinformed glass techniques such as tack-fusing, kilncarving, and pattern-bar development.

20 10, 2014

Making a casting parts library

2014-10-22T07:26:36-07:00

A silicone master mold is an obvious safety net in glass casting: If you accidentally employ one of the 10,000 methods for destroying a piece during casting, a master model gives you a second chance. The original sculpture (and photo it was taken from). It measures about 14×14 inches, and maybe 5 inches deep. That’s not all, though. As tedious, time-consuming, expensive [...]

Making a casting parts library2014-10-22T07:26:36-07:00
2 10, 2014

Selling babies

2015-11-07T16:18:39-08:00

What do the above pieces have in common? They still live with me. I’ve never really thought of myself as sentimentalist. Sure, I sometimes sob at tearjerker chickflicks or cracking good animation or sublimely elegant algorithms or wonderful UX or hardware that really IS “plug and play” or somebody just being nice for no good reason or incredible art. And maybe I [...]

Selling babies2015-11-07T16:18:39-08:00
18 09, 2014

Pate de verre: The garden panels project IV

2020-03-02T07:44:36-08:00

This is the fourth and final installment of the (longer-than-War-and-Peace) tutorial on making a pate de verre panel. In the first post, Carla, Shelby and I designed and made our models. In the second, we "invested" them, i.e., poured refactory plaster over them and made molds, and in the third we filled and fired the molds. This time [...]

Pate de verre: The garden panels project IV2020-03-02T07:44:36-08:00
11 09, 2014

Pate de verre: The garden panels project III

2020-11-26T12:53:59-08:00

By now you’re probably wondering when this is ever going to end; we’ve made our models, turned them into molds…now what? We fill them, that’s what. In this post I’ll discuss how to choose and layer frit into your mold, and getting them into the kiln. In the final post (next week), I’ll show you how we finished the panels. [...]

Pate de verre: The garden panels project III2020-11-26T12:53:59-08:00
4 09, 2014

Pate de verre: The garden panels project II

2017-10-07T18:07:15-07:00

In Part I of this series, I gave a (long-winded) description of designing, making and refining a model for a pate de verre garden panel. It's about 5x7 inches and maybe a half-inch thick (or a bit less), meant to hang on the wall. In Part II (this post), I'll talk about making the refractory mold. Part III will cover [...]

Pate de verre: The garden panels project II2017-10-07T18:07:15-07:00
28 08, 2014

Pate de verre: The garden panels project I

2020-06-21T19:13:27-07:00

Pate de verre combines glass casting plus frit-painting plus sculpting plus moldmaking plus coldworking. Each of those can be daunting by itself; when you combine them, pate de verre can seem awfully difficult. In this project, I'm trying to reduce the complexity for beginners and still come out with an acceptable pate de verre piece. Most pate de [...]

Pate de verre: The garden panels project I2020-06-21T19:13:27-07:00
5 06, 2014

Waxworx 101a: Selecting waxes

2018-11-29T16:16:50-08:00

Wax ain't just for candles. Surgeons pack bone with it, medievalists seal letters with it, it coats cheeses and shines your car (or your shoes), makes edible Halloween lips and honeycombs and mascara and photocopies and lava lamps and soap and art. It's pretty wonderful stuff and, much as I dislike using it, invaluable in glass casting. HOWEVER...it's daunting, potentially dangerous, and very, very [...]

Waxworx 101a: Selecting waxes2018-11-29T16:16:50-08:00
17 03, 2014

dripping in glass

2021-06-04T15:51:31-07:00

Several of y’all have asked me to explain how to use stainless steel rod to create custom dripping platforms for potmelts and such, so I thought I’d oblige…let me know if you have any questions. Glassists are also scavengers–our favorite stores are Harbor Freight and Goodwill–because we’re always looking for cool stuff to use in a kiln. And the most [...]

dripping in glass2021-06-04T15:51:31-07:00
23 02, 2014

Firing schedules, untangled (part I)

2020-12-26T15:13:48-08:00

Firing schedules are probably the single biggest source of confusion in kilnforming glass. Over the years (and a bunch of research, testing and listening to smarter-than-me glassists), I've developed strategies for schedule management; this series will share a bit. As always, this stuff is based on MY experience, with my designs, my technical considerations and my understanding. I don't promise [...]

Firing schedules, untangled (part I)2020-12-26T15:13:48-08:00
3 02, 2014

Well, hey there!

2017-07-30T14:55:54-07:00

Been awhile. Been a looooong while. As a couple* folks have noticed, this blog's been closed for remodeling for more than a year, and the why part is a bit tricky. What I'd love to say: I've been slaving away for months, crafting the jo-block perfect Morganica website, and so now...taDA!!!...here it is: The world's most wonderful resource for glassists [...]

Well, hey there!2017-07-30T14:55:54-07:00
Copyright © 2024 Cynthia Morgan | All Rights Reserved
No part of this website may be copied, borrowed, or used in any way without the expressed, written permission of the author (me).

Or, to put it in plain English, folks: Ask first. This blog is first and foremost a personal journal, a chronicle of my work with a fairly difficult technical medium. I'm happy (thrilled, even) to share what I know, and I'll help you with your own journey all I can... as long as you respect my groundrules.

I don't sell ads, products or services, and unless disclosed I buy all products/services mentioned in this blog, with my own money. I don't claim to have invented processes, tools, new artforms, or techniques (unless I specifically say so). HOWEVER, my writing and art (and any errors of fact or fiction) are my very own, original work. Don't blame anyone but me if I get it wrong.
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