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.

6 12, 2010

The missing link in my studio

cynthia +2017-10-07T17:58:57-07:00

Thinking of designing a glassmaker's studio? Or remaking the one you already have? Here's a tip: Design your studio for the ENTIRE glass process..which turns out to be a lot more than just the "making" part. If you don't, the day could come when the mess literally locks you out of the studio.

The missing link in my studiocynthia +2017-10-07T17:58:57-07:00

8 09, 2010

Pop goes da weasel

cynthia +2017-10-07T17:58:40-07:00

Ever had one of those moments of sheer, utter astonishment, where your mouth drops open all the way down to your ankles and stays there? That was me on Monday, thanks to the artwork pictured above. The rightmost panel quietly separated itself from its hanger and came off in my hands...while I was rehanging it. Since it's been hanging perfectly well on that same wall for more than three years, I was, uhm, kinda taken aback.

Pop goes da weaselcynthia +2017-10-07T17:58:40-07:00

15 07, 2010

Moods and studios and berries

cynthia +2016-05-16T00:09:15-07:00

There are moods in which you write, and moods in which you're glad you wrote yesterday. I'm in the latter, not because I can think of nothing to write about, but rather because there's so much it's hard to know where to begin. First, the art. Haven't so much as touched the studio (aside from helpless shoves to see if it's still there under all the mess) in nearly two months. Apparently I left out a key element of studio design, i.e., where you put the stuff for AFTER you shut off the kiln: Packing and transport materials. Brochures. Booth furniture and setup kits. Signage. Display stands and hangers. Etc.

Moods and studios and berriescynthia +2016-05-16T00:09:15-07:00

12 06, 2010

The heck with it. Let’s play! (Part 2: Zen gardens)

cynthia +2020-02-10T16:36:45-08:00

Most of us get into the art business because we love it...but it's possible to love it to death. You can get so serious and self-critical about your art that you maybe forget why you're doing it: Because it's so much fun. I realized last weekend that I was headed that way, fast. And so for the next 48 hours I stopped worrying about being a grownup, serious artist trying to find my voice and instead had fun. I made a couple of glass samplers, an old project I used to love doing. It used up a bunch of glass scrap, reintroduced me to my inner child and did some battery recharging.

The heck with it. Let’s play! (Part 2: Zen gardens)cynthia +2020-02-10T16:36:45-08:00

8 06, 2010

The heck with it! Let’s play! (Part 1: “Glass quilt” samplers)

cynthia +2017-10-07T17:57:27-07:00

Ever had one of those days where there's all kindsa work you OUGHTA be doing, but your inner child says "The heck with it. Let's play?" That was me last weekend. I finally carved out a whole glorious 48 hours to make art. Excellent time to shovel out the studio, fire a bunch of pate de verre test tiles, mix up a couple of custom billets, redefine some investment facecoats, repair the broken head of the gigantic nude on my sculpture stand so I can get her silicone finished... The heck with it. Let's PLAY!

The heck with it! Let’s play! (Part 1: “Glass quilt” samplers)cynthia +2017-10-07T17:57:27-07:00

4 06, 2010

Will Vinton and a whole bunch of glass

cynthia +2017-10-07T17:57:19-07:00

Those of you who know me well also know that I'm obsessed with animation. I've loved Disney and Looney and Hanna Barbera since babyhood. Yet what turned me on to computers and graphics and 3D and animation and all that stuff was a guy named Will Vinton. The idea that you can build your own world, your own stories, your own rules, well...that's a heaven that Mr. Vinton introduced me to, long ago. So it was kinda jaw-dropping to meet him today, judging OGG's Fusathon glass creations. Nice guy.

Will Vinton and a whole bunch of glasscynthia +2017-10-07T17:57:19-07:00

29 05, 2010

Never puzzle a juror

cynthia +2017-10-07T17:57:10-07:00

"Uneven. VERY uneven," said the man sitting next to me, "I can't decide if she's brilliant or a D student." "Yes," concurred the lady on the other side, "She's still looking for her voice." We were paging through a computer slideshow, evaluating artists' work for a competition. Applicants had been asked to submit a body of work, not just one [...]

Never puzzle a jurorcynthia +2017-10-07T17:57:10-07:00

23 05, 2010

Fusathon, good works, good fun

cynthia +2020-06-21T19:13:22-07:00

Saturday was a total hoot, made better by the fact that it was for a good cause. If you missed it, you really missed a lot of fun. Yesterday the Oregon Glass Guild (OGG) held its annual Fusathon down at Uroboros' glass factory. We talked glass stuff, made glass stuff, watched other people make glass stuff, tried new ideas for stuff, bought stuff, ate stuff and sang stuff. (I took pics of stuff, too). By the end of the day, we were pretty stuffed.

Fusathon, good works, good funcynthia +2020-06-21T19:13:22-07:00

15 05, 2010

The power of transparency

cynthia +2016-08-02T10:51:17-07:00

I'm giving in to glass transparency right now, (weird, because I tend to sneer at artists who substitute transparent bling for a voice). What's utterly fascinating is the almost symbiotic relationship that transparent sculpture has with its environment. I want to learn to use that power in my work, and from what I've seen so far, it'll be a helluva challenge. Sculpting with glass is, for me, an extreme exercise in controlling the viewer's eye. The artist directs the viewer's eye with all art, of course, but in other media that control is largely confined to the surface. A work's mass and volume are simply vehicles for presenting (or hiding) whatever the artist has put on the surface. Not so with glass--you can send the eye anywhere you want in that volume; surface constraints only exist if you choose to use them, i.e., opaque the glass.

The power of transparencycynthia +2016-08-02T10:51:17-07:00

5 05, 2010

Making an art fair booth

cynthia +2021-06-15T14:12:10-07:00

Staffing a booth is fun, but not nearly so much fun as designing and building it. (And taking it down is hell, but that's another story) Having exactly ONE art fair under my belt, I'm not gonna suggest that I'm an expert at booth design or management. Terry Belunes and I took our new artfair booth out for a test run last weekend at our first show; we were pleased with the results, but found lots of room for improvement. Don't take this as showdesign gospel, but the following is booth design from a newbie perspective. I welcome ALL suggestions and helpful hints.

Making an art fair boothcynthia +2021-06-15T14:12:10-07:00