I work primarily with borosilicate glass, which most people know by the ‘Pyrex’ trade name. It has slightly different characteristics than ‘regular’ glass needing a little more heat to melt it. Many of the colours used were not developed until the late 70’s/ early 1980s and have a unique colour palette from the heavy silver and exotic metals used to produce the colours. Most of my clear glass is Simax, which is primarily produced for making scientific laboratory wares so has excellent clarity & quality.
The glass
The coloured glass I buy as saturated colour rods from specialist glass companies who deal with the complex – and often very toxic – chemisty.
Gold & Silver
Some of the colours I make with pure silver & gold ‘fuming.’ This is where I vapourise the metals in the flame which then sticks to the glass, the golds make pinks & greens, the silvers blues, yellows, & greens, all depending on the colours they overlay onto, how much metal I use, & the ballance of oxygen/propane in the flame.
Tools
My tools look quite basic, many are often made of tungstan or graphite that can withstand the intense heat of the flame, & are used to poke, prod, & generally move around the glass.
The torch
The most important tool is the torch, a specialist bench mounted burner that creates an adjustable flame from an oxygen & propane mix. I use oxygen concentrators which take oxygen out of the air so I don’t have to change or store huge gas cylinders
The kiln
Shaping & manipulating the glass creates internal stresses which weakens the glass. A cycle through a microprocessor controlled kiln which slowly reduces the temperature anneals the glass. I have several kilns in different sizes for different quantities & sizes of work
Time
One of the first things I learnt when I first started making glass is that it takes time & practise, and more practise, and then some more – and a big reject bin helps too!
This is an amazing piece!!! I love it. It is so beautiful and I am so happy I chose this colour. Although it was hard to decide with all the beautiful pens you can choose between. Can totally recommend buying from this store. Thank you so much!
Antje B.
SteamPunkGlass 