Susan
Taylor Glasgow is awarded a residency at the Pittsburgh Glass Center
I'm thrilled to announce that I've been awarded a 2 month residency and
exhibition at the Pittsburgh Glass Center beginning in August, with a
solo exhibition running from October 3, 2008-January 3, 2009.
A residency is the playground of artists. Basically, I'll live at
the PGC, meet artists from around the world, have access to PGC's
top-notch glass equipment and expert technicians, and do, well,
whatever I want. I'm very excited. I've done residencies in
the past, both at Pilchuck and Wheaton, and before I leave for each my
husband asks me "how important is this residency?". His point
being that I already have a fabulous studio customized to the way I
work, and of course, other obligations that are tossed to the wind for
2 months. My answer--"I don't know. I won't know until I'm
back." Now, with a little hindsight, I can say, "Pivotal."
At Pilchuck I was introduced to academically trained glass artists and
world class equipment for the first time. Being self-taught, I
was hypnotized! This was wild, man! I met Jeff Sarmiento
and other talented young artists, who introduced me to new concepts in
creativity and networking. At Wheaton, my fellow resident was
Bill Couig, an excellent artist from NYC who worked at Urban
Glass. I hitched a ride with Bill one day for my first visit to
the Big Apple, and introduced myself to Doug Heller at Heller
Gallery. I've been showing at Heller Gallery for 3 years now.
"The Communal Nest"
So, to quote John Burroughs, "Leap, and the net will appear".
I've decided to undertake a project at the Pittsburgh Glass Center that
is far bigger than myself, ready to embrace whatever wonderful things
happen. The exhibition following my residency is titled "Absence
Of Body". It will combine an installation and community fund
raiser to benefit both the PGC and local women's shelter, Bethlehem
Haven. The exhibition will coincide with the International
Women's Forum also being held in Pittsburgh that month.
The main installation will be an 8' bird's nest, made up of a thousand
or so glass twigs that will have been created by artists from all over
the world and contributed to the "communal nest". Each artist is
also invited to send a quote to be transferred onto vellum strips and
woven into the nest. The center of the nest will be lined with
glass feathers and a large, sewn glass pillow with a indentation in the
top as though someone has just recently left. Surrounding the
nest will be 5-6 additional sewn glass pieces supporting the concept of
"Absence Of Body".
Call To Artists
An official "call to artists" is now made for artists to contribute to
the communal nest. The project will use "crystal" clear glass
twigs (colorless) from 8"- 40" in length. The largest of the
twigs will be made in my studio and at the PGC. The glass can be
either clear or have a frosted, translucent quality, as long as the
glass is colorless. The twigs can be made by casting, torch,
off-hand. or any 'ol method. Below is an
easy kiln casting method to create a twig in "Glass Twig Making
101". It is recommended that the points or
branches not be too delicate for obvious reasons.
ARRIVAL DEADLINE IS AUGUST 15, 2008 FOR
YOUR TWIG TO BE INCLUDED IN THE INITIAL INSTALLATION AND CATALOG AT THE
PGC. All artists contributing to the nest will receive
recognition in the catalog and will be offered a signed catalog as
appreciation for their contribution. Non artist types can also
contribute to the nest by donating $50 for a 20-30" twig, or $75 for a
30-40" twig. The twigs will be made by the artists at the PGC in
your name, with all profits going to benefit PGC and Bethlehem
Haven.
Before July 25th
Send your twigs to:
"The Communal Nest"
Taylor Glasgow Studios
307 N. 10th St.
Columbia, MO 65201
USA
After July 25th
Send your twigs to:
Susan Taylor Glasgow
"Communal Nest"
Pittsburgh Glass Center
5472 Penn Ave
Pittsburgh, PA 15206
To Sponsor a twig
Send monetary donations to:
"Communal Nest"
Pittsburgh Glass Center
5472 Penn Ave
Pittsburgh, PA 15206
"Glass Twig Making 101"

Bullseye sheet glass (in 1" pieces) in sand
mold
Finished twigs on their way to the Communal Nest
Sand Casting: A few quick observations--you'll need a
kiln a couple inches bigger than the twig you want to make to allow for
the surrounding sand. I used a steel, non coated cake pan to
contain the sand and to avoid the sand sifting down between the bricks
in my kiln. Also, I was able to simply lift the pan out and use
my kiln for other firings between twigs. Please don't forget, The
Communal Nest is huge. The twigs should be at least 8"
long.
Materials needed:
The biggest non coated steel cake pan you can find that will still fit
in your kiln. You can also dam a kiln shelf with kiln bricks (as
seen in the picture above) and
fill and area with sand, but it takes up more space and requires clean
up if you want to use your kiln between twig firings.
Plain 'ol brown sand
Dry Potter's Plaster as a release, with sifter
Spray bottle with water
clear colorless sheet glass, clean, and broken up in 3/4-1" pieces,
large frit or cullet
Okay. Do this part on a work table outside your kiln, if you can:
Fill the dammed area with sand about 1-1/2- 2" deep, depending on the
size twig your casting (At least 8"). The longer the twig, the bigger
it's diameter should be for strength. I made my first twigs
16-18", 3/4 inches deep, with a forked end, but did not allow the ends
to become too fine. A gentle curve is nice too. Using your
finger, dig a twig-shaped trench in the sand at least an inch deep,
lightly spraying the sand with water and shaping the cavity. If
you're doing this inside your kiln,
not spray water on your kiln elements. Guess what, they
don't like that, and you might get electrocuted too. Dig the
trench deep enough to hold enough glass and allow for settling up to
50%. Keep the depth of your twig trench somewhat uniform and
remember the glass, once molten, will be self leveling. Once
you're satisfied with the shape of your twig, mist the area lightly
with water and then sift potters plaster over the twig trench.
You only need to sift enough to cover the sand. Allow the plaster
to soak up the water, dry, and form a light crust. Now carefully
fill your twig with broken clear sheet glass or large (1/2"+)
frit. The larger the glass pieces, the more clear the twig will
be and fewer bubbles will appear. The large finished twig
pictured above is a combination of sheet glass and small frit, making
it less transparent. Fill the twig carefully, so
that sand doesn't fall into the twig body. If it's obvious right
away the the sand wants to fall into the twig trench, remove the couple
pieces of glass you've put in and mist the area again with water.
Put the glass in right away even though the sand is damp, and let the
sand dry during the first hour of the firing with the kiln lid
propped. Fill the twig trench with glass even slightly over the
top to allow for a lot of settling. Gently lower the shelf or
cake pan on to posts laid on their sides to allow good support and for
heat circulation and cooling. Using Bullseye sheet glass, I fire
my 18", 3/4" deep twigs thusly:
100 degrees/hr to 1000 no hold
550 degrees/hr to 1250 hold 1 hr
550 degrees/hr to 1480 hold 15-25 minutes depending on your kiln
cool to 960 degrees hold 3 hours
cool 50 degrees/hr to 735 hold 1 hr
cool 50 degrees/hr to 500 hold 1 hr
off
Twigs using this method have come out crystal clear. I use
minimal grinding to remove any sharp points.
Have fun!! Don't forget to include a personal quote to be
incorporated into the Communal Nest. If you have other methods of
making twigs that you'd like to add to "Glass Twig Making 101", send me
an email, or add it to the "Absence of Body" blog at
www.communalnest.blogspot.com.
Be sure to include what materials are needed and detailed instructions.