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Dropouts
Tom Gaskell • 28 February 2021
Big drips in glass...
I have been doing a lot more work on 'dropouts' recently.
Dropouts are where you fuse a VERY thick (20-25mm) sheet of glass (which takes a LONG time to make - over 24 hours in the kiln to anneal the glass and stop it shattering, as it's so thick), then hold it up in the kiln on a ceramic donut and let it 'drip' through the hole. It's very expensive as you throw away over half the glass (or recycle it where possible, of course).
Timing is critical, as if you stop the drip too soon you end up with a rounded half-hearted, rounded-bottom thing that is not very usable, and if you leave it too late you get a mess in the bottom of the kiln.
Design is critical too, as the glass stretches so much. The glass that ends up on the bottom of the vase/drinking glass is pretty-well 'as is', the way you design it, but the upper parts of the item are stretched by up to twenty times - bubbles become long streaks and opaque glass becomes transparent, but it only applies to a very small area of the original, thick blank.
You need to cut the 'drip' from the blank. I am told you can do it with a sharp glass cutter and a hammer, but get it wrong and you can lose a few tens of ££ of glass in an instant. So I take a little longer and use a diamond cutting wheel in a water bath. Then you grind and polish the top edge which can take anything from about 15 minutes to an hour.
As if that wasn't enough, the thickness is critical and difficult to control. Too thick and it's ugly and clunky, too thin and it shatters as soon as you try to polish the upper edge.
So if you ever wondered why fused glass vases and the like cost so much, I have just given you a few clues! But they are fun to do in a slightly scary 'will it or won't it' way and the end result can be very satisfying.
The astute reader may realise that it’s a while since I have posted to this blog. I wonder why that is? Well… some ill health (much improved)... and the world-wide pandemic... and the re-building off the glass studio might have something to do with it! But here we are again, back on the case and I have some new glass designs to tempt you with - see the Gallery !
The new business card are here at last - seems to have been ages but I know they were quick really, I am just impatient. This is usually the cue to find a spelling error or change my mind about something, but they look OK so far... (famous last words?)
So the Dickens dishes were done and delivered and have gone all the way to San Francisco for their annual Christmas Dickens Fair. Can't say that my glass doesn't get around - there's a lot in China too! It was a fun commission and I discovered a better silk screening technique whilst I was doing it. There are other variants along the same lines possible - as well as other authors (Jane Austen anyone?) the other idea that immediately springs to mind is Henry VIII and his six wives. Now if only I knew of a Tudor mansion that could form a suitable backdrop... ;-)
I have a commission to make two square dishes featuring silhouettes of Charles Dickens; in his head will be glittery, coloured swirls and silhouette figures of his famous literary characters; very Christmassy, but quite a challenge. It is using a LOT of white powdered glass. Let's see how it looks tomorrow morning when the first firing is complete.
