Metal Marbles : The Search for Random Detail

 

Metal Marbles are the culmination of more than ten years of transitional experiences working in glass, starting with stained glass, progressing to kiln-formed glass, and presently concentrating on casting and torch working. More than anything else throughout this progression Metal Marbles are about the search for randomized detail in glass design. The venture started several years ago when I noticed that bead makers were very experimental with what they applied to the bead surface under the heat of the torch. They used an array of techniques many of which included the use of metals such as copper and gold leaf, silver thread, metals mixed with enamels, and fumed (evaporated) silver to create iridescence on the surface of the bead. Some of these techniques are very poisonous.

 

 

 

Up to this point I was only minimally aware of the chemistry of glass, and the role metal oxides had to play in the formation of color in glass. In 2005 the first series of Metal Marbles show the initial stage of my understanding of the application of metal to the surface of molten glass. I understand at this point that I have as much in common with ceramicists as I do with hot glass workers, and have only begun the venture into the depths of glass chemistry. The basics of the process are still being perfected. It is similar to the Raku technique used by ceramicists, where a metallic glaze is applied to pottery, then fired in an oxygen-starved kiln. The burning wood in the kiln needs oxygen and strips oxygen molecules off of the metal oxides to help fuel the fire, resulting in iridescent glazes of random patterns. This is a very controlled process with the goal of producing unpredictable random patterns.

Fuller control is gained when working glass in a torch, where as the metal is applied while working the glass, and the results are seen.  Some elements of the technique are: the proper mixtures of raw metal powders; application techniques to insure micro-thin washes are applied to the molten glass surface; torch heat levels and atmospheric control (gas and oxygen mix); length of time in flame; cycles of heat and cold; cycles of reduction and oxidation; differences in the base glass; secondary metal applications; annealing length; and on and on. The key element, of course, is the application of metal powders where the wash must be thinner than copper leaf, and then fired properly, or, the results are simply mud.

The ultimate goal is the integration of my glasswork with woodworking, specifically lathe-turned objects, and glass and metal casting. I've been working towards this integration for the past fifteen years.