| IQ Light, continued |
[Jan. 14th, 2007|08:25 pm] |
Previously I mentioned a beautiful lampshade design I saw on line. The picture from that creation was this:
Photo: Lennart Poettering
I agree with Lennart: I think this “Mexican” version of the IQ Light design, with its nearly opaque material and with sharply curving pieces looks better – more fluid, organic, and perplexing – than the “official” version, seen here:
Photo: iqlight.com
I followed those instructions. I modified them, rounding off some corners so the spirals are more like logarithmic spirals. I made it out of paper, stapling a printout of the template to three layers of textured card stock (so I could cout out three at once). The templates provided have an edge length of about 3 inches, producing a 30-piece ball about 11 inches in diameter.
Assembling it was a bit tricky. I had to realize that the front and back really are different. With that in mind, it went together fairly easily. I found it helpful to round out the inside corner of the tabs a bit with the tip of of an X-Acto knife so there's no geometric singularity. (See the note on the above picture on Flickr if that location description didn't make sense.)
Here I am trying to get the first layer together. The problem with textured card stock is that it takes creases really easily.
A view of the inside shows the underlying geometry.
I used a 100-watt equivalent compact fluorescent bulb (25 watts). (I wouldn't put many more watts in there for fear of fire.) used a white extension cord with a one-piece plug-to-socket adaptor and hung it from the ceiling.
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| Glassblowing |
[Jun. 6th, 2006|10:39 pm] |
This weekend I finally got the chance to try glassblowing at Thames Glass in Newport, RI. ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) mew0422 and I stumbled upon the place in late fall and I got a gift certificate for Christmas that I just now cached in. The ornament lesson was only $25 (plus shipping after it was annealed made it $37) compared with buying a similar ornament for $24.
I made a Christmas ornament (two actually) with a metallic gold base and with red and green highlights. I'll post pictures when they arrive here.
Process
The quick version is that you have a stainless steel tube, tapered on one end to make it easy to blow into. You (or your instructor) dips it into a crucible to coat the end in glass, then you cool part of the tube in a special water sprayer since much of it went into the furnace containing the crucible. The glass is the consistency of very very cold honey. You roll this glass on a metal table to get an even cylinder on the end of the tube, then heat it in another oven, the “gloryhole”, while spinning it to keep the cylinder of glass from drooping. (The tube rests on two large ball bearings while you spin it.)
Photo: Molly Waring
Next, I rolled the (neutral-colored) glass in a tray of gold glass chips, making sure they stuck to all sides, then put it back in the gloryhole to melt those chips onto the bulk. I then dipped one side in red chips and the other in green. Then I went back tot he table to roll everything cylindrical again.
Photo: Molly Waring
Next was the actual blowing. Unlike a balloon, glass is viscus, not elastic, so while it was difficult to get started, it wasn't like a circus balloon; after some persistence it steadily and easily started inflated.
Photo: Molly Waring
Just after starting the bubble, we started pinching off a neck so it could be removed. This was done with “jacks”, basically large marginally-sharp tweezers.
Photo: Molly Waring
After another pass through the furnace, I inflated it all the way and pinched it off more.
Photo: Molly Waring
Then my instructor took it, rested it in a nest of woven fiberglass and I tapped with the jacks to break the glass at the neck. Then she went back to the crucible to get a little more glass to make the hook, which she did as I watched intently.
Photo: Molly Waring
Right after she added the hook, we noticed a crack. She was apologetic, as if having to make another one was a problem. So we did. This time we patted both sides with green and gently rolled the whole thing in red chips. The reason for this is that apparently that red glass has a higher glass transition point and so is more viscus than the other glass at a given temperature leading the bubble to be lopsided in the first one. The second one inflated much more evenly.
Another fun fact: the base glass color will be slightly blue because the crucible was running low and the blue sinks to bottom.
Overall it was a lot of fun; I'd love to do more. After some hunting around online, it looks like it's not uncommon for glassblowers to do lessons. Give it a try; you know you've always wanted to. |
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