Contemporary Canadian Glass

by RAVEK

RHAPSODY is a shimmering, undulating, custom-designed sculpture of hand-formed and hand-cut waves of flowing glass designed for an entrance canopy created by Oded Ravek, Designer and Glass Artist, RAVEK Architectural Glass Art, for Mastercraft Starwood’s new hotel-inspired luxurious condo located in the QUAD Arts District, Ottawa.

Oded Ravek in studio, designs a wave with hand cut and layered glass

Close-up of kiln fired wave of RHAPSODY

Oded Ravek installing waves of RHAPSODY

Forming one harmonious movement, RHAPSODY Sculpture was inspired by the Ottawa River’s rapids. Composed of 28 dynamic, iridescent waves of glass, the sculpture appears to float at the glass-enclosed 4’ x 14’ entrance canopy to Ottawa’s new SuperLuxury SoHo Parkway.

RHAPSODY Sculpture shimmers at sundown

A spectacular sculptural statement, the public presentation of RHAPSODY took place June 27, 2012.

SoHo Parkway proudly presents RHAPSODY Sculpture

By: Larissa Blokhuis

In 2007, I took a summer glassblowing course at Red Deer College.  It was an incredibly fun experience, blowing glass from 9 a.m. until 8 p.m.  As a student, I just enjoyed the experience of learning new techniques, trying out new ideas, and practicing the basics.  I didn’t put much thought into what was going on behind the scenes.  This summer, I got the chance to see behind-the-scenes as a TA for Jeff Holmwood’s course, “Advanced Glassblowing for Beginners.”

Jeff Holmwood studied glass at the Alberta College of Art + Design from 1990 – 1994, and has had an active career as a glass artist since then.  He has been at Red Deer every summer since the mid 90s, first as a student, then as a tech, and now as a teacher.  He teaches two one-week courses back-to-back, so that students can take both courses if they like.  We did have two repeating students, and several students who have taken Jeff’s courses before.

I found out that Jeff was in need of a TA, and I jumped at the opportunity.  Jeff, myself, and three techs (Cailey Buye, Paul van den Bijgaart, and Jie ‘Amy’ Yang) worked to make sure the students had all the support and instruction they needed. We used so much glass that the techs had to charge the furnace every night. Jeff’s enthusiasm and energy pushed the students to go big, go complex, go murrini. With such a high number of teachers, I feel we had a successful run at catering to everyone’s different learning styles.

Photo Credit: Larissa Blokhuis. Photo Caption: Calm action in the hotshop.

Jeff and the morning tech arrived before class every morning to light up and ensure the equipment was working and the benches were all set up.  All five of us did demos and worked with students individually. Jeff’s experience at Red Deer College has taught him that there is always a mix of beginners and advanced glassblowers; the course must be adjusted for each student’s different skill level.

Although class ended at 4 p.m., Jeff stayed late every day to continue working with students.  He ensured that every student had the opportunity to make at least one murrini piece, with murrini he brought from his personal practice. After shutting down for the night we often gathered at Jeff’s residence to see each other’s artist slide shows, with the night tech ducking out occasionally to charge the furnace.  Many of the students were quite accomplished in other areas such as ceramics or painting.

One of the students with no previous glass experience, Carlie Marsh, had this to say about her experiences in the class:

“I decided to take a glass course because I wanted to try something I had not done before. I am currently a Fine Arts student at Red Deer College, so I have a good general knowledge in many different types of artistic media.  I wanted to expand my artistic horizons from the typical drawing and painting classes, to something that I had no experience or knowledge in. And for me, that was trying glassblowing.

”I had first seen glass art in Seattle, and was immediately inspired by the forms and colours that gracefully became a unique expression of an artist’s ideas. Being in ceramics at RDC helped me to get an idea of how glass artists may have created pieces, but after trying it, I realized how far from ceramics it was. I expected it to be a lot easier than it was. All the experienced glass artists make it look so easy. It was hard! But I enjoyed the challenge of it.  I think the difficult part is having to work quickly and with such precision.  I also learned how much of a team experience it is. You are always working with someone, if not many people, communicating and creating together.  All other art up until now had been done by myself, and glassblowing really opens your eyes to collaborative work.

”I definitely think what I learned from the course will carry over to my other art.  I learned so much about how important communication is, and the possibilities created while working with others.  It really opens up more opportunity for inspiration.  I think I am going to take that with me, just learning and feeding off of other artists and their advice.  It helps so much, and it really makes you want to create stuff … just make the most of everything.

”The teachers, technicians and assistants were all really, really helpful, especially in the beginning.  When you sit down at the bench for the first time with blazing hot glass on a punty, you don’t really know what to do with it.  You are just fixated on having hot glass and not really on what to do next.  By the time you’re done thinking “Man, this is really hot!”, the glass has already cooled down.  It happens so fast!  The teachers and assistants really guide you and help you to multitask, and keep you from falling into the “staring at hot glass” mind frame.  They keep you moving to the next step, and that in itself is a big help in reaching your goals.  If you don’t know what to do next, it’s hard to do anything by yourself.  Once you know the steps, they can help you with your own ideas and give you inspiration with demos and their own creations.  That’s when it all comes together, and that is when it gets awesome.

”If I had to share anything about my experience, I would just say that keeping it fun and safe makes everything that much more awesome.  You can’t get attached to something too much, because odds are, something is going to flop. That is okay though, it is all part of the experience.  And that is what helps you learn, helps you to be better.  It’s the experience you invest in.
“My advice … don’t wave a hot punty around like a mad man … that just scares everybody. If you want to be in the business of scaring people, directing horror films is where it’s at.

”Overall, I had a great time with the people at the glass course.  They made everything fun.  It was challenging at times, but that is why I think people fall in love with it.  I am going to do it again, I’m sure.  Seeing the journey you take through the pieces you create in the end just shows how much you can improve and the potential you have to do more.  It is exciting! Everyone has to try it or at least watch it.  It’ll change you.  Just do it.”

Photo Credit: Larissa Blokhuis. Photo Caption: Jeff’s murrini.

As a teacher, it was very rewarding to work with Carlie and the other students.  It was great to see someone develop new skills and understanding because of my instruction.  Carlie has great potential in the arts world, and now thanks to the whole team at RDC this summer, she has a new set of skills for working with glass.

The summer series team helped to create an environment of learning and creativity that will positively affect the practices of current art students, whether they choose to pursue glass or not.  For those just looking to try something new and have fun, I feel we increased appreciation of the skill involved in glassblowing.  Overall, being a student and being a TA were both great experiences.  I recommend both to anyone looking for a little kick-start to their creativity.

Larissa Blokhuis attended ACAD and graduated with a major in glassblowing in 2008.  She currently works at New-Small and Sterling, where she blows glass weekly.  Larissa has also attended Red Deer College in 2007 and Pilchuck in 2011.  She looks forward to developing further as a glassblower and gaining more exhibition experience.  blokhuisglass.weebly.com.

By Erinn Donnelly

This past summer, Lisa Cerny volunteered as a Teaching Assistant for Jane Bruce at Pilchuck Glass School, in Stanwood, Washington.  Pilchuck hosts a broad spectrum of courses taught each summer by international artists and is a world renowned centre for glass art education.  We sat down with Lisa for a candid interview, sharing with us her experiences there and providing insight into the TA position.

Q: For those who may not have had the opportunity to participate as a TA, or perhaps for those who are thinking of an assistant position, can you tell us a little about what your duties were?

I’ve been a TA before, but with Jane it was different.  She really gave a lot of leeway in the hot shop.  My roll was perhaps a little larger, given my experience, and the class being held at Pilchuck.  I feel a certain comfort level that maybe a first timer wouldn’t.  I TA’d for Jane’s class The Glass Buffet, which offered a taste of coldworking, kiln working and blowing.  I was able to augment that a bit by doing a grawl project, since that’s kind of my niche, and because of my experience, I could be more involved rather than just solely taking direction.  The hotshop stuff was pretty basic, so I got to make some engraved blanks and I blew the grawls out for them, demonstrating how you can take something out of the hot shop and bring it back in.  I really enjoyed Jane’s class.  It was great for anyone who wanted to get a taste of everything.

Q: Does teamwork play an important role when working as a TA?

Absolutely, yes.  It really helped that I knew Jane already, but I did TA for April Sargent the summer before, whom I had never met.  Sometimes walking in cold to something like that can be tricky because you don’t know the personality of the person you’ll be working with, but I have had great experiences.  As I said, having previously known Jane offered a level of comfort so I didn’t have to worry about a personality clash.  Each experience is so different; the structure of the class and their teaching styles, it all varies.  As a TA you kind of have to be on the same page as the instructor. I would suggest to someone, if they are thinking of being a TA, to be familiar with the person’s work.

Q: Can you tell us a bit about your style and how you like to work?  Does that come into play when you TA for someone, or do you find it’s just all about adaptability?

That’s a tough question because you don’t want to step on anyone’s toes.  Knowing Jane prior makes the scenario a bit different, but as a TA you’re not the instructor, so I’m conscious of that, and you have to be.  Most of the structure of the course comes from the teacher, but I will try to augment that in any way I can.  It’s important to be conscious of the teacher’s role and of your own.

The work I do can sometimes be very different, how I engrave with the Foredom, or my grawl technique. I have a certain body of knowledge, alongside the instructor’s, and I feel it’s my job to relay that knowledge back to the student.  It’s not even really a style that I have, it’s just being able to draw on my body of knowledge and impart that.

Q: You’ve had a certain level of success in your own career, do you find that acting as a TA helps keep you inspired? 

It definitely has and being at Pilchuck was also hugely inspiring.  It’s nice to get reaffirmed, to know that what you’re doing is okay.  That’s part of why I enjoy being a TA.  It’s a huge learning experience and even though I was Jane’s TA, I knew going in that I would learn quite a bit from her, and I did.  It was like I was a student 40 per cent of the time and a TA the other 60 per cent.  I’ve been lucky; I’ve been a TA three times at Pilchuck and each one has been a great experience.  I’ve had the pleasure of working with some really amazing people, and have learned so much over the years.

Q: Does the work that you assist with translate back to your own work in any way?  New techniques or new ideas?

I’m not very prolific, so I can’t say I run back home to produce a whole new body of work.  I kind of come back and want to try some new stuff.  For example, with Jane, I want to try some new kiln exercises, but life gets back into its same old routine when your time as TA is over.  For me, it becomes a matter of having the time for my own work.  I would have loved if Jane’s class went on for another two months because I would have been able to do more of my own stuff there.  I don’t find it easy to do my own work here.

Q: Is there anything that currently piques your interest in glassblowing or kiln work?

Kiln working is a different process and approach. It feels almost more thoughtful because you can leave it and come back to it, move it around, change it, and with the hot shop it’s more about working with the medium in the now.  I love the immediacy of blowing, but sometimes it can be a little too immediate.

I’d say kiln forming itself is what’s grabbing my attention.  It’s a new thing for me, and with Kirstie Rea having been here [at ACAD] and with Jane, it’s been a great learning experience.  The possibilities of what you can do with flat glass… It’s just really exciting!  We didn’t do that kind of stuff when I was in school.

Right now even, students seem to be gravitating toward coldworking and the kiln, and I want to be able to assist them.  I want to have a little more knowledge beyond the hotshop.  Being a TA, and being able to TA for, and work with, artists like Jane, has helped broaden my scope.

Lisa Cerny has attended Simon Fraser University, Concordia University and holds a BFA from the Alberta College of Art + Design.  She currently works at ACAD as a Fine Art Technician and Extended Studies instructor.  Every summer she teaches at the Summer Series at Red Deer College, with friend Lisa Samphire, and has held roles at Pilchuck Glass as a Poleturner, student and Teaching Assistant. Her work incorporates both drawing and glassblowing, and makes reference to her fascination with faces and places. To view Lisa’s work, please visit her site at www.lisacerny.com, and for Jane`s, please visit http://www.janebruce.com/.

By: Larissa Blokhuis

Every time I see Mitch Wren, I know I’ll hear a good trick for blowing glass, such as:

“What you do is tape a piece of chalk to a long screwdriver, and then when you’re making a jug, you put the screwdriver inside the opening and use it to pull out the spout, and then draw a chalk line up the back of the jug to mark where your handle should go.”

Title: Mitch Working Photo credit: Larissa Blokhuis Caption: Mitch demonstrates blowing while marvering

Mitch Wren was eight years old the first time he saw Dominick Labino working.  In addition to being credited (with several others) for beginning the studio glass movement in North America, Labino was a longtime family friend of Wren’s grandmother.  At eight, Wren was too young to begin blowing glass, but nonetheless, this was the beginning of Wren’s life as a glassblower.  Labino gave Wren a glass bird, which Wren has kept to this day.

In grade 12, Wren’s school instructed students to find work experience in the field they wished to enter.  Wren knew he wanted to blow glass, and the school put him in contact with David New-Small, of New-Small and Sterling Studio on Granville Island.  Wren began an apprenticeship with New-Small at age 17.

Since then, Wren has taken many courses at Red Deer, from Jeff Holmwood, Darren Petersen, Fritz Dreisbach, Randy Walker, Karen Willenbrink Johnsen, and several others.  He has also served as tech at Red Deer, and teaches classes at Robert Held’s and at New-Small and Sterling.

TIP #2: “For a poor man’s reticello, coat the glass in powder and go into an optic mould.  Twist the end of the glass and open the end.  Jack down the middle and flip the end over like a Swedish overlay.”

Wren works full-time as a production glassblower during the day, and will often work a second shift assisting other glassblowers or in another production shop.  After a double shift of glassblowing, Wren will often spend his evenings watching videos of glassblowing.  He owns an extensive collection of glassblowing videos, and has found two very good YouTube channels (listed below).  Wren works an estimated 50-60 hours per week blowing glass, and has built a solid reputation as one of Vancouver’s hardest working glassblower.

Wren will work for anyone.  In his years as a glassblower, he has assisted David New-Small, Robert Held, Ted Jolda, Cheryl Hamilton of i.e. Creative, Jay Macdonell, Naoko Takenouchi, Jeff Holmwood, Joanne Andrighetti, and many others.  He is assisted in his own work by his partner, Liz Curry.  Wren says Curry has been a positive influence on him creatively, with Curry designing and Wren fabricating.

TIP #3: “You want to use original heat as much as possible.  Once you start having to re-heat, it takes forever to get that malleability back.  I use the double gather technique.  You blow a big bubble, marver once, then let the glass sag back, marver again, blow the bubble round, and let it cool until there’s only a red glow in pipe.  Gather again and hold the glass up until it sags back onto the moil.  Sit at the bench and hang the glass down, block for two spins, and blow your bubble out completely.  The goal is to create your full shape, jacked and a flattened bottom, in that heat.  This teaches you to do an even gather, even bubble, and even turning.”

Curry has also encouraged Wren to travel, and so he’s been to London and Paris, where he took in the sights of the Tate Modern and the Louvre.  Wren says that any time he travels, he tries to do some glass study relevant to the destination.  In Paris he looked up and met Patrick Crespin, graal master.

For new glassblowers Wren advises a minimum of three years of production work.  As he always says “Repetition is the only way to improve.”  You must remember your own vision, but making someone else’s design, whether large or small, thick or thin, will help you make your own work better.  Three years of production will help you if your goal is to own your own hotshop.  Don’t pass up on an opportunity to improve your technique and your understanding of the material.

Title: Goblets Photo credit: Larissa Blokhuis Caption: A small sample of the goblets Mitch makes.

Wren shows his work locally in galleries and curated shows.  Wren believes it is important to show your work.  A craft fair will make you some quick cash, but galleries will put your name out.

TIP #4: Wren’s last piece of advice for glassblowers: “Everything you need to know is right in front of you.  The glass tells you what you need to know, it’s just whether or not you’re listening.”

http://www.youtube.com/user/Ramanglass544

http://www.youtube.com/user/bransfieldglass

http://www.cmog.org/glassmaking/demos

Larissa Blokhuis attended ACAD and graduated with a major in glassblowing in 2008.  She currently works at New-Small and Sterling, where she blows glass weekly.  Larissa has also attended Red Deer College in 2007 and Pilchuck in 2011.  She looks forward to developing further as a glassblower and gaining more exhibition experience.  blokhuisglass.weebly.com

By K. Leah Duperreault

Friday October 14, 2011 marked Pilchuck’s 33^rd annual auction and I was lucky enough to be able to attend.

Pilchuck Auction Westin Hotel, 2011, K. Leah Duperreault

A big part of the auction are the centerpieces which are created by the Poleturners Union, Local 1201.  Poleturners are an international group of volunteer glass artists who gather at Pilchuck in May every year to create the centerpieces that are on each table and are available to be bid on at the auction in October.  Being a member of Local 1201 myself, as well as a contributing artist, it was very special to be a part of the creation of the centerpieces and then to see them displayed so brilliantly in the Westin Hotel, downtown Seattle where the auction is held.

Contributing Artist tag, K. Leah Duperreault

It is an amazing night that always goes by too fast, in a whirlwind of glass, food and beautifully dressed people.

View of Silent Auction from table 18, K. Leah DuperreaultSorbet, K. Leah Duperreault

If you’ve never been to Pilchuck or attended the auction I really encourage you to go.  There is something very special about Pilchuck; you can feel it the moment that you first arrive on campus.  Donating a piece to the auction or volunteering your time both help to ensure that Pilchuck will be around for many more years to come.

Me & Dale Chihuly! K. Leah Duperreault

By K. Leah Duperreault

There are many reasons that you may have heard of Bavin Glassworks.  It has been a family-run hotshop and gallery for the past 22 years.  It is located in Invermere, BC in the beautiful Columbia Valley and it is a place where you can find local and regional art as well as a handful of local artists.  One reason in particular though is their ability to involve and include the community that they are a part of.  Being located in a resort town means that tourists and locals alike are a part of that community.  Having the hotshop open to the public allows the thousands of visitors every year to learn a little bit about glass and what goes into glass making.

[1]

In late 2002 Pat, Bonnie and Ryan Bavin, together with Leah Duperreault began working on a different way to educate visitors to the glass shop and in early 2003, Bavin Beadworks began offering classes in glass beadmaking.  The Bavins came from a ski industry background so it made perfect sense to run Bavin Beadworks much in the same way that a ski school runs at a ski hill.

[03]

The classes were developed and taught by Duperreault, and she, in turn, trained the instructors that followed, ensuring that each of the more than 3,000 students they have taught over the years received the same level of instruction.  In 2005, the Bavin Glass Cabin opened up at Panorama ski hill which provided two locations to offer bead classes.

[02]

The three-hour introductory bead class is the core of the Bavin Beadworks program, and can be taken by anyone over the age of 16.  Three students at a time allows for each student to receive personal attention; rental space is available after having taken a class.  As well as making beads, students are encouraged to try making jewelry or accessories from their beads with help from the knowledgeable staff.

Given the fact that Invermere is a resort town and Bavin Glassworks is a destination, the bead classes offer something to do while on vacation in the Columbia Valley.  Also offered are intermediate classes, private lessons and soon they will offer five-day workshops.

[04]

By John Chiles

In a glass making studio often one of the largest operating costs is energy, and the largest energy user is the furnace.  There are two types of furnaces commonly used in small studios: day tanks and free standing crucible furnaces. (For a number of reasons, an invested crucible furnace is considered a day tank). In most of the world, the most common type of furnace used in art glass studios and factories is a freestanding crucible furnace.

Here are a few points to consider when making a decision about what type of furnace to use:

• Insulation of tank furnace walls fail progressively over the life of the furnace. In a day tank or invested crucible furnace, the refractory lining that is in contact with the glass is also the furnace wall. A typical day tank insulation schematic starts with the glass contact refractory, backed up with super duty castable and insulation bricks on the outside. Eventually the lining cracks and glass starts to migrate through the cracks and into the backup insulation, washing stones and cords back into the tank every time the furnace is worked down. Because hot glass is so corrosive, cracks get bigger and the problem steadily gets worse. The glass seeping through the cracks also eats away the brick behind the lining and will eventually saturate the entire insulation layer. As this happens, the insulation layer stops working as insulation and becomes a heat sink. The brick behind the glass contact lining in every day tank I have ever taken apart has been completely saturated with glass.

• Free standing crucible furnaces can be insulated to a greater extent than day tank furnaces. In a free standing crucible furnace, the glass is not in contact with the furnace wall and therefore it is possible to insulate furnace walls to the maximum.

• The expected life of a free standing crucible furnace is much longer than that of a day tank. The typical life of a day tank is only five to seven years. Over a day tank’s lifespan the glass quality steadily gets worse and the energy bill steadily climbs higher. In the end the combustion system and furnace get torn down and most of it is thrown away. With routine maintenance and repair the life of a crucible furnace is measured in tens of years. Many of the furnaces we have built are over 20 years old and still producing glass every day.

• Maintenaning a free standing crucible furnace can be simple and easy. In a well designed furnace the floor or sump under the crucible is sloped to the front for easy draining and cleaning while the furnace is hot. Traditionally the front face opens for easy access to the inside of the furnace and for changing the crucible. It should never be necessary to pound out the glass, or dismantle the burner system.

• Free standing crucible furnaces use less energy and are quieter. Because it is possible to use more insulation and the crucible is heated from all sides, a smaller capacity burner will melt the same amount of glass in a shorter period of time. In Europe, where energy costs are typically two times higher than in the US, most glass factories and schools use free standing crucibles. This practice is driven by a need to be as efficient as possible. A smaller burner will also reduce the noise level in a shop significantly.

• Free standing crucible furnaces consistently provide better quality glass. Because the crucible is heated more evenly there is better glass circulation in the furnace, which leads to a reduction of cords. Replacing the crucible when it wears out eliminates the problems associated with a cracked lining – fewer cords and stones.

• Round bottom crucibles have more accessible glass than square sided day tanks. Because the shape of the crucible allows more complete access to the glass, a  500 lb. crucible is similar in useable volume to a 700 lb. day tank. For instance a 700 pound day tank with three inches of glass in the bottom will contain 175 pounds of glass. A 500 pound crucible with three inches of glass in the bottom will contain less than 30 pounds.

Fifty years ago in Toledo it was demonstrated that it was possible with very little knowledge to put a small day tank furnace together with bricks, stick a burner in it, and melt glass. With the development of fused cast refractories, building a day tank got even simpler and more accessible. These are technologies that were originally developed for very large furnaces and scaled down so that they could utilized by artists with very little technical experience. There was very little information available about crucible furnace design and operation, and initial attempts at using crucible furnaces in the small studio were frustrating.

The most common concern about crucible furnaces is that the crucible will break in the middle of a busy production schedule or school session. This fear of unexpected down time has lead to the use of day tanks in this country. During the last 50 years the cost of energy has been low enough in this country that the higher operating cost of a day tank was justified by the fear of a crucible breaking. Our experience is that crucibles rarely crack.  In 30 years of building furnaces I’ve seen crucibles fail from cracking very rarely, and in most cases the failure can be traced back to the initial heat up. If a crucible is not heated slowly and evenly stress will be introduced as the temperature is raised from room temperature to red heat. This introduced stress may cause the crucible to fail right away or after several months.

In a properly designed furnace the crucible can be heated evenly and slowly. Recommended heat up for a crucible is 25 degrees F and hour to red heat. Once it is above red heat the crucible is relatively ductile, not brittle. I have tried to break an old crucible while it is still hot in the furnace and it took a pretty hard hit with a ladle before it failed. If you leave a crucible in the furnace long enough, it will develop pinholes or wear through. We recommend changing the crucible yearly but we regularly hear from customers with crucibles that are 2 or 3 years old and still going strong.

The second most common concern is “We need a lot of glass–a day tank or continuous melt furnace is the only type that will fill our needs.” Large volumes of available glass can be achieved by using multiple furnaces. Using multiple furnaces also allows flexibility to meet demand, as furnaces can be turned off when not needed. This is the way that it is currently done everywhere except in the United States.

Here are some additional suggestions for reducing energy usage with your furnace:

• Turn the furnace down when not in use, weekends and nights. During longer turn downs of more than a week turn the furnace off. Our practice is to turn the furnace down to 1600 if we are not using it for a couple of days and 1800 overnight if we are not charging.

• Use a stopper and insulated cover on the furnace door when not in use.

• Install a damper on the flue and use it to control the pressure inside the furnace. Glass furnaces should always be operated with a slight positive internal pressure. A flue damper does not have to be more complicated than a piece of kiln shelf on top of the flue.

• Use a temperature controller or at the very least use a temperature indicator.

• If the furnace has a forced air burner, use a variable speed blower and turn the glory hole blower off when not in use.

• Use a recuperator to preheat combustion air with exhaust gas after it has left the furnace.

• Examine your melting cycle. In many cases it is possible to melt at lower temperatures for a shorter period of time without affecting glass quality–in fact it may be possible to increase quality because you decrease the likelihood of cords caused by the fluxes in the glass batch attacking the glass contact refractory.

• Install an operating system on doors so that they are kept closed unless being used. We installed an additional door operated by a foot pedal on a 6 1/2” diameter opening in a furnace front. The result is that the furnace was able to maintain the same operating temperature with a lower input equal to 3 gallons of propane per day. That’s 660 gallons operating 5 days a week for 44 weeks.

• Keep track of your energy usage. If you are using electric or natural gas you already have a meter. If you are using propane, have a meter installed.

The chart below summarizes a section of a report on the business practices of a mid sized glassblowing studio.  Since equipment and energy are major costs of running a glassblowing studio this comparison was central to the report

From an economic stand point there is no doubt: a Free Standing Crucible (FSC) Furnace will save you money over a Day Tank  (DT) furnace.  Further a FSC furnace fitted with a recuperator promises a further fuel reduction of 10-20%.

At the time the report was written this studio ran a 700# tank furnace and a 350# Invested pot tank, and seven glory holes.   The equipment section of the report focused on furnace comparison cost estimates of the existing 700# tank to a 500# FSC furnace.  Using a conservative estimate for FSC furnace life (10 years) and a conservative figure for gas saved over a day tank of similar size (20%) one can see that the FSC furnace provides significant savings over the life of the equipment.

This chart is based on projections from a specific scenario; it is shown here to illustrate the potential savings from building a Free Standing Crucible furnace.

Total yearly savings = $11,842

Total savings after 10 years = $118,397

The payback period for a new FSC furnace is 2.35 years.

*Purchase cost includes recuperator, Burner, and crucible.

**With proper maintenance a FSC furnace can last twice this long or longer.

***Twenty percent saving is based on proven fuel savings with FSC furnaces.  This does not consider the saving of 10-20% gained by recuperation.

****Based on actual natural gas used in 2000 @ $1 per therm.

John Chiles runs Hub Consolidated in Orwell, Vermont.  You can email John at john@hubglass.com, or visit Hub’s website at http://www.hubglass.com

His Glassworks, in conjunction with HXTAL Adhesive, LLC announces their Education Promotion for qualified Educational Institutions.

1. If you are a college, university, or studio that teaches classes utilizing HXTAL NYL-1, then any kits purchased for resale from His Glassworks along with any A-1100 Amino Silane, bulb pipets, glass stirring rods, DW100AX digital scales and mixing cups will receive a 30% discount off the retail price.
2. With your initial HXTAL kit purchase, His Glassworks will also donate a 1 pound kit of HXTAL NYL-1 for the institution’s use for their classes. This donation is a one time offer for the first order placed under this promotion. Any subsequent kits would fall under the 30% discount structure.

This is an excellent way for your university or studio to expand the knowledge of the world’s best optical epoxy, HXTAL NYL-1 and also enable you to make some extra money from your classes by directly supplying your students with the tools they need once the class is finished.

To take part in this promotion, just give His Glassworks a call at 828-254-2559 or 800-914-7463 or  email them and let them know you’d like to take part.

Bob at His Glassworks demos the mixing and use of HXTAL.  They have a great library of demo’s on YouTube, sorry all in English, check ‘em out, or come visit him at the Tech Display at the Conference in Montreal, May 26-30, 2010.

His Glassworks, en liaison avec HXTAL adhésifs, LLC annonce la promotion de l’éducation pour les institutions éducatives qualifiées.

Si vous êtes un collège, une université ou un studio qui enseigne les classes utilisant HXTAL NYL-1, alors toutes les kits achetés pour la revente de Sa verrerie ainsi que tous les A-1100 Amino Silane, pipettes ampoule, verre barreaux d’agitation, des échelles numériques DW100AX et récipients de mélange recevront un rabais de 30% sur le prix de détail.

Avec votre achat initial kit HXTAL, Son Glassworks fera également don d’une trousse 1 livre de HXTAL NYL-1 pour l’utilisation de l’établissement pour leurs classes. Ce don est une offre une fois pour la première commande placée sous cette promotion. Toute kits ultérieures relèvent de la structure de réduction de 30%.
Il s’agit d’un excellent moyen pour votre université ou un studio pour développer la connaissance des meilleures au monde époxy optique, HXTAL NYL-1 et également vous permettre de gagner de l’argent de vos classes en fournissant directement à vos élèves les outils dont ils ont besoin une fois la classe est terminé.

Pour participer à cette promotion, juste donner sa verrerie d’un appel au 828-254-2559 ou 800-914-7463 ou par email à eux et leur faire savoir que vous souhaitez y prendre part.

Bob à His Glassworks démos le mélange et l’utilisation de HXTAL. Ils ont une grande bibliothèque de la démo sur YouTube, désolé tous en anglais, check ‘em out, ou viennent lui rendre visite à la Technologie d’affichage à la Conférence de Montréal, 26-30 Mai 2010.

Olympic Color Rods is excited to announce that we are now stocking bronze “pineapple” molds. The mold we currently stock is a 16 point, 4″ mold. We anticipate this line expanding, both to larger and smaller molds, as well as the amount of points in each mold.

The pineapple mold, or balloton mold is one that is highly sought after, and often times very expensive. However, we are able to offer these molds for a very reasonable rate of $250.00 due to the fact that they are manufactured in the US.

Call or email for more info.

Olympic Color Rods

800-445-7742

sales@glasscolor.com

Any of our patterns can now be “Crinklized.” The result is a heavy, more crystalized dichroic effect with extra sparkle and texture.

Try our new Crinklized Dichroic™ Pattern Galore Starter Pack. It comes in 90 and 96 COE and contains twelve 2” x 4” random patterns, six on thin black and six on thin clear. This is a great way to play around with multiple patterns and see what the Crinklized effect is all about.

As always, full 19 inch diameter round sheets are available for your custom orders.

For information please contact us at

(714) 538-0888.

Or, look us up online at

www.cbs-dichroic.com

All of Marzo’s gloves and clothing are cut and sewn to the highest standards using quality material which has resulted in a line of high-heat gloves unparalleled in the industry.

This 5 finger kevlar glove offers heat, cut- and puncture-resistance and has excellent dexterity. It is available with a longer cuff and in a mitt or one-finger style. Enjoy this Canadian-made superior product for your high heat protection. Made by Marzo Glove Co in Rockwood, Ontario.

519-856-4505 fax 519-856-2280

email ask@marzoglove.com

His Glassworks is proud to offer 3M’s Buttercut Sandblast stencil in 12 inch wide and 24 inch wide by 30 feet long.

Buttercut is easily the finest sandblast resist available on the market today and now it’s easily available directly from His Glassworks. Need a smaller surface area? We also carry buttercut by the square foot.

His Glassworks is now offering 3M cerium-impregnated polishing pads in 8 inch and 12 inch diameter. Magnetically backed, you simply place them on your grinder, add water to activate and polish! On small surface areas, the cerium-impregnated disks can polish from either a 270 grit or 325 grit in only a few minutes with little-to-no slurry mess.

New Sintered Diamond slitters are available from His Glassworks. These 1 inch, 1-1/2 inch and 2 inch diameter sintered diamond slitters have diamond impregnated throughout the entire slitter which makes them an excellent choice for cutting small pieces or sprues off your work or even using the face of the disk for grinding small areas.

Available directly from His Glassworks online at www.hisglassworks.com or by phone at 800-914-7463 or 828-254-2559.