Dan Fenton Receives Joseph Barnes 2011 Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient

Transcription

1 Dan Fenton Receives Joseph Barnes 2011 Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient "Photo: American Glass Guild/Judy Killian" Dan Fenton started his career in glass in He studied black and white photography and stumbled upon glass at a renaissance fair. Inspired by the glass, he taught himself to make stained glass windows. His passion ignited, he embarked on a journey that has seen him experiment with myriad glass techniques, invent new ones, write several informative how-to books (Glass Under Heat; Pâté de Verre and Kiln Casting of Glass with Jim Kervin; Sandblasting on Glass with Kathy Bradford) and scores of articles. He has taught thousands of students, both internationally and around the United States. He offers workshops on 15 different forms of glass art, from slumping to fusing, casting, glass painting, and his technical specialty, kiln problem solving. When Dan began in stained glass, there were few classes available on the West Coast. When he was 21, he and a fellow artist created an X-rated stained glass series they titled Dirty Windows. They showed the windows at an SGAA conference. I saw some of the windows and thought they were brilliant. Many of his pieces are in prominent collections. Fenton's work transcends both craft and the ecclesiastical tradition of church stained glass windows and pushes the limits of this evolving fine art form. Dan was instrumental in developing the desire for glass to be exhibited in galleries and purchased by serious collectors, thus stimulating the cold and hot glass markets. Over his forty years in glass, Dan has touched thousands of students, artists, colleagues and collectors with his deep generosity, intelligence, artistry, creativity and free spirit. It is for these myriad reasons that the American Glass Guild recognizes Dan Fenton for the 2011 Joseph Barnes Lifetime Achievement Award. Dan embodies the same work ethic, love of his fellow man and dedication to the craft that we have all come to love in Joe Barnes.

2 Art Femenella Druid Oak Tree, by Dan Fenton Photo by Charles Frizzell from the book New Glass by Otto Rigan We are honored to sponsor a workshop taught by Dan Fenton ADVANCED PERCISION GLASS FUSING TECHNIQUES, MAKING GLASS DESIGN ELEMENTS, An intro to PATE DE VERRE will be given in this class at the Lost Art Originals Studio of Sherry Boyd-Yost 4125 N. Garfield Road, Spokane, WA Day Workshop, September 14th 17th :00a.m. -6:00p.m. Please call Lost Art Originals Studio to register: (509) or me with any questions at sherry_yost@lostartoriginals.com Max students, 8 Tuition: $650.00, includes, materials and tools. Full tuition must be paid six weeks in advance Deadline to sign up for class August, There is a Hampton Inn, Hilton Garden Springs, Ramada, Holiday Inn, Microtel, Stratford Suites, and other hotels and motels within a 15 minute drive of the studio which are all close to the Spokane International Airport (GEG). In addition, there is a scenic bed and breakfast (GAEA) within a 15-minute walk of the studio. ADVANCED PERCISION GLASS FUSING TECHNIQUES, MAKING GLASS DESIGN ELEMENTS, An intro to PATE DE VERRE will be given in this class Here we will concentrate on making design elements that will become important compositional focal points in finished fused glass works. We will work in two areas. One will be with the glory hole to make murrini and latticino, and the other will be in the kiln to make geometric patterns generated by multiple firings.

3 The murrini are made by composing a bundle of glass strips or canes in such a way that the composition is read from the ends, like looking at the end grain of a block of wood. This bundle is then fused, picked up with a punty rod, heated further in the glory hole (a flame chamber similar to an ironworker s forge), and then pulled out into a short rod. This proportionally reduces the size of the end grain design in the glass. After annealing this murrini rod, it is cut into buttons to that the design is visible. Now this stock can be fused into other glass compositions. Latticino is done similar to murrini, however the initial composition calls for a limited number of colored strips or canes in a matrix of mostly clear glass. The bundle is fused and picked with a punty as with murrini but this time the bundle will be twisted as it is being pulled into a rod. The end results are usually viewed from the side, but it can also be cut and viewed on end. It is very tempting to keep these as they are, but they too can be fused into other things. Among the kiln techniques will be pattern bars. This is similar to murrini in that the design is read from the ends, however the bundle is fully fused in the kiln and not pulled. It is then cut with a diamond saw and fused as a design element in other compositions. The other kiln working technique is strip fusing for geometric patterns. Here we will fuse strips of sheet glass that are laid up on edge directly on the kiln shelf with no base. After these are fused they are cut with a glasscutter and recomposed. Here we will look to go three generations. This is a lengthy process because extended annealing times are necessary for good cutability of the glass. The techniques that we will explore here are not the end products in themselves but important additions to the visual vocabulary in the language of fused glass. Among the technical aspects to be covered will be annealing and the subtle techniques of cutting thick glass with a glasscutter. All materials and the use of shop tools are included. Dan Fenton Workshops

4 FUSED GLASS DESIGN ELEMENTS WITH MULTIPLE FIRINGS WORKSHOP OUTLINE STRIP FUSING FOR GEOMETRIC PATTERNS: Cutting long glass strips: speed cutting. Cutting thick glass with a glass cutter and running pliers. Lay-up of glass strips on edge without a base. Estimating the balance between mass and surface tension in the firing; how wide to cut the strips. Composing the first generation (parallel lines of color) with regard to subsequent recompositions. Recomposing without decomposing 2nd and 3rd generation firings. Firing with and without a fence around it. PATTERN BARS: Design and composition for viewing on end. Building a fence around it; one more use for fiberboard. Cutting the pattern bars. FINISHING: Sandblasting to eliminate devitrification and make the design more crisp by removing some of the softer glass that may have spread during the firings. Fire polishing the sandblasted surface. Edge rounding during the last high temperature firing. The uses of clear over glazes for devitrification prevention and cure. KILN FIRING PROCEDURE: Preventing thermal shock in the heating phase. Using the time/temperature relationship in the process phase of the firing. Calculating that most important annealing schedule. MURRINI: Cutting glass strips: speed cutting. Design and composition for murrini with strips. Murrini using canes and stringers. Gluing-up the bundles. LATTICINO: Composition and predicting the results. Working with touches of dichroic glass. GETTING HOT: Kiln set-up and tack fusing the bundles. Glory hole safety procedure, including eye protection. Safety precautions when using the kiln as a pick-up and annealing oven. Lighting the glory hole and how glory holes work. Preparing the punty. Picking up the bundle. Heating, paddling, and marvering procedure. Preparing for the pull. Pulling the murrini. Pulling and twisting the latticino.

5 Pulling cane. Safe use of torches during the pull. Discussion of annealing. EXTENDED TECHNIQUES: Making target murrini. Multiple murrini: foursquare combination. Multiple latticino., Letters and numbers,.simple figures and portraits. THE NEXT STEP: Cutting the murrini. Using the murrini and latticino in a fused glass project An intro to PATE DE VERRE will be given in this class AND KILN CASTING OF GLASS (4 days) Kiln cast glass can be traced back as far as 1350 BC in Egypt during the reign of King Tutankhamen. Since the invention of the blowpipe faded into the background, but the techniques were never lost. There was a renewed popularity of kiln formed glass among the Romans during AD, such as cane and pattern bars (the precursor to Murrini), but kiln forming slipped onto the back burner once again. Economically not feasible, but never lost. I guess that the Roman oven can be like watching a television test pattern and waiting for the and waiting for century the French picked up the ball that the Romans left for the lions. They thermal shocked the glass by dumping the hot glass into water to make a glass gravel, then by mechanically grinding and adding an organic binder made a paste. This glass paste can be selectively placed in to the depressions of the mold and when fired it ll give color definition in the relief of the vessel, tile, or lighting fixture. Pate De Verre is French for paste of glass The French artists do not let the grass grow under the feet. They let glass glow under the heat. Some of the innovators at the turn of the 19th into the 20th century are Emily Galle, Rene Lalique, Gabriel Argy-Rousseau, and The Daum Family. Galle stopped production in 1910, G Argy-Rousseau went down after the Great Depression, The Lalique Company only makes lead crystal cast vessels, however the Daum Family, in Nancy, France is alive and well with pate de verre. Pate de verre is coming alive again in North America, Europe, and Japan. It is a secret all over the block. It will involve creativity and patience. Results will always happen, but the results that you hope for must be generated. We will be working hands-on with lost wax originals, open-face carved soft firebrick, clay originals, and organics (veggies, no garlic). We will be doing master molds for wax production original molds, which will include multi-part paste, latex and Gel-Flex rubber. We will be using 90 COE glass and frit from Bullseye and Uroboros glass companies (imported from Portland OR) because their colors are good in transparency and they don t strike (change color) when fired. Foundry craft and glass forming will be combined in terms of pattern design and mold making and kiln firing procedures. We will make single use investment molds as well as multi-use master molds (for wax) using multi-part plaster and flexible rubber materials. All materials and use of tools are included. Students will participate in the kiln firings. The sponsor will set the hours and tuition, and there may be some overtime. There will be no

6 repeat demonstrations for those who leave early. Detailed notes will be included, but bring a notebook and glass cutting tools. WORKSHOP OUTLINE- 3 DIMENSIONAL FUSING MAKING THE ORIGINAL PATE DE VERRE Clay as a modeling material MOLD MAKING & INVESTMENT MOLDS How to select investment mold materials Mixing plaster Plaster combination recipes Working with prepared dental investment mixes FIRING THE CASTINGS Mold curing Preventing thermal shock to the molds Firing procedure Annealing THREE DIMENSIONAL FUSING Glued glass constructions fused: In common sand Invested in a plaster mix EQUIPMENT Kilns Pyrometers, timers, and controllers Tools SAFTY CONSIDERATIONS