One of the classes I took at the Bead & Button show last week was “Uncommon Objects in Glass Casting” taught by Susan Lenart Kazmer and her sister, Cheri Lenart. Glass casting was something I’d never done and was curious as to what was involved. Each student made two pieces of glass – one was cast from a found object and the other was made by carving a mould into already poured and cured plaster. I haven’t yet done anything with the glass which was cast from an object, but I’m very pleased with the finished piece I made from the mould I carved. It is a substantial mound of glass in a color falling somewhere between peridot and citron and it is suspended from a heavy 12 gauge hand-hammered neckring.
A four-pronged setting on hammer-textured sterling silver sheet secures the glass. For added interest, I sawed a scalloped pattern into the diamond shaped sheet and domed and punched 2mm holes through the silver. Wrapped and twisted bronze wire pierces a lampworked glass bead. An altered bronze charm dangles below. Epoxied on the reverse side of the glass is a distressed fragment from the page of a dictionary. I like the back side of a piece to be interesting and to present a nice surprise as well! This pendant measures a hefty six inches in length and is definitely a statement piece. So the question is: am I hooked on casting glass? The answer is a resounding “No!” – I believe resin is a prime substitute. I can replicate the design in resin and it will weigh less, does not need to be fired in a kiln, and won’t require a stockpile of extra materials. Plus, I can embed all manner of inclusions in resin and I find that most exciting!
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