Showing posts with label sculptures. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sculptures. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Sandblasting & Sandcarving

After a few equipment hitches, we finally have our sandblasting equipment up and running at TurtleCreek Art Glass.

Sandblasting glass is a three-step process. First the glass is completely covered with a protective mask. Then the mask is cut away to create a design in reverse. The blasting takes place within a cabinet that looks very much like an infant incubator. The surface of the glass is blasted, not with sand, but with aluminum oxide or silicone carbide.
The resulting design is a rough, opaque surface that contrasts with the smooth surface of the glass.
Sandblasting can be done on any glass surface from glasses and bottles to windows.
On windows, the judicious choice and placement of a design can give you privacy in one part of your window and a clear view in the other. TurtleCreek Art Glass now has the necessary equipment for sandblasting windows glass up to 24” wide. If your window is bigger we can combine sandblasting with conventional stained glass.

Sandcarving involves blasting deeper into the glass, even to the point of cutting holes. The carving is usually done in several steps so that the design is various depths. We have been making some new sculptural pieces with this technique.






Sunday, January 8, 2012

Glass Sculptures Outdoors

Surprisingly, glass can be an ideal medium for decorating your home on the outside. Bright colours, illuminated by sunlight, provide a focus of contrast to more neutral siding -- a particularly welcoming sight in northern climates where flowers bloom for only 3 or 4 months. Well-tempered glass thrives in all temperatures, even the harsh winters we have in Collingwood. In one of the pictures below the glass maple leaves fastened to a garage wall had just been hit by flying snow, reminding me of an unexpected November storm. The other sculpture has adorned a home in Collingwood for several years now. The garden sculpture is even older and although it gets buried each winter under a snow drift it is a welcome sight on the first thaw. To see more fusion glass sculptures go to http://www.turtlecreekglass.ca/.