Lacy Heart

Although the heart is too big for the sample it does give a good idea how it may look. I've tried putting it on top of the top layer as well as in the centre of the circles and quite like both.
I still have one more idea to try before making my final decision.

More Heart Ideas

I fired some red glass frit into a heart shape onto some fibre paper like the recycled hearts I have made before. It is the size of the finished piece rather than the sample but I like the lacy effect it gives.

Fragile Heart

This is going to be the title of my piece. I still have a few more ideas for the text and also for the heart and will post my results as I have them.

One idea was to crackle a heart which involves heating the glass in the kiln and then immersing into a bucket of cold water. This causes thermal shock in the glass which creates a crazing in the glass, sometimes the glass will hold together in its shape and other times it will crack. When I did this today it crazed but broke into about 10 or more pieces which I have not been totally able to put back together.

Sample Coming Together

Engraved Text

Sandblasted Circles

Heart of Swansea

As part of the 75th year anniversary celebrations of the glass department at Swansea Metropolitan University, all past students have been invited to make an exhibition piece. This will go into an exhibition at the Waterfront Museum, Swansea with its opening on Friday 12th February 2010. The exhibitions title is "Heart of Swansea".

I hope to put a piece in and have been busy over the last week working on a number of ideas for it. The panel size has been restricted to 30 cm x 30 cm and this includes the frame so not very big!

I have been working on a small sample with is 15 cm2 and working on four layers of glass that I have sandblasted circles out of the middle in steps getting gradually smaller. A bit hard to describe so will post some pictures of what I have done so far. I have also been playing with engraving text around each of the circles as well as on a separate layer of glass. The idea is to then place a red heart in the middle which the circles will lead the eye towards.