Cane Vessels
These are a series of cane vessels that I blew. Each focuses on how to explore different elements of pattern to complement their shape and color.
Made in the studio following glass cane techniques that stretch back hundreds of years to Murano in Venice. The use and exploration of cane — rods of glass that introduce a specific pattern — is myriad.
Virtual Glass — design cane objects on your computer (M. & E. Demaine) ↗
The printer holds glass at more than 2000°F. It flows out through a ceramic nozzle, one line at a time. I write the path it follows: where to go, how fast, how hot. The nozzle traces that path, leaving a bead of glass behind it, and the object grows layer by layer.
When a print is done, we cut it free from the stream. It comes off the machine close to 900°F and goes into another chamber to cool overnight.
None of this replaces glassblowing. It builds on it. People have been forming glass for thousands of years. This is one more way to do it: material, machine, and the person running both.