Cast Glass Sculpture

While living in Miami many years ago, I had the good fortune to meet and work with a number of gifted artists from all over the world. We worked together in studios scattered throughout Lincoln Road Mall in South Beach. It was there that I learned the art of cast glass sculpture.

The process is long, difficult and dangerous - which makes it all the sweeter when done successfully.

First, a model is sculpted from wax - I loved this part of the process, the sculpting itself is a deeply meditative experience. When the wax is finished it's set into a plaster mold, and this is the dangerous part - because you want the plaster to adhere to every detail of the wax, you have to use a very fine-grained jeweler's plaster. Which, if inhaled in even small quantities, is highly damaging to the lungs. I worked wearing a heavy face mask and gloves, always a little bit terrified of the stuff.

Next the mold is placed in a special oven and the wax is burned off, leaving the empty plaster, which is then filled with crushed glass. We experimented with all sorts of glass, from fine store-bought sheets to broken beer bottles.

Finally the glass-filled mold is fired overnight in an oven that reaches thousands of degrees. This was the cool part - the next day you take out the mold, cool it and break away the plaster. I did a series of about two dozen small heads. It was always thrilling to take them out and see what had happened - the firing process is unpredictable and even the tiniest bubble can ruin an otherwise perfect surface - but there were also some that went beautifully wrong.

Sadly I've lost most of them over the years. But among those that are left, here is a favorite. The glass absorbs light in a way that gives it an ethereal, almost ghostly quality. I love that.