Making Waves
Solar Wave
This piece is the end result of both creative and technical developments I have been working on for a number of years. Below is a brief history of the thinking that preceded and culminated in this work.
The first waveform I made came about as a result of my desire at the time to create forms, which better complemented the glass imagery I was currently using. The images were from nature and they took the form of engraved coloured glass shards, which were applied to the solid glass before it was blown into large bowls.
Although the bowls were often quite beautiful, moving onto more interesting sculptural forms, which related in context and combined with the images was the direction I wanted my work to progress in.
Once I had determined how to technically accomplish this, the idea was to create a glass wave captured at the point of crashing down. I wanted the form to convey both the beauty but also the often-frightening power of nature. I wanted this piece to be a warning about mans negative impact on our environment and so I chose to use the image of the flukes of two diving whales which could be seen through the back of the wave form.
Carter Wave
However I was not completely happy with this. The whale image was too distracting together with such a complex form. And the over-use of this image in more ‘chocolate-box’ settings affected the result I was after.
Thereafter I tried changing the scale and the subject matter of the images with some success.
The work on show is my first attempt to concentrate only on the form itself and to omit images altogether.
As the show is entitled ‘Design Collection’ I wanted to use my skills as a glass designer and that meant taking more control over the final form both in the carving stage and the final reheating forming stage.
To better capture the power of the wave I made the piece as big as I could physically manage. I also wanted it to have more height so that the wave is caught frozen just at the moment where its latent energy is at its highest before it crashes. The cutting had to be more even than before as the first pieces were very random, organic in nature. This was technically difficult to achieve but I wanted this piece to be sharper and more graceful.
This work has convinced me that this form does not require the images.
Graham Muir.
New website
Two people are needed during this stage
I am just back from the Manchester gig, and I am poised to start work on the new website.
My plan is to add more of my glass work in pictures and words, a little at a time, so do come back at intervals.
If you have any comments, questions or suggestions on the work in progress, please feel free to contact me using the contact form.
The Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair Manchester 2009
Wave Form IV
I will be exhibiting at the Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair at a brand new venue in the centre of Manchester.
Spinningfields, Manchester’s high profile business quarter, located just off Deansgate in the heart of the city.
The Craft Fair is a unique shopping experience and opportunity to see and buy my latest works in a setting of over 140 talented designers and makers in the UK.
Head over to The Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair Manchester to get yourself a ticket.
Waves in Action
The technical details of making this work are involved but I will explain as simply as possible.
The first step is blowing a large 4 gather (dipped in the molten glass 4 times) blank. Colour is applied in the form of condensed coloured glass, which is covered with clear lead crystal. The end result of blowing is a bubble shaped like a very large rugby ball.
This is cooled over night in a kiln and when cold is carved using a diamond saw. Either ends of the rugby ball shape are cut away and smoothed till fine then horizontal slices are cut away on the saw until almost through the wall of the glass leaving very thin contact points between the two sides of the cuts. (more…)
Scent Bottles
Solar Scent Bottle
With perfume bottles my aim has been to move away from traditional blown shapes to design pieces that use simple graceful forms together with precise use of colour and colour combinations. Over the years I have designed and made a wide range of studio glass based on the perfume bottle. I am still exploring unusual techniques in an attempt to create forms well removed from normal glass blowing.
Once you reduce the the form of the bottle down to a container (or two!) an opening and a stopper you can let your imagination run riot. That’s what I love about the idea. As long as functionality is not of prime importance and you think sculpturally about the form you can do so much with the key elements. The body of the form can be completely changed by the introduction of the stopper and the relationship between these two can often lead a really fascinating journey into design. (more…)