Blogger Astrida participated in a GlitchCraft course (assisted by Dan Karig) at UrbanGlass in Brooklyn, New York, a place where tradition and innovation combine, and where students experiment with 3D printing and glassblowing.
UrbanGlass is the first and largest artist glass studio in the United States, and also the most advanced glassblowing facility in metropolitan New York. The facility collaborates with local universities, but it also offers several courses, open to the public for a basic fee, and provides scholarships. This summer, UrbanGlass collaborated with visiting instructor Timothy from Toronto, Canada. Timothy is an expert in the 3D rendering program Blender, and has honed his glassblowing experience in hot glass shops for many years; three years ago, he began to experiment with using Blender to create products for glass casting.
The result of his experiments was the rediscovery of using clay molds for hot glassblowing and casting—a process that was also widely used in Roman times. This method, using a clay mold built around a 3D printed master object, allows 3D shapes to be reformed in blown glass; simpler clay stamps can also be used on hot glass to create decorative designs and smaller textures on blown glass vessels.
After the first day of the course, we became familiar with the material for making molds—clay; that evening, they made a simple stamp with clay and basic carving tools; it was a memorable night, leaving behind some "handmade" marks. For some, it was satisfying, while others admired those with this skill; the clay stamps were dried and fired in a kiln, ready for our use a few days later.
In the subsequent lessons, we started using Blender. First, we imported black and white graphics into Blender and learned how to generate 3D立体圖形 from flat images. We were trying to create more intricate totems. After several evenings of tweaking in Blender, the 3D printing files were prepared in the user-friendly Ultimaker Cura software—and loaded into an Ultimaker 2+ for printing—watching the designed model gradually emerge, which would become the basis for our final clay mold.
While the 3D printed objects were being made, and the clay was drying and being kiln-fired, we learned the basic principles of glass, as well as how to blow glass, make glass blobs, and prepare the clay by pressing it into molds.
Then we conducted another demonstration of making clay molds, which was not just about making glass stamps; it was about recreating the entire form, so we also learned how to blow glass into molds, and use more 3D printing to produce more clay molds.
．Two-week course flies by
Due to the very short duration of the intensive two-week course, there wasn't enough time to complete a single piece; therefore, in the last class, Timothy guided them to create a virtual and fast 3D art gallery space using Blender, bringing the course to a close.
They finished the course with a large number of molds and 3D designs, and fortunately, this was not the end, as they still had some free time. UrbanGlass offers studio time for those who have taken the courses, allowing them to independently practice these new skills or refine their work in the cold shop.
Here are some of the results:
Amy is an artist in residence at UrbanGlass and a successful borosilicate glass creator, using Ultimaker printers for 3D printing. She was particularly interested in learning how to create clay molds for custom camera lenses for photographic subjects, producing a "distorted" shooting effect. Amy completed her work and assisted with some less experienced glassblowing processes, and also helped others apply clay molds to hot-formed glass bubbles, with excellent results. (Included in the video)
Astrida found herself to be just a beginner, but eager to learn hot glassblowing to realize her desire to create personal lamps. To further fulfill her wish to create glass objects through 3D printing, she attended a follow-up course at UrbanGlass - Part & Parcel, taught by Anna Booth. Anna is an expert in the lost-wax casting technique. Through her course, Astrida learned how to photograph her existing 3D printed objects and replicate them into multiple molds for lost-wax casting, and cast them into various gorgeous colored carved glass.
Astrida is currently researching how to use MoldLay 3D printing filament to develop her glass lamp ideas, hoping to produce higher precision and larger sizes.
Amy, on the other hand, purchased a 3D printer and is currently completing an artist's work at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, featuring images captured through borosilicate glass lenses made using Ultimaker printers, clay molds, and flashlights.
This autumn, Beryl will also learn more about glass casting at UrbanGlass, with course videos provided by Beryl Benbow.
3D printing technology is advancing rapidly, and it is also being combined and applied with various industries; we are delighted to see such examples and look forward to more developments and sharing in Taiwan. As a pioneer in 3D printing, we provide high-quality machines, printing consumables, and printing services, hoping to promote this technology to all industries; if you are interested, please refer to our other pages, or call us to learn about various 3D printers.
Follow us: https://www.facebook.com/3dmart.com.tw/
Original link: https://ultimaker.com/en/blog/52709-glitchcraft?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=facebook_page&utm_medium=Ultimaker&utm_content=GlitchCraft%20|%20Ultimaker