The Glass Vertebrae: Discovering Kiln Cast Solutions

 The Glass Vertebrae: Discovering Kiln Cast Solutions

Abstract

Working as an artist and utilizing exact science as a part of my process creates an opportunity for a comparison between the two ways of knowing. The process of developing scientific research and making artwork are often thought of as incomparable. However, when I go deeper into each process, for me, they really are not so different from each other. This research will go into depth with these two processes, attempt to knock down some of their barriers and investigate how they influence each other.

My own investigations in the overlap of art and science will be highlighted, attempting to answer different questions about how my process of art making and scientific processes influence each other. Scientific research seems to pair well with my artistic process. Often, repetition of form is a central part of my artwork. This creates a natural test subject. As I make more pieces, I can build up the components needed for my art and use each piece to ask and answer scientific research questions. The repetitive object in my current work is a vertebra; the individual pieces that make up our spines. To make a full piece that recreates a spine, many of these vertebrae need to be made using the kiln casting technique. Adequate glass flow into the mold cavities at casting temperature presented some specific technical challenges. This sparked questions about the glass and about what happens inside the molds at high temperatures; “How do thermal properties and composition of glass influence castability?” a potentially scientific question asked by an artist for a work of art. Allowing this technical question to occupy a prominent position in my art making is one of the ways in which my artistic process intersects a scientific one.

To seek answers to my questions and allow scientific research to continue to inspire my work, controlled procedures were designed and implemented. The idea of this research was not just to understand how a single type of glass reacts at high temperatures but how several glasses compare to one another and to better understand how different glass compositions can affect their thermal behavior. These analyses and tests' main focus were on mixed alkaline silicate recycled glass donated from the Atlantis Vista Alegre factory in Alcobaça, Portugal. Reusing glass in casting and any form of art offers some sustainable advantages, especially now, as several regulations are being applied to glass making factories worldwide to reduce the amount of energy they use. By studying the recycled glasses, it provides valuable information and knowledge for their use in art-making applications. To explore glass modifications that occur during heating by using the kiln casting technique, the composition and thermal properties of several commercial soda-lime silicate glasses were studied including Atlantis glass, Glasma glass, System 96 glass and recycled window float glass. These glasses were analyzed using different techniques such as Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Energy-dispersive X-ray Fluorescence (EDXRF) and Dilatometry. The glasses with different compositions were cast into a cone-shaped mold to study their flow behavior, understand how the top temperatures affect surface texture, and to analyze the formation of stress in the glass. With these results, optimization of a casting schedule for each of the glasses was performed.

Creating scientific research around an artistic problem greatly influenced my artwork and moreover, the creative process. In past artistic research, I felt that an answer was quickly put together when a question arose and the problem was resolved. It was a onetime solution, and the problem would certainly arise again in another aspect of my work. However, allowing scientific research and the knowledge it provides to take a prominent role, including analyses of thermal properties and composition, I was allowed to slow down and think through more than just my previous knowledge, but a combination of new and previous findings. The difference in research, from artistic to the addition of scientific, is laid out in this writing, where you have the opportunity to see how I am solving problems at the beginning of my research and with time understand what needs to change. Scientific research is added to my artistic endeavors. These results may benefit others on a similar path of creativity.

To read more about this research and my art making process you can find the rest of my Master’s Thesis Here