Techniques
Flameworking/Mountain Laurel Process
Flameworking:
Paul flameworking glass flower
components.
Flameworking, or lampworking, is
melting manufactured glasses using a gas oxygen torch. The glass is
manipulated in the flame with various hand tools. Paul flameworks
colored glasses, taking advantage of its ability to give detail and delicacy to
his work. The work is then encapsulated in clear glass to capture
Stankard's vision.
Paul flameworking
glass rods.
Paul bringing the top and bottom of a
paperweight together.
Mountain Laurel Process :
In
making the mountain laurel sprig, the crown of stamens is first assembled, then
encased in a crystal sphere, which is shaped while hot to mimic the form of the
blossom.
Using
thin rods of white glass, the hinged flower is gradually assembled; tweezers
manipulate the white glass, sculpting it into the familiar ridges of the
blossom.
Rods
of brown cased green glass are used for the sepals and stem, completing a single
blossom.
The
hot plate keeps blossoms, buds, and leaves workable as they are sealed onto a
branch to create a cluster.
The
assembled cluster is then manipulated with tweezers into its final form.
