casting - StudioBlog :: Jeff Benroth Glass

Sucess in the sand

jeff — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 14:40:49 +0000

I think the sand-casting event was a success. Everyone enjoyed the process, the glass looked great and we at the studio learned a few things, too. Look for a repeat soon; this was a good intro but everyone was ready for more, and wanting to spread the word…

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Make your own casting :: Saturday August 8, 10am – 4pm

jeff — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 19:39:47 +0000

Come try it out! We will be hosting an open studio sand-casting event on August 8 so you can come watch, or even get invoived in, the process. For a flat fee you can bring a object of your own to press into the sand and we’ll pour the mold for you! Get a jump on holiday gifts with this unique opportunity to come work in our glass studio in Berkeley. We’ll also have other studio objects and seconds for sale, and Picante Taqueria is right down the street! For more information and to reserve some time for your own masterpiece, please email us.

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Not-blown glass

jeff — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 19:37:19 +0000

Sand casting glass is oddly seductive although the basics wouldn’t suggest it. The gist is that you have an open pit of sand; you find things to press in it that will create a void to fill, then pour the cavity full with incredibly hot molten glass. It’s dirty, gritty, inexact heavy work with sometimes unpredictable results.

More generally called open-face casting, it’s a very basic and direct process used also with resins, metal, plaster or wax (sand candles, anyone?).

But it also involves that element of playing with sand, reminiscent of a day at the beach, that I think gets people into a spontaneous, creative mood. Watching the glass ooze out of the ladle and into the form will impress most anyone – it looks like electric honey. And since the process doesn’t require a lot of skill to participate in, the accessibility gives everyone a chance to try making something in glass. The trick is to extract from this process something that looks as good four days later when it’s cold as it did when it was being poured hot, and you had a beer in your hand.

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Glass logs redux

jeff — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 00:39:47 +0000

In 2006 I worked with designer and fellow CCA alum Chad DeWitt of DeWitt Studio on a set of decorative glass logs for display in a Sunset Magazine Idea House. The pieces proved so popular while on display we decided to produce some for sale as a limited-edition. Here we are a couple years later and there have been so many requests for the logs that we’ve decided to open a second edition, the first pieces of which have just been poured.

Each log is cast individually by pressing a piece of real cordwood into the sand. Using special binders we are able to get some pretty great texture of the rough wood faces, and each log has a clear flat surface where the pour was completed that is signed and numbered as part of the edition.

The logs are available directly from the studio, and through some of our most tasteful stores, such as Highcotton Living in Berkeley and Good in Boston. Check out the store locator on our website or email us directly to get yours.

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