Day 7
Let’s talk technique
So far,
we’ve taken out big scoops of glass and shaped them to give the basis of our
figures. They resemble the pencil sketch ‘bubble figures’ I mentioned earlier,
recognisable and human figures but no real detail. All of this was done with
stone or diamond wheels so we have depth and substance in our figures.
Just before
we begin with copper there are 4 specific techniques we need to look at in
detail.
1.Straight Cut – it’s often the
case that one of your wheels will match perfectly the line you want to
cut. For example you could engrave a rope on a sailboat with a sharp
wheel; the metalwork on your Eiffel
Tower
2. Creating an edge – sometimes
the image requires an edge to be carved like the shape of our sail, the
side of a building or the ground. Prepare as wide a wheel as is workable
in the given area; rather than present the glass flat to the wheel, angle
it slightly so the edge/one side of the wheel cuts but the other side does
not. The resulting cut is angled into the surface giving the edge on one
side, trailing off on the other.
3.Shading – if you need to
‘colour in’ an area use as large and wide a wheel as possible. It should
rotate slowly, be regularly re-charged with slurry and most importantly,
move the glass in a circular motion. If you don’t, you’ll get an uneven
finish with small ridges in it – not good.
4. Carving – If you carve a depth
into the glass, most likely it will need to be shaped. Recoat the wheel
with fresh slurry and ‘feel’ where it cuts/grinds. If you’re doing a pear
shape for example start with a central vertical oval and then carve to the
left and right, broadening out the bottom of the shape as desired. Allow
the wheel time to carve but smoothen out the cuts so they become one – see
shading above.
Earlier I
mentioned how the wheel profile determines the cut profile; let’s revisit that.
Imagine a (4 wheel drive) rally car turning hard on a gravelly surface and the
tracks it will leave. As the back of the car swings out, the rear wheels spin
and stones fly everywhere. The front wheels however are working differently.
They also pull the stones under and spit them out the back, but they’re angled
in the direction of travel. Now think about how this applies to copper and
glass. Depending on how to present the glass to the wheel, you can determine
how the waste glass/slurry mix exits. If you want to avoid chips along any
edge/ridge you’re engraving, then present the glass so the waste material is
drawn under the wheel and exits out into the engraving work, not onto clear glass. Mr.Havel,
(Maestro in Crystal, ISBN 9781856079402) the original designer, engraver and
sculptor in Waterford Crystal, to whom all of us ex-WC designers, engravers and
sculptors owe our skills & livelihoods, in his best Czech-English described
it thus “indaway out, not outdaway in”.
Today’s tip; Wipe excess/waste slurry
into your work, not out over clear glass – saves polishing scratches
later.
Meet
the Engraver 5. Captain Slow
Our
Captain Slow has a motto – steady ahead. He has huge technical knowledge and
considerable skill but he works at his
pace and won’t be rushed. He knows the finished piece is worth waiting for. He
goes by the book, is technically perfect and the result shows it. He draws the
circle on, measures it, prepares the wheel, cuts part of the line, checks it
and then repeats the same actions to do the next section.
Lesson – steady progress pays,
rushing will lead to errors.
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