Anne Petters - Frit de Verre

Anne Petters work

After a wonderful week exploring Edinburgh (only just got the sound of bag pipes out of my head!), I'm back up in little Lybster for a final week of classes. This time with German born, London based glass artist Anne Petters. Her work is fragile with soft folds and these techniques have the ability to incorporate subtle colour and fine lines - all aspects that align with my work really wonderfully.

In a tiny plane from Edinburgh to Wick, just above Lybster 

We started our class in the best way - wine overlooking Latheronwheel harbour 

 All of these little bays that we go into have great imagery of the harbours in their past, amazing to see how they have changed. 

 

This process begins with making flat pancake like moulds - my kind of mould making! Just free pour it out! You can also pour over objects like leaves or stencils to create an impression in the plaster. 

These are then dried overnight to remove the moisture 

                               

The flat mould then becomes a canvas for carvings which are filled with glass powder for firing. Here Anne carves with a nail and then uses cardboard to scrape the powder into the carvings - very specific tools! To start I just made a small still life sketch - again moving away from the figure just to get used to the techniques, and to use some diverse colours.

Carving into plaster silica mould

Adding black powder and scraping it into the carvings. 

I chose to add highlights of colour rather then adding powder to the whole background.
We have been using Kugler powder

Dusting crystal clear frit over the back

The frit covers the image and will be something for the
powder to fuse to

 For this class we've made our own frit from the furnace. Dripping the molten glass into water and agitating the pipe creates tiny spirals that are full of pressure from the shock of entering the water. When stepped on, or snapped, they explode into powdered glass, which we then sift to use as frit.

Dribbling the glass

Tiny stressed spirals - beautiful as objects in themselves

Crushing 

Another big aspect of Anne's work that we're trying out is hot sculpting in the kilns at top temperature - about 740 degrees Celsius. Using pliers to fold over the fired frit and powder, we can manipulate the glass into new forms. This can just be freely sculpted or layed or slumped over other objects, moulds, or fibre blanket. Lots to play around with! Hope the video works for you...thats the fire alarms going off at the end. 

Anne's demo the following day - carved writing filled with white enamel powder and then covered with clear powder.
This has been free formed with pliers, curved over onto itself. It has a really soft organic quality to it, enhanced by the super fine edges. Becoming more and more sceptical of any work from this class making it home! 

The fired still life - I love the translucency of the powder and the painterly qualities that can be achieved with the powder. 

I've kept going with these lightly coloured pieces for the last day. We're doing a group project all making a 'postcard' which will be fused into a concertina in the kiln. I've got those Australian natives going! 

Will update on this weeks progress soon!