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HOT CAST GLASS
Mad River Glass Studio, established by glass sculptor George Bucquet on the California north Coast, is washed with light from Humboldt Bay. The pieces that emerge from the studio capture that sea light in hefty bowls, utilizing the glass instead of water or air to suspend animal and plant images. Fish and turtles seem about to break the surface; birds and flowers display their plumage. Here, a process has been refined with an eye to the optical play of light and color, as well as to the mass and feel of the pieces.
Bucquet works closely with a small team of artisans who combine their skills in a variety of processes. A new sand mold is carved for each piece, and a fresh batch of colored glass is mixed from sand, soda ash and other ingredients. The custom furnace, heated to 2,350 degrees Fahrenheit, or Cone 10, brings the glass to its optimum melting temperature.
Working together with precision timing, Bucquet and his assistants pour the hot glass, thick and translucent as honey, into the handmade mold, pressing it into shape. After twenty hours of cooling in an electronically timed oven, or up to eight days for some large pieces, each bowl is hand painted using a metallic palate of gold, silver and copper leaf. Each piece of the limited editions is then signed and dated.
In this small studio, near the Mad River, an old custom of skilled handcraft is kept alive. By designing and fabricating his own equipment, the artist has adapted traditional metal casting techniques to handle the demands of glass. The result is heirloom quality decorative glass in original contemporary forms.
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