I’m lucky enough to have my studio right beside the kitchen, so even during the tightest lockdown due to the pandemic, I was able to work away. With the forced closure of all of the shops I supply, I decided to take the opportunity to experiment a little in the studio.

Drop-out moulds were something I had little or no experience with. Generally speaking, first I make the decorative glass, then place it in a mould and re-fire it in the kiln again, to take on the shape of the mould, such as a bowl shape, for example. This process is called slumping.

 

 

In the case of a drop-out mould, however, the mould is simply a surround, square or round, and the centre is vacant. This means when the glass heats up in the kiln (to around 1200 degrees F or 650 degrees Celcius) gravity starts to play its part, and the molten glass begins to sag in the vacancy, and fall. You have to catch the firing at just the right time, so that it reaches the base shelf in the kiln, without falling too much, which might leave you with what I refer to as a ‘glass skirt’, which isn’t much good to anybody!

Anyway, I had a bit of fun with this technique, and taking the cautious approach, it meant that after multiple slumping sessions, I ended up with a few interesting results!

I’ve included a few photos so you can see the process and the results.

This was my second drop-out bowl, the design for which came to me in my dreams! That’s the truth!