The Chronicle stops the presses- Play offers new twist on classic story
- Students create illustrations for Georgia Ports Authority
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Graduate student channels classic horror in thesis film - Alumnus creates mobile gallery
- SCAD libraries hold artist’s book competition for students
- Griffis discusses development of Arthur legend
- Noted author speaks to students
- The Green Scene: 'We have a dream'
- Personnel File: New staff members join SCAD-Savannah
- SCAD hosts regional IDSA conference
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- The Bee Line
- Women’s lacrosse sets records in Kennesaw State win
- Athlete Feats highlights for Feb. 22
- Baseball takes series from St. Thomas
- Women’s basketball wraps up second place in Florida Sun
- Athletics updates for Feb. 15
- Baseball off to best start in program’s history
- Big third period leads lacrosse team to victory
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Class in the Spotlight
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Minor offers a touch of ‘glass’
 Photo by Wayne C. Moore Undergraduate student Vanessa Smith experiments with painting enamel colors onto clear class in the Intermediate Sculptural Processes in Glass course April 9. By Monique Bos Published: Friday, April 20, 2007 The Savannah College of Art and Design offers a variety of classes as part of its sculpture minor. (The sculpture major is available at SCAD-Atlanta.) Among these are warm glass courses, taught by foundation studies professor Steven Ramsey. His Introduction to Sculptural Practices: Warm Glass and Intermediate Sculptural Processes in Glass courses are stacked, meaning both take place at the same time and in the same location — Boundary Hall, 415 W. Boundary St., which features kilns and studio space for sculpture students. On April 9, students in the introductory course were working on an assignment to create a simple geometric form. Their first project of the quarter was a low relief created out of clay. “The whole idea is to explore the interior space and depth and that density,” said Ramsey. “Glass enhances their images through color.” The projects are baked in a kiln at temperatures as high as 1,600 degrees Fahrenheit for several hours, which gives the glass a chance to “settle” around their plaster molds, Ramsey said. After that, students grind and polish the work. “They’re learning fluid dynamics, the unique quality of interior space that glass has, and technical skills in terms of grinding and polishing,” he explained. “The results are pretty spectacular.” In addition to the kiln, the students have access to a vibrating lapping machine, which they can use for polishing glass; two wet-belt sanders, which help take rough edges off pieces; and polishing wheels. Most of the students in the introductory course — metals and jewelry majors Jieun Lee, Marla Sotelo and Erin Gallagher, and industrial design major Nick Napoda — are taking it as an elective, but the class also includes non-degree student Leslie Dunston. “We’re learning really cool stuff, like how to mold glass and kiln casting,” said Napoda. The three students in the intermediate course each are developing projects connected to their individual areas of interest. Vanessa Smith, a senior painting student with a sculpture minor, said she is trying to synthesize the two disciplines. “I’m really trying to incorporate my major of painting into the glass medium,” she said. “I’m now still in the exploratory phase.” For one of her experimental projects, Smith used two colors of fritt — a mixture of crushed glass crystals that can be combined with glue and used to create 2-D and 3-D shapes — to design flowers on a sheet of clear glass, then fired the piece in the kiln. The temperature of the kiln was raised higher than she planned, which produced unexpected effects on her work. “It made it completely flat. I had built it up really thickly; it almost takes on a sculptural form,” she explained. “But I think it turned out really well. I wasn’t sure if it was going to run or maintain the shapes. The glass warped on the edges, so I have to grind those down.” Another project entailed outlining fish on a piece of glass. She used black enamel mixed with an oil medium, and based the design on Japanese woodblock prints. Smith said her goal is to develop four final pieces using techniques she discovers during her experiments. “I’m just wanting to experiment and push glass as another medium to express myself with,” she said. Junior Alan Johnson recently changed his major from industrial design to sculpture and plans to move to SCAD-Atlanta for his final three quarters. “I took warm glass, and that definitely influenced me to take [a glass course] again because Ramsey’s very good,” he said. “I’m actually working on trying to finish up a design for a kiln test,” he said. He was developing foam and plaster molds of his design, which consists of a pentagram form. For the finished project, he said he plans to sand-blast and acid-edge two sides to focus on negative space, while the other three sides and the base will be polished and refined. “When it comes out, it should have a nice 3-D edge to it,” he said. Senior Nichole Brown is complementing her metals and jewelry major with a sculpture minor. She was developing molds for a pendant bezel set and a glass bracelet, which she planned to form into a wrist cuff after it was fired. She said her goal was to develop plaster casts so she could create multiple copies of the same forms using various glass colors and techniques.  |
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