A Smashing Good Time!
OK, Friends and Neighbors, let’s see what happens when I take
a bronze safety glass table top, donated by a kind neighbor, and
put it in the grass on top of a heavy vinyl tarp, and
wrap it up, and
hit it as hard as I can on the edge with a long-handled hammer… repeatedly….
NOTHING!
(except that I made holes in the tarp)
Hmmmm….
I think I’ll pad the vinyl with this old quilted bedspread, and
use this limestone rock to throw down in the middle of the glass… repeatedly, and
I’m not hearing any breaking sound!
Maybe I should check… hmmm…. the wrapped-up package feels like…
Jelly!
Maybe I should unwrap it now to see what has happened…
Oh! Beautiful fractures! And, larger pieces as well as small ones! I wonder which blow with the stone did the job? I should pick up a piece of the glass and hold it up to see
all the little internal fractures. So, THIS is why some mosaic artists are so keen on safety glass!
Some use clear fractured glass to adhere over paintings or old photos or prints and such. Some use small pieces to add texture to the surface of decorative objects in an appealing way.
Me? It is tempting to see the fractures as metaphor for the broken parts of life: our private lives, our lives in community, or relationship to the world and, indeed, the whole universe.
The fractured pieces are also beautiful, like natural crystals which glisten in the light.
Some of these will become a part of my next mosaic.
very cool!!! I love the way the broken safety glass looks!
Yes, I do, too. Who knows? You might have to work with safety glass in your own art sometime.
This is hilarious! You’ve inspired me to go out and break some stuff – thanks Lynn!
Good- go break stuff with all our blessings! Everybody else- go visit Shannon’s blog. Unique and entertaining approach to mosaic.
Thankyou for this . I have broken glass in the past , but did it in a box with safety glasses on & head turned away . Now seeing your explanation I know how I will tackle 4 large pieces of safety glass in my shed as there is a large tarp , along with it !
I am so happy that this was helpful! Dianne Sonnenberg, whose advice means something (she was the architectural winner in this year’s Mosaic Arts International competition), told me that sometimes you can get long, angular pieces of safety glass by hitting a table top on the side. I guess I was too chicken to hit hard enough (or maybe a mere hammer was not massive enough) to cause my glass to break this way.