Kiln-Formed Functional Glass

Tony Serviente’s exquisite glass art attempts to do two things--to imply a frozen moment in time, like a three-dimensional snapshot, and to radiate a sense of quiet serenity. Using sheets of glass intended for stained glass windows, he forms exotic shapes using the heat and gravity of a kiln to manipulate the forms. Deeply curved bowls, sensuously shaped vases, and gently folded tableware are just a few of his exotic creations.

When glass caught Serviente’s interest more than 20 years ago, he took a class and pursued stained glass as a hobby. Four years later, he quit his job as a computer medic and devoted himself to the pursuit of this medium. With five ingredients--glass, heat, time, gravity, and experience--he begins the process. He first creates a design on paper. Then he cuts the glass into the desired shapes using tools like glass cutters, pliers, diamond saws, grinders, drills, and good old-fashioned hand-breaking. The glass is then assembled into the design pattern. At this point, when the glass is still flat and cold, Serviente may choose to do some etching. By masking certain areas of the glass with a self-adhesive paper, he hits the glass with compressed air and silicon carbide. The impact of this hard material actually pits the surface, creating the etching. He must be very careful not to accidentally bore right through his new creation! This etching takes on a much different form after firing, so the vision must be well thought out.

Once the glass pieces are in place, the entire project is loaded into the kiln and fired. Sometimes he uses a unique weaving technique, interlacing straight pieces of glass with bent strips of glass. Loading this into the kiln is like moving a pile of pick-up sticks! In this episode, he makes a handkerchief vase, which requires placing the glass pieces over a form already in the kiln. The pieces are taken out and manipulated by hand while hot and then loaded back in. Pulling pieces out is a very precise procedure, as the art might catch on fire during this process. This requires special clothing and glasses too, because synthetic fibers would melt. A "combing" technique may also be used to pull and drag different colors through the glass, creating swirls and captivating designs. Other pieces remain in the kiln until the next day and are shaped solely by changing times and temperatures. Once a piece is cooled, its sharp edges are sanded down and the bottoms are flattened using diamond sanding blocks and a lapwheel to turn the object.

Serviente’s influences--based on science fiction, quantum physics, and jazz--are projected into his abstract work. Kiln-forming glass techniques may be the least-known glass techniques, but they are paradoxically the oldest. Serviente’s one-of-a-kind glass art is functional, unique, contemporary, and innately beautiful.