The other day, I was watching a video that a manufacturer produced to demonstrate their products. In this video, they were making molds for resin casting. A colleague walked through the room while I was watching the video, and asked, “Why are you watching that? You’re a glass artist. You don’t do resin casting.”

I tried to explain that, if one were to substitute hot wax for the resin, the entire process in the video is identical to our process in making molds, and pulling waxes, for the lost wax process we use in casting our glass. They didn’t see that. All they could see was that the final part in the video, a cast resin piece, wasn’t glass.

I’ve always said that artists see things differently than other people. I know I do. For me, when I can see something new, my mind asks, “How can I adapt that to what I do?”

How about you? Can you look beyond the surface, and see possibilities others can’t see?

I have the chance to try some wonderful new mold making materials. They can drastically reduce the time it takes to make a complex mold! The only thing is, they are expensive. Some of them are very expensive!

Now, in business, the expression “Time is Money” is true. The more you can do to reduce the time it takes to produce a product, the better! If you can produce a mold in one day, instead of a week, it’s worth the higher cost of the materials!

But, what about hobbyists? Students? The infamous “starving artists”? Or small studios that have to watch every penny just to keep the doors open?

I’m sure that many of you are familiar with plaster gauze bandage material. It’s what doctors used to make casts, before they switched to lighter (but more expensive) fiberglass. Artists have been using it as a mother mold material for decades. It’s got its problems, though: it’s heavy, it can crack or break, and it often needs additional reinforcement. But, it is relatively cheap, and people still use it. Or, they soak their own cheesecloth in plaster (even cheaper). Or, they move up to the newer, faster, lighter (but more expensive) plastics.

On one forum I read, an artist was complaining of the cost of the materials to make a silicone or urethane mold. He was only going to pull a couple of positives from the mold, so the mold costs, per part, would be quite high. But, when it was suggested that he might try something like a plaster mold, he complained of the undercuts, the complexity of a multi-piece mold, and the time it would take to make it.

There is a saying in manufacturing: You want it Fast, Good, and Cheap. Pick two.
You want fast and good, it won’t be cheap.
You want good and cheap, it won’t be fast.
You want fast and cheap, it won’t be good.

You just can’t have all three.

(And why do so many people pick fast and cheap? I don’t understand.)

On the other hand, I have watched manufacturers of some of these new materials use hundreds of dollars worth of material in a single ‘demonstration’. Oh, and they were also using vacuum pumps costing over a thousand dollars, two-part material spray systems costing several thousand dollars, etc.

In industry, I guess that’s the price you have to pay to play in the game.

I remember when I was young and broke, I’d spend all day, driving all over town, just to save ten dollars. Now, if it takes me more than a half hour or so to do something, and it’s something that someone else can do, it’s almost cheaper for me to pay someone ten dollars to do it, so I can be free to do other things that I have to do. Then again, gas didn’t cost over three dollars a gallon back then either.

So, is time really money? Or, can you ‘buy’ time?

Ok, I’ve told you that we’re expanding to glass casting products. One thing that is important to making a good glass casting is using a good investment. And, since I’ve told you that we test (and use) the products we sell, I’m currently running some tests on casting investments. After all, if I want to sell investment, I want to sell the ‘best’ investment I can.

There are a number of popular investments out there, and I wanted to put as many of them as I could to some head-to-head testing. Now mind you, I’m just starting my testing. More will come.

So, I’ve gathered six different investments, and I’m mixing them per the manufacturer’s directions. One investment is asking for a water to investment ratio as low as 28:100, and another is asking for a ratio as high as 65:100! Hey, wait a minute. This means that some investments require 2-3 times as much water as others!

< But, I've always mixed my investment by the 'island' method ... as I add my investment to my water, when an island forms, I've got it right. Right?>

Well, not really.

Some investments are designed to be a “top coat”, or just a thin layer of investment applied directly to the model. These products will often need more water, and may have a mixed consistency of buttermilk.

Other investments are designed to be an “outer shell”, and may have a lot of fiber material in them. As such, these products won’t be able to capture the fine detail on your model surface. In fact, with all that fiber, you don’t want them to touch your model! These may have a mixed consistency of cold oatmeal.

< Ewww>

Oh, and another thing. After weighing out the same weight of investment, I measured the resulting finished mold. The differences ranged from 19.8 cubic inches to 31.8 cubic inches of finished mold, per pound of investment.

Oh, and did I mention cost? Some investments may cost only 40 cents per pound, while others may cost over four dollars per pound.

< Agggg! Stop with the numbers already! I'm getting a headache! Just tell me, which investment is best?>

The short answer is, it all depends.

The long answer is, well, a bit longer. So bare with me for a little longer.

< Sigh>

When we were in St. Louis for the Glass Art Society conference, we attended as many of the glass casting demos that we could. Each demonstrator would explain their process, and the materials they used. People in the audience were frantically writing down all this information. I am sure some people were thinking, “Wow! If I just use the same materials that this famous artist uses, than I can produce the same type of work.”

Ah, Madison Avenue has you brainwashed. We’ve all been taught (through advertising) that if we just buy the same clothes, sporting gear, tools, etc. that the celebrities are trying to sell us, we too can be just like them. Just ask any musician. They will be able to tell you all the details of all the bits and pieces of the instrument *their* favorite musician uses. “If I just use the same guitar, saxophone, strings, reeds, etc, I can play just like him.”

Alas, we all know, deep inside, that it doesn’t work that way.

It’s the same thing with the tools and materials we artists use. Most artists use those materials that are readily available to them. Most of us don’t have the resources to have ’special’ materials shipped in from around the world. We make do with what we can get. And, with that in mind, through trial and error, we develop techniques that (hopefully) work for us, based on the materials available to us.

< Ok, enough already! When are you going to tell me which investment to use? After all, if ARTCO is going to sell them, getting them isn't going to be a problem, right?>

I’m getting there. Let’s say that you’ve been using investment ‘X’, and you are getting ok results. You’ve learned how much water to use, and how much investment you need to make a specific mold, etc. Now, if I tell you that investment ‘Y’ is better, you might buy some to try. Hey, you’ve also got this big commission that’s running late, so why not try this new investment on it.

(You can see where I’m going with this, right?)

You don’t read the instructions that come with the investment (they come with instructions?). You use the same investment-to-water ratio you’ve developed for investment ‘X’, and you mix the same quantity that you would have, if you were using investment ‘X’.

Oops!

It’s too thick. It’s too thin. You don’t have enough. You have too much. The surface texture came out all wrong. What’s wrong? ARTCO said that this stuff is the best!

See what I mean?

< Uh, kinda.>

Some investments are more of a GP (general purpose) kind, while others are more specialized. The GP investments work ok for most things, while the more specialized ones may only do one thing, but they do it better than the GP investments. When your works starts requiring an investment to do more than a GP investment can handle, you’ll need to move up to a specialized investment. Maybe even several different investments. And, when you do, you’ll have to learn how to properly use the new investment (water/investment ratios, quantities, etc.). You’ll have to do your testing. You’ll have to make your mistakes, and your “happy accidents”.

So, which is the best investment? The answer is: The one that works for you.

< You mean I read all of this, just for that? Grumble. >

in the School of Hard Knocks.

Ok, we all have had those times … when we just want to slap ourselves in the forehead, and let out a big Homer Simpson “D’oh!” I’ve had a couple of those here recently.

As I’ve said, I test all the products we carry. I mean, if I won’t use it, I won’t sell it. So, I use it. And abuse it. And see just how far I can push the materials (all in the name of customer service, mind you).

I’m about to announce the addition of the Polytek line of silicone and polyurethane mold making materials. <Watch this space!> I have tested them, approved them, and already have inventory in house. All I have to do now is write the web pages for them.

But, I did test them first. Now, these materials must be measured accurately, and I was using a new digital scale (another item I was testing). It turns out that *some* digital scales try to recalibrate themselves, even while you are using them. So, as I was sloooooowlyyyyy pouring the silicone materials into the cup on the scale, the scale kept recalibrating itself. Which meant that I was not getting a good measurement of the material. D’oh!

Fortunately, the Polytek silicone was forgiving enough to still work well, even with a mis-measured batch. Phew! But, I did learn something about scales. And, I can now use that knowledge in selecting better products for you!

I am also testing some new investments for glass casting. The engineer in me wants to have some sort of “standardized” testing; something that can be consistent and repeatable. So, I started looking for some type of mold-box - something that would be consistent, time after time. I came up with the “brilliant” idea of using a large diameter piece of PVC pipe for my mold-box. After spending several days looking for the right size PVC pipe, I found some (and I won’t mention kneeling in the hot parking lot with a hand saw, cutting up this twenty foot piece of pipe in order to have it fit into my car!), and I made a couple of mold rings. I slathered one up liberally with Vaseline, and using a basic plaster/silica mix, I poured my first test.

The next morning, I remembered …. plaster expands when it hardens. D’oh!

I now have a piece of plaster forever cast into this plastic ring.

Yes, class is still in session.

So, how about you? Have any “D’oh!” moments you’d like to share?

The 4th of July has personal importance to me. In addition to being the day we recognize the independence of the United States, it marks several significant days for ARTCO.

Twenty one years ago, during the Fourth of July holiday, I filed the papers with the city and state to ‘create’ ARTCO. And, one year ago, on the Fourth of July, I retired from thirty years of working in manufacturing, to focus full time on ARTCO.

For me, the Fourth of July truely is “Independence Day.” Independence to follow my dream. Independence to be an artist, to make art, and to help fellow artists.

So, on this, the birthday of America, I want to give each of you a birthday present. I want to give you the gift of independence. Independence to follow your dreams.

Happy Birthday, America!

Yes, I blew glass yesterday … for the first time in, you know? I can’t remember how long it’s been. I’m around glass all the time. I’ve got a lampworking bench set up, and a kiln for casting. But, I don’t have a furnace, and it’s been a while since I’ve had a blowpipe in my hands. That’s funny, ‘cause I used to make blowpipes.

So anyway, yesterday, I blew glass. I stood in front of that furnace of possibilities, and took a gather. I marvered, and blew, and shaped something from that molten goo … and I had fun! Yea, I fought it … and it fought back! But for a moment, I remembered … what it was like to blow, to work with the glass, and have the glass work with me.

I never even got anything onto a punty …. But, that doesn’t matter. I blew glass! And, I had the time of my life!

How many of us get the chance to actually step back, and appreciate what it is that we do? Maybe only once in a while … maybe every day. But, think about it. It really is what makes us *us*!

I blew glass yesterday! And, even though I didn’t make anything physical, I made a world of difference - to me.

Thank you, Harvey. Harvey Littleton, for those that don’t know, declared that back in 1972.

But recently, while reading a forum (on a non-glass related topic), I found the following statement. I have the author’s permission to use this (but I had to keep in the part about the thumb) …

“Nothing can ever be mastered without technique. Even the most trivial of endeavors requires technique: from picking your nose (ever wonder why nobody uses a thumb? - that’s technique at its most rudimentary) or solving crosswords to sending a spaceship to Mars, technique is necessary.

Schooling, not talent, provides that technique. That said, great talent coupled with great technique will result in consistently great work.”

So, how much of good art is talent, and how much is technique? Can talent be taught? Can one be born with technique?

And, whats up with the thumb?

It has been said that, in order to keep a website “attractive”, to keep bringing viewers back, the site needs to constantly change, to be “fresh”, to update.

Can one say the same thing about art? Must our art constantly change, in order to attract interest?

Or, can we, as artists, find one thing that we excel at, and continue to do it well?

I am both an artist and a businessman, and I still struggle with this question.

What do you think?

A website is a great tool to publish information, but it is not the best tool to allow multiple people to share with one another. So, we have added this blog. Consider it another tool we are offering.

We want this to be a place where people can share their thoughts and concerns about art, tools, and techniques. We want this a place where questions about our products can be asked and answered.

So come on in and join the fun. We look forward to all of your input.

Thanks!

Malcolm