SHOPTALK0710.25 - CRACKS'R'WACK

One of the most frustrating parts of being a glass artist, at least for me, is probably the fragility of the medium. I mean some breakage is a good sign, that you're pushing your boundaries. Breakage is usually caused by either not paying attention or listening to the glass, or maybe not fully understanding how the material behaves in certain circumstances, or maybe just from taking taking big risks! ...But cracks can also come out of nowhere; now that IS WACK!

One of the main reasons why I personally break so much glass, is that I tend to work thick, and thick glass is more temperamental to rapid heating and cooling while working it. There's a reason some of your favorite headdies feel kinda thin and light, esp compared to smaller handpipes and pieces. The survival rate goes WAY up for thinner glass, and that's a huge advantage if you're working on a piece for many days or weeks even! But alas, working thick has been very difficult for me to 'unlearn', and heavy piece feels good in hand, so it's a risk I take (and continue to pay for).

Another contributor to major crackage, at least for me: perfectionism. I dare to think back on all the pieces I lost at the very last minute trying to fix one tiny little thing that moves a 'near-masterpiece' into the 'complete trash' category for me. Taking too long trying to get that joint just right or scraping off that little weird smudge...and then just messing it all up on the last step; there is probably nothing more frustrating in life, in any pursuit, than screwing up at the finish line. This has been a lifelong battle for me; perfectionism pushes you towards greatness and rewards you for doing great, but will never let you stop at 'good enough'.

A third and possibly the most painful for us is 'checking', which is a form of cracking, but it's the worst kind of cracking, because even if you get through the entire gauntlet of not cracking a piece to your own fault, and then you sleep extra tight knowing you did your job, well...the glass gods show up to your kiln in the middle of the night, and sprinkle little tiny micro cracks INSIDE the glass where you literally CAN'T do anything about it. So what's really happening here? Checking (yes, that is its technical term!) originates from internal stress imbalances such as different heating/cooling properties between two glasses (COE) and/or material incompatibilities. This one is out of our hands, and IT. IS. BRUTAL. Most sparkles, certain greens and blues, and a few other specific outliers are high risk or almost guaranteed to check in many/most circumstances. Sometimes yo take the risk and get away with it, but usually it's just best to stay away from serial killers.

As a creator, you have to be able to deal with a certain amount of loss, and at times I have definitely began to question my own sanity, breaking stuff over and over and over. But no one likes a quitter, so we all just find our own creative ways to maniacally laugh off the losses...like this Cracks'r'wack design. Based off Keith Haring's famous Crack is Wack mural, but comedically repurposed for glassblowing. I added the broken heart and the bed of broken pipes/glass he's laying in (the money on fire was already there and suuuuper-relevant!). 

Thanks for reading!!
-N8-