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The EAGLE HAWK was created while Nancy served in the
U.S. Army stationed in Heidelburg Germany. This window was entered into
the Army Wide Craft contest that is available to all service members. It
took first place. This window was done in the copper foil method of
stained glass. Nancy choose this method over using Lead came to be
able to design a unique and intricate design. This window is a 12 sided
figure that is approximately ?'-" in diameter. A shipping crate was
also made by Nancy to facilitate it's shipment across the world as she
moved from duty station to duty station.
What is glass.......
Glass is a manufactured material formed when a mixture of sand, soda, and lime is heated to a high temperature and assumes a molten, or liquid, state. Unlike most other materials we produce, it does not form crystals as it cools. Instead, it becomes a "super-cooled liquid," behaving not unlike toffee and resisting any change in the arrangement of its molecules. This means that glass can be manipulated while hot to form any shape desired and will retain that shape as it cools. The hard, solid glass objects we are familiar with have all passed from a hot liquid state to a cold rigid one without changing structurally.
What makes this substance both practical and beautiful?
Glass is relatively easy to make, the raw
materials are abundant and cheap, and it can be recycled and reused
indefinitely. It changes little over time and is not affected by corrosive
materials, even most acids. Glass does not react with its contents, it does not
retain odors, and it can be completely sterilized. Liquids and air cannot pass
through, but light easily penetrates it. Nor does glass conduct electricity.
Glass can also be rolled, molded, blown, and cast while molten, and can be made
in any color imaginable.
History of glass.......
Glass-making has been part of human history for about 5,000 years. The earliest use of glass probably occurred in ancient Egypt, where glass items were considered luxuries found only in the tombs of priests and royalty. Glass vessels were originally made by covering a clay core with molten glass, then removing the core when the glass cooled. When the blowpipe was invented about 100 B.C., glass-makers could create larger containers in a much shorter time. The new art of glass-blowing spread throughout Europe with the advance of the Roman Empire.
After the fall of the Empire, glass-making centers were established in Venice, France, Germany, and Britain. In North America, glass-making was attempted as early as 1608, but the first successful glass works began only in 1739. Glass-making in Canada dates from the 1800s.
The basic recipe of sand, soda, and lime has not changed over the centuries, but many variations exist. For example, adding potash and lead improves the quality of glass, while introducing cobalt, sulfur, or other minerals produces color. Broken glass, known as cullet, is added to the mixture of raw materials to accelerate the melting process. The ingredients for a batch of glass are mixed and melted in special large pots heated by a furnace.
The properties of glass lend themselves to creative use in purely decorative items and in transforming functional items into works of art. After World War II a number of companies, among them Altaglass in Alberta and Lorraine Glass Industries in Montreal, began producing decorative glass with the help of immigrant European glass workers. As well, many individual artists have recreated ancient glass-blowing and glass-making techniques to create wonderful modern examples of the beauty of glass.