The Serenbe Project: Installed

Photograph: Copyright Robert Rausch GAS Design Center 2008, All Rights Reserved

The Serenbe Project, which was the building of a 12-foot white oak tree, graced with 175 cast glass leaves was installed on October 31, 2008. Robert Rausch of Gas Design Center, Tuscumbia, Alabama, designed the project, Jason Smith, a blacksmith from Decatur Georgia, created the iron tree blacksmith and I created the cast glass leaves. The project resulted in a beautiful installation and it is so gratifying to collaborate with two other very gifted artists! The project is permanently installed next door to The Hil Restaurant on Selbourne Lane and graces the entranceway leading to the Serenbe property offices.

Serenbe, is a nationally acclaimed sustainable community located 32 miles southwest of Atlanta in Palmetto Georgia. The New York Times featured Serenbe in its' Travel section on Sunday, March 1, 2009. Thank you to my good friend, Julian Hazlett, calling this to my attention. Cottage Living named Serenbe on of its' 2008 Top Ten Neighborhoods.

The beautiful glass leaves in the picture were made from Bullseye Glass of Portland, Oregon. Many thanks to them, especially Geraldine Gladden, for providing such a fine glass to cast, and great customer service. Thanks also to Olympic Color, who provided valuable information about the mold material. The process of making the leaves is shown here.

A funny thing happened during the installation. We had arrived in Serenbe the afternoon before the installation in order to preview the site and make sure we had all of the tools we needed. Since we were not familiar with the area, we thought we might stay at the Farmhouse at Serenbe, however, the F-350 (which was packed to the gills) would not make the turning radius between the split rail fences. This called to mind a quote from Henry Halem, one of the founders of the Glass Art Society, who says something to the effect that "you can always tell the glass artists, because they are the ones with trucks". Maybe, another time at the Farmhouse, because it is such a beautiful setting definitely worth returning to enjoy.

Copyright Robert Rausch Gas Design Center 2008, All Rights Reserved

Interview/Podcast Tonight with Local NPR Station, WBHM 90.3FM

I announced on Tuesday that I would have an interview aired tonight, at 6:30pm CST on the local NPR Station, WBHM 90.3FM.

The interview did mention that there were 33 or 35 leaves. There are 175 leaves!!

Before I'm off to sign more leaves....a total of 175!.....I wanted to post the link for the podcast. Enjoy. https://www.wbhm.org/Tapestry/

Interview on "Tapestry" on NPR/WBHM 90.3, October 23

An interview on "Tapestry" on the local NPR station WBHM 90.3 will be aired on October 23, 2008, at 6:30 pm. The interview about The Serenbe Project was taped at the studio, so there is a good bit of "raw" sound and I think it will be entertaining.

There should be a picture on the WBHM website that shows a real limb that I found on which I installed some of the Serenbe leaves.

Hope you enjoy.

35 Days: Serenbe Installation

35 Days Until Serenbe Installation: This weekend I started to clean the cast leaves by smoothing them on the lathe and diamond wheel. When I get them the way I like them, I will sign and date each leaf.

Hopefully I will be able to get some shots of the lathe work as well as the application of the signature and the finished leaves.

The majority of the leaves (about 120 of them) are between 7-8 inches and the remaining 30 leaves are various sizes from 3 -10 inches. There will only be a couple of 10 inch leaves.
The portion of the project that entails producing the leaves nears completion. As I discussed earlier, the installation will take place on October 30-31. We will begin early the morning of October 30 and work until the installation is complete.

Ten Basic Steps for Making Cast Glass Leaves: Serenbe Installation: 59 days

I loaded ovens this evening. It took a while to get the glass loaded into the moulds. So, here is the process. I will post more pictures of the process in a future post, probably tomorrow.

1. Make an original model or pattern
2. Invest (pour) plaster into the mould (creates negative space in which to put glass)
3. Remove the pattern material
4. Dry the mould
5. Apply kiln wash to the mould & cure
6. Wash and dry the glass that will be used
7. Determine how much glass it will take to fill the mould (on a future post)
8. Weigh the glass
9. Fill the mould
10. Fire the kiln

60 days: The Serenbe Project

After the Bullseye glass cullet is washed and dryed, I store it like this next to the kiln and the scale so that when I get ready to weigh the glass, I can load the scales, weigh the glass and load the mould from the same place. Also, I don't have to move the moulds as they are very heavy.



















This is Bullseye casting cullet on the left and Bullseye casting billets on the right. Bullseye is some of the best glass made. The billets have been cut on the wet saw, then washed, then stored


















Ok, if the cullet is too large, it has to be made smaller and I do this with a sledge hammer and a garbage compactor bag (because they are thick bags). Safety glasses are a must.


















I'm crushing the glass a bit here to make it smaller. The very small frit I use to help secure the wire.

What I thought would be a good idea was to blog about the remainder of the time from now until installation at Serenbe. There is somewhere around 60 days left until installation and today is DAY 60.

Tonight I applied kiln wash to the new 21" diameter mould and the wash will cure at 500 deg. I left the lid of the kiln propped open until it reaches around 120 and then I will completely close it. Another oven is just about ready to be unloaded (leaves). I added some amber color to these leaves. I left the lid open a bit on this oven also so that it would cool about 10 more degrees. Then I will remove the leaves from the mould, reload the mould and fire again.

Glass Studio Processes and The Serenbe Project

These moulds pictured are still for The Serenbe Project. Take a minute and visit the Serenbe Community, it is a delightful place. After the clay model is removed from the glass mould, the moulds have to be checked to make sure there are no undercuts (places where the glass can become lodged). This pictures on the blog tonight show how I finish the moulds.

You can see the greenish gray area on the top edge of the mould. That is leftover clay that has to be removed. I finish removing the clay, and sand down the glass moulds

This is how I finish the edges and remove the remaining clay.

I then brush out the mould to make sure that it is clean before taking a warm damp rag to go over it one more time.

After the mould is cleaned like this, it is ready to be placed in the kiln to be force-dried.

I found these cool little paintbrushes at Harbor Freight Tools. They are good for a lot of things in the studio and they are so inexpensive, I just throw them away!

At this point, the mould is still very wet. The plaster material with which I invest the mould has a very short working time (under 10 minutes on a cooler day). This means that most days in the South, you better have your plan together when you begin to mix, because on a 95 degree day with high humidity, the working time is more like 5-6 minutes. I still like this material very much.

These glass leaves will be installed at Serenbe in late October.

Cast Glass and The Serenbe Project

A quick post tonight because I have to get back to work. Last post, I discussed the problem with the wires as the glass becomes molten. I came up with a solution, which was great! Here are a couple of pictures that I took right after these leaves came out of the kiln tonight. The important thing was that the wire extend from inside the glass in the middle not on the edge where the glass is thinner. It worked!

This mould is the round one to fit the kiln. It has been force-dried and is ready to be cured at 1475 degrees for this kiln.

The Serenbe Project

This was a very busy day in studio doing more work on The Serenbe Project , which will be installed toward the end of October. In case you have not read any of my earlier posts about The Serenbe Project , hop over there and check it out.

I was having trouble with the wires, which are embedded in the cast leaves, "falling" to the side. I came up with this solution, shown on the right, I drilled a little hole in the mould, and placed the end of the wire in the hole. So, when the other end of the wire is embedded in the glass, the drilled end acts as an anchor.


This is a close-up of the moulds and the embedded wires. This seems to have solved the problem.

I'm washing all of the cullet, getting it ready to place in the moulds. After I wash the glass, I put the glass in containers which are placed close to the kiln so that it is ready to weigh and place in the mould. This glass is Bullseye cullet for casting.

The other problem that I had was that the moulds that I had made were wasting kiln space (and electricity). The way that I solved this problem was to design a mould that was the exact size of the kiln shelf, which means that it used all of the available kiln space. I "dammed" the plaster with aluminum roof flashing mounted on a round piece of wood (this kiln shelf is round).

This is the new round mould which looks like it was a good solution. The clay leaves have just been removed (to the left of the mould). After trimming the mould with a dremel,
and cleaning the clay residue off of the inside of each leaf cavity, the mould was put in the kiln to dry it. This will take about 2 days. I blogged before about the Castalot mould material that I'm using. I really like this mould material.

More Bullseye glass being washed.

Beautiful Bullseye glass ,washed and ready to fill a mould!

Preparing Kiln Wash and Coating a Mould

A couple of people have asked me how I prepare kiln wash and apply it to the kiln floor, kiln shelves and the moulds for The Serenbe Project. This time when I used the kiln wash, I took pictures of the process so that I could post here.

I mix my kiln wash according to the manufacturer's instructions, which was 4:1 in this case.

I mix kiln wash, a bucket at a time, so that when I need it, it is ready. I measure out the water that I need and the amount of kiln wash that I need. For example, if I have 12 cups of water, then I would measure out 3 cups of kiln wash. I always put the water in the bucket first and then sprinkle the kiln wash on the top of the water.

The picture (above right) shows the kiln wash floating on top of the water (before being stirred).

This picture (above) shows the kiln wash after I have stirred the wash some.

After I have stirred for 20 minutes or so, or until it dissolves, I apply the kiln wash to the mould (in this case), kiln shelf or kiln floor. Using a hake brush, I saturate the brush, lightly run the brush over the rim of the bucket, then lightly brush the wash across the mould in lines going toward and away from me. When the first coat is absorbed, which will be quickly, I apply the second coat at a right angle to the first coat, so I'm painting this on from side to side for the second coat. For these moulds, I only put three very light coats of wash. The number of coats of kiln wash that you use depends on the application. On the floor of my kilns, I applied at least eight coats. I reapply kiln wash to the floor about once each year, depending on how much each kiln is used.

The mould on the left is a mould to which kiln wash has been applied, the mould on the left has not had the wash applied yet. The hake brush is on the right hand side of this picture. The other little brush that I use to coat the inside of the leaf cavity is an old BBQ brush.

After I finish applying the kiln wash, I place the moulds in the kiln and fire to 500 degrees to cure the wash, WITH THE LID SLIGHTLY PROPPED OPEN WITH A KILN POST. When you prop the lid open, this allow moisture to escape from the interior of the kiln. This is the manufacturer's directions for this wash. No matter what type of wash you use, you have to dry it in the kiln before you can fire on the shelf or the mould.

May 6, 2008 Cast Glass, Carved,

I am still going through exhibition applications and trying to make decisions. Had to pick up work today, as an exhibition closed on last Friday. Also have some correspondence to write then I will be done for the evening. It has been a long day.

May 5, 2008, Cast Glass

Previously on my blog I showed how I formed the pieces of plastiscene to fill the crevices in the mold box. This first image shows the leaf in the mold box, which has been "dammed" and sprayed with PAM. I then mix the plaster with an electric drill and get ready to pour.

This picture shows the mold box after I have poured the investment into the box (covered the leaf with the plaster). If you look carefully you will see my respirator, which I use regularly.


Finally I use a level to shim the mold box to make sure that it will cure on a level platform.


This is the mold after the box is removed and the clay (plastiscene) leaf taken out. The clay was removed very easily. I anticipated some problem with this, but had none.

Today was spent doing a lot of paperwork. I am deciding what exhibitions for which to apply and this takes a lot of time. Meanwhile, here are some other photos of the cast leaves process. I have been taking a lot of photos to share. Until then.....

Cast Glass Leaves and the Serenbe Project

I have not posted for a while because I have not remembered to post until right before I go to sleep at night. There has been so much to do. Just wanted to post a short one tonight. On Friday, the Southern Roots Exhibition closes so I will be getting that work back. Decisions have to be made about applying to some future exhibitions. Hope to have some new pictures for the next post. I'm still working hard on the Serenbe Project and have new models ready to invest. It seems as if every minute has been filled.

Cast Glass Leaves

Back to the Serenbe Project: I have been working on the white oak leaf designs, thinking about the sizes and shapes. During this process I collected some white oak leaves and I'm drawing small studies of the leaves. I don't quiet remember who said that " it is in drawing that one sees". Also show in the picture is a sculpted white oak acorn. I continue to study and refine these forms.

Alabama Studio Weekend...Y'all Come!!

This image is the property of Alabama Studio Weekend Website.

Robert Rausch, a designer with whom I'm working on the Serenbe Project, wrote last night and gave me the information about Alabama Studio Weekend. Alabama Studio Weekend is the celebration, advancement, and preservation of Southern culture. This type of celebration is part of the Slow Movement which I talk about sometimes. The three major partners of Alabama Studio Weekend are Alabama Chanin, Billy Reid, and Gas Studio. This is gong to be a great weekend, so be sure and check out all of the links.

I've been re-calculating the number of leaves of each size to be installed on the iron "white oak" tree which is the Serenbe Project. I think I will be increasing the number of different leaves that we will be making so that the tree will look more realistic.

Cast Glass: More about the Process

Earlier in my blog I had posted about studio work in casting glass. In case you did not visit, it is in my earlier post on March 13, 2008. The next step in the casting is to "dam" the inside and outside walls of the mould box wherever there is a "join". In the earlier posts I had rolled "sausages" of plasticene clay and then took the clay and lined this portion of the box so that the investment (plaster) material would not leak out. It leaks out sometimes because, the wood does not perfectly join. This step is kind of like re-caulking your bathtub. I lay the roll of clay on the crevice and thentake my index finger and run it along the line to make sure that the clay is embedded in the cracks. You can review earlier blogs to find out about the Serenbe Community or go to I will post a couple more process pictures for the casting process on the blog with captions.

I am going to meet the Bessemer Development Board and a contractor at a historic building in Bessemer, Alabama tomorrow afternoon to discuss the rennovation of the building for artist studios. The next step in this process will be to recruit artists who need affordable space. The space will cost approximately $50.00 for 200-250 sf at this point. That is very reasonable and the project is exciting. I hope to do most of the mold pouring and pattern making in this building. So far, I do not have that many interns. Hopefully, I will get more responses to my ad. If everything works out, I plan to move my studio to this building later in the summer.


I had the pleasure of visiting with my friend Debra Riffe today. I enjoy our "Salon" sessions and encouragement as well as constructive criticisms of different things that are happening with our careers. It is great to have her as a friend . Her web site can be found in my "Salon" section on the right hand side of the blog. Because studio work is so often done alone, it is great to get feedback from others and hear what they are doing. Debra is teaching a session this Saturday on linoleum block printing and I plan to attend the session (because I missed the one last fall) with my friend Julian Hazlett, who is another very talented artist.


Other than The Serenbe Project, I talked with the Alabama Folk School director, Megan Huston today about the classes I will teach this summer. These classes are listed on the right side of the blog and I hope I will have enough students to register. The classes will be fun and Megan and I discussed blogging from the class and posting some pictures of the classes. I look forward to teaching and enjoy it very much.

Cast Glass and "The Serenbe Project"/Inside the Studio

Today I wanted to show more of the process of "The Serenbe Project"http://www.serenbe.com/. I have posted an ad for interns. Last week I was contacted by the Redevelopment Authority of a small town located near where I live and they wanted to offer me space in a building that they will use as studios. The Auburn Rural Architectural Studio http://jcsm.auburn.edu/whatsHappen/RuralStudio.html has completed a plan for the arts district in Bessemer, Alabama. This was good news for me, because I knew if my intern project was successful, I would soon be out of space. I am meeting with the director of the project tomorrow and hopefully will be able to use the space if interns want to work at their leisure. This space will be invaluable to me.


The first thing that I will do is to work out a prototype in order to define the process. The mold material that I had originally intended to use is not refirable, so I have ordered a material that is refirable. In a large project like this, the expense of using a material that is non-refirable would be prohibitive.


In the photo above, I am rolling out "sausages" in order to "dam" the mold box. This ensures that the investment material will not "leak" between crevices in the mold box. After the mold box was made, it was shellacked. The mold box is a minimum of 2 inches larger than my pattern. The pattern is made of No. 1 Plasticene and after you get the material warm, it is fairly easy to work with. Plasticene is an oil-based clay which does not dry. That means that it is reuseable as long as it does not have mold material embedded in it.

Cast Glass Leaves and Internships for the Serenbe Project

Internships are available for the Serenbe Project http://www.serenbe.com/. The following is the ad that will be distributed beginning tomorrow.

Internships available

Award winning glass artist, Donna Branch, Tara GlassArt Studio, is taking applications from individuals who wish to serve as interns on a project known as “The Serenbe Project”. Serenbe is a planned, sustainable, green community located 32 miles outside of Atlanta, Georgia (http://www.serenbe.com/).

The Serenbe Project will entail the casting of glass leaveshttp://www.donnabranch.com/ and the installation of the leaves on an iron “white oak tree”. The project is to be installed in late October 2008.

An Applicant can be any age or level in their artistic experience and does not have to be a professional artist; interns only need to possess a good work ethic and a passion for learning. An internship could be accomplished with only a few hours per week and can be done at the interns own home/studio in the first phase. Interns may work on any phase of the project or the entire Project.

Experience gained by this internship will be knowledge of project organization, pattern making, mold making, making glass frit (crushed glass pieces), firing & cooling schedules, installation, experience in a public art project, and general studio practices.

If interested, please contact Donna Branch at donnabranch@taraglassart.com or 205.477.6661

You may visit The Artist web site at http://www.donnabranch.com/

You may read about The Serenbe Project at http://www.donnabranchglassstudio.blogspot.com/

This ad will also be posted on the first page, right hand side, of the blog throughout the project

The Serenbe Project & Cast Glass Leaves

In preparation for The Serenbe Project, today I ordered new relays for two of my ovens and investigated casting materials and decided to use Castelot from Olympic Color Rods, http://www.glasscolor.com/ Olympic Color & Supplies were great and very helpful on the phone. Castelot is an investment material for glass casting http://www.glasscolor.com/casting/castalot_sheet.aspx

Also I have written an ad for internships for this project. This will be an important part of the project and I hope that it will offer artists who have a passion for learning an opportunity to explore the anatomy of a project like The Serenbe Project. http://www.serenbe.com/ if anyone is interested in a Serenbe Internship, they can reach me at donnabranch@taraglassart.com