Artist Spotlight: Linda Sue Price on Bending Glass

Bending glass is the process of heating glass over fire until it becomes pliable. 
Linda Sue Price explains her process and progress. 

Linda Sue Price, Nothing Is Black and White, Neon, 15 x 15" 

When I first started to learn how to bend my intention was to bend free form. However, in order to get in touch with the glass I had to practice bending to pattern. Pattern bending comes from the head whereas freeform comes from the gut.

When bending freeform I feel very connected to the glass. It’s like having a conversation with the glass. Some times the communication flows and other times not.

Pattern bending is another issue. But finally after years of practice and the desire to be able to create specific forms, I am now learning how to surrender to the pattern. There are so many things to consider when bending to pattern—how you go into the fire and come out of it so you are positioned to land easily on the pattern.

Other challenges I faced was under heating and twisting the glass. The idea is to heat the right amount of glass for the bend you are making, get it hot enough and heat it evenly.

There are three types of fires used to heat the glass. The ribbon burner—my favorite—for making loop shapes; the cross fire for specific small movements like V’s, U’s, and L’s; and the hand torch for delicate work like attaching electrodes or making small adjustments. The hand torch has less heat so it’s ideal for small, delicate corrections.

In my pattern practice, I’ve struggled with making U bends without getting kinking on the inside. I discovered that I was twisting the glass coming out of the fire. It would look great when I came out of the fire but by the time I got it to the pattern on the work bench, it would kink. After some focused practice I figured out that I was twisting the glass so I spent practice time breaking that habit.

Then I discovered I was under heating the glass. I started under heating because when the glass is hot enough it was too easy to accidentally stretch the glass. By under heating I eliminated the stretching but then I got kinks because the glass wasn’t hot enough.

Once I started getting the glass hot enough, I struggled with overinflation. Part of the process of bending is having a blow hose attached so you can inflate the glass when it gets hot to keep it from collapsing.

There is no scientific process to this. It’s just hours of practice and learning to read the glass.

Then there is the mind. If you over concentrate on the bend you loose it. If you don’t focus you loose it so you have to find the balance. Listening to music while bending helps but some times I start dancing and get distracted..

Currently I’m practicing a pattern and attempting to bend to it. I’ve spent a month or so trying to get the hang of it. I’m in the studio two to three days a week and each week it gets better but bending to pattern is so different. Tonight I began to think—why am I doing this. No one will appreciate how much harder this is for me than the complex free form bends I do. But I am keeping at it. It looks like a simple pattern but it’s really challenging.

After another month of practice and demos by the master, I had success. The bends went the way they were supposed to and the tube was smooth—no crunches and on pattern. Amazing.

Linda Sue Price, Never Say Never (work in progress)

Linda's current exhibition at TAG, Hitting the Pause Button, runs through Saturday, May 14. 
She will be part of an Artist Panel Discussion with Alison Lowe Platt and Dan Janotta on Saturday, May 7, 3pm.

If you have any question you'd like to ask Linda, leave them below in the comments.

Linda Sue Price, Question, Listen, Think, Neon, 15 x 15" x 10"

Current Exhibition: Dan Janotta, Alison Lowe Platt, Linda Sue Price

Tuesday, April 19th – Saturday, May 14th, 2016

Opening Reception: Saturday, April 23rd, 2016 from 5 – 8PM
Artist Panel Discussion: Saturday, May 7th, 2016 at 3PM

Dan Janotta – Back To The Beach

Dan Janotta, Burning Sunset, Oil on canvas, 20 x 60"

As an accomplished Los Angeles architect, Dan Janotta’s work is often detailed and technical, with a strong focus on realistically capturing the straight lines of structural subject matter. After 12 years of developing his painting style,  Janotta returns to the scene of his favorite muse; the coast and its serene energy.

Capturing impressions of the Southern California lifestyle that he has experienced for the last 30 years, Janotta’s “extreme coastal” images reflect the beauty of the sun, sand and the modern day influences of urban beach culture. While contemplative scenes of sunsets and breaking waves contrast with the gritty personal expression of tattoos and surf culture, this exhibition fully encompasses coastal living. Through the use of strong color, distinctive figurative silhouettes, and the play of sunlight off the shore, Janotta beautifully portrays his love for the beach and its inspirational and calming environment.

Alison Lowe Platt – Instinct

Alison Lowe Platt, One Cool Cat, Acrylic on canvas, 14.5 x 12.5"

In her exhibition entitled Instinct, Alison Lowe Platt presents a series of small figurative drawings and paintings created during single session live studies. With a strong interest in shape, composition, and value, Platt finds the relationship between these elements essential to each of these small works.

Fascinated by the human body and the energetic fields within each of us, Platt works with live models to capture this sense of life force. Working quickly and furiously, Platt follows her “instincts”, forcing her to stay spontaneously present. Creating both tension and abstraction with her use of light and shadow, Platt illustrates that powerful human essence through the unrefined brushwork of her compositions.

Linda Sue Price – Hitting the Pause Button

Linda Sue Price, Assume Nothing, Neon, 15 x 15 x 10"

Nothing Is Black and White. Question, Listen, Think. Linda Sue Price’s new series Hitting the Pause Button reacts to current events and proposes life lessons. She mixes words and abstract neon shapes to facilitate a dialogue, creating unexpected relationships between the two. Words are powerful expressions of thought. Price focuses on words that resonate, then develops the neon forms to colors and shapes that reflect the energy of the words.

There is an expectation that neon has a certain shape—as in letters and signs. Price subverts these assumptions: working primarily with abstract shapes is to challenge the expectation of what neon is. Deciding to add words to the work, a conscious decision was made to not make the words out of neon. Price combines the physical transformation of the medium (the bending of neon tubes) with the challenges of the imagery (the curving, abstract forms). The process that connects these relationships represents the mental process Price is interested in, a visual manifestation of a system of thought. While inspired by artists Alexander Calder, Frank Stella, Laddie John Dill and Judy Chicago, Price also is influenced by elements of historic neon signs, abstract expressionism, pop art and graphic design.

Call for Entries: 2016 California Open Exhibition

The California Open Exhibition is an annual juried art competition sponsored by TAG

The nationwide exhibition recognizes excellence in a diverse range of media and offers artists the opportunity to receive awards and exhibit their finest work at Bergamot Station Arts Center, Southern California's largest art gallery complex and cultural center.

Exhibit: August 10-26, 2016
Reception and Awards Ceremony: Saturday, August 13, 2015, 5-8 p.m.

All entries must be submitted online at www.callforentry.org

Deadline: July 3, 2016

CA Open FAQ
CA Open prospectus
CA Open Juror: Kent Twitchell