Four helpful tips for glass casting

From Concept to Installation

Tue, 29 Jul 2025 14:26:52 GMT

Collaborating, Problem Solving, and Scaling Up

This commission came with unique technical and architectural challenges. Working within a public healthcare setting , there were strict safety standards I needed to meet. Glass, by its nature, must conform to building regulations around strength, lamination, and fixings. I had to ensure every element of the design would be secure, safe, and fully compliant—without compromising on beauty or detail.

I was incredibly fortunate to work alongside some experienced collaborators. Paul Ager , who has installed large-scale works for the Yorkshire Sculpture Park and Chatsworth House , advised me on connecting components and helped install the final piece. His knowledge of large artworks in architectural spaces was invaluable.

Another key part of the process was translating my hand-drawn, collaged design into something that could be fabricated precisely. Ian Hankey supported me in turning the concept into a detailed digital rendering something that could be used by Lazer Industries to cut the metalwork with precision.

Although I’ve worked in cast glass for many years, this was a step up in scale and complexity . I had to develop a completely new method for casting and fusing the glass so it would include a small lip, allowing it to sit securely within a layered steel framework. It took multiple rounds of testing and refinement—and even then, some panels needed cold-working at the end to achieve a perfect fit. It was a slow and meticulous process, but it taught me a lot.

Walking Ashburton: Collecting Textures and Stories

Tue, 29 Jul 2025 13:09:19 GMT

Walking around the town and surrounding areas

One of the most memorable parts of this project was the time I spent walking around Ashburton, exploring the town through the lens of texture and surface. I was looking not just for visual interest, but for tactile character—surfaces that held stories, carried history, or spoke to daily life in quiet, often overlooked ways.

At first, the process felt a little odd. Carrying bags of alginate and plaster, crouching by old stone walls or metal railings to take surface impressions—it’s not something you see every day. I definitely felt self-conscious. To help with that, I asked my friend and fellow artist Bonnie Mustoe-Whitehill to join me. Having her there gave me confidence, but also reminded me of the joy that comes from shared curiosity and creative exploration. We weren’t just documenting textures—we were tuning in to the rhythms and stories of the town.

It’s amazing how differently you experience a place when you’re looking this closely. Textures suddenly became narratives: the worn edges of a gatepost suggested generations of hands passing through; the grooves in the stone of St Lawrence Chapel whispered of schoolchildren long gone. The tactile nature of the town began to reveal itself with each new imprint.

There were several ‘wow’ moments along the way. One that stands out was being invited behind the ropes at Buckfast Abbey to take a cast of the font—a space normally closed to the public. The Fathers were incredibly generous, and standing there, making a mould of such a sacred and historic object, felt like a real privilege. Capturing a detail from the Dalle de Verre window—designed by Father Charles Norris—was another significant moment. His work has long been an inspiration to me, and it was an honour to include that influence in this piece.

Back in Ashburton, I had a lovely exchange while casting the footbridge over the River Ashburn . As I was working, a few people paused to ask what I was doing, and instead of the baffled looks I’d feared, I was met with warmth and encouragement. There was genuine curiosity and kindness—people seemed to appreciate that something of their town was being recognised, preserved, and celebrated.

What struck me most was how generous Ashburton is with its textures. Every surface seemed to have something to say—from the bull ring in the museum to the carved initials on a chapel wall. The town holds so many quiet details that speak to tradition, industry, play, memory. And for this work, I wasn’t just looking to decorate a space—I wanted to embed these layers of meaning into the glass itself.

By the end of those walks, the awkwardness had faded completely. In its place was a deeper connection—not just to the material I was collecting, but to the people and the place itself. Those textures became the physical and emotional foundation of Diamond River, and I’m incredibly grateful for the openness and generosity I experienced throughout the town.

Ashburton And Buckfastleigh Health and Well Being Centre -Capturing Place in Glass: The Design Process Behind ‘Diamond River’

Tue, 29 Jul 2025 12:44:39 GMT

The Design Process behind 'Diamond River'

The design process takes quite a few forms, I did a lot of drawing, sketches, rough notes, and even paintings as I was developing my ideas. I knew that I wanted to capture the textures of the town, to celebrate the river and the dappled light through trees. I realised that I needed a repeatable shape to help me in the process of making as all of the textures would be different. Luckily glass in it's molten state behaves like water, it flows and fills the void that it is placed in. When solid glass reflects and refracts light similarly to water too, so some decisions were easy to make. Choosing to work with blues and yellows to represent the sun and the river. I had been able to purchase some beautiful light blue recycled glass from a studio, this immediately gave me a distinct colour to work with that wasn't off the shelf.

Quarry Diamonds are often the underappreciated hero in many stained glass leaded windows, the pattern they create whilst simple reflects light beautifully and provides order and elegance. Having visited the home of the Portreeve at St Lawrence's Chapel and seeing the traditional plain windows I wanted to champion this shape and use it as a repeating form within the entrance way.

As a cast glass artist I have used alginate, the product that dentists use to cast impressions of your teeth, I have used this to cast textures of objects and the space around them. Thinking of the glass as capturing a moment in time, whilst this object is still exposed to the elements and may continue to decay the texture on the glass will stay the same.

For this commission I was particularly keen to capture a central 'river' of textures. Textures of historical and local significance, from the surrounding areas from Ashburton to Buckfastleigh. Personally I prefer to view the text of an object through the glass, most of the diamonds have been cast in this way, as if there is a layer of glass over the top of the texture that has been captured.

There were some textures that I was keen to take that had to be replicated so that the texture was on the front surface of the panel and they could be touched. From top to bottom, the Bull ring found in

Ashburton and Buckfastleigh Health and Well Being Centre - Idea Development

Mon, 12 May 2025 09:30:18 GMT

Commissioned to Create an Artwork for the Main Entrance

My main sources of inspiration are the River Ashburn which runs down from Dartmoor, through the town of Ashburton and joins the river Dart at Buckfastleigh.

St Lawrence’s Chapel, Ashburton is a Stannary town and the Chapel built in 1301, has been the home to the Portreeve, a Grammar school, Courts leet and the Medieval courts. Now it's a historical hub for the local community.

The Quarry Diamonds in the window of St Lawrence's Chapel. Tin and Copper were heavily quarried from the surrounding areas of Ashburton. Tin, Copper and Wool feature in the Town Crest above the entrance way to the Chapel.

Buckfast Abbey with the Dalle de Verre windows, a traditional Glass and cement technique by Abbot Charles Norris, beautiful, bold and colourful.

Four Helpful Tips for How to Cast Glass

Mon, 06 Feb 2023 19:53:28 GMT

Make sure its level

When making a mould for glass casting your mould needs to be poured onto a level surface. When heated up in a kiln glass will naturally fill the space it is in and form a flat level surface when cast, if the mould is not level then the glass won't be either. This is especially important when making flat relief open casts.

Make your model taller
As you are going to put cold chunks of glass or glass frit into the mould you make, the space that you allow for the glass to go in needs to have more depth than you intend the final glass piece to be. Glass Chunks and frit have lots of air gaps between them, when the glass melts and becomes liquid these gaps will disperse through the material.

Learn to love the bubbles

The space between the glass chunks, frit or panes will become bubbles, as the glass is liquid it is very thick similar to treacle so the bubbles take a while to rise to the top surface and pop. Some bubbles will stay trapped in the glass when it cools and turns solid. Some bubbles may pop on the surface at the end of the firing cycle, If you don't love this, it may be easier to re-fire the cast than to grind back the surface to a flat.

Larger glass pieces = better clarity
When filling the moulds, the bigger pieces of glass you use the less bubbles will be trapped between them. If you decide to use fine frit for example this will trap lots of little bubbles in the glass and will make the glass less transparent. The bubbles interrupt and distort the light that is able to travel through the glass, hindering the view through.

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For more hints and tips Amy Whittingham has written a book called Glass Casting which is available via her shop. Amy also teaches in person glass casting courses from her studio click below to sign up.

Make the most of the winter months by learning Glass Casting

Mon, 06 Feb 2023 19:53:28 GMT

Spring is in the air which is a good time to revisit those winter resolutions. Whether that means you are having a clear out or want to learn a new skill, it's the time of year to get your creative juices flowing.

Learn a new skill
Join a small group of like minded individuals for this fun and informative Glass casting for beginners workshop that runs weekly over four Mondays in March 2023.

Material knowledge
Amy is an expert mould maker for glass casting and an experienced glass technician. Amy will walk you step by step through the glass casting process at an easy to follow pace. We will have fun following the Glass Casting Book, finding inspiration and creating forms.

Mindful Making

You time will be spent getting hands on in the studio, we will work with positive and negative spaces and you will learn each step of how to cast glass using the open casting method. You will be guided through mindful model making and the mould making process.

Positive Progression
Amy is an experienced cast glass artist and author of Glass Casting, the book that we will be referring to whilst working through processes together. As you progress weekly, you will pick up tips on how to set up a studio at home and start to demystify what is happening in the kiln with firing schedules for you to take away. At the end of the workshop you will have created a beautiful clear glass form for your home.