June 2010 Archives

JEFF meets up with the University press officer and photographer to do an interview and get images taken of the 'work in progress' and to celebrate the successful final firing.

This interview leads to an article in the Liverpool Daily Post and the Sunderland Echo the in the following weeks.

THE final piece has now been fired. This means all six pieces have been fired successfully. Over the next two months, the four sides of each piece will be ground and polished.

The due delivery date is end of August.

Installation is for Autumn this year and the launch is now expected for Spring or summer 2011 with an accompanying publication.

We have a come a long way. There is still a long way to go but the end is in sight now.

OUR carefully orchestrated plan is scuppered when the visitors are directed to the back door rather than the upstairs front door. Still, they are impressed with the progress. It is fulfilling to get to this stage at last. This project has now been in progress for two years.

Plans are made with the LM team to get the stand designed, made and constructed by their contractors.

The final column is shown, ready and waiting to be fired in the kiln. We waited deliberately with this firing to allow the client to see the 'before' and 'after'.

The kiln is switched on later that day.

TOMORROW the Liverpool Museum people are coming to see the work in progress and discuss further details such as the construction of the plinth. We are introduced to Jim who will be actually making the plinth as part of the overall Liverpool Museum installation team. Our Liverpool Map is just a small cog in a much larger project.

Jeff constructs a jig for the polished sample so the client can see how the final might look when installed in its final upright position.

It is exciting and reassuring to finally be able to see the five finished columns together in the order they are meant to be viewed. We site them in the Project Space, which can be viewed from the walkway from the National Glass Centre visitor centre. We are planning to walk the team down tomorrow to introduce them to work from a bird's eye view.

THE scale of the pieces has required custom made equipment and furniture to be made along the way.

This is to make the processes and applications used as ergonomical as possible to execute; a special cutting table was made, a bespoke printing trolley constructed, a tailormade storage system put together and now a heavy duty wooden jig is made to hold the glass on its side on the polishing table.

The half scale sample made to test the firing cycle is used to test out the polishing. Crispin, who is assisting us on this particular aspect of the Map, is very tall and that helps to bear down weight on the grinder when polishing.

THE fifth column is fired. This leaves one final column to be fired.

THE second column has gone in and is firing.

Temporary crating has been made by Jeff to house the first fired piece and keep it out of harm's way. We are not taking any risks.