Raymond Rains

I have long been fascinated with glass and after attending a weeklong workshop in 1999 I made a commitment to explore and develop my own style of making glass art. Working alone without studio assistants forces me to constantly think about new ways to accomplish my objectives. Glass is a beguiling and unforgiving medium presenting countless challenges, and I am continually surprised at the direction it leads me. Learning how the combinations of color, light and form develop is a captivating journey.

Each blown glass art work starts with clear molten glass. The clear glass is then combined with colored and/or dichroic glass and formed into various shapes using blowpipes, wooden blocks and paddles. The finished piece is then annealed for several hours at 900 degrees to stabilize the molecular structre before being slowly cooled to room temperature.

The creation of my fused glass work begins with clear plate glass that is cut and then reformed at temperatures of 1300 to 1500 degrees into various shapes including tiles, bowls, platters or sculptural forms. Some pieces are fused with colored or dichroic glass or enamel pigments, and then carved with a diamond saw of blasted with aluminum oxide. Many of my sculptural works incorporate welded steel or copper.

While the process of creating art is rewarding in itself, I am additionally gratified by the fact that people buy my work and humbled when I see my work in other people’s homes or collections.