31 August 2000
This project has now been running for some time.
At the time of writing 3 quotations have been completed and a fourth is half way through. Almost all of the lettering has been cut and the backing boards are being marked with the grid.

It has been interesting going through a learning curve of finding the best way to make such a unique work, the methods of selection and fixing that seem to work best and so on.

This project has been creating a high level of interest within the studio from employees, visitors, both artists and non-artists.

As I will be in Scotland over the coming days there will be no more updates until next week now. I want to confirm some of the sizes before ordering the glass, take some pictures of the location and the building and a try to make sure I know how the glass will be fitted and secured.

Some explanation of the making of the panels can be seen in the slide show by clicking on the making button. For those who have already been through the slide show I have included a latest button so that you don't have to plough through the whole show again to get to the new stuff.

07 September 2000
I was in the school on Friday of last week making a final check of the dimensions and taking some new photographs.
While I was there most of the rest of the lettering was cut and prepared in the different heights. Since returning this week two more forms have been completed and probably another before the weekend.

I am at the stage now that I will paint the structural layer onto the forms ready to begin firing next week.

20 September 2000
It has been a while since I updated this page and I will update the slide show soon to show the final stages of making a panel.

At the time of writing there have been many more forms made and painted and four of the sections have been fired and are in the process of being cleaned.

I ran into a slight technical problem in that I had been building a small wall around the forms so that when the glass melted it would remain within a tolerable size. The form has to be pre-fired to remove all the carbon in the sheeting and we then had a problem of fitting the glass into the form. I noticed that the form had shrunk during the firing by around 1%. After the first two panels were fired I changed the method and build the wall only after the first firing.

Due to the pre-firing we are completing a panel every two days at the moment. It will be possible at other times to use more than one kiln so two or three panels can be fired in one session. The glass is heated until 840C and requires a long cooling period to allow the glass to properly anneal.

29th September 2000
At the time of writing we have been completing the 14th form. The last glass panel that hes been made is number 10 I think. As this is a long holiday weekend in Germany, I hope to complete the painting of moulds 12, 13 and 14 and have them also fired leaving the last four to be made during the latter part of next week.

After the panels come out of the kiln they must be cleaned to remove any pieces of the form from the glass as they tend to get trapped during the firing.

One thing I haven't mentioned yet is that this process of making the form only holds good for the firing of one sheet of glass and then the form is ruined. In one sense this seems like a great deal of work for only one possible firing but I like this. Each sheet of glass that we are creating is unique and cannot be repeated exactly. If something goes wrong in the firing a new form will have to be made. Even if another form is made it would contain the same letters but the levels and the form of the letters would be different and of course also the painted structure.