Abortifacient Vessels

The vessels in this series were made by kiln-forming woven glass cane or frit de verre botanical prints made from the plants referenced in my community partner's research. Frit de Verre refers to the process of making objects out of glass powder without the use of a liquid binder— pate de verre, which is a more common term, uses a binder to form the powder before it is kiln fired. To make these, I harvest plants and press them into clay slabs while still fresh. Then I make a positive from the clay using either wax or alginate, and then a plaster-silica mold from the positive. When the plaster is cured, I sift glass powder over the mold and fire it in a kiln. I often fire the glass a second or third time and manipulate it while it's at top temperature to create form.