In this project for my molten glass practice class, we were tasked with the challenge of including an aspect of our home major in our ideation, process, or product.
I decided that I wanted to base my project around the process of iteration and simplification that is essential to the design process.
During my research for this project, I was inspired quite a bit by some works of Katherine Grey and Jane Bruce. Especially Bruce's work demonstrates some very interesting takes on simplifying the typical designs and shapes of usual household objects.
After having done my research and gathered inspiration, I decided that I wanted to make my project about definitions and expectations, and if they were really necessary or true.
To look a bit more into this, I also did some research into what "defines" a wine glass. What my research found is that just about every aspect of what makes a wine glass, or what decides what shape and size it should be, are either unnecessary, or not backed up by any real fact. Every aspect that makes a wine glass a wine glass seemed to be purely based on societal expectations.
The first aspect of this project was a series of drawing studies looking at the design and shapes of typical wine glasses, as well as stranger ideas for designs. I spent a lot of time sketching out as many different shapes of wine glasses. I included typical designs, stranger ones, very odd shapes, and even some regular glass shapes to compare.
Afterwards, I wanted to make some more in depth looks into the shapes of wine glasses. For this, I mostly stuck with fairly typical wine glass shapes. However, as I went on I tried to deconstruct the shapes into simple geometric forms with my last two.
The very last one is only two of the same size circle. Unfortunately, I don't know how that could be made in glass, but it was an interesting experiment on paper.
The very last one is only two of the same size circle. Unfortunately, I don't know how that could be made in glass, but it was an interesting experiment on paper.
Meanwhile, while I had opportunities to work in the glass shop, I began to make wine glasses.
There were a few in particular I wanted to make, or at least try to.
A typical wine glass; a glass that had all of the pieces of a typical wine glass, but arranged incorrectly; a tumbler (a wine glass without a stem or foot); and a regular shaped glass that was
"a wine glass because I said so."
I also hoped to make a couple more if I had the time to.
After some discussion with my professor, he suggested the option of making the glasses in different pieces and assembling them afterwards. This would be much easier than making them in one go while the glass is hot, so I chose to do that to account for my limited skill in glass blowing.
A typical wine glass; a glass that had all of the pieces of a typical wine glass, but arranged incorrectly; a tumbler (a wine glass without a stem or foot); and a regular shaped glass that was
"a wine glass because I said so."
I also hoped to make a couple more if I had the time to.
After some discussion with my professor, he suggested the option of making the glasses in different pieces and assembling them afterwards. This would be much easier than making them in one go while the glass is hot, so I chose to do that to account for my limited skill in glass blowing.
In the end, this is what I made:
I made one glass that played with the proportions of the thickness of the wine glass. While a typical glass would have a thin rim as not to "interfere" with the tasting of the wine, this glass had a very thick lip. It also had a very thin stem, and a large and heavy foot.
One glass was comprised mostly of spheres. A typical wine glass is shaped a certain way to "capture the aroma" to enhance the taste. This wine glass did not follow that standard.
The next glass held liquid in the foot, rather than the cup, playing on how the pieces of a glass should theoretically be arranged.
The glass after that took that idea even further. This glass, made from a dissembled professionally made glass and a custom stem, rearranged the parts of a wine glass. The cup still held the wine, but the stem came before the cup, and the foot before that. I especially liked this arrangement, as while each part normally shaped, and was connected to the same part as it would be normally, even in almost exactly the same locations, it made it nearly impossible to drink out of.
After that, I made a simple tumbler glass. A common wine glass shape, despite breaking the accepted "rules". This style would often be used for more casual events. This idea of even the accepted designs breaking the standards was a big inspiration for this project.
The final wine glass is a simple cylinder. It does not follow any of the standards for the design of a wine glass. However, I designed it to hold wine, and it does. Does that not make it a wine glass?
