Rocky Sculpting

I recently had the pleasure of learning from Weston Lambert, who shared his process for creating sculptures using glass and rocks.

The class brought together a diverse group of artists, many of whom were incredibly knowledgeable about rocks and minerals. Rocks were new territory for me—beyond skipping a few across the water or kicking them down the street—but I quickly found them fascinating and came away with a newfound appreciation for those solid chunks.

I used different processes for each of the pieces. The yellow/blue piece was collaboration at its best as we learned and shared ideas in the class. This piece became even more collaborative when a fellow artist gifted me broken glass from an unrelated project he was working on.

That combination turned into the perfect playground for my creativity. Using a beautiful piece of yellow quartz, I sculpted a work that incorporates a range of cold-working techniques. My favorite detail is the faceting I carved on the lathe.

It was an inspiring experience, and I learned a lot. If I wasn’t already in love with cold work, this deepened both my skills and my appreciation for the range of techniques involved.