Carol Milne

Posts tagged
with Carol Milne

Art Craft

Colorfully Cast Hands in Carol Milne’s Knitted Glass Sculptures Won’t Drop a Stitch

While they might seem like gibberish to the non-knitter, abbreviations like “Sl1P” or “K2tog”— “slip next stitch purlwise” or “knit 2 stitches together”—represent how lengths of spun fiber become a fabric. In Carol Milne’s intricate sculptures (previously), one can practically hear the needles clicking as yarn is cast on, except these interlaced strands aren’t exactly pliable. In the series Hands Knitting Themselves, glass fingers deftly guide needles through delicate loops as if frozen mid-stitch.

Combining a passion for knitting with experience in sculpture, Milne began working with kiln cast lead crystal, experimenting with different methods and developing a lost-wax process to cast individual knitted works into glass. Playing with translucency and the material’s ability to highlight a prismatic range of hues, light is essential to Milne’s body of work, and she has recently been working on pieces that focus on illumination.

Milne will open her studio as part of Refract Seattle on October 15, and she currently has work on view with Culture Object in New York City,  Kittrell Riffkind Gallery in Dallas, and Blue Spiral 1 in Asheville. You can find more of her pieces on Instagram and on her website.

 

Art

Loose Knits Flow from Hands and Needles in Glass Sculptures by Carol Milne

Carol Milne’s knit pieces might resemble your grandmother’s afghans but certainly aren’t as soft or pliable. The Seattle-based artist (previously) utilizes kiln cast lead crystal to create her loose weaves of translucent, color-coordinated glass. They often flow down from the hands and knitting needles they’re fashioned on, giving the feeling that the works could expand with just a few more stitches.

“I see my knitted work as metaphor for social structure. Individual strands are weak and brittle on their own, but deceptively strong when bound together,” Milne writes in a statement. “You can crack or break single threads without the whole structure falling apart. And even when the structure is broken, pieces remain bound together. The connections are what bring strength and integrity to the whole and what keep it intact.” Some of the artist’s knitted glass pieces will be on view from March 6 to May 1 at Blue Spiral 1 in Asheville, North Carolina. Until then, head to Instagram to see more of her delicate pieces.

Art

Delicate ‘Knit’ Glass Sculptures by Carol Milne

Seattle-based artist Carol Milne (previously) fabricates flowing glass sculptures that mimic the delicate patterns of knit yarn. Contrary to the assumption that Milne has the super-human ability to knit strands of molten glass by hand, the artist instead devised a somewhat complicated process that involves wax casting, mold-making, and kiln-casting. She discusses her techniques in detail in this video from Heather DiPietro.

Over the last year, Milne’s artwork has appeared in the 9th Cheongju International Craft Competition, in the Creative Knitting show at the La Conner Quilt & Textile Museum, and at the Lake Oswego Festival of the Arts. You can see more of her recent work at Morgan Contemporary Glass Gallery in Pittsburgh.

 

Art

Artist Carol Milne Knits with Glass

When first contemplating these glass sculptures by Seattle-based artist Carol Milne, your imagination runs wild trying to figure out how she does it. Glass has a melting point of around 1,500°F (815°C), so how could it possibly manipulated into neatly organized yarn-like strands that are looped around knitting needles. The answer lies in a technique invented by Milne in 2006 that involves aspects of knitting, lost-wax casting, mold-making, and kiln-casting.

First, a model of the sculpture is made from wax which is then encased by a refractory mold material that can withstand extremely high temperatures. Next, hot steam is used to melt the wax, leaving behind an empty cavity in the shape of the artwork. Pieces of room temperature glass are then placed inside the mold which is then heated to 1,400-1,600 degrees Fahrenheit depending on the type of glass. Afterward, the piece is slowly cooled over a period of several weeks, followed by a careful excavation process, where Milne delicately chips away like an archaeologist to reveal the final piece.

You can see much more of Milne’s work at the Glass Art Society, on Facebook, and in her online gallery. (via Lustik)