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Margo ScarpullaCeramics | Glass
I have worked in ceramics for many years - mostly self-taught through research and much trial and error. A few years ago I began to work with glass in the form of pâte de verre.
I make one-of-a-kind saggar, naked raku, horse hair and pit-fired pottery. The colors and patterns in the unglazed surface result from smoke, salt, organic matter, metals, and/or oxides fuming and penetrating the clay body. I often add pine needles and beads to enhance the vessels. The firing techniques are low-fire which leave the vessels porous and not suitable for food or liquids. Pâte de verre is a method of kiln casting glass. It literally means glass paste. I mix crushed or powdered glass with a binding agent to form a paste, apply it to a plaster mold that I make from a clay model, then fired it in a kiln. After the firing and cooling, the mold is broken away and the fused glass piece is completed. |