Brewer takes on recycled bottle art challenge
Beer bottle challenge become works or art for companies
Andy and Jess Henshaw from Roots Brewing Co and Carmen Simmonds from Restoryz met over a glass bottle recently. The two businesses both involve very bespoke practices but they soon realised they had something in common - a glass bottle was part of both of their crafts.
Carmen gave Andy and Jess from Roots a challenge to turn one of their beer bottles into a work of art and they filmed the process.
Lost-wax casting is an ancient method by which a sculpture is cast from an original wax sculpture, it can achieve intricate artworks. Carmen gave Andy and Jess one of her Restoryz Sculptboxes, the recycled tile workshop.
This comes in a locally crafted reusable wooden box with everything needed to make your own mould for glass casting.
The idea is to break down some of the barriers to learning the craft (such as the expensive outlay on equipment and studio access) and it also encourages contemplation about the glass we throw away every day.
“It’s an incredibly versatile material with so many uses, this is just one way we could reuse glass locally,” Carmen says.
Andy and Jess wanted to make a tile with “Roots” from their brewery logo and they first had to carve this into a wax. “It’s been interesting seeing how many skills Andy uses in running our own business,” remarks Jess, “He’s actually quite a visual person and can measure and draw freehand which has come in handy for all sorts of projects.”
Jess is a trained teacher but has taken time to figure out a new direction. “It really is a family affair,” says Andy, mentioning how great it is that their children want to be involved in the business and do the bulk of labelling bottles etc, “There’s lots they can help with if they want to”.
Once the wax is carved, it’s time to mix together silica, plaster and water to create a slurry that will form the refractory mould. “A refractory mould takes about 12 hours to cure and is strong enough to be heated at high temperatures in the kiln,” explains Carmen.
There are video tutorials to guide you through the process as well as written instructions and online support. Once this part is done the sturdy box with the precious carving set into a mould and a glass bottle can be sent back to the Restoryz studio. Here the wax is steamed out, leaving behind a mould with all the detail captured inside. The bottle is then broken up “The finer the glass the cloudier it looks, also consistency changes the look somewhat,” Carmen says through her mask.
The now empty mould is filled with the broken bottle and placed in the kiln ready to be fired at 890C for about 48 hours.
After the glass is cooled, the
mould is broken away with a knife to reveal the tile. “This glass is super strong” Carmen laughs in reaction to the videographer’s shock.
This process is known as cold working and involves cleaning, grinding, polishing and sealing the glass before it is finally ready to be sent back to the creator. “I love that the box can be reused, we needed something strong so that they can be sent all around the country (and world) without damaging the glass,” says Carmen.
“You could also put a light inside and slide some window glass in for a DIY lightbox, we love reusing materials.”
You can watch the video via their social media pages and via the Restoryz YouTube channel, it really is an interesting insight into the process of brewing and glass-making using an overlooked everyday object.