My experiments with vitrification continue to surprise and delight!

Sand is the foundation material of my trials. It is primarily quartz, which formed millions of years ago in molten rock. Over hundreds of millennia this has been ground, worn, transported and deposited in several cycles to produce the granular substance we see on our seashore today.

The process of vitrification, or producing a glass-like substance, occurs under great heat. Crystalline matter (quartz sand) is transformed into a non-crystalline, amorphous material. This is not a re-construction of quartz but is instead a new material with fascinating properties: glass. The process and chemistry of this transition epitomises the notion of re-creation in destruction and is an a key area of exploration in my examination of Jo’s work.