How To: Care For Glass Sculptures

Liuligongfang's new collection, Silence Within Fire, by founder and artist Loretta Yang evokes the beauty of Chinese ink paintings of landscapes. Just as dreamy visions of mountains, waterfalls and flora adorn traditional canvases, nature motifs like flowers appear on vases made using a combination of two techniques - pâte de verre and glass-blowing.

Pâte de verre (French for "molten glass") is a method of glass-making that was first discovered in Mesopotamia, in the 16th century BC. The process involves making a paste of glass from glass powder, then applying them to moulds and subsequently firing at high heat in a kiln. It produces beautifully translucent, crystalline glass pieces with fine detailing and lustrous colours. This technique is well-known for the precision placement of colour, since other methods of filling a mould often result in shifting of the colour.

As with all other forms of art, glass creations require careful maintenance. Here, Yang dispenses some tips on keeping your glass art pieces in tip-top shape.

Displaying with lights
Liuligongfang's pieces are produced by the pâte de verre method. Liuli (a term used by the brand to refer to crystal glass), which produces a unique quality shimmer, is the material of choice in our creations.

The degree of heat expansion in Liuli is, however, higher than normal glass, hence, much consideration has to be given to the lighting of your pieces.

When displaying glass art pieces, open spaces are preferred. If direct lighting is needed, the bulb should be at least 40cm above the art piece. This is to prevent over-heating and hence causing cracks where the light is concentrated.

If you are displaying your glass piece in a showcase, mirrored lighting should be used. The light origin should be at least 20cm above the art piece and the cabinet should be well-ventilated.

Cleaning
When cleaning, use a dry cotton cloth to gently wipe the surface. If water is needed, just dampen the cloth and ensure that the temperature of the water is below 35 degrees Celsius. Add a little mild detergent, if necessary.

Modified glass as you see in glass art is very sensitive to extreme changes in temperature, so never submerge it in hot water to clean.

Dry the art piece immediately with a dry cotton cloth to prevent water marks on the surface.

Liuligongfang Gallery is at #01-26 Paragon and L1-37 The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands