ancient baby wooly mammoth incased in glass

The inspiration are the cave paintings found in France. The wooly mammoth was made of hot glass and annealed then painted with enamels and reheated in a pick up kiln. This  is a sand casting- where the mold is made of sand, water, and molasses that are packed tightly together. Copper pieces, silver foil and enamels are spinkled on to the sand and then clear glass laddled in. The wooly mammoth is then placed in the molten glass and another layer of glass is added. 

This is a great way to try hot glass without having to have great scuplting skills and still get interesting results. I made this with the help of Stephanie Trenchard and Jeremy Polelka who do amazing sand castings. 

The piece is about 4 inches thick and 8 inches by 8 inches with a great texture from the sand on the back and sides that add to the "cave-like" feel.

My 94 year old Dad thinks it looks more like a pig!

• glass copper foils enamels