It’s official…Rick will be teaching at Royal Roads University

LEARN THE ART OF ETCHING ON GLASS

Date: Sat, Nov 19, & 26, 2011

Length: 6 hrs
Times: 10am – 1pm
Cost: $125 + applicable taxes
Best to Register By: Sat, Nov 5, 2011

Course Description (PDF)

Course Description

This class teaches you how to create and transfer permanent images on glass using lightweight etching tools. Learn to etch glass on two 10’’x16’’ plates using diamond etching tools. Etching on glass is a very safe and simple technique that allows you to create a finished art piece that will stand the test of time. We use reclaimed tempered glass. This medium has many diverse applications such as creating signage or auto “tattooing” and allows you to turn existing glass showers or railings into works of art. The techniques learned in this workshop can also be used to etch other materials like ceramic, stone, metal and concrete.
This process uses no heat or chemicals and requires no previous artistic skills. Etching tools are easily available and can be purchased for as little as $50 at most hardware stores.

Topics:
• The abundance of waste tempered glass in the market place
• How to “up cycle” glass you have at home into one of a kind art
• How to set up your studio and get started
• Hands on creation of your own work

Learning Outcomes:
This introductory course introduces the students to the tools and techniques of etching on glass. The student will safely learn to etch glass on two 10’’x16’’ plates using diamond etching tools. Etching on glass is a very safe and simple technique that allows you to create a finished art piece that will stand the test of time. We use reclaimed tempered glass.

This medium has many diverse applications such as creating signage or auto “tattooing.” This technique allows you to turn existing glass showers or railings into works of art. Rick etches on glass to add detail to his ice glass paintings and shaped shatters but his favourite use is for turning waste tempered glass into large garden sculptures that can easily deal with Canadian winters.

The techniques learned in this workshop can also be used to etch other materials like ceramic, stone, metal and concrete.

Facilitator: Rick Silas has been a professional artist for over 30 years. The techniques he has developed for painting on glass are multi-dimensional in appearance with a patented formula for bending glass without heat allows him to create large glass sculptures without the limitations faced when using heat. he mainly uses reclaimed tempered glass and has sold many hundreds of pieces over the last twenty years. Featured on The Discovery Channel’s Daily Planet he was filmed bending a piece of glass into a sculpture. Rick has had numerous local, national, and international published articles and many radio interviews.

TO REGISTER FOLLOW THIS LINK

http://www.royalroads.ca/continuing-studies/CYTAEA2654-Y11.htm

Rick now working onsite at the Cedar Hill Arts Centre creating a hand etched and painted 45′ x 8′ landscape mural.

Starting today Rick will be onsite at The Cedar Hill Arts Centre creating a 45′ x 8′ mural.  Rick will be hand etching and painting a landscape onto the existing glass.  The centre is open to the public for those who wish to go and view the work and progress and speak with Rick.  The Cedar Hill Arts Centre is located at

3220 Cedar Hill Rd, Victoria B.C.    Click onto the following website for more information.

http://www.saanich.ca/parkrec/recreation/cedarart.html

The following image is a detail sample of Pine Branch hand etched and painted on a panel of reclaimed tempered glass.  This is a small sample of what Rick will be creating at the Cedar Hill Arts Centre.

Hand Etched and painted Pine Branch

Just completed a glass wall…

Rick just completed a project for a company that wanted a glass wall made from reclaimed materials.  Rick used reclaimed tempered glass sourced from a company that had designed to use the glass for shower doors but were the wrong size.  Rick used his “ice glass” technique for the walls and also created “fossilized” plant imagery on the glass.  Reclaimed old growth cedar wood was used to create the bases for the glass.

Detail Photo of 3 of 12 panels

 

 

 

Artists studios and galleries for rent

Please visit www.silastialstudios.com for information on art studios and galleries for rent in the Sidney Business Park.

Now offering studios and galleries for rent….

Silastial Studios & Galleries

2^nd Floor, 10114 McDonald Park Road, Sidney, BC

T: 250.656.9370

E: silasr@shaw.ca

Now Offering Art Studios & Galleries for Rent ……….

Are you a creative person or group that needs space to work or exhibit your finished pieces?  Would you like to join an artistic milieu and be around “like minds?”  Do you have a body of artwork but no place to exhibit?  Artists Rick & D’arcy Silas have decided to meet this need and have recreated an Arts facility that rents out Artist Studios & Galleries.   The Silas’ were the founders of a similar concept in Calgary, AB. The Point Studios is now in its 19th year has provided over 400 artists spaces to work and exhibit.

Rick & D’arcy have over 7,000 square feet in the Sidney Industrial Park and are now offering:

• Private & Semi-private studios with 24/7 access
• Galleries for rent on a weekly, bi-weekly or monthly basis. Galleries range in size from 200 to 1800 sq. ft.
• Space for Workshops or Classes
• Studios range in size from 100 sq. ft to 600 sq. ft
• All Inclusive Rates start at $ 2.50 per square foot per month.
• Free parking

The studios are within walking distance to 5 restaurants and is across the street from

Ooh La La Cupcakes and Hot Yoga!

For more information please call 250.656.9370 or email silasr@shaw.ca

We are located on the

2nd Floor of 10114 McDonald Park Road…look for the Red “Pencil.”

Office Hours:   10 am – 2 pm Monday through Friday (or by appointment)

Saturdays by appointment or chance

201, 10114 McDonald Park Road Sidney, British Colombia Canada  V8L 5X6

Phone: 250.656.9370 Fax: 250.665.7360 E-mail: silasr@shaw.ca

New Studio Address !

WE have moved.  Our new studio address is:

208, 10114 McDonald Park Road (Look for the big Red “Pencil.)

Sidney, British Columbia.  V8L 5X8

Hours:  Usual business hours.  By chance or appointment.

Tel. 250.656.9370

Recent Article on Rick Silas’s work by Bill Zuk for the University of Victoria’s Art & Design Magazine

Innovative Glass Design Article by University of Victoria Art & Design Magazine

Green Career Opportunity

By Rick L. Silas

"Ice Glass" Tabletop

After 30 years of developing all of my own techniques and technologies in reclaimed cold worked tempered glass I am now teaching these techniques to those wanting an alternative and green career opportunity.  While my focus has been in creating a new artistic medium for creating fine art paintings and sculptures the demand for functional items such as glass tabletops and bases, countertops, walls, tiles and backsplashes has been overwhelming. The techniques that I have developed have so many applications that I am unable to focus on any one of them and would rather pass this knowledge on and allow others to benefit.  I am confident that learning and concentrating on even one of these techniques could provide a nice income for those such as tradesman, craftsman, artisan and artist.  With a minimum investment an individual can take what I teach them to any city in the world with no more than a room and a few hundred dollars of materials and earn a living from that city’s waste tempered glass.  The tempered glass is available in the market place in the form of miss cuts at the factory door or office towers being upgraded with thermal windows.   For more information on this opportunity please visit www.coldbentglass call (250) 656.9370 or email silasr@shaw.ca

• Classes range in price from $495 – $5000 plus applicable taxes /per person.
• Cost includes all materials.
• Classes range from 3 hours/day over 4 days to 3 hours/day for 10 days.
• Small Classes
• Private instruction available.

“This course is well suited for all students, from the novice to the experienced artist.  Rick Silas is a fabulous teacher and it is felt in the enthusiasm by which he teaches and passes along this unique medium.  The class starts with just the right amount of demonstration, instruction and guidance as you get your feet wet in this limitless medium.” Quote from Melanie, Student.

“Rick is a fantastic instructor. Friendly and helpful, he has a passion for the medium that really comes through. And should you find yourself stuck, or uncertain, he has got the idea or solution that will move a piece from good to great.” Quote from Daniel Langman, Student

Please check out new posts on my blog

More artwork, more information on bending glass without heat, more on workshops, more on learning how to have a “green” career” …

Inventor of cold bent glass now offering Workshops

Rick L. Silas’s

Silastial Art Glass Academy (S.A.G.A)

SAGA is an institution that I have    always wanted to create to teach the many techniques I have developed in cold worked glass. After 30 years and many thousands of pieces created to date I believe I have proved that my Silastial™ Glass techniques of bending and texturing glass without heat or machines will create self-employment opportunities while reclaiming large quantities of waste tempered glass.

Recently, I started teaching my “Ice Glass” painting techniques in my studio in Sidney, BC. To date, several students have finished the course and I am learning a lot about how to put a teaching program together. All of the students have expressed their complete satisfaction in my teaching methods and in the processes. When the course is complete the students leave with 3-4 pieces finished pieces and the knowledge of how to set up their own studio.  I also plan on teaching my patented processes.

Students come from many sectors of the population including, artists and artisans, trades people, manufacturers, the recently unemployed and the retired community. Some of the students I have had were University graduates who could not get employment in the area of their study.  Some students just want to learn how to create art for themselves and others turn it into their livelihood. I can honestly say that after taking my course and with only a minor investment in equipment anyone can earn a living from these techniques while consuming the massive amount of waste tempered glass generated in every city.

This brings me to the green side of the technology. When I first started painting on glass I used annealed glass that was cut-able but was very disappointed when the slightest mishandling would cause it to break and destroy the piece. I switched to tempered plate which was both stronger and much more expensive. I realized that if tempered plate glass couldn’t be cut once fired then mistakes must be piling up somewhere. I found out that thousands of tones of glass were being land filled in Canada every year as the industry as found no cost effective way to recycle it.  I started to make deals with some of these glass companies to trade artwork for access to their waste. I sell this raw tempered glass to the students but I also envision supplying the expanding local green house industry with a very green building material.

I am exploring all options for teaching from working within existing institutions to building my own school.  I believe that what I have developed and learned throughout my artistic career has been a gift and now it is time to pass this knowledge on.

For more information please visit www.coldbentglass.com