This is another casting technique that—like glassblowing—only works with glass. Whereas glassblowing was invented about 50 BC, pâte de verre is a process invented in France in the 19th century. It allows subtle gradations of color, possible with no other glassworking process.

Pâte de verre is a kiln-casting process in which colored powdered glass is packed into a plaster mold, then fired at a high temperature. The result is a relatively thick, somewhat opaque object. This complex method of glassworking is shown in great detail in our earlier video Master Class Series IV

This DVD focuses on glass artists from Japan who use the pate de verre technique to form intimate glass sculptures that express a love of nature. Kimiake Higuchi demonstrates the making of a cabbage leaf, while her husband, Shin-ichi, produces a mosaic piece. Although they have no formal training

With the assistance of a scholarship awarded to her by the Association of Israel's Decorative Arts (AIDA), Lisbeth Biger an instructor at the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem, made the trip to Corning from Israel this summer to study pâte de verre with Shin-ichi and Kimiake

In her October 2012 Residency at The Studio, Joanna Manousis worked on a new body of work that alludes to both nature and to man-made artifice. She created a series of blown molded forms in clear glass that have thin layers of pâte de verre strategically inlaid into the blown surfaces.