joanne mitchell uses digital tech to form ethereal air bubble artworks

joanne mitchell uses digital tech to form ethereal air bubble artworks
all images courtesy of C. rennie

artist and designer joanne mitchell recently completed her practice-based PhD at the university of sunderland, where she developed a method to create complex air bubbles in glass using digital technology. the resulting works, which employ air as a tool for expression, are currently showing in ‘form & void’ exhibition at the national glass center in sunderland, UK until november 22^nd, 2015.

‘legion’, joanne mitchell, 2015

designed using various CAD/CAM platforms such as autoCAD, rhino, and IGEMS, michell water cut glass and formed it in a kiln. pieces were then heat to 800 degrees centigrade until bubbles formed in the cut contours. by crash cooling and annealing, the air pockets are effectively frozen in-situ, creating three dimensional forms made of air, seemingly suspended in space. the series makes visible the intangible, and explore air as a metaphor for thought, memory, and the immaterial. 

‘legion’ detail

‘entity III’ detail, joanne mitchell

‘deconstructed being’ detail, joanne mitchell, 2015

‘deconstructed being’, air entrapment, wood, glass case

‘entity I’, joanne mitchell, 2015

‘secret diary’, joanne mitchell, 2015

‘secret diary’ detail, joanne mitchell, 2015

‘host II’, joanne mitchell, 2014

‘host II’ detail

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.