Facilities
The Glass program operates one of the most comprehensive studio glass facilities in the United States. Custom-designed studios for glass blowing, kilnworking, casting, and cold working are located in the Sherman Studio Art Center on West Campus. Extensive facilities in hot, warm and cold glass and sculpture working are available to students 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and are supervised by a full time technician, five full time faculty and 12 graduate students in residence at the facility. The Sherman Center is surrounded by parking for around 2,500 cars and served by OSU's free bus system every 6 minutes to commute the one mile to Hopkins Hall, the Department of Art's main facility where additional Department of Art facilities can be found, which include a second fully equipped woodshop, myriad computer labs, two rapid prototyping facilities, 3D scanner, a robotics lab, a holography facility, printmaking facility, photography facility, and one of the nations oldest and finest ceramics programs.
The Art Department is part of one of the largest research universities in the nation. Ceramics Engineering runs a top-notch program in glass material science and engineering with facilities for glass science. Chemistry runs a comprehensive glass lampworking lab. We are also fortunate to be well situated amidst Ohio's glass industry, and benefit directly from this considerable material and reference.
Geographically, OSU is also central to Ohio's six other college glass facilities, to the Toledo Museum, which houses one of the world's major glass collections, and to numerous West Virginia offhand glass factories. In 1987, graduates of the OSU program founded the "Glass Axis", a public access glass studio facility located in nearby Grandview Heights. There is a second public access studio at the Franklin Conservatory in downtown Columbus and a second college glass program at the Columbus College of Art and Design.
Hot Shop Features
Two 600lb. Day tanks, melting Spruce Pine Batch
Two 20 in Gloryholes
Two benches (+ one additional as needed)
Large and Small Marvers
Garage
Pipe Warmer
Six Large Front-loading Annealing Ovens
Two Top-loading Slumping / Annealing Ovens
Large roll-out Slumping / Annealing Oven
Top-loading Pick-up Oven
Annealing Ovens controlled by three Digitry GB-4 computers)
Pipes, Hand-tools, blocks, and molds in Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced and Grad sets
Nortel Ranger Oxy-Propane Hot Torch
Sandcasting Ladles and Flasks
Custom Heat Recovery System heats building
Warm Shop Features
3 Scutt 36 x 24 fusing kilns (controlled by Digitry GB-5 computer)
2 Paragon 20 in Bullseye Kilns (Sentry Controllers)
Oxy-Natural Gas Minor Bench Torch and tools
Paragon "Caldera" Kiln
Vacuum pump
Ventilated Scutt Ceramics kiln (under hotshop hood for wax burn out)
2 Light tables
Cold Shop Features
Somaca Belt Sander
80 Grit Flat Mill
220 Grit Flat Mill
Merker Cutting Lathe with diamond wheels
Two Merker Engraving Lathes with diamond and stone wheels
7″ Cerium Wheel
7″ Pumice Wheel
Clipper Diamond Saw
Polarizing Light Scope
Sand Blaster
Water-Fed Diamond Pad Angle Grinder
Fordham Flex Shaft
Flat Glass Edge Grinder
Glue Booth / Gram Scale / Fridge for Hxtal gluing
30 gal Technic Electroplating Bath
Mirroring, Decal screening
Decal printer (available in the ceramics area)
Studio Features
• Glass Classroom with Macintosh computers, software, video monitor, kitchen.
• Undergraduate Glass Studio space with 16 workstations.
• Graduate Glass studios (two 400sq ft shared spaces)
• Locker Storage for pipes, tools, supplies, materials, and projects
• Wireless access
• Keypad access to facility 24 / 7
Shared with Sculpture Program (We are both housed in the same 20,000 sq ft Studio Center):
• Full time Technician and Building Supervisor
• 600 sq ft "Cleanspace" critique area (10 x 12 ft doors)
• 300 sq ft Custom Ventilated Toxic Materials Room
• 1,000 sq ft Plasterworking and project facility
• 2,000 sq ft Woodshop with SawStop circular saw, Miter saws, Band saws, Panel saw, Drillpresses, Handtools
• 2,000 sq ft Metal shop with MIG, TIG Welding Area, Plasma cutter, Horizontal Bandsaw, Drill presses, Gring-ding equipment, Forge Area, Ceramic Shell non-ferrous Metal Casting, Sheetmetal working equipment
• Clark Forklift
• Macintosh Computers, mobile video projectors
