Sol-Gel; Potential Creative Applications for the Artist,Focusing on the Colloidal Alkali Silicate Route

The development of the colloidal alkali silicate gelation process (the Shoup Method) has established that intricately shaped large size monolithic glass samples are achievable without the need for long drying procedures or the use of a critical drying process. The ability to fabricate gels with large pores (diameter range of 100–300 nm) and the ability to dry them simply and quickly (with the help of a microwave oven) has made Sol-Gel technology accessible to the artist. The ability to cast from flexible molding compounds, to cast without major finishing, to dope and color directly with metal oxides, establishes new possibilities for the artistic forming of glass.