Infinitesimal AND Beyond. The Perfect Bonding of Science and Art

Infinitesimal AND Beyond. The Perfect Bonding of Science and Art

Vaz Zastera

The lecture will feature a fast-paced slideshow highlighting 10 years of my cold working sculptures and my precision optical instruments, showing different stages of production and outcome. There will also be short videos on optical contacting. This is a process that I employ daily in my job, and I have begun to incorporate this technique into my cold glass sculptures. This black art is centuries old; however, it has not been utilized as a mainstream technique in the art world. I look forward to sharing this little-known technique with other glass artists.

Artist Bio: Vaz Zastera is a master optician, precision glass machinist, and artist who has apprenticed for 10 years and has worked with glass for the past 29 years. He currently works in the high-tech industry, fabricating customized ultra-high precision optical components for space, telecommunications, lasers, and scientific research applications. In addition to his optical career, he has directed his glass working skills in parallel endeavors, designing and producing many unique and striking works of art that exploit the visual properties of polished glass. He recently completed a state-of-the-art Cold Shop Studio on the banks of the historic Rideau River in Ottawa, Canada, where he creates and teaches glass sculptures. His Studio incorporates traditional cold working tools and modern-day Precision Glass machines.