made of wood, or a found object or even a body part such as a hand or fist) which is tightly pressed into the sand to make a clean impression. This impression then forms the mould. The surface of the mould can be covered in coloured glass powders or frits to give a surface colour to the sand cast glass object. When the mould preparation is complete hot glass is ladled from the furnace at temperatures of about to allow it to freely pour. The hot glass is poured directly into the mould. During the pouring process, glass or compatible objects may be placed to later give the appearance of floating in the solid glass object. This very immediate and dynamic method was pioneered and perfected in the 1980s by the Swedish artist Bertil Vallien. Kiln casting Kiln casting involves the preparation of a mould which is often made of a mixture of plaster and refractory materials such as silica. A model can be made from any solid material, such as wax, wood, or metal, and after taking a cast of the model (a process called investment) the model is removed from the mould. One method of forming a mould is by the Cire perdue or "lost wax" method. Using this method, a model can be made from wax and after investment the wax can be steamed or burned away in a kiln, forming a cavity. The mould is equipped with a funnel-like reservoir filled with solid glass granules or lumps. The heat resistant mould is then placed in a kiln and heated to between and to melt the glass. As the glass melts it runs into and fills the mould. Such kiln cast work can be of very large dimensions, as in the work of Czech artists Stanislav Libenský and Jaroslava Brychtová. Kiln cast glass has become an important material for contemporary artists such as Clifford Rainey, Karen LaMonte and Tomasz Urbanowicz, author of the "United Earth" glass sculpture in the European Parliament in Strasbourg. Pâte de verre Pâte de verre is a form of kiln casting and literally translated means glass paste. In this process, finely crushed glass is mixed with a binding material, such as a mixture of gum arabic and water, and often with colourants and enamels. The resultant paste is applied to the inner surface of a negative mould forming a coating. When the coated