Volcano Table

[peter-harrison]

Here's my latest project- a table based on the subsurface structure of Askja volcano

in Iceland, with the contour lines of the above ground structure etched into the glass top.
It's in an exhibition about Icelandic volcanoes in art, music, film and scientific instruments. It's in the Heong Gallery, Downing College, Cambridge between 26th Feb and 22nd April. Admission is free.

 

[Cabinetman]

That’s most unusual Peter, the underground rings presumably are plywood? I hadn’t realised that Volcanoes had a central “tube” within the outer structure like that, and isn’t the whole thing just massive!
Did they etch the underside of the glass?

 

[peter-harrison]

That’s most unusual Peter, the underground rings presumably are plywood? I hadn’t realised that Volcanoes had a central “tube” within the outer structure like that, and isn’t the whole thing just massive!
Did they etch the underside of the glass?

Hi, the rings are plywood. They've been blowtorched and lacquered. The design for the base was arrived at by taking a fairly narrow range of values for the speed of sound through the rock, and throwing the rest away- a woodwork analogy would be taking a section of an ancient tree, and carving away everything except the bits that grew between 1920 and 1935. Sound travels slower through hot rock, so it's a good way to image a volcano.
I engraved the bottom of the glass freehand, using a Dremel with a diamond tipped cutter.