Annealing (metallurgy) brass can be cooled slowly in air, or quickly by quenching in water, unlike ferrous metals, such as steel, which must be cooled slowly to anneal. In this fashion, the metal is softened and prepared for further work—such as shaping, stamping, or forming. Annealing occurs by the diffusion of atoms within a solid material, so that the material progresses towards its equilibrium state. Heat increases the rate of diffusion by providing the energy needed to break bonds. The movement of atoms has the effect of redistributing and eradicating the dislocations in metals and (to a lesser extent) in ceramics. This
Glass casting 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 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