Tag: fused glass

Having tried out a few different techniques for glass fusing with ferns, and finalising the best, I have now moved on to the main reason for all this, the insert for the oak tray I am currently carving.

I started with 3 ferns coated with green glass powder.

These were fused to a sheet of clear glass.

With the carbon residue from the ferns themselves removed, this left the glass powder behind, reflecting the fern shape and form.

Next the sheet was turned upside down and a sheet of opaque white  glass put on top, as the background.

This meant that what was to become the top surface was against the kiln plate. The reason I did it this was around was to give the top surface a textured finish to match the fern feel. The glossy, shiny top surface of the glass in then on the bottom and hidden.

The result is below:

 

I  have tried to show the silk surface texture in this picture.

All I need to do now is complete the oak tray which this will be inserted into.

 

 

 

 

 

 

What more could you want other than to play with fused glass on a cold day?

 
I have made my first deep slumping mould, to make a simple tea light holder, and I have to say it all worked quite well.

The piece is made from 2 square sheets, offset, and with confetti glass sandwiched between them.

I first fired it on a regular fusing programme to make the flat design.

For the slumping stage I made a simple mould from vermiculite sheet, with a hole in it, to allow the glass to fall.

I also used the kiln space to slump the ‘bubble’ sheet I made a few weeks ago into a dish.

Some of the bubbles are a little larger than I would ideally like, but it is an interesting design that I will play with again.

What next? Well watch this space, as, inspired by our holiday in South Africa and the principle of ‘leave only footsteps’, I am currently having a go with casting glass.

I have been researching mould making and have all necessary bits and pieces. All I need now is time.

 

I have been having a go at some new glass fusing techniques, notably crackle. it starts with powder, sprinkled over a base sheet, sprayed with water and then pushed into crackle type effects. A piece of clear glass (tekta) is then put on top.

This is how it looks after the process. I tried an additional variant, where one base sheet was scrunched up first. the idea being that this helped form the crackle look.

 

 

I added a sheep and some bees to the kiln load, far left. The idea being that the bees could be my first move into selling glass items.

The near left picture shows the results. The sheep and bee have come out well. The crackle glass however, hasn’t. It looks like, well, clear glass with melted powder. A bit of a failure really. If you want to see how it should be done, then visit here.

Back to the drawing board on that one. I just need to work out what I did wrong.

 

 

 

 

We have been making fused glass hens and bees, along with a few other bits and pieces. This is the final result post firing. For this run I reduced the temperature to 795 degrees C for 10 minutes as I felt that the 800 degrees C run was slightly over cooked and melted.

This is how it all started for the hen:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And this is the kiln shelf full of hens, bees and beads. I am also refiring the plate I was trying to make into a dish, but for which I overdid the bubbles. I have since popped them and am putting them through the kiln again to flatten it down, before I make it into shallow bowl.