Fused Glass

Yesterday, I wrote how I had to learn stain glass techniques before I could take the class in fused glass. For me, this is an exciting method when working with glass. By taking the stain glass first, I learned how to cut and grind the glass. The basic principles would be carried over to the fused glass class. And it is sooo easy!

This is the piece I made in class. There are two pieces of glass here --  a clear piece and a green piece that is over the clear piece. Each of these pieces were already cut with the edges smoothed in a circle for our class.

We took the green piece, put it between two pieces of paper and hit it with a hammer. It broke into pieces. Then, with the the broken pieces we could make any design we wanted on the clear piece of glass.

After that, we simply glued the green pieces to the clear pieces and let it dry overnight.

The next day we learned how to work the kiln, placed the piece on a mold, and put the piece in the kiln, set its temperatures, and left. Picked it up the next day with the two pieces of glass fused/ melted together.

I love it, I love it, I love doing fused glass.

So, I tried one on my own. I decided to start with a single piece of glass and a mold to feel comfortable working with molds. The big lesson I learned here was that the glass had to fit exactly on the mold or a smidgen less so the melted glass would not stick to the mold. I thought I was ready to fuse the glass to the mold after I cut and ground the glass to find out that I had a lot more grinding to do. Also, I chose very simple molds.

This is my first independent attempt. I chose an iridescent blue glass and had two of the smaller dishes with the larger one. I was able to cut three pieces from one piece of glass. I use the smaller one for a soap dish. Haven't the foggiest what I will use the larger piece for. Probably give it away.

The difference between these two pieces of fused glass is that my first independent piece is a single ply of glass, which makes it more delicate. The class green/clear plate is a double layer, which makes it sturdier. My next pieces will all be double layer now that I know how to fit on the mold.

And, I am ready to start fusing. Went to the glass shop last Friday, bought many pieces of glass, and next week I plan to start a project. Don't know yet what I will do, but whatever it is, I know I will enjoy my time being creative.

Until tomorrow...have a great day!