Fusing Course at Fantasy in Glass

The trigger for returning to glass work was seeing some fused glass. At the start of December Fantasy in Glass (FIG) ran their Hands-On Intro to Fusing course so off I went again.

The morning was spent classroom fashion being introduced to the basic principles of fusing in a kiln. The main point was the importance of compatible glass and correct heating and cooling in the kiln. A demonstration of stresses caused by incompatible glass showing in crossed polarised light took me back to my student days - identifying minerals in microscope slides using polarised light. I was as interested in looking at the colours and shapes of the minerals as in identifying the rock samples.

After the technical talk we purchased suitable glass and constructed pieces to be fired. I got a tub of small offcuts to try different combinations of glass rather than try to make a finished piece. The day finished with placing our work in a kiln, to await firing.

Nothing to take home this time, that had to wait a few days for the firing and cooling. However, we were given a web link to a FIG Dropbox with a good range of information.

I could sign up for  the longer fusing course at one day a week, but this would have meant I would only be able to prepare and fire around one item a week. Instead, I decided to jump in and bought a kiln, the largest that can be run off 120 volt with an effective diameter of about 11 inches on a 7 sided shelf. FIG had them on sale, with a four programme 8 segment controller. FIG have also been most helpful with advice, encouragement and information.

The kiln has provided a quick way to learn the techniques and art of fusing. Its very satisfying to open the kiln in the morning and see things have worked as expected. But there have also been some surprises - the most spectacular being my first attempt at slumping in to a mould. I was aware that trapped air would cause bubbles - but this big!!! Carefully looking at the piece showed me what happened. We decided it looked like a badly cooked tomato and bacon omelette.

Trials and Tribulations

My first attempt at an enclosed form. The idea is to mix different blue glasses with clear bevels to throw coloured highlights when used as a suncatcher.

First step was to build two pyramids. These were then cleaned ready for finishing. They were then joined together. My fear was that the solder would melt through the join and fall inside the piece.

Sure enough, after carefully tacking and then closing the joint all the way around, I ran a full bead to finish the seam. Only one side then flowed through the joint and created a blob across the opposite edge. My first reaction, working on the principle that solder flows towards the heat was to melt the joint solder over the blob, holding this edge downwards so that the solder could fall out. This worked and cleared the blob that was over the foil. However some had solidified on the glass surface and this did not move.

Only one thing to do - melt all the solder around the joint to separate the two pyramids. It took a while, and damaged much of the copper foil. The positive result was that I devised a technique that should  avoid the solder flow problem. Sure enough, after replacing the copper I was able to join the two pyramids and obtain a reasonable bead of solder.

The sculpture was then spoiled by overenthusiastic washing that caused a few drops of water to smear two of the inside faces. I was not opening the piece again. It has been finished and will be kept in the studio as a reminder of the lessons learned.

The Mirror

I prefer making sculptures, but enjoy creating the occasional flat piece.

The mirror came about as a request shortly after I finished the Fantasy in Glass course. It was a nice challenge so I spent an evening doodling in my sketch book. The result was two satisfactory designs, and the client chose the circular one.

Off we went to the Fantasy in Glass shop to choose a selection of opaque glass. The mirror will be hanging on a wall so the glass frame needs to be reflective. We chose a few pieces of Uroboros 'Heads and Tails' as they have such fantastic colours and occasional dramatic patterns. I also asked Mike to cut the mirror circles for me as I have yet to get a circle cutter.

Once the pattern was drawn up full size I changed the colour layout from that in the sketch book. It was then a case of making paper templates and cutting the glass - not so easy for the deep inside curves around the small circles so I used the grinder to cut notches then hand cut between them as there was a lot of glass to remove.

Once assembled and cleaned the solder was given a copper patina to allow the glass to dominate.

 Perhaps a case of over engineering, but I was concerned about the weight and strength of copper foil and solder joints, so added a continuous length of heavy copper wire around the perimeter. The suspension ring is made from another length of copper wire soldered to the perimeter and every joint that it crosses. Together these should keep the work in one piece.

 

Back view showing hanging loop

The mirror was hung from an existing wall fitting, but was then too high for the client and her daughters. The simple remedy was to make a short chain to lower the mirror, using the copper wire again, soldering each link for security.