Adding depth to fused glass 2

Early spring saw me thinking more sculpturally and starting to obtain slight relief by fusing over fibre blanket forms. As the relief is on the back of the work it only works with transparent glass and preferably back lighting. The technique is sometines refered to as bass relief, although strictly speaking the form should then be on the front face of the artwork.

First experiments were with slumping bottles, including giving some form to an otherwise flat plate that was difficult to pick up from a table.

Once happy that the technique worked I tried fusing glass over simple shapes.

Just before leaving to get the boat ready for the summer season I tried a much more complicated design. Again, the work was fused directly onto the pattern pieces but with so many small elements some moved with the glass as it formed. The overall patern is recognisable as a celtic knot but I was not happy with the detail. I could have fused first, then slumped the glass over the pattern, but would not have been able to relate coloured elements directly to the design.

This piece uses coarse adventurine frit, streaky green transparent and clear glass.

My final piece of the winter season was a bit of fun. As with all my suncatchers the suspension point for the single wire is cast in the glass. With this piece its location was something of a guess, as I could not find the balance point until it was fused. Fortunately my guess proved to be right!

Adding depth to fused glass 1

After my first few firings with the kiln I wanted to add depth to my work.

The easiest way was to fuse clear glass onto the work. This gives a lighter colour when overlaid on transparent glass as in this suncatcher.

Setting up the glass

Fired suncatcher showing lighter shades under the clear glass

There is no change in the underlying colour on opaque glass, but depth of the piece is apparent with shadows and refraction at the edges of the clear glass inlay.

First glass firing

Once the kiln was installed I purchased a range of glass in different colours, both transparent and clear.

The first firing was an experiment - I was not sure what would happen.

To get some idea I set up a long clear strip with a square of each of the transparent colours. The second large piece was a grid of transparent strips. As the middle blue was wide I added clear strips between the three outer coloured strips to keep an even glass mass, so that the finished surface would be reasonably level. This left voids either side of the centre blue strip.

The remaining space in the kiln was filled with little clumps of offcuts, some fusing glass and the others from my stained glass work - each clump of the latter having been cut from the same piece of glass to ensure that it was compatible.

Opening the kiln after firing is the best part of the process - seeing the newly formed glass.

 

The long test piece has made a nice 'suncatcher' as I had  moulded a tube through the top to take a suspension wire.

               

Fused glass produces a suncatcher with a very different quality that looks more natural and organic than the more usual 'stained glass' pieces. I enjoy the technical process of making 3D stained glass work, but for flat work think that fused glass looks far better.

 The grid of strips fused together, giving a woven effect. Some colours dominate the overlying glass and others merge. Being transparent the piece only looked good on a plain light coloured surface. After a while I decided to tack fuse it onto an opaque white base so that it would look better and could be used as a plate stand.

The small clumps were mainly successful, and could be used as jewelery, although some of the streaky glass was dull after firing. I assume the dulness is a product of the type of glass, as it is finished and not intended for further fusing.

Successful Slump

After my last post I decided that it would be a good idea to show that I can make a slumped dish when I am not tempted to take short cuts.

Three layers of glass were used for this project. The base was an octagon  of opaque white overlaid by eight coloured triangles. There were white spaces between the coloured segments. The final layer was eight clear segments, each slightly smaller than its corresponding coloured segment.

 These layers were heated for a full fuse, and slowly annealed. The total thickness of glass caused the coloured segments to spread together and the overall shape to fill out towards a circle.

The clear segments provide depth to the piece.

Once the flat plate had cooled and been checked it went back into the kiln on top of the slump mould. This time the temperature was raised to the point where the glass just started to loose its strength and slump into the shape of the mould. As always, the cooling was slow and carefully controlled to allow the glass to release all internal stresses.

 

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.