how fused glass is made
Each piece I create is made by combining a variety of specialist handmade glass. metals, papers, colours, powders, frits and enamels to create a unique design for the finished piece.
The assembled piece is then placed in the kiln for about 30 hours and slowly heated to 804°C at which point the glass is molten enough to both fuse and form a smooth flat surface. Different effects can be created by firing to different temperatures. .
Heating and cooling the glass too fast will cause it to crack immediately or create stress in the glass that may crack many years after firing. Each construction will have different firing requirements depending on the number of layers and the complexity of the design.
Shaped pieces are returned to the kiln at least once more for a second firing. Some of the pieces I make go into the kiln 3 or 4 times for about 24 hours each time
A piece has to have aesthetic appeal but is individually fired to take account of variations that require a high level of technical expertise to accommodate.
There are an infinite number of design possibilities. Everything from the quirky novelty item through to the highly designed and beautifully finished art installation can be made from a material that starts life as sand.
Example of Wafer bowls (7 cm)
These small dishes are made by sifting fine powder on a bisque tile and then fusing the powder at a high enough temperature so that the powder fuses into a single piece but not so high that it starts to full fuse and ‘shrink’.
The resulting delicate wafers are then placed on sheet glass and combined with other glass products and then fused at 804 degrees.
The subsequent glossy flat circle of glass is slumped twice to create the bowl shape. Finally the dish is then finished off by grinding and polishing the edges to achieve a high-quality look and finish.
