Welcome to a New Healthy Addiction!
Shimmering colors, fiery heat, creative stimulation, beautiful results all await you in the fun and fabulous world of glass fusing. You would be surprised how easy it is to create stunningly beautiful designs which can be made into jewelry, tiles, drawer pulls, magnets, mosaics, and whatever else you can think of.
As an artisan, I have worked in many media and have been teaching classes and workshops for many years. Fused glass is one of those techniques that can be extremely gratifying from the very beginning. People who have felt creatively challenged for years, and are total beginners, can make pieces that take your breath away. What an empowering experience it is for them. Artists and artisans find a new means of expression that is exciting and stimulating. My website is artandsoulct.com
I have lots of items for sale for both fusing glass and working with metal clay. Check my shop out at heartofthefire.etsy.com
So, if you are an artisan wanting to try this art form, or someone who has never felt creative at all, glass fusing can be an extremely rewarding means of personal creative expression.
Equipment
A Kiln is Essential
I have two kilns that I highly recommend. The Caldera and the Firefly. Both are available at my Etsy shop. heartofthefire.etsy.com
Tools & Supplies
A short list of the esssentials
Lets talk glass first. There are lots of different types of glass that you can fuse with. The thing you need to watch out for is compatability. Different types of glass expand and contract at different rates. This is called the Coefficient of Expansion, or COE. It is really important that all the glass you fuse together is of the same COE. I understand there are other compatability issues with glass, but I have only found COE to be an issue in my work. Most people who sell glass for fusing will list the COE of the glass. I personally use COE 90 glass.Glass comes Clear, Transparent, Opaque, Iridized, and Dichroic. There are different thicknesses of glass as well. Here are some things to think about.
1. The thicker the glass, the more rounded your finished pieces will be. Thin glass will tend to contract as it fuses as glass wants to be 1/4 inch thick. If you use thick glass, the cab will expand a little.
2. For round cabs, start with square shaped pieces of glass, for ovals, start with rectangles,
for tear drops start with triangles.
3. If you use transparent glass, it is like blending colors. If you are using opaque glass, you will get graphic results with each piece of glass retaining the full vibrancy of its original color.
4. Dichroic glass is a special coating on black or clear glass. It can be textured or smooth. It is more expensive than regular glass and really adds sparkle and shimmer to fused glass pieces.
I recommend picking one type of COE and sticking with it. I sell a beginning fused glass kit which is all COE 90. It is precut clear, black, transparent & opaque colored glass with a great selection of dichroic. The beauty of the kit is that you don't need to do any glass cutting. You get a whole rainbow of colors and can make dozens of cabs with it. It's all COE 90 and has been tested for compatibility. It's a full 1/2 pound of glass and is only $25 plus shipping. Here is a link to my etsy listing for this kit. heartofthefire.etsy.com
In addition to glass, you need regular rubbing alcohol to clean the glass and a simple glue
to adhere your glass pieces for loading into the kiln. I use a clear gel tacky glue, but other types of glue work well. Some people also use cheap hair spray, but I have found the glue to be fine.
If you are not using precut glass, you will also need a glass cutter and breaking pliers. You can get glass supplies easily online. I sell some great dichroic and colored glass scrap as well as smaller sheets of glass. I don't deal in large sheets of glass as they are expensive to ship, but for jewelry size pieces you don't need large sheets of glass. You can see my glass scrap at heartofthefire.etsy.com. If you want specific colors of glass, contact me at lisel33@sbcglobal.net and I can tell you what I have in stock with the prices.
It is also important to have either kiln wash or thin fibre paper for lining your kiln shelf.
Get Ready to Get Addicted!
Let's Make a Sandwich
This piece is a layer of colored transparent glass with a layer of dichroic on black and then a jump ring and ball of fine silver on top. This is how it looks prior to fusing.
Experiment with different colors and textures
The last, optional layer is clear glass. If you top the piece with clear, your finished cabochon will have depth and the dichroic sparkle will look like it's underwater. When putting a top layer of clear, you can select a piece that completely covers the other glass, or only partially covers it. Each way gives different effects.
Both effects are quite nice. I do 45% of my glass with clear on top and the rest without. I do not recommend using colored glass on top as it dulls the dichroic. I do recommend experimenting to discover what you like best.
You can also layer colored glass without dichroic for interesting effects. Just remember if you are using transparent glass, it is like blending colors. If you are using opaque glass, you will get graphic results with each piece of glass retaining the full vibrancy of its original color.
Clean with alcohol and glue
Here is an image of my kiln, with several pieces in it ready to fire.
Load Kiln, Fire, and Enjoy
Before you load your kiln, make sure you have either kiln washed the shelf or put down fiber paper. Fiber paper is a wonderful product and is so easy to use. You just cut it to fit your shelf, and lay your glass pieces on top. It keeps the glass from sticking to the shelf.
When you load the kiln, make sure there is about 1/8 inch between all pieces. When glass is fusing, it melts and flows, and if the pieces are too close, they can flow together. This can make some interesting and weird shapes, but isn't desireable when you are trying to make cabochons.
I like to full fuse to about 1525 degrees farenheit and hold for 10 minutes. Because the cabs are small, I ramp at full speed. Every kiln is different, so you can follow the directions for your kiln for firing schedules.
Glass needs to cool slowly to avoid thermal shock. I like to flash cool to 1,000 degrees by opening the lid, and then I close the lid and let it cool slowly. I open the kiln completely once it's below 200 degrees.
Books to Help you Go Further
These books are excellent references and give lots more detailed information on Fusing Glass.
A Beginner's Guide to Kiln-Formed Glass: * Fused * Slumped * Cast
Amazon Price: $16.47 (as of 08/21/2008)
List Price: $24.95
Usually ships in 24 hours
Warm Glass: A Complete Guide to Kiln-Forming Techniques: Fusing, Slumping, Casting
Amazon Price: $19.77 (as of 08/21/2008)
List Price: $29.95
Usually ships in 24 hours
Introduction to Glass Fusing
Amazon Price: $21.55 (as of 08/21/2008)
List Price: $23.95
Usually ships in 24 hours
Fused Glass Handbook
Amazon Price: $29.95 (as of 08/21/2008)
List Price: $24.95
Usually ships in 24 hours
Reader Feedback
If there is anything you think would make this lens more valuable, a topic you would like to see added, or any feedback of any kind (what you like, what you don't, what you'd like to see more of), please let me know! You can contact me at lisel33@sbcglobal.net.
My website is artandsoulct.com
You can see some of my work at heartofthefire.etsy.com
You have a very helpful site! I have the Paragon Fusion7. I've only used it once... to do a practice program for slumping. This was a lesson provided in the instruction manual. I have got all of my glass cut to make fused pendants. I want to do a full fuse firing. I have found various firing programs. However, I have read that no two kilns fire the same. ? Since you use a Paragon I wondered if you could give me firing directions for a full fusing. I am anxious to get started, but I want to make sure I know what I'm doing. A friend of mine helped me with my slumping project. She didn't turn the heat up to the recommended degree. Needless to say, it didn't slump. I appreciate any advice! Cindy
Posted August 19, 2008
I just ordered your dichroic cab mixture and am really excited to try dichroics. My order may seem a little confused, my shipping address is in Port Huron MI USA, and I live just across the river in Canada so I usually order for shipment to the Port Huron address, hope that doesn't raise too may complications. Love your tutorial and look forward to a lot a glass fusing with my metal clay. Thanks Kathy
Posted April 13, 2008
| GulinoArtware
This is great, thanks for sharing. Posted March 25, 2008 |
Great Tutorial. Thanks for sharing this knowledge!
Posted March 25, 2008
Hi
I took a fused glass class at Art and Soul with Lisel and I really enjoyed it! I recommend it to anyone. I will definitely take another class there - she is a great teacher and a creative inspiration!
Posted March 25, 2008
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