Fused Glass!Art 3/D Comprehensive II & III

Ms. Colby

•Fusing glass in a kiln

• This is a fascinating technique that enables artists to create unique and gorgeous projects. The following fusing rules and firing instructions should provide you with enough information to produce your own glass project.

• It will create an appreciation for the complexities and potential of fused glass, and will pave the way for more intricate designs and ideas.

•Contemporary glass art is reviving an ancient glass medium.

• Warm glass, which is commonly known as glass fusing or slumping, is an ancient artistic technique. Historians have found traces of both methods dating back to the second millennium BC in Mesopotamia. Glass mosaics, valued in Greek and Romans civilizations, were considered equal to silver and gold as precious materials. By the third century AD warm glass fell out of favor, eclipsed by a new blown glass technique.

•It was not until the emergence of the European Arts and Crafts movement, in the late nineteenth century, that warm glass was revalued as a decorative art form. Today, contemporary artisans have rediscovered these ancient techniques.

Tested Compatible

•All glass has a coefficient of expansion, or COE.

•Glass manufactured specifically for fusing is often "tested compatible," or guaranteed to be a certain COE.

•The most popular fusing glasses are either 90 COE (Bullseye, Uroboros) or 96 COE (Spectrum and Uroboros).

•Always use compatible glass, which is known to have the same COE.

Heating and Cooling

•When glass is heated it expands, when it cools it contracts. If fusing two or more pieces of glass together, they need to expand and contract at the same rate. Otherwise, when the glass cools, one glass will pull on the other and cause the piece to crack along the seam.

•If the glass survives the cooling process, there is still a risk that reheating to bend it, or placing it in a sunny window will cause cracking. Stress from incompatible glass is always in the piece. Do not try to refire broken incompatible glass.

Slower is Better

• You can't heat or cool glass too slowly. Going too fast can result in cracked glass or Thermal Shock.

• A safe rate to heat is 15° per minute (900° per hour), although stacked glass 2" in diameter and smaller can be heated at a faster rate.

•Slow-cooling of glass or "annealing" depends on the thickness of the glass. If the glass breaks because it was heated too fast; turn off the kiln, allow the glass to cool, push it back together, and try again - at a slower rate. Breaks from thermal shock usually go straight across the piece and have a little hook near the edge. They can usually be repaired by refiring.

Glass Likes To Be ¼" Thick

•When heating glass to full fuse, anything with less mass will shrink up, anything with more will spread out. This movement can be controlled somewhat by fusing slower, and not going to full fuse.

All Kilns Are Not Alike

•There are some variances between kilns, especially mini kilns. Sometimes pyrometers are slightly off, and sometimes current loads vary.

•Use firing schedules as a guide, but remember to check your piece frequently during fusing, and record changes in schedules as needed.

•Prepare your kiln by applying kiln wash with a kiln brush. Apply one thin coat in each direction. Don't forget to apply kiln wash to molds, too.

•Kiln wash prevents the glass from sticking to the kiln during firing.

Common Temperatures

•Fusing Stage

•800F - 1100F

•Brittle Zone

•Do not open the kiln in this range

•1325F - 1425F

•Tack Fuse

•Edges are soft, glass is stuck together

•1425F - 1600F

•Full Fuse

•Glasses combine, uniform thickness throughout

• Upon completion of this lesson, students are ready to begin a fused glass project

Basic Supplies

•a)Glass Cutters

•Pistol Grip, Pencil Grip

•B)Running Pliers

•c)Breaker/Grozer Pliers

Molds: square plate mold

MoldsDrop metal mold

You will be graded onCreating a fired square glass tray:

Elements of design:1. Color2. Shape3. Line

Principles of Design:

1. Variety2. Pattern

3. Movement

Fused Glass Self Critique

In your sketchbook, answer the following questions:

1. What is the overall concept or

theme of your glass tray?

2. Explain how your glass tray demonstrates these three elements of design:

1. Color2. Shape3. Line

3. Explain how your glass tray demonstrates each of these principles of design:

1. Pattern2. Movement

3. Variety

4. What was the most difficult part of your

glass project?

5. Does your finished glass piece look like

you expected?

6. Explain what is the most successful part of

your glass project.

7. What advice would you give

students who are going to make this

project in the future?

8. What grade do you think you

deserve for your tray? Why?