How-To

Part 1 of a 2 part blog on the basics of glass fusing. In this week's article Donna will tell us how to set up your work area and gives suggestions on finding the perfect kiln.

Often potential fusers ask about the cost of getting started in glass. I found that it isn't as expensive as one might think because the list of necessities for the beginner is not too long. So what would the list look like for someone who had NO experience at all? Well, this is what I began with, and I think you might find these ideas helpful.

Space to Work- A place to cut glass can be fairly small. The most important detail is a floor surface such as concrete that will be easy to clean. I tried commercial tile in my first studio, and the shards were soon embedded under the work area. Obviously, you want to keep the surface as clean as possible so that small glass shards are not tracked into other areas. I've found that ...

My husband and I recently met a spectacular couple, a genuine cowgirl and cowboy. Besides being fortunate enough to purchase a very sweet horse from them, we are proud to be able to call them our friends. While at their home I learned that her one of her best friends, her horse, had passed away the previous year. "Yoda" had carried her though years on the Rainbow Riders drill flag team, taken her to reigning championships, and safety along countless miles of trails.

     I wanted to do something special for her, and also try something new for me. I remembered seeing an article in the Delphi newsletter about making fused glass silhouettes from a photograph.

    While at her home I snuck a picture of her and Yoda sliding to victory, on my cell phone. I downloaded the picture and adjusted it to an appropriate size for a 10" by 10" ...

I know I'll never get up the nerve to open my kiln to rake. Instead, I was wondering, can I fake...I mean, rake it? 

I was recently in Monterey, CA visiting a shop on Cannery Row, where glass artist David Alcala is usually busy at work.

The day I visited, he was out (at the Glass Art & Bead Expo) promoting his new book and Flexi-Glass.

His lovely wife was holding down the fort and I marveled at his landscapes made with fine glass frit. I knew I had a lot of Uroboros frit and powder at home, and it inspired me to try and fake a kiln rake with frit.

I laid out a sheet of newspaper, and donned my goggles and ...

Before I was fortunate enough to own a kiln, I used to experiment with all kinds of polymer clay using recipes for faux gemstones. It was fun and inexpensive.

While giving a fused glass lesson the other day, I said, "Hey, lets try to make some faux opals." So, we crushed up some green and orange, clear backed dichroic glass (from the Uroboros Magic Box), and mixed in a tiny bit of crushed opaque white glass.

We cut two transparent ovals, covered them with Bullseye Glastac Firing Glue, and sprinkled on the frit. We added another layer of glue and piled up some more frit. The beauty of this glue is that you can use as much as you want. I love it for holding the frit on the edges of bowls and glass.

The fired pieces ...