Romey-Lisa

This piece is approx. 4 layers of fused glass, 12mm thick, 500mm across, and weighing about 5 kilos. I started fusing about 6 months ago. Read alot of books first, and started with some easy 2-layer projects. I wanted to make something special for my girlfriend for Christmas, and decided to make a fused glass "picture" of our dog, Romeo. The base was 2 layers of clear, with hanging inclusions. Then I hand cut hundreds of glass rods with nippers. I wanted a mosaic-effect at first. The rods were 3-5mm diameter and 4-6mm length. I spent most of two months, working evenings, to do this. Then I put together the "puzzle" of the dog's face. The eyes and nose were made of opalescent black frit mixed with copper powder filings. The first attempt at fusing was aborted at around 600-700F. I had used an organic tape to wrap all the pieces and hold them in place. Once that melted, the loose pieces started falling off the kiln shelf! Then I had to make a home-made steel ring to hold the pieces in place, using a long hose-clamp device, wrapped with fiber paper. The fuse was long and slow, and I ended up with a full-fuse (rather than a tack), but I think it turned out pretty well for a first try! My girlfriend couldn't stop crying when she unwrapped it! Thanks, adam-