Fusing glass bottle pieces to make glass art

Many glass artists have gotten into creating recycled glass art in a big way lately by using glass bottles.  One fun project is melting and fusing together pieces of bottles.  Below we have pictures of a project we are in the process of working on.  As we complete the piece we'll add more pictures as well.

For our newest project we used two recycled brown glass bottles.  We placed them in a couple of plastic grocery bags and crushed them with a hammer.  Once crushed we removed some of the larger pieces like the bottle bottoms and necks and then placed the remaining glass onto our kiln shelf.  Our shelf has primer on it as well as a piece of shelf paper.  We always have primer on our shelves even when we use shelf paper.  

We actually haven't decided what to make with our new "sheet" of glass.  The possibilities are endless!  As soon as we do decide what to do with this, we'll post more pictures and update this page.  Any ideas or suggestions are welcome!  We were thinking about slumping the sheet over a floral former to make a candle holder or lamp shade, OR slump it into a mold to make a decorative bowl.  

 Glass bottle pieces arranged on kiln shelf and shelf paper before firing.

Closer view of unfired glass pieces in kiln.

Glass bottle pieces after fusing process.

Closer view of fused bottle pieces in kiln.

Once fused together, we were able pick up the entire piece and it held together!

How to Use Stencils in Fused Glass Art Work

This great tutorial was made by GeltDesigns, visit their webpage HERE to view all of their wonderful art work and excellent tutorials! 

Using stencils can add interesting dimensions to your fused glass art. This tutorial will explain how to use stencils with glass frits and glass powders when creating fused glass art work.

Instructions

1

Gather your tools, materials and glass fusing supplies. Prepare your glass fusing kiln, kiln shelf and work space.

2

Begin the project by cutting your glass. In our example we used one 6x6 inch square piece of clear bullseye glass, but you can chose any color fusible glass in any size that suits your project.

3

Stencil.

Cut a stencil (or series of stencils) out of a file folder or 25 lb. piece of paper with a craft knife or identify commercial stencil(s) to use for your design.

Stencils can be used to create shapes as well as lines. In our example we used one stencil to make the sailboats and another stencil to sift the curved lines of blue.

4

Determine the color pallet of powder and frit to use for your design.

5

Scoop out the powder with sifter and sift powder over stencil.

Place your glass on a piece of paper and then lay the stencil over the glass and evenly sprinkle a liberal amount of powder through a sifter over the stencil.

6

Lift the stencil carefully once you have applied a thick powder layer. The image from your stencil should be left on the glass.

7

Repeat using the next stencil until your design is complete.

8

Set the stencils aside and sprinkle the powder through sifter to even out your design on the entire glass sheet.

9

Place in your prepared glass kiln. Fire using the following schedule as a guide:

Ramp ºF/Hr Target temperature Hold for
1 500 1440 10
2 Full 950 10
3 150 750 0

Pate de verre

Pate de verre involves making a paste of glass that is applied to the surface of the mold, then fired. The big advantage to pate de verre is that it allows for precise placement of particular glass colors in the mold. Other ways of filling the mold often result in some shifting of glass from where it has been placed prior to firing, but the pate de verre process helps to control this shifting.

Pate de verre dates back to the ancient Egyptians, but it really came into its own about a century ago when it was revived by a group of French artists who gave this warm glass technique its current name.  

In traditional French pate de verre, the artist mixed crushed glass with enamels or paint to form a paste that was carefully placed in a mold and then fired. Many of the pieces that were made using this technique were relatively small, elaborately decorated, and required more than one firing before they were complete.  

The modern equivalent builds on this traditional foundation. Generally the pate de verre process involves creating a paste from frit (small particles of glass). Frit of any size may be used, but most good glass pastes require smaller sizes (even powders) to be used. For this reason (and because the smaller the pieces of frit the more opaque the casting), pate de verre castings tend to be translucent (or even opaque).

Once the mold is thoroughly dry and the frit has been secured, the next step is to make the glass paste. In some cases, where the mold has gently sloping sides, the glass can simply be mixed with distilled water to form the paste. Most molds, however, will require that glue be mixed with the glass to form the paste. Special glues can be purchased, but white glue or gelatin diluted with distilled water will generally work well. It’s a good idea to wear a mask or respirator while mixing the paste to prevent inhaling small glass particles.

Use a brush or thin palette knife to apply the glass paste to the sides of the mold. Start with a relatively thin coating (about 1/16"). Some artists fire this initial coating to tack fuse (about 1400 F), others let it air dry or use a hair dryer to speed up the process. After the first layer dries, a second layer of paste should be added to bring the total thickness to around 1/8" (3 mm). Gently pack the layer down as much as possible.

If your mold is hollow or slopes significantly, you will need to pack the inner surface of the mold to prevent glass movement during firing. Sometimes a second mold is created to fit inside the first mold. Alternatively, you may pack the mold with fiber paper to prevent the glass from slipping out of place.