How to make your own glass frit (and frit combinations) using any COE glass.

1.  To make sure your glass is all the same COE, use a Fuse It Test Card. 

A convenient and money-saving device that tests the compatibility of glass. Cut a 1 1/2" section of clear glass (of a known COE) and a 3/4" square of the glass you wish to test and fuse together. Sandwich the fused glass piece between the two layers of film above a bright light. If there is no halo around the glass, the two glasses are compatible. If a light halo is seen around the glass, this signals stress within the glass and incompatibility.

Use this test card when you are not sure of your glass compatibility. Now you can fuse bottle glass, including wine bottle glass and recycled glass easily with this card! Create imaginative recycled glass art by using this test card. An excellent tool for multiple melted bottles to shape and use in glass molds. If you have fusible glass laying around (or you were given fusible glass), but forgot which COE it is, you can easily test it's compatibility with this cost efficient tool.

Watch the video to see how it is used: Fuse It Test Card How-To Video.

2.  use an Aanraku Frit Maker

All steel glass crushing frit maker.
Includes instructions and rare earth magnet.
Overall height: 11-inches.
Piston diameter: 3-inches.
Chamber depth: approx 5-inches.
Weight: 7.2 lbs
Welded steel
Use for making your own lampworking glass frit and also fusing frit. Create your own color combinations and sizes.


We know that this is not a new tool, but it is a must have for lampworkers and fusers!  Use your lampwork rod pieces and shorts and other rods (maybe ones that are shocky or too thick to use easily), to create your own glass frit and glass frit combinations.   It's just another great way to use up those rods that are just too short to hold anymore.  You can do the same thing with glass fusing.  Take those smaller pieces of fusible glass and make some of your own frit.  Be sure to always use the same COE glass when creating frit and using it.

3.  Finally, use a set of Frit Sorters to sort your hand-made frit.
Includes 4 galvanized nesting steel cups with stainless steel sorting screens.

Bottom cup 0.20mm, fine mesh Stainless steel
2nd cup + 0.20mm 1.20mm, mesh Stainless steel
3rd cup + 1.20mm 2.70mm, mesh Stainless steel
Upper cup + 2.70mm 5.20mm, mesh Stainless steel

Cups size: 6" diameter, 4" deep. 

Use these different sized sorters to allow for you to use powdered frit for delicate fusing and lampworking to large chunky frit for a different effect.

Vitrigel Glass Medium

I just found this new product being offered for sale by my glass distributor.  You mix Vitrigel with powdered glass frit and fire it to get three dimensional glass pieces and more! 

 

 

Create lines, texture and 3-D elements with glass... It's quick and easy! Mix Vitrigel with powdered glass frit: use in squeeze bottles or pastry applicators to create lines, or tool it to do custom textures, unusual shapes and sculptural elements to fire on their own or add them to other kiln formed work.

Cost effective-1 lb makes 20 or more Quarts! Comes in reusable jar with mixing instructions and suggested creative uses.

 

And now you can click here to purchase: Harrach Glass on Etsy

 

 

Working with Powders on Sheet Glass Video

This video made by Bullseye Glass Co. has a lot of information and is excellent!   They have a lot of  great ideas, too.

Click here to watch the video.

Day of the Dead Sugar Skulls in Pâte de Verre VIDEO

 Day of the Dead Sugar Skulls in Pâte de Verre 

This is an excellent video to watch (and take notes on) for anyone who wants to make kiln glass frit casts with molds.  It lists all of the necessary materials needed to use and shows how to, in detail!   Made by Bullseye Glass Company.

Watch the video here!

Pot melt project with flower pots

This is a FUN scrap glass pot melt idea that I saw posted on Lampworketc.com by 28676bhe.  

Go to Michael's and buy two of the small clay flowerpots - maybe 1 1/4 inches at the top. Ream out the hole in the bottom to make it a bit larger. Then stack them with the holes touching - one pot upside down on the kiln washed shelf, one pot upright.

Put some Bullseye glass in little pieces in the top pot - maybe just 2 colors and then one color of frit. Don't fill it up! A bit over half full is fine.

Take this up to 1600 DF and hold for 25 minutes, anneal @ 900 for 35 minutes.

You will have one fabulous circle pendant that is a swirl of the colors you chose!

Using brass frit when making lampwork beads, tutorial

We found this tutorial for using brass frit when making lampwork beads on the Lampworketc web page, written by Mustang Dawn. 

Brass Frit Tutorial

Supplies needed

• Brass Frit
• Marver with brass spread out on it. I use my razor tool to move the brass around.
• Opaque glass.
• Clear glass.
• Razor tool.

Caution: Be careful when using brass frit. It is sharp and can cause injury.
Use Brass Frit only under a ventilation system.

Note: I used very little brass frit in these beads. Place the brass frit on your marver before starting your bead. Spread it very thin on the marver with your razor tool.

1. Make a tube bead of opaque glass and marver it into the length you want to your final bead to be.

2. Heat the surface of the glass until glowing and roll it in the brass frit. Then, marver the frit into the base glass.

3. Next, keep the bead below the flame and encase it in clear covering all the brass frit. I like a heavy encasement of clear because it adds a lot of depth to the bead.Do not place frit directly into the flame. It will spark and burn off the bead. 

4. Heat the encased bead until glowing. You will see the gold bubbles form. Don’t heat your bead too long because it will bring bubbles to the surface of your bead. Once you start to see the bubbles form, pull the bead out of the flame. If you need more bubbles, reheat.

5. Finish decorating your bead and place it into the kiln.

Have fun and I would love to see what you create!

Kiln fired frit painting, tutorial

We actually found this tutorial on the HGTV web page.  It just shows how popular glass fusing really is!  The completed piece is really pretty and looks fairly detailed.  They didn't give much of a fusing schedule but use a slumping schedule for the type of glass that you are using and it should work!  This also goes for window and bottle glass.  Remember that if you want to form a piece like this into something like a bowl or plate, do the frit fusing work first, then shape the glass.  It is easier to fuse frit when it is laying flat in a kiln.

Materials:

large sheets of glass
Magic Marker
powdered glass (frit)
sifter
gold leafing
glue
wooden backing
hooks for hanging

Steps:

1. Cut glass from larger piece to desired size.

2. Draw design on with marker. Reverse glass and trace over design. Turn glass over and wipe off first design.

3. With a tiny sifter and other tools, sprinkle the powdered glass (frit) into design areas like doing a paint-by-numbers painting.

4. Make a frame by cutting out red strips of glass from large sheet. Frame the edges of the large piece with the red strips.

5. Fuse in kiln at 1500 F degrees. This larger piece requires 24 hours for firing and cooling.

6. Glue gold leafing to back of glass and glue wooden backing. Place hooks on for hanging.

How to make a fused glass wine bottle house sign, tutorial

This excellent tutorial came from the Glass with a Past web page, by Jodi McRaney Rusho.  She has such a wonderful web page full of great fused glass tutorials and information plus she has an online store.  

Here’s a fused bottle glass project that you may not have considered.  These house numbers are made with fused recycled bottles and Armstrong’s Float Fire frit.  This is a relatively easy project, grab a cup of coffee and follow along.

My friend Mary Young and her husband Todd belong to a wine club and asked me it I could make some very visible house numbers for them out of recycled wine bottles.  The final project turned out so well, I thought I’d share.

Step 1 – Select the bottles

I only need 4 flat bottles for the final project, but I chose a varied selection of sizes and colors so I would have lots to choose from.

Step 2 – Fuse the bottles flat

Using my standard recycled glass fusing schedule, I flattened six different bottles.

Step 3 – Choose the best bottles

After the bottles are fused, I selected my favorite 4, making sure I varied the color, as well as the neck and shoulder shape.

Step 4 – Make your number stencils

Since it seemed unlikely that I would be able to find stencils in the exact size I needed I decided to make my own.  This was a one of a kind project, so I’m not really concerned with the durability of the stencils.  I found a nice rounded font and enlarged it until each number was about 6″ tall, one number per page.

Cut the number out carefully with a razor knife.

Step 5 – Applying the embossing ink

This step is done using a scrapbook product called embossing ink.  It’s a sticky pink goo that is designed to grab embossing powder until you can heat set it.  I’m using it to adhere frit, it works great and it an excellent trick to keep on hand.  Since I’m covering a large area, I load up the stamp pad with ink and use the pad itself as the stamp.

For numbers with floating centers (6 and 0 for example), use a tiny piece of rolled painters tape to hold the center in place while you apply the ink.

Step 6 – Add the Float Fire

Float Fire is a variable COE product that can be used with window glass and bottle glass.  It is a little expensive, but it goes a long way, and if you are using it on glass that you’ve collected for free, it can be a great investment.

Step 7 – Repeat for all the other numbers.

After all of your numbers are finished, re-fire the bottles using a slumping schedule.  Using a lower temperature will help keep the surface of the bottles glossy and the numbers slightly raised for great visibility.

Step 8 – Mount the bottles on the backing

For this project I used a piece of 1″ x 4″ pine painted black.  I used outdoor clear silicone to glue the bottles to the board.  The owner lives in a very windy area, so we made sure that enough of the board showed between the bottles that it could be securely anchored to the wall (visible in the first picture).  For less windy areas, I would attach two D ring hangers at the top of the board behind the first and last bottle.

Step 9 – Stick it on a house – preferably one that has the same house number

Pretty groovy!  This project could also be done with beer bottles for a smaller finished sign.

How to use glass casting molds, tutorial

This tutorial came from GlassCampus.com and is full of excellent information.   Check out their website for many more informative tutorials!


Using Casting Molds

PREPARING THE MOLD
Carefully clean the mold to remove any dust and
scrub out any remaining kiln wash from previous
firings.  Single-use kilnwash like “Hotline” is
preferable to multiple-use kilnwash like “Bullseye”
because it’s easier to scrub out.  An old used
toothbrush is an effective tool for removing kilnwash
or a bristle brush on a Dremel will speed up the job.
Prepare the mold with 3 or more coats of thin kiln
wash.  More thin applications are better then few
thick coatings.  Be careful to not apply so much kiln
wash that you fill in all the detail in the mold.  Don’t
just coat the inside part of the mold that will be filled
with glass, but also coat the top upper surface.  Any
small pieces of glass that are left on that surface
will become permanently embedded into the mold if
you don’t.

FILLING THE MOLD
The glass level will drop as it melts into the mold.
Take care to be sure you  have enough to fully fill
the mold.  The smaller the pieces of glass you use,
the less it will sink.  On average, the finished
casting will be about half the depth of the loose
filled mold.  Because the glass level drops, you may
prefer to fill part of the mold with a pieces of glass
stood vertically to provide the extra glass needed to
fully fill your mold.

FRIT & POWDER
Glass powder and very fine frit doesn’t stay
transparent but will turn slightly opaque making the
finished casting looking more like alabaster then
glass.  Some attractive special effects can be
achieved by putting small amount of glass powder
in the details of the casting and filling with larger
pieces of a different colour.

FIRING SCHEDULE FOR CASTING (COE 96)
1. 800 dph to 1475°F hold 20 min
2. FAP to 960°F hold 30 min
3. 600 dph to 300°F OFF

FINISHING THE CASTING
Your casting will have some spikes along the
edges.  You can cold finish to remove them – either
by hand or with a grinder or wet belt sander.  The
casting will also have some texture from the mold.
You can remove the texture and smooth off the
scratches from cold finishing by turning the casting
over and returning it to the kiln to fire polish.

FIRING SCHEDULE for FIRE POLISH
      1    500 dph to 1000°F hold 20 min
     2  1500 dph to 1300°F hold 5 min
     3    FAP to 960°F hold 60 min
     4    500 dph to 200°F OFF min

The above firing schedules are for COE 96 glass.
For COE 90 add 20°F to all top temperatures.
For float glass add 50°F.

Powdered glass color chart tutorial

We found an excellent tutorial on the Steider Studios Blog the other day and thought we'd pass this information on to our readers.  It shows how to make a color chart for kiln fired powdered glass.  We thought this could also work for glass paints and stains.

Click here to view the tutorial.

Detailed glass casting information

We found this detailed information on creating molds for glass casting on http://www.digitry.com/glasskitchen/5castcorn.html by Susan J. Longini and Mary Bayard White.  It has a lot of great information for any glass artist interested in learning glass casting!  

Finished corn, billet and frit

CAST CORN à la Cire Perdue

The Bay Area natural foods tradition prompted us to prepare corn on the cob glass multiples by casting rather than genetic modification. The cire perdue (lost wax) process involves making a negative mold of the corn, pouring a wax positive into it, investing the wax, melting the wax out and melting glass into the investment. The molds that offer the best detail for pouring over 4 waxes are often rubber molds with a plaster backing. They are time consuming and expensive to make, but worth it if one wants to make many multiple waxes. Silicon and dental alginate molds hold up for about four pours and provide a less costly and faster alternative, as in this situation. Two recipes for making the wax corn, and two mold recipes for casting the glass corn follow. Special thanks to Mitchell Gaudet for his casting/cooking wisdom.


Cire Perdue Corn Positive à la Silicon Mold

This recipe is inexpensive, durable, quick, and can produce approximately four decent waxes. The mold is temporary.

Ingredients and Equipment
One cob of corn with a hole drilled through stem and threaded with string
Razor blade and 20 hat pins
5 cups bees wax or Brown Victory wax, enough for four corns
Pot to melt wax in: double boiler, crock pot, preferably with temperature controller
pouring cup for wax
2 tubes GE Silicon Rubber I (not II) and tube dispenser
2 tablespoons Dawn liquid soap
4 cups water

 

Steps
1. Attach cob of corn so it can hang securely from hook or beam. Hang mold without touching anything.
2. Dissolve 2 TB Dawn liquid soap into bowl of water and squirt out entire tube of Silicon Rubber into bowl of water.
3. Thoroughly mix with hands, immediately pat onto the corn until evenly covered to 1/2" in depth. Mix up a second tube of silicon immediately and apply if silicon layer is not at least 1/2" thick. Use second tube of silicon if necessary to cover the corn to the right thickness.
4. Cure 24 hours. Some silicons need longer.
5. Use razor blade to cut down the side of the wax corn through silicon about 4" so the corn cob can be carefully pulled out of the mold.
6. Pin up sides of mold with hat pins placed in opposite directions.
7. Heat up wax in double boiler or crock pot. Do not allow it to boil. Make sure no water is in the wax.
8. Pour wax, (melted at 212°F or below) into corn mold. Pour out excess wax when wall is 3/4" thick.
9. When wax has cooled, remove from mold Wax Corn on the cob. Wait till wax is very firm on inside, at least four hours unless quite cool environment.
10. Remove from mold and pour another corn. Repeat until four corns are cast.

OR

Cire Perdue Corn Positive à la Alginate Mold

Wax Corn a la Alginate mold: very immediate, can cast organic material, will not irritate skin, more detail, very tear able mold, harder to handle, will shrink and distort in several days, needs refrigeration. Several types of alginate are easily available, but none are inexpensive materials: Dental Alginate, Dermagel, Hydrogel N.

Ingredients and Equipment
One cob of corn with a hole drilled through stem and threaded with string
Razor blade and 20 hat pins
5 cups bees wax or Brown Victory wax, enough for four corns
Pot to melt wax in: double boiler, crock pot, preferably with temperature controller
Pouring cup for wax
About 4 cups Dermagel or other preferred brand
Bowl to mix alginate
Water and measuring cup
Plexi tube hinged on side or mold made from plastic containers and duct tape

Steps
1. Attach cob of corn so it can hang securely from hook inside the plexi cylinder or plastic mold. Allow about 1 1/2" clearance on all sides.
2. Start wax heating.
3. Check volume, measure enough Dermagel in bowl to fill the volume and add water to creamy consistency. One part to 1-1/2 part water or the proportion listed in the alginate you are using. Alginate will stay lumpy.
4. Mix fast with hands and pour into mold. Let set about ten minutes.
5. Open mold and cut down the side of alginate just enough to pull out corn cob.
6. Pin up the side with hat pins and pour wax into corn mold. Pour excess wax out when wax wall is at least 3/4" thick.
7. Remove wax corn from alginate mold and pour as many as possible until mold breaks down.
8. Store Alginate mold in refrigerator, good way to cool wax.

Sources
-Hydrogel N Polytek, 610 559-8620
- Dermagel: Douglas and Sturgess, Inc. 1888-ART-STUF www.artstuf.com
-Victory Brown Wax www.Fremansupply.com

Measuring amount of glass needed for glass casting mold
Once the wax positive is made, and before putting any mold material on the wax corn, calculate the volume of the positive by submerging the wax in water jar, and calculating the volume of glass needed by water displacement. Record that volume for use in calculating the amount of glass needed to fill mold. If using frit, specific gravity of the displaced water can be used to calculate weight of glass to be used. Add 1/3 more glass if using flower pot drip method.

Glass types
Either solid glass or frits may be used. The tinted Bullseye transparent yellow is perfect for corn. A mixture of clear opaque and transparent frits will give a more mottled corn effect, and have less transparency.




Wax positive and starting to apply Mold Mix 6

CAST GLASS CORN MOLD RECIPES
Two glass casting molds: Mold Mix 6 and Plaster/silica/refractory mold

Mold Mix 6 glass corn mold with flower pot drip fill
using glass billets

Mold Mix 6 is a high alumina shell material used primarily for casting metal. It can be applied with little mess, is excellent for small solid shapes like corn, and gives the glass a shiny surface.

Ingredients and Equipment
Wax positive
Latex or vinyl gloves
OSHA approved mask
Hair spray
Food coloring
Wood board 4"x4"
Metal grid
Pan of water to catch wax:
Mold Mix 6 (Luminar) 2 cups in sealed airtight container
Second airtight container to put half of the MM6
Open mouth glass jar with 1cup water, for washing brush
Stiff brush 1/2 ", not nylon.
6 cups beach sand
Braun hand blender
Propane and blow torch
Kiln furniture
4" flower pot
6-7" flower pot
High temperature gloves
Bullseye Glass tinted billets: yellow, a little less than one half billet per corn

Steps
1. Touch up the wax corn positive so surface is exactly as desired and construct a 2" x 1" reservoir out of wax and attach to the stem. Calculate the amount of glass needed to fill the corn mold. If using Bullseye tinted billets, do this by replacing same volume of wax corn with volume of glass. Then add 1/3 more glass by volume to account for glass left in flower pot.
2. Attach the wax positive reservoir to a wooden board so it stands up and can be moved around easily. Very important to attach it securely so it will not break off in the mold making process, which takes 3-5 days. Spray with light mist of hair spray.
3. Whip up about 1 cup of the MM6 in a separate seal able container with Braun hand blender.
4. Start to paint onto the wax corn, being careful to apply thinnest layer possible, and let dry until hard. MM6 is
inherently lumpy, so just work with the lumps to create a smooth paper pulp like surface.
5. Continue applying layers of MM6 every day until 4-6 layers are applied. Total thickness will be no more than 1/2".
6. Each layer may be colored with a little food coloring to distinguish layers. Make sure the layers near the
bottom reservoir lip are even and at least 1/2" thick. Do not apply next layer until first is dry. Keep layers as
thin as possible
7. When mold is hard and dry after last coating, take mold off the wooden board and set on metal grid over a pan of water. Best to do outside with good ventilation. Victory wax will burn with sooty deposit.
8. Use large propane hand torch, the kind used in a hot shop, to start melting out the wax.
9. Slowly heat the bottom near the reservoir so the wax begins to melt. Do not start at the top of the mold because the wax will seep out through the MM6. As it is heated, the mold will turn black and sooty. Try to avoid setting the
wax on fire by holding the torch far away. Continue to heat from bottom up. Melting process may take up to
half hour.
10. Slowly move up the mold and melt out wax from bottom of mold near the opening. Beeswax melts out more easily and has fewer fumes than Victory Brown wax, however it is more brittle to work with and a little bit more of
a challenge to touch up.
11. When wax is completely melted out of mold, increase the heat and torch the mold until it is red hot and turns from black to white again. It will then feel like egg shell. Let cool. Hold up to a light and check for cracks. Patch with another layer of MM6 if necessary. It has not been necessary to reheat with the torch after patching.
12. Pour thin solution of Bullseye shelf primer into MM6 mold with quick motion, fill it up and pour out immediately.
Pre-fire mold to 600F if filling with frit for firing. If using flow pot drip method, the pre-heat is not necessary.
13. Prepare 4" flower pot large enough to hold the glass and use pliers to grouse out the hole in bottom to make sure glass can flow easily. Place glass in flower pot.
14. Place mold in large 6" flower pot and fill with sand so sand is around the entire mold to be filled
15. Build structure of kiln furniture (can slice up broken kiln shelves into 1" strips) so that flower pot is about 1" higher than mold and hole is directly above the hole in mold. If the reservoir is at least 2" diameter, there is plenty of room for the glass to flow down in a circular movement and fill the mold. Do not support the flower pot on the mold, make a scaffolding of kiln furniture.
16. Start firing. When mold has reached 1550F for one hour, check to see if glass has filled mold. If not, maintain 1550F temperature until filled. Spoon more glass into the hot flower pot while in the kiln if necessary. When glass has filled, bring down kiln quickly to annealing temperature. Pull hot empty flower pot when mold is filled, because, sometimes the stream of glass from the pot will cause cracking in glass as it cools.
17. Cool and wait 24 hours after removal from kiln. Break away mold off carefully. With shelf primer is applied to the inside of the mold, the glass usually comes off clean.

Sources
-Mold Mix 6 (formerly Luminar)
ZRCI
PO Box 489
Florida, NY 10921
845 651-2200 www.zrci.com
Temperature Controllers: Digitry Company, Inc. www.digitry.com
-www.bullseyeglass.com

Firing Schedule for both Mold Mix 6 and Plaster/Silica/Refractory Mold

step	Step Time	Temp °F
1	1 min	200
2	6 hr	200
3	4 hr	1000
4	2 hr	1000
5	2 hr	1550
6	3 hr	1550
7	1 min	1250
8	2 hr	1250
9	1 min	1000
a	1 hr	970
b	5 hr	920
c	1 hr	920
d	1 min	800
e	1 hr	800
f	5 hr 30 min	250

Plaster/silica/refractory mold with reservoir and frit firing

This is a type of mold that releases easily, is tough and has little cracking and flashing. Very soft dental plaster can be used for the first layer. It is harder to make than MM6 mold, but assures easy release and for more complicated shapes, is more applicable.

Ingredients and Equipment
Wax positive
Latex or vinyl gloves
OSHA approved mask
Hair spray
2 lb silica, at least 120 mesh, some finer
1 lb 30 minute casting plaster
Plastic bowl or bucket to mix
1 lb refractory cement: approx 60% alumina, any brand available.
Plastic wrap
Wooden board 5" x 5" approx.
Wall paper steamer
Pan with water to catch wax
Metal grid to hold mold while steaming
Aluminun foil
Bullseye Frits: #1 or #2 clear with no more than 10% opaque and transparent yellow powders mixed in when clear
glass is moist.
Bowl to mix frits and spoon or spatula
4 cups vinegar

Steps
1. Attach wax reservoir to wax corn so it is very stable. Very important part, because frit will be loaded into reservoir when kiln is at1550F.
2. Attach wax corn and reservoir to wooden board and spray with Hair spray
3. Mix 1 part plaster and 2 parts silica 40% to 60% and sift into 1-1/2 part water.
4. Paint on first layer with brush, or use hands.
5. Continue to cover wax with plaster/ silica mixture until 1" thick all around. Let set one hour.
6. Mix up refractory cement with water so forms ball when squeezed. Pat over plaster/silica until a 1/4" to 3/4" shell is
created. May need to hold refractory in place with tin foil or plastic wrap. Can put hair pins in wax in order to control even thickness of the walls of the mold.
7. Pull out any pins before the refractory drys.
8. Steam out all wax from mold. When top of the mold is hot, usually all wax is gone. Use aluminum foil to cover mold and direct steam.
9. Let dry three to four days.
10. Set up in kiln so easy to reach and fill when hot. Use kiln furniture.
11. If using frits, measure glass and fill mold and reservoir. Turn on kiln and fire.
12. When reaches 1550F for one hour, check to see if mold is filled. If not, maintain 1550F and use large stainless steel spoon to fill until mold is full.
13. Cool and do not break out for 24 hours.
14. Break outside mold off carefully. Be careful when chipping away outside layer. Inside layer should crumble away. Soak in vinegar, then clean with water.

Firing schedule: See Above

Kilns
Top loading kilns with side and top elements work. Ideally kiln will have elements on top, bottom, and sides.

We both use Digitry controllers, have used them for many years, and find them student user friendly and good for our purposes.

Glass frit painting video

This video made by Slumpys,  shows artists how to use Glassline paint,  NO Days Liquid Fusing Adhesive and glass frit to create a frit painted glass owl.  Slumpys also sells all of the necessary supplies on their webpage.

Click here to watch the video.

Time lapse glass fusing video

We really like this video showing an artist, from reflectionlabs.com,  creating a fused glass piece depicting the San Francisco Peaks.  It really gives the viewer an idea of how to create a fused glass scenic art glass piece, step by step.  Remember to use compatible glass!

View the glass fusing video here!

Types of glass and their applications

Sheet glass

Sheet glass is used for the construction of stained glass windows, mosaics and fused glass art. When cut into thin strips it can be used for lampworking and when crushed it can be used as frit.

Glass rods

Glass rods are used for lampworking and kiln fusing (if used with compatable glass).

Frit

Frit is crushed glass; fine, med, or coarse sizes.  It can be used in lampworking and fusing to add color to other glass used in an art glass piece.  By filling a glass mold with frit,  you can make cast glass art.  Fine frit can be used for freeze and fuse applications as well as glass clay.

Stringer

Stringers are thin and round spaghetti-like looking pieces of glass used in hot glass applications such as lampworking and firing in a kiln.

Noodles

Noodles are a lot like stringers except that they are flat and a little larger than stringers.  They can be used in the same applications as stringers.

Casting billet chunks

Casting billet chunks are used for casting glass in a mold and other kiln applications.

Jewels

Jewels can be faceted or cast glass.  They are used in stained glass windows.

Nuggets

Nuggets, or glass globs can be used in stained glass windows (when foiled), fusing and mosaics.

Rondels

Rondels can be used in the construction of stained glass windows.

Glass Powder

Glass Powder can be used in lampworking, fusing, glass painting (that would be fired in a kiln) and glass clay.

Dalles

Dalles are slabs of glass that are used in Dalle de verre art.

Nice glass fusing tutorial by Karen Godin in 2006.

This is not exactly a step-by-step tutorial...but several people expressed interest in gaining a better understanding of what I do - so, I took some pics as I worked on a recent project, and these are the results.

1. I purchase glass in large sheets, then cut them down into more manageable pieces, depending on what I plan to do with them.

The colour choices are astounding, so I really have to know what I'm going to do BEFORE I go to the store. Fusible glass is very expensive - a single, small piece (less than 1sq foot) can range from $9-$35 & more, depending on what you choose.

p.s. this pic shows a selection of OPAQUE glass that I use in my "Bloom" Series designs, etc... but for this project, I will be using TRANSPARENT glass to allow for the sunlight to pass through.

2. Depending on the design I have in mind, I usually find it easier to cut most of the glass that I plan to use BEFORE doing anything else.

I use special glass cutting tools to score, cut & "break" the glass.

I rarely plan out a design on paper - just envision it in my head & go from there.

In this project, I was commissioned by artist, TIM KLINE, to produce glass "sails" to be integrated into one of his functional art wind chimes or sun catcher creations. Tim draws on nature for his inspiration, so that guided my colour choices...and design.

I wanted glass that had a fluid feel with colours that you'd find in the ocean.

3. The tools of the trade include: a glass scorer/cutter, a rubber based bar (whose technical name escapes me at the moment) to guide the score, breakers (large & small), glue, ruler/tape measure, pen & cutting surface.  And, of course .... a kiln.

4. Once I've cut most of the glass needed for a project, I begin arranging the pieces in the design that appeals to me, cutting them to size as I go along. I use a base of clear, fusible glass (but could use a coloured piece if desired).

Tim is going to hang these pieces as diamonds, so that is how I arrange the design. I don't glue them on until I'm happy with the way they lie.

The cuts have to be quite precise, or there will be big gaps in the finished piece - NOT a desired result!

5. Now, I glue all the pieces to my base glass. Once this is done, the piece is ready to be fired.

However, I wanted to experiment with a technique using GLASS FRIT, which is essentially ground glass. It comes in FINE (requires mask), Med & Coarse grains. I like the Medium & Coarse variety best.

I've used the Coarse in my Red Sun Coasters & enjoy the textured effect. In this case, I'm NOT looking for texture because it's probably going to be an outdoor piece & will be easier to clean if flat - so, I've chosen med grain, in an seaweed green colour.

I mix it with glue to make it easier to apply and use a tool (no idea what it's called) to place it.

Frit is sold by the ounce (~$2/ounce, if I remember correctly)

6. The result I'm looking for is to blur some of the harder edges where they connect in the design. I want to accentuate that fluid, watery effect.



7. Once I've completed a piece, I set it aside to dry, and move on to the other pieces in the set.

Sometimes, I will do several pieces simultaneously, but because this was a new design, I wanted to be sure of the result before doing the other pieces.

8. Now that I've completed all my pieces, I am ready to fire the glass in the kiln.

This picture shows Tim's 3 "sails", as well as a couple of other pieces I did using the same glass.

9. So, these are the finished "Sails". The dimensions are 8x8, 6x6 & 4x4. I'm looking forward to seeing how Tim chooses to integrate them into one of him amazing creations!

This is a close-up of one of the sails to better show the effect of the frit in the transparent glass.

I'm very pleased with the results!

I invite you to peruse my portfolio at your leisure! =}

Today's glass fusing tutorial was written and posted on a message board in 2006 by Karen Godin.  It is an excellent tutorial for glass fusing and we hope our readers enjoyed it as much as we do.

Another glass clay tutorial

Hi glass friends, we really liked this tutorial on glass clay so much that we thought we'd share it with more people! 

Glass Clay, a Step by Step Tutorial using 

Steider Studios Glass Medium

May 28, 2010

I’ve been asked often lately about making Glass Clay, so thought I’d give you a quick review:  what it is and how I make it.   I’m heading to Olympia next week to teach the Machine Embroiderers of Oregon and Washington how to make their own glass buttons with it.  I’ve taught this technique nationally since 2004, at the Art Glass Association Conference in Portland Oregon.  This is the first year in the last six that I did not teach Glass Clay (or Pate de Verre Without Molds) at the Las VegasGlass Craft & Bead Expo; I chose to offer a new class this year instead, while waiting to launch my new Medium.  By ‘launch’ I mean all that a new product entails, including packaging, labeling and marketing.  And after two years of research, it’s almost ready…almost!

Essentially Glass Clay is glass paste, another form of Pâte de Verre, but without having to make molds.  Certainly not a traditional technique, but a fun, easy, fast way to make small glass sculptures, buttons, beads, and more!

I make a clay-like substance, glass paste, by mixing powdered glass with a liquid binder or medium.  I prefer to use my new Glass Medium, which you will soon find on my website.  After testing many different materials my new Medium burns out cleaner than anything I’ve ever tried, while still being able to carve more detail into it after it’s dry and before firing.  Most people use CMC, and I’ve heard of and tested many other concoctions that may or may not work for you, but rather than go into them all I’m going to just tell you how I make it, using the best Medium I’ve ever tried.

I mix my Glass Medium with room temperature or warm tap water (if your water contains heavy mineral deposits, you can use distilled water, but it takes longer to set up…as long as a couple of days!):  Fill a clean jar with a cup of water.  Sprinkle in one teaspoon of Medium for a very thick paste.

Use a whisk or fork to stir until dissolved, then let stand 30 to 60 minutes to thicken, stirring occasionally.    I like it to be the consistency of jelly.  I have stored this new Medium in my studio for over two years after mixing, but typically it’s used up within a week.  I have used other binders that developed mold and just so you know, the mold adds an interesting patina.  If you prefer a less gelatinous mix, by all means thin it with a little more water.  Also, if you’re planning to use it for liquid lines, you’ll want to dilute it.

Wearing a respirator or N95 disposable particulate mask, place your glass powderinto a mixing bowl.  I prefer to use a small glass bowl, but often use a 4 or 8 ounce plastic food storage bowl.  Ratios of glass powder to Medium vary, depending on the powder.  Straight out of the jar glass powder can be as grainy as sand or as powdery as talc.

As a starting point I use 2:1, glass to Medium.  I’ll place 2 heaping spoonfuls of glass powder into my bowl, then drizzle 1 heaping spoonful of Steider Studios Glass Medium over the powder.

Using a palette knife or spoon mix well, mashing the Medium into the glass powder until it’s glossy.  It should be the consistency of cookie dough, or a wet pie crust, holding together when pinched or rolled into a ball.  If it’s too dry, your project will crack; add more Medium a couple drops at a time.  If it’s too wet, your project will sink down into itself; sprinkle more powder into the mix, a little at a time, mixing well after each addition.

Once it’s mixed to a consistency that feels like clay or cookie dough you’re ready to play.  You have about 30 minutes working time to sculpt it, make pattern bars or press it into candy molds to freeze, then it begins to dry out.

I mix all my colors  before beginning to sculpt, and wrap each with plastic wrap to keep it wet until I’m ready to work.  I can store glass clay like this for weeks and have left it for up to a year.  It can be a bit sticky, so I work on top of waxed paper to stay as mess-free as possible.

For sculpting I use dental tools, plastic and metal sculpting tools, plastic make-up applicators, toothpicks, kitchen implements and whatever happens to be close at hand.

I’ve made faces, flowers, animals, and small open vessels and bowls.  These small sculptures can be used for door pulls, plant and garden decor, adornment for lidded boxes and much more.

You can press glass clay into candy molds, freeze for an hour or two, then pop it out of the molds.  The advantage to using my Medium for this application (known as ‘freeze and fuse’), is you can ‘cold work’ the edges and carve in additional detail before firing, after the piece is completely dry.

One of my favorite ways of working with glass clay is making paste pattern bars.  Have you played with polymer clay?  Play dough?  I use the same principles.

Roll it out (or roll it through a pasta machine) between sheets of waxed paper & stack layers of different colors, then slice, re-stack and slice again.

It’s easiest if you roll between two pieces of waxed paper because it can be sticky.

Make what I fondly call ‘Pig in a Blanket’ by making a rope, then wrapping it with a different colored ‘blanket’ that’s been rolled out flat.  Or roll your pigs into many blankets for ‘rings’ of color when you slice.

Pattern bars are sliced with a tissue slicing blade, rolling the bar one quarter turn after each slice so you don’t end up with one flat side.  Use these slices for buttons, beads, cabochons, or as decor for other glass projects just to give you a few ideas.

Make coils or ropes of clay, place different colored ropes next to each other for millefiore.
More food for thought:  add mica! A little mica goes a long way.   Adorn with Dicro Slide! Use a cute scrap-booking punch to cut shapes from Dicro Slide that enhance your design and apply just before firing.

To get a spiral effect, stack rolled out sections on top of each other.

Carefully peel off the wax paper, keeping it close to your work surface.

Then roll it up, smooth out and slice.  The ends will be uneven unless you roll out rectangular shapes instead of ovals.  I slice off the ends, roll them into balls, pushing the colors into a marbled pattern, then flatten them for buttons and cabs.

The next step is to let your projects dry on paper towels.  Use a food dehydrator, or just set them aside for a few days.  In a one day workshop we use hair dryers to speed the drying process.  Once dry, glass clay is very fragile, like a meringue cookie so use care in handling it.  Gently peel off the paper towel from the bottom.  Using an emery board and wearing your respirator, file off any rough edges along the bottom.  Use a wooden skewer to sand off any rough spots in your details.  You can use a skewer or a dental tool to carve in additional lines if desired.  Just remember to take care as it’s fragile.  Did I already say it’s fragile?  It’s very fragile!

When you’re ready to fire, try to fire like sizes and like colors together.  For larger projects or light colors, your soak time will be slightly longer.  I strongly recommend using a kiln that you can watch the progress so you’ll know when to stop and anneal, and you can note the process temperature in your kiln.  Your pieces are going to shrink approximately 25 to 30%, depending on your process temperature.  The longer you soak at process temperature, the glossier they’ll get and the more they’ll shrink.  Vent your kiln until it reaches 1000º while the binder is burning out.  You can ramp up AFAP, but I think it’s better to control the ramp up; and do start peeking around 1200º to 1250º.  Be sure to wear your safety glasses when looking inside the heated kiln.  In my kiln, depending on the size and color, my process temperature is 1300º with a 30 minute soak for small two to three-inch sculptures; or 1350º with a 13 minute soak for beads and buttons.  I anneal at 900º, using Bullseye’s annealing_thick_slabs chart for thickness.

I love introducing people to working with glass powders, whether wet or dry.  I hope you found this post useful and I hope you’ll try my new Medium.  I have testers working with it now across the US and Canada, and am holding off my launch until all results are in.  An instruction sheet, including complete firing schedules are included with each jar of Steider Studios Glass Medium.  Available soon!  Very soon, I hope!

If you’d like to be among the first to know the release date, you can subscribe to this blog by clicking the ‘e-mail subscribe button’ at the top right of this page; or click on my Facebook Business Page (then click on the ‘like’ button to receive updates), where the announcement will be made.

Have Fun!  Be safe, wear that respirator and don’t forget your safety glasses!!  Oh, and I’d be ever so grateful if you’ll tell your friends about Steider Studios Glass Medium!

EDIT:  You can now purchase Steider Studios Glass Medium™ via Artfire……

Click here to purchase Steider Studios Glass Medium™ Economy Size on Artfire.
Click here to purchase Steider Studios Glass Medium™ Regular Size on Artfire.
Click here to purchase Steider Studios Glass Medium ™ Sample Size on Artfire.