My Mold Collection...

I've begun documenting my mold collection so my students can visualize the molds that are available for them to use. Since I teach at a location away from my studio and have a hefty load to cart along to the class as it is, this is a much easier way to let them select molds.


Then, I decided, I should probably just document the whole collection so that I can visualize what I've got a bit easier, as well! My molds live on a shelf under my table and I don't always remember what's hanging out down there...


So, I think I'll just continue to build this page as a reference tool for myself, huh?


NOTE TO STUDENTS: If you've got a design in mind that you're planning for a particular mold, make sure to ask me about it before you design it. The mold you choose may not be a great mold to start a beginning project on, or it may be bigger or smaller than you think.

Fused Glass at the LUX - Session 3 - Frit Painting...

Last week in class, we painted on glass with Glassline paints. This week, we experimented with painting on glass with frits using No Days Liquid Fusing Adhesive, Spectrum sheet glass and Uroboros fine frits. We used the techniques on the project sheet available on the No Days website to make fused glass coasters...but we slumped them to make cute little plates!


I took a little video of my students working, but I'm going to save that footage for a recap video for the whole class session. So, you'll have to check back for that...

Above, you can see the student projects on the top left side of the photo. Directly underneath are two test strips I did with what may replace Bullseye's French Vanilla and Aqua Blue Tint as my new play toy...Opaline. Then, my most favorite and epic piece to the left: a three layer stack up of 2" by 1/4" strips. This project was made much easier using a little HoneyDoo Zuper Glue to hold the pieces altogether. (That way, I didn't have to stack up all the pieces directly in the kiln, which would have given me a major backache, as well as been a huge headache!)


Above, all the pieces post-fire. You can see how the frits darken up a bit when they compress and fuse together. And the Opaline has gone a bit hazy to make some really gorgeous, glowing pastels. AND, I'm soooo happy that the stack-ups stayed in place!

Finally, the student pieces all finished after the slump firing:

Fused Glass at the LUX - Session 2 - Painting...

This week, we continued our exploration of fused glass by playing with paint on glass. While painting on glass is an extremely old technique that is traditionally used with stained glass windows, it's begun to edge it's way into fused glass as a way to incorporate images, patterns and designs into fired glass pieces.

We used Glassline Paints applied directly and with brushes, as design lines and as a wash. With the paints, you can use painting techniques like sgraffito, where you apply the paints and then scratch off a design, or if you're working on transparent glass, you can trace your design off of a pattern under the glass.



As you can see, the paints dry to look very washed out. However, when fired, the color comes back...


Depending upon how well the students like their outcomes, we'll incorporate these into tiles/coasters, or even cut them up to use as inclusions in our final project.


Much of my inspiration comes from quilts, textiles and fabrics. So, I tend to create larger patterned glass pieces to cut up into smaller design elements. Below, you can see the turquoise, orange and brown glass pieces have been painted with the Glassline paints...

Coming up next week, we'll continue our exploration of various forms of creating texture and design on glass with frit painting. For a quick preview of the materials we'll be using, here's a little demo video of frit painting designs on fused glass coasters:

Fused Glass at the LUX - Session 1

The first session of the Fused Glass Class at the LUX Center for the Arts began last week, and the students have their pieces back. We explored dichroic glass, and tack versus full fuse. So, without further ado...

The students created a few small pieces with dichroic glass, the coating on clear. I encouraged them to place the dichroic with the coating side up and the coating side down. Before the pieces were fused...

and after the pieces were fused (to 1440 degrees F)...We also made two larger pieces to be hung as sun catchers. The pieces weren't necessarily identical, but very similar. This way we could discuss the differences between a lower temperature firing and a higher temperature firing.

The pieces pre-fire...and after a 10 minute hold at 1440 degrees F...The second set was fired to 1480 and held for 20 minutes...