Introduction to Glass Fusing in the Kiln

Glass has been a fascinating medium for both practical and artistic works for millennia.  Imagine our delight when Annie  joined Diyode and brought her glass kiln with her!

Last Sunday, she showed us  some projects and helped us understand how to use her kiln.           

” Fusing” glass is melting layers of  glass into a single flat piece.

Pieces to be fused have to be put on a shelf which has a primer layer brushed on to prevent the melting glass from sticking.  Annie is holding this shelf here.

She prepared many examples of before and after pieces to show what happens after a fuse.

On the left is an after fuse -before fuse example, where a white rectangle of glass was overlaid at one end with a piece of red glass.  We can see that odd curling and puckering occurred.  On the right is an example of a rectangle of white that has a smaller rectangle of white, and a small square of red laid on top.  When fused, the surface is smooth and even.

Here are some more examples.  The before fusing examples all look like they have layers of glass on top of each other, and the smooth pieces are those same examples after fusing.

In this example, we see how much the glass rounds out and shrinks down after fusing.  We were told that it naturally likes to be at 1/4 inch thickness once liquefied.

Another option is to put a layer of “frit” in between a base layer and a top layer, to add interesting effects.  Frit is granulated glass.

It’s possible to make formed pieces using molds.  Here, Annie is holding some bowl molds.

To make a bowl, the pattern of the glass has to be prepared first.

To prepare a two-toned bowl, a layer of black glass is put down, then a white layer is put on top.  Then, for decoration, glass “stringers”  – little glass spaghettis – get placed on top.  These layers are then fused together.

The final bowl is made by “slumping” the glass into the bowl molds.

Bottles can be flattened in the kiln, then slumped in a mold for a small serving bowl.

Into the kiln!

There are a number of ways to prepare the glass for so many different results.  Learn how to do your own projects in future workshops, and be dazzled!

Thank you, Annie, for a very interesting workshop!