In my book Introduction to Glass Fusing I introduces glass dots and how to make them in different sizes. One of the problems with glass dots or pebbles is the kiln wash or kiln paper resedue. But with lower firing temperatures and longer hold times they come out fairly clean. Enjoy the video!
Somewhere back in my brain I remember that glass can change in successive firings. Especially the red, orange and yellow. Since I usually full fuse at around 1410° F (765° C) and often full fuse and slump in one firing, I did not encounter those issues.
But as Wissmach’s kiln glass consultant I have spoken to people with various fusing questions. In most cases we were able to solve the issues by changing their firing schedule. Therefor I sat down and wrote a Firing E-Book.
Recently I did get some 90 COE glass (not Wissmach) to test. So at first I fired it at 1410° F (765° C) and placed it between the polarized film on our Fuse It Test Card. The results were very good. No stress at all. The transparent dark red was still transparent and did not show any stress. The opaque orange of course was still opaque and also did not show any stress and the yellow transparent was equally perfect.
In a second test I took the same test glass piece and fired it again at a higher temperature; 1460° F (794° C). The orange and the yellow stayed the same. No stress and no change of transparency. But we could see a lot of change in the dark red. It turned opaque and is now showing a lot of stress
As artists we always are open for inspiration and information that we could add to our arsenal of creative tools. This blog post is about the online resources we build over the course of 20 years. Don’t worry, they are all free – but should be worth your time. We are looking forward to communicate with you via all those channels.
This first one, of course is our blog. If you have not done so, please subscribe. As you can see, we do not have the blog to generate money from 3rd party advertising. It is short and straight to the point. May be sometimes it is too short, but you always have the option to leave a comment or ask a question.
This second one is our closed Face Book Group where you can become a member and then exchange ideas with fellow glass fusers. Yes, it is a group about kiln forming with Kaiser Lee Board and we hope it will become a fun and vibrant group where we all exchange questions and knowledge.
Don’t want to join Face Book, there is always YouTube and of course our blog to learn new things. And here too, we do not collect subscribers to make it a profit channel. Your subscriptions will be only for you, to be notified once we published a new video.
In 2013 I wrote an article for Glass Pattern Quarterly explaining how to make a wall vase with a pocket. If I am not mistaken, it is in the spring issue. Last week one of our workshop participants wanted to make one and I took some pictures, unfortunately after I already had cleaned it.
To the left is an image of the finished vase. It was created with Wissmach luminescent glass and 2 strips of Kaiser Lee Board. The luminescent faces down during firing, but will be seen on the front of the vase. The mold strips are placed onto a Kaiser Lee Board kiln shelf. Therefore we have very even heat distribution and can fire fairly fast.
This second image shows the backside of the vase, filled with little glass nuggets to give you an idea of the pocket. To the right is the mold set up. To create the pocket I made a tube with Papyros paper which I filled with Kaiser Lee Board sand. Another of my KLENDOX (Kaiser Lee Sand Box) ideas. Below are a few pictures from my article.
Making the tube with KLB sand has a few advantages. First it does not insulate as well as a whole piece of board or pieces of fiber paper would. Emptying the pocket is also very easy and you can re-use it countless times, as any of your Kaiser Lee Board shelves and molds.
Have fun creating and if you like , please share some pictures with us.
This means you can come with an idea, or you can choose one out of my books, articles, website, or from samples you see here at the studio. Want to make your own molds with KLB, no problem, I will find the time to help you with that, too. With only 4 people in a class you all will get a lot of instructions and support. Should you choose a project that requires cold working you will have the opportunity to purchase an individual cold working session which does include firepolishing. Since BIG Arts campus is being rebuilt we will Resume classes at the BIG Arts office building on Periwinkle Way in October, 2019.
