Happy Holidays Project
Here is a project I showed several years ago, but like my new students pointed out to me today, “it is new to us”. So it might be new to you too. Have a wonderful and creative holiday season.
Join us for our 20th Season of Glass Fusing Classes @ BIG ARTS
Never miss a class!
You can sign up for a session or several sessions of Glass fusing classes and if you have a conflict, and space permitting, you can make up your class within the 2019/2020 Season. Please call BIG ARTS 239-395-0900 to sign up.BIG ARTS
Small Kaiser Lee Board Drape Molds
It is always nice to be challenged by students. This time J. wanted to make some small vessels for succulents and other purposes. And since I have all these little pieces of Kaiser Lee Board laying around, we just took two and tried. The glass does not have to be cut precise. But it should be at least 1.5″ (4 cm) bigger all the way around your mold. If not, you still have a nice container, but it would not hold any liquids.
A single layer of glass is sufficient for this project. I chose Wissmach Glass 96-11 Honey Luminescent. Since it is a reverse project, the luminescent coating will show up on the top side once it is fired. To protect the luminescent during firing and also to give a little buffer for better release of the mold, I use a piece of fire paper the exact size as the glass. Then I placed the small Kaiser Lee Board mold pieces on a carved Kaiser Lee Board shelf for additional interest and fired them.
Upcoming Workshops in Frederick, MD and Atlanta, GA
First Stop is @ Anything in Stained Glass in Frederick Md. We will be teaching a 2 day workshop right after the East Coast Glass Expo.
September 16 and 17th
please call for reservation.
Phone: 301-378-2218
Toll Free: 800-231-5422
The second stop is @ HOLLANDER FUSING CENTER ATLANTA
October 3rd and 4th @
please call for reservation.
Phone: 678-904-1136
Toll Free: 877-238-5464
Firing Glass Dots or Pebbles
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!
Firing Red Glass
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
Find the Free How To Ust it video here.
Join us in September at:
Kaiser Lee Links to Share Knowledge and Inspiration
Online Resources
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.
Inspiring and Informing Blog
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.
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Face Book Group
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.
Free Video Tutorials
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.
Pocket Vase
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.
Firing Schedule – Fuse and Slump Wall Vase
- Ramp up 600°F to 1000° F hold :10
- Ramp afap to 1410°F and hold for :10
- Ramp afap to 900°F and hold for :60
- Ramp 100°F to 700°F and no hold
- Let cool to room temperature
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.
The Magic Connection – A demo video for the Interlocking Glass Chain
Several years ago I started to make these interlocking chains. Finally I did get around to make an instruction card and a video. The video is here on our blog, the instruction cards we will give out to our customers and students.
Fuse IT Studio Classes – Your Project – Your Theme
Another great season at BIG Arts comes to an end. Big thanks to all of you who attended this year. We hope you will have a beautiful summer. It is a joy working with you and seeing all these beautiful and different glass art pieces coming to life. Between now and October we will offer some classes here at our FUSE IT studio in Cape Coral, FL where you can sign up for individual days. They go from 10 AM to 1 PM. But if your project takes longer to finish, you will be given more time.
Yes, your project, your theme!
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.
A short video of the Flow sculpture
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It is quite a while ago, since you heard from us. Keep in mind, there are still a few days left to enter your pictures for the challenge. Above is a little video, to get your creative juices flowing. Happy Creating! petra
Free Lectures today in Sarasota and Online
Hi Everyone,
today I would like to invite you to come to our free lectures and demos at Glass Crafters in Sarasota. We will start around 1:00 pm.
But if you can’t come, and are using Facebook, you can go to their page and participate live by adding comments and questions. Use this link Glass Crafters Page.
How to Fuse Any Company Logo on to Glass
Our favorite cabinet maker in town, Cabinet Genies, yes, the one who realized all my crazy furniture ideas, has a new logo. I liked it so much that I wanted to create a plaque for him in glass.
In order to prevent the decal from firing off, you need to cover it with clear glass. Previously we used to burn off the carrier foil at 1200°F first and then covered it with a sheet of clear glass. But this way you can save a step. Just apply your decal as usual and then cover it with a layer of fine clear frit. In the above picture I used powder but the powder shows a bit, while fine frit works just as well and you won’t see any haze. This way you save one firing step and you have more design freedom.
After seeing a workshop picture where they used these LED light pads, I thought I want to try one. And guess what; it works great with white cardboard paper and best of all, with Papyros shelf paper.
I traced the oil lamp with a pencil onto Papyros Shelf Paper and cut it out with a pair of scissors to create a subtle relief in the glass. I also copied a second oil lamp to a cardboard paper which I cut out to create a stencil for the oil lamp in the logo.
At one point the creative part took over and I forgot to take more pictures. Therefore this is not a complete how to lesson, but if you have any questions, please leave them in the comment section below.
And if you like to make a sign for your favorite company, we are here to help. We even lowered the price for the Laser transfer paper to help with your “logo in glass” creation.
Upcoming Events for the 2nd Half of 2018
Join us in our 2 Day Class
Fuse It – Cast It – Shape It with Petra Kaiser
Monday Sept. 10 & 11, 2018 from 9 am to 4 pm
⇒ More Information
Early Sign Up for BIG ARTS is Open
You can sign up for classes at BIG ARTS on Sanibel, now. We will start classes again November 29, 2018. Depending on how many people will sign up, we might be able to teach Wenesday and Thursday classes.
Temember this coming season will be a short one, since BIG ARTS will start remodeling in April 20119.
To Register Call 239-395-0900
⇒ More Information
Should you be coming to the Glasstec in Düsseldorf, make sure to visit the
Wissmach Booth in Hall 9.
BIG Arts Class Projects Are Getting Bigger and Bigger
This Bird Bath
was made by Karen Schoen, who started glass fusing this season. She might be a new fusing addict and I’m looking forward to have her and everybody else back in class by November 28, 2018. This is when we will start our classes again.
The summer season will be packed with events. First we will be at the TGK open house in Bielefeld, Germany. In September we will be at Anything Stained Glass in Frederick, MD and in October at Creative Glass in Bristol, UK.
And in November we will have our Fun in the Sun week. There are still some spots open.
Have fun and keep on fusing and I hope to see some of you somewhere this year.
Wissmach added some more colors to their 96 Frit supply. Have a look at all the colors and frit sizes and if you like, you can order one or more of our convenient all inclusive boxes.
Beautiful Cast Glass
Have a look at what one of our Kaiser Lee Board distributors in the Netherlands has done with a 2″ thick board.
We want to show customers the possibilities We carve the board with CNC milling machine. The Kaiser Lee board is used several times without giving any problems. The glass comes out easily. Our intention is to show off and sell the products we like a lot. For instance Kaiser Lee board/ glass/ tools etc.
Uniekglas The Netherlands www.uniekglas.nl
Thank you Olaf and Miranda for sharing your beautiful work and supporting Kaiser-Lee Board.
Kiln Carving with Papyros Paper
If this project looks familiar, you are right. But now we have a video with detailed instructions, for those of you who like to see rather than read.
Enjoy!
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Mrs. Liz Art
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Companion Video
Have you seen my article in the latest Glass Patterns Quarterly magazine? If so, you might also have seen that there is a video that will show you how to cut and carve a Kaiser Lee Board mold. And if you need any Kaiser Lee Board – let me tell you – we have some left in stock. 
18 years old, 100s of Firings and Still going strong!
May I introduce you to one of my favorite Kaiser Lee Board Molds?
It is a 12″ x 12″ x 1″ (30 x 30 x 2.5 cm) Kaiser Lee Board with a 3″ x 3″ (7.5 x 7.5 cm) hole in the center. I call it my kiln shelf with a hole.
The dish sits perfectly and I can use the wide rim for unusual designs. And yes, we fuse and slump in one firing.
This Ikebana Container was created by Helen at our BIG Arts Class on Sanibel. She used a piece of Wissmach Prisma 96 and created this impressive dish with it.
If you have this piece of KLB laying around and don’t know what to do with it, just cut a hole into it and start creating. Should you get tired of it – may be after 18 years – you can always cut another shape into the mold and use it again for 18 years.
And no, we did not cap the Wissmach Glass. It is just beautiful shiny after it is fired. I wish you could see the original.
Oh, and if you don’t have it around, we are still selling it, and so do all of our distributors.
Will you be coming to the Las Vegas Glass Craft Expo this year?
If you are no sure yet, which class you would like to take, have a look at Marcia Bernadette’s class. Yes, even so I will not be teaching a full class, I will have a short demo and lecture in each of her classes.
Use this link
https://www.glasscraftexpo.com/class-list.php
and type Petra Kaiser in the search field and Marcias classes will open.
The New Wissmach Kiln Catalog is Online
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Yes, you can
purchase all Kiln Glass Colors here at the Fuse It Studio in Cape Coral at very good prices. Please make your personal shopping appointment via email or phone. Online we sell frit, cullet and random glass pieces in the all in one boxes. The prices include shipping costs.
Over Sized Drape
Do you have a tall kiln?
My kiln is 16″ high and 30″ x 42″ so it is not a problem to fit in a 23″ x 23″ square for the first firing and then set it on our tall Kaiser Lee Board Triangles to drape fire it. The triangles are only 11″ high but by placing them on a 2″ KLB square piece, I ended up with a 13″ igh drape mold. Even so the kiln is higher, my coils are hanging 1″ from the top and I like to be away with the glass at least 2″.
20 Years of Fusing and my Heart Rate Still Goes UP!
There is always a risk when I drape something, especially when I can’t observe it during the process stage. But I guess that’s what makes glass fusing so interesting. By the way, this was a piece one of my students made during a private workshop, so it better turns out – right?
Octopus Bowl
This kiln formed bowl has hardly touched any mold materials. The Wissmach 96 glass worked perfectly during the 2 full fuse and 1 kiln form firing. Since I can not show this glass art well enough in a single image, I decided to make this short video with several images of the same art work. If you can’t see the video below, then this link will bring you to our YouTube Channel.
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