Technique and Process
As an artist I specialize in fused glass
Glass Fusing Process
Glass fusing is the process of using a kiln to join together pieces of glass. If you apply heat to glass, it will soften. If you continue to apply heat, the glass will become more fluid and flow together. Two or more pieces of glass will stick (or "fuse") to each other. When the right kind of glass is heated and then cooled properly, the resulting fused glass piece will be solid and unbroken.
The "heating" phase, which takes place between room temperature and around 1200 to 1700 degrees F (depending on the process you are performing), is where the glass makes the transition from a solid to a more flowing form. As glass is heated and moves through this phase, it goes through three separate states. First, from room temperature up to about 1000 degrees F (540 degrees C), glass remains rigid and brittle. It is expanding slowly, but will still crack or break if the temperature increases too rapidly. Full fusing, the complete merging of two or more pieces of glass into one, takes place at around 1500 degrees F.
Technique and Inspiration
As an artist I specialize in fusing glass together to create an image of color and light. As with any artistic process one must start with an idea. My ideas and inspirations come from nature. I mentally record, take photographs and sketch the scenery around me emphasizing color and light in my compositions.
Working off the sketches I’ve created, I then cut and layer colored glass, specifically made for glass fusing, in a kind of collage.
This is fired in a glass kiln, often 4-5 times to obtain the desired effect.
My approach to the glass is reminiscent of the crayon scratchboards one would create as a child. I start with a collage of color, not from crayons but with glass. After fusing, defining and fusing again, I hide the brilliance with black. Scratching through the black to the luminosity underneath reveals the true beauty of the medium and the artist’s interpretation.
I often include specialty glasses such as dichroic glass and iridescent glass to give my work a luminescent quality. Glass paints, gold and silver leaf, mica, copper and other distinctive ingredients are sometimes inserted in the glass to create special effects within each piece.
Preliminary sketches, photos and written entries give insight into the artistic process and are included on the reverse side of each original artwork. The completed pieces are transformed into either wall art or free-standing sculptures.
sketches
glass