Artists are the most generous people I know. We love to
share our passion. We all want to make a more dramatic and memorable impression
with our art. One of the bests way to accomplish this is to go bigger and make
large scale pieces that stand out in the crowd.
But going bigger can be scary. You must invest more time and
material. And there are more design decisions to make. It’s a huge commitment
and you want guarantees that the finished piece will exceed your expectations.
Following are some fundamental tips that’ll greatly increase your success with
all of your fused glass artwork.
1 Measuring the Slumping Mold
It seems trivial, but this is where most craftsman go wrong.
Everyone wants to make the largest fused glass disc possible. They then measure
the mold from the outer rim to the outer rim and cut their glass circles
accordingly. They wrongly assume the glass that rests on the top rim of the mold will
follow the center of the fused glass disc as it slumps into the mold. The
problem is the glass on the flat rim drags. Therefore, it does not fall into the mold evenly. The result is a bowl with
uneven height in the side walls. A lopsided bowl can be avoided simply by
measuring across the inside of the mold
and then cutting the glass ¼ to ½ inch smaller than that measurement. Yes, the
bowl is slightly smaller. No one will notice. They’ll be too busy admiring your
beautifully crafted, uniform bowl with even side walls all the way around.
2 Durability is in the Design
When going larger it’s important to design your art in such
a way that the glass thickness is uniform throughout the entire piece of art.
If you design the round disc with two glass layers on one side and four glass
layers on the opposite side, you’ll have unbalanced mass. This can cause the finished
piece of art to break due to the stress of supporting its own weight. Instead,
plan your design execution in advance to ensure you have the same number of
glass layers across the entire disc. Small accents pieces decorating the top aren’t
a concern, provided they’re added in moderation.
3 Let it Shine
The beauty of glass is its transparency, and the attraction
of glass fusing is our ability to mix transparent and opal materials, to create
various color combinations and an infinite number of intricate patterns. The
wonderful thing about going large is the extended size of the creative canvas.
With more room, you have more opportunity to expand your design ideas and make
a dynamic statement. So rather than fumble through, take time to plan a well
thought out design. Consider including pre-tacked or fused glass components for
added interest. Mix both transparent and opal glass to increase visible depth.
The possibilities are endless.
4 Do Your Best Work
Don’t cut corners. No excuses. If you think to ask, “Should
I recut or redo this?” My answer is, “Yes.” The more time and effort you put
into each step will greatly improve the overall quality of your finished pieces.
Fabrication and execution are equally as important as design esthetics. If you
implement this approach, every piece you produce will be a masterpiece.
5 Fusing and Slumping
Slow it down. Larger usually also means thicker. You’ll
dramatically increase your firing success rate by slowing down both the fusing
schedule and the slumping schedule. I fire my large pieces at 300 degrees per
hour and hold several times on the way up to 1465 degrees to fuse, and 1220
degrees to slump. I anneal the glass at 960 degrees for 180 minutes, for both
fusing and slumping, and then slowly drop the temperature down to room
temperature. By being conservative with the firing schedules, I achieve
consistently beautiful results every time. You can too!
For more in-depth
information on making sinks and large vessels, join me next week for my next webinar.
All the pro tips and tricks will be revealed.
Let’s get
together and make sinks in my webinar next week!
I hope to see you there,
I hope to see you there,
Lisa
Next Thursday
Make a Fused Glass Sink
November 10, 2016
Now Registering!
Next 4-Day, Hands-On Workshop
Advanced Glass Fusing
February 21-24, 2017
My private
studio, Wesley Chapel, Florida
You’ll love
the in-depth concentration, personal instruction and casual atmosphere.
Learn how to
make your art stand out!
Upcoming Webinar
Upscale Fusing with Lisa Vogt
January 5, 2017
Upcoming Webinar
Fusing with Frit with Lisa Vogt
January 24, 2017
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