Two regular thickness (3 mm) pieces of glass bonded together to
form a 6 mm thick single piece of glass. Melting or full fusing
glass in a kiln (no matter what the original thickness) normally
produces double layer fused glass. At MGR our fused glass art
tiles and medallions are produced by melting various coloured
pieces of glass together. Normal stained glass and stained glass
products are one layer or 3 mm thick, whereas MGR fused glass
products are 6 mm thick. Thicker glass produces products that
are more sturdy (not as easily broken) and more stable on flat
surfaces (not so easy for curious cats or dogs tails to knock
over). Thicker glass also produces deeper transparent colours.
At MGR we melt glass in an electric kiln and draw in the molten
glass with high temperature tools; the tools being the paint brush
and the molten coloured glass the paint/medium. The product, art
tiles (approx. 4" x 4") and medallions (1 1/2"
x 1 3/4"), displays abstract and impressionistic designs
formed by colour and shape. The art tiles and art medallions are
commonly melted into larger pieces of glass that form the frame
and matting to the art piece. Slumping and/or shaping of the framed
art piece produces a functional piece of glass art.
At least three steps (kiln firings) are required to create functional
fused-glass art:
The initial step entails creation of the artwork by heating prearranged
coloured glass pieces, in a kiln, to melting temperature (fused
at around 1600 degrees F.). The artist moves the molten glass
with various high temperature tools, while it is still in the
kiln, to produce a glass-art design-tile (4 inches square) or
medallion (1 to 2 inches square).
Each artwork is "framed", in the second step, by melting
it onto a larger, shaped (e.g., circle for a dish), coloured or
clear piece of glass - thereby forming a shaped flat glass plate.
Finally, the artist places the flat plate on a mold, reheats
it until pliable, and allows it to slump into the mold shape to
produce a functional object such as a dish, bowl or vase.
Can you use fused glass for food-bearing
surfaces and in cold or warm environments?
Commercially produced fusing glass used at MGR is suitable for
food-bearing surfaces. Properly annealed glass, under normal circumstances,
will remain unaffected in cold (e.g., as street number plates
or signs in winter) or warm (e.g., candle holders or trivets)
environments. MGR does not recommend using fused glass in baking
ovens or microwave ovens. A dishwasher should be okay but do you
really want to wash your fused glass art in a dishwasher? Wash
by hand to put the control and care of the piece directly in your
hands and not Murphy’s.
Can any glass (e.g., recycled bottles)
be used for fused glass art?
Most normal glasses can be fused or melted together but only if
the pieces have the same physical and chemical properties (i.e.,
they are compatible). This is not the case for most consumer glass
such as beer bottles, wine bottles and jam jars; if you melt incompatible
glasses together they will break when cooled or during cooling.
MGR uses tested compatible, specially formulated, fused glass
from Bullseye Glass Co., Uroborus Glass Studios and Wasser Glass
(C.O.E. 90); to insure compatibility we test each sheet of glass
that comes into our studio.
Fused glass is, in most cases, very similar to stained glass,
although fused glass formulas (for the same colours) have been
altered to produce compatible glass with the same C.O.E number.
This requires more stringent control and testing during the manufacturing
of the glass. These differences produce higher prices for fused
glass products. However, some stained glass is compatible with
fused glass. In order to meet the creative needs of the glass
artist, fused glass comes as 1.5 mm, 3 mm and 6 mm thick sheets,
as stringers (spaghetti-like pieces), confetti pieces (paper-thin
glass), noodles (noodle-like pieces) and frits (sized grains of
glass).
