Tuesday 22 May 2007

Creating a Glass Dish Part 3


So here is the glass, fully fused. It is really a glass tile that now has to be slumped. Glass can be slumped (falls into a mould) or sagged (falls over a mould). This occurs at a lower fusing temperature than full fusing. I prepare the mould in the same way that I prepare the kiln shelf, by applying kiln wash with a brush. I take care when applying the wash so that it doesn't run down the inside of the mould and gather at the bottom only. Before I place the glass tile on the mould I check the base to see if there is any kiln wash stuck to it or any residue. I rinse the glass in hot water and vinegar and dry it carefully. In this image you will see that the glass tile has been placed on the slumping mould. The glass should be the same size or slightly smaller than the mould. Any larger and the glass will slump over the edges as well as sinking to the bottom of the mould. The pink edge of the glass is actually the fresh kiln wash showing through the clear glass.
Now I fuse the glass to exactly the same schedule as before except, when the kiln has reached 1,400f, I turn the kiln dial down to 2 and leave it for two hours. The glass will have slumped into the mould but hasn't reached its strain release point so I don't put the glass through an annealing segment.

1 comment:

  1. This is great! I love seeing the steps being an item in your shop!
    Love the new white stripes dish in the store, looks like zebra print- which I stare at all day so it amuses me greatly that I like it!

    ReplyDelete

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