Claudia Knauss
Most of us are familiar with stained glass, having seen beautiful windows in cathedrals, city halls, and even prestigious homes. Translucent qualities in stained glass can result in glimmering light that changes throughout the day. In stained glass, colored pieces are held together by strips of lead soldered and shaped to fit around the glass edges.
Mosaic glass artwork contains an intricate arrangement of small pieces of glass used to create visually stunning designs. After completing the mosaic “picture” desired, grout is commonly added between each glass piece and around the perimeter. Mosaic glass is often used to embellish floors or ceilings, and to craft vases, mirrors, and tabletops.
While the SaddleBrooke Ranch (SBR) Glasshoppers club periodically offers classes in both stained and mosaic glass, fused glass is the technique featured over 90% of the time. Glass fusing is a technique wherein pieces of glass are joined together by heating in a kiln, usually to a specific temperature. Once the glass pieces soften and melt together, they are allowed to cool. Glasshoppers fuse glass into a wide variety of art including cheese plates, platters, bowls, jewelry, ornaments, outside yard art, plant stakes, cake stands, vases, and so much more!
Members begin by choosing and cleaning pieces of compatible glass, which simply means that the glass expands and contracts at the same rate. Sheet glass comes in a variety of colors as well as shapes—such as stringers (like spaghetti strands), noodles (think linguine), rods (straw-like), and frit (crushed glass of different levels of coarseness). The glass is first thoroughly cleaned and then arranged into the desired design. Glass may be layered and can incorporate different shapes in order to add depth to the project.
An assembled piece is then placed into a kiln by Glasshopper volunteers called “monitors,” and baked on a precisely controlled firing schedule. Controlled cooling follows in order to relieve stress in the glass. Members can choose to have their pieces “full fused” to form a completely smooth effect, “contoured” to preserve the shapes of incorporated pieces, or “tacked” to retain maximal shape and texture.
Our Glasshoppers studio owns hundreds of different molds in all sorts of shapes and sizes. A major part of the glass fusing process involves the member deciding what form their glass project will eventually take. Are they wanting a food-safe platter? If so, the desired shape and size will determine the mold chosen. Round? Oval? Rectangular? You get to decide! Deep dish or shallow? Rim or “sushi” (turned up corners)? Being creative, you are encouraged to personalize each project.
In other words, glass fusing combines scientific principles (members can learn, but needn’t know) with artistry. Never fear—a lack of ideas is just not a problem in Glasshoppers. Surrounded by others who eagerly share their own projects and tips, members are always sure to have future projects in mind. It simply comes down to prioritizing your own ideas of fun!
Email Joy Cafferty, membership chair, at Cafferty_j@msn.com to sign up for September’s safety class.