Fused Glass Design Evolution

This fused glass bowl is one of those pieces that evolved into the finished design. The original design was from the Bullseye Glass website Tint Tone Plate. This is a great website for technical information on glass fusing and design ideas. I used strips of glass in a bronze cathedral, opal ivory, and clear. Mine was going to be a rectangle measuring 12.5 inches x 7.5 inches. During the first full fuse firing a “mump” developed. A “mump” is where air is trapped between two layers of glass and can’t escape.

Plan B

I used my tile saw to cut the piece in two where the mump was. Then it went back into the kiln to fire polish the cut edge. Next I slumped the rectangle into a stainless steel mold. I am sure I mentioned in another post what a pain it is to kiln wash stainless molds. When I took the piece out of the mold, the kiln wash left a lot of texture on the back of the piece. I probably needed a few more coats of kiln wash. Sometimes texture is good. In this case I wasn’t happy with the way this looked.

Plan C

I sand blasted the bottom of the plate. I liked the look of that, and then decided I also wanted to sand blast some of the top for added interest. I masked off a few stripes and went to the sand blaster. I liked it; the texture added interest, but somehow it didn’t feel right. There was too much contrast.

Plan D

I sanded the mold to remove all of the kiln wash and then use a boron nitrate spray as a release agent. I put the dish back into the mold and did another slump fire schedule in the kiln. This softened the sand blasted areas leaving a very subtle texture.

Finally! I am happy with the end result. Here are some pictures.