360 Fusion: Year in Review and Fused Glass Goals for 2013

For the past two years, my fusing goals are pretty much the same - create new fused glass plate/platter and panel designs as well as jewelry designs and use up scrap or excess glass.  Scrap is what's left over when you cut out sheet glass.  As everything is made with sheet glass, you accumulate a lot of small bits of glass every year.  Fortunately, I don't seem to be accumulating too much more; however, I don't seem to be making a dent either.  I guess you could say that "holding steady" is not so bad but I'm going to make a concerted effort in 2013.  

As for my goals for 2012, there were some things that I did and others that will roll over to 2013.  Here's how I fared: 

• Create pattern bars and use them in plates, platters and panels - done. For 2013, I plan to expand this into larger platters, smaller plates, pendants, and bowls 
• Experiment with bowls using high temp shelf melts, frit and small glass pieces - rolled over to 2013.  I tried making a few bowls this year but they did not turn out as I had hoped and unfortunately added to my scrap pile.
• Make small plates from pot melt centers - done.  I tried this but wasn't really happy with the result.  I may try to do something with screen melts.
• Create dichroic frit and consider using it to decorate boxes - rolled over to 2013.
• Expand into new types of jewelry: wire-wrapped almond shaped pendants, wire-wrapped coiled pendants with gemstones, stretch and charm bracelets, rings, and new earring designs - all done with the exception of rings, which will be rolled over to 2013
• Experiment with new holiday ornaments (hearts and a new snowflake design) - made a new wreath ornament, decided against the new snowflake design and rolled the heart ornaments over to 2013.

Other things accomplished this year included: getting a new kiln (and the 220V wiring), wet belt sander and DSLR camera.  In addition, I purchased pipe & drape for indoor shows.  My "studio" is getting a little crowded but I am very thankful for items with castors!

In addition to this year's goals that I'm rolling over to 2013, my fusing goals for the upcoming year include the following:

• Expand and refine jewelry designs (I try to turn over my designs every other year)
• Make draped votive holders and experiment with layering glass
• Experiment with various Christmas tree ornaments

I'll be posting as I progress through the year.  However, as I've already written about some of the techniques, I'll try not to be repetitive.  Currently, I've been making a few shelf melts in new colors that I'll cut up so I can restock my plate inventory which is pretty low.  I also will be making some new pattern bars as I have a commission platter that due in January although I'm still waiting for my glass distributor to get in a certain color that I'll be using for the base.

2012 has been a good year for me, especially in terms of glass fusing.  I hope it's also been a good year for you too.  Happy New Year and best wishes for an even better 2013!  

Fused Glass Holiday Ornaments & Decorations

Happy Holidays from 360 Fusion!

Every season I make a new type of ornament and expand my holiday coaster selection.  Here's my new ornament for this year:

This wreath is made from crushed glass frit that I made myself.  I used a combination of opaque and transparent glass and formed the shape using a round cookie cutter and then pushed the glass around a bit to fill in the gaps.  The red balls are made from coarse red frit that's been fired at 1500 degrees.  The ornament is tack fused at 1350 degrees with a round wired loop that used for the hanger.  For my first attempt, I thought I could drill a hole but the fragility of the tack fused, crushed glass wouldn't withstand the pressure of the drill.  I'm happy with how this turned out as the texture of the glass gives the wreath more dimension.

Last year I made these fused glass coasters in red (which is still my favorite), but this year I expanded the color spectrum to include an olive and Christmas green.  The clear glass "fracture & streamer" glass already included red and green but I augmented the glass with red and green confetti (thin glass chards) to add more color.  It turns out that these colors were just as popular as the red one.

As Christmas is just around the corner, I wanted to wish you and your family a very blessed and joyous holiday.