New Fused Glass Pattern Bar Bowls & Plates

I've been busy stocking up and trying to make larger pieces in preparation for the Association of Clay and Glass Artists (ACGA) show earlier this month (this was the show that I posted about earlier with the live jury).  Here's a few pieces that I made within the past month.

The first is a commission piece for a friend of mine:

I liked the look of the blue and green combination, so I decided to expand on it using both the progressive and bookend pattern bar techniques:

I also made another bowl using the black/grey/red combination.  I tried in the past to make a fused glass plate using black/white/red but found that a little challenging since the black and white combination make pattern bar work much more difficult (black fires softer, while white fires harder).

Keeping the black/red combination going, I made a fabulous 12" plate using the bookend pattern bars across and down.  It's difficult to see but there's a dark red strip about 2/3's of the way down.

This was also difficult to photograph.  If I put it against the light, the colors are a little too bright.  The following two photos give a sense of that (bright colors) but turned out much better than the photo above did when backlit.

The ACGA show turned out to be a great show, so all the trouble of the live jury was worth it.  The quality of the work was very impressive, especially considering that there were about 160 clay and glass artists only.  It was inspiring to see the breadth and variety of clay and glass work.

Now that it's over, I have three more pattern bar blocks that I'll be cutting up this week, so I'll be posting some new work in the upcoming months.  The color palate will be new for me - a little more muted or fall type colors - blues & grays and ambers & greens.

Let me know what you think and if there are any color combination or designs that particularly strike you.

Making Fused Glass Pattern Bar Pendants & What I Learned

Since I'm making functional art glass (e.g. plates, bowls and platters) using pattern bars, I thought I would see try my hand at using pattern bars as pendants.  I decided to pursue two styles, the bookend pattern bar (where there's a mirror image) and the Roman pattern bar (which has a series of columns).  I also wanted to play around with shapes so that the design could be accentuated.  

For the bookend pattern bar, I decided on a fat triangle or fan shape as I liked seeing a wider portion of the glass to reflect the mirror image.  To help decide on the shape, I have a number of plastic templates like the kind you would use in drawing architecture plans. However, if you didn't have these, you could also cut shapes out of paper.  This gives you an idea of what the pendant will look like once it's cut.  For the Roman pattern bar, I decided on a trapezoid shape. I was a little limited on the width as it's only one bar (whereas the bookend is two).

The next consideration was what type of bail to use.  I had planned on cutting a donut hole on the trapezoid shape but once I received the drill bit, I realized it wouldn't work on my Dremel.  Note: I guess a new drill is on the "to buy" list sometime in the future.  Also, since each of the pendants have transparency built in, I didn't want to use a standard bail.  So, I decided to try using pinch bails.  To use a pinch bail, you need to drill a hole in the glass and then "pinch" the bail closed through the holes.

Lessons learned:

• Buy a lot of drill bits.  One bit can drill one pendant or it can drill several.  On my first round, I went through a pack of 6 in no time and had more left to drill. Next time, I ordered a pack of 25.
• Don't try to stretch the drill bits - as soon as it looks like the diamond coating is worn off, toss it.  Otherwise, you will end up cracking the glass. You'll know the diamond coating is gone when you see the hole is black or the drilled run-off is black or the bit doesn't seem to make a much of an impression.
• Drill from both sides rather than trying to make it through on one.  This gives a cleaner hole and you're less likely to have a larger puncture mark.  To help identify where to drill on the back side if you're drilling through opaque glass, I put a pin in one side and view from the side, so I can determine where to mark on the back side to line up the hole.
• Buy large bails.  Since I knew the glass would be 6mm or so, I needed to get a wide bail.  However, in addition to being wide, having long bails also helps as you need the length plus width to help get the bail closed around thick piece of glass.  I originally purchased a shorter bail for the above pendant but it wouldn't close.  Note: with larger bails, you may need to cut the prong length.
• Use jewelry pliers, if you have them, to close the bails - I have chain nose pliers that helped pinch the bails shut.

It certainly was a learning experience making these but I'm glad that I tried it.  I like the look much better than the standard bails, although one of these days, I still need to try making donut pendants.

Fused Glass Pattern Bar Bowl: Lessons Learned

In my last post, I wrote about how I was able to save some of the glass that failed and showed a picture of the blank before it was slumped.  Well here's the final product:

I am thrilled with the result and it's been sitting on my kitchen table since I finished it.  This is also my first bowl as I was space constrained in my old kiln and in general I hate the idea of creating excess glass from cutting out circles (all circles are made from squares).  Although now, I'm planning to make more and have my sights on another larger bowl mold.

In the process of making this, I learned a couple of things that I thought I would pass along:

• As the rim shows, you can no longer have a layer of clear and a layer of color, which is the normal fusing process.  The deeper the slump, the more the rim will show.  In the future, I might reverse the color (e.g. white on one side, black on the other) or have two layers of the same color.
• I incorporated the pattern bars right into the fused blank and ended up using my tile saw to cut off the excess and grinder to neaten up the edges.  This process worked pretty well and saved me from a lot of grinding!  To determine where to cut, I used a protractor and drew a circle with a white DecoColor pen (this is what many manufacturers use to mark glass as it doesn't come off easily).
• I needed to use a level to make sure the mold and glass was sitting evenly before I slumped it.  The mold I used is a ball shaped mold but when you put it on posts, it can shift depending upon where you have the posts.  Fortunately, it didn't look right in the kiln so I was able to adjust it before I slumped it.

As I live in the Bay Area, we just got a Bullseye Resource Center here.  One of the benefits of the Resource Center is that Bullseye has all of their molds on display with a sample of what the slumped glass looks like.  This is so helpful as the slumped glass looks differently in person than it does on their website (this is because you have the scale and depth that you don't have in photographs).  Based on looking at the bowls, I've returned two unused bowl molds and am purchasing another one that I most likely would not have purchased based on what I saw online.

Looking forward to making more of these!

Fused Glass Trial and Error

"Trial and error" and "test and learn" are used a lot in business and imply that one is optimizing or improving upon a process or product.  I've used these terms in product marketing and research, especially.  However, when they apply to fused glass, it's a different story.

Most people who see my work don't see behind the scenes.  When I venture into a new area, there's always a learning process.  Most of the time, it means failure.  Repeated failure until I get the firing schedule right.  And here, failure means cracked glass and lost time.

Part of the problem in the past has been my kiln, which I corrected by getting a new kiln.  Part of the problem is that the new work I'm doing is more complex, using multiple colors at higher temperatures with longer hold times (which can change the property of the glass).  And, part of the problem is that I'm firing multiple times and working on larger pieces.  My new work with pattern bars is particularly susceptible to breakage, typically along the seam where two bars are joined. Even though I have learned to fire very conservatively that doesn't always guarantee success.

Fortunately, glass can be repurposed so not all is lost.  I try to retain the design elements to use in new work.  Having a tile saw can be a real asset to cut up the glass and use it again.  Here's a picture of a piece that will be used to make a bowl.

Although glass failures are not ideal, there are still some lessons that I can pass on, so hopefully you won't have the same issues.

• Check your kiln elements relative to the size of the piece.  I was having problems in my old kiln as I was pushing the size limit with 12" squares (kiln interior was 14.5") and elements that were circular, making it difficult to heat the corners (notice the crack line in earlier photo above).
• Fix any sagging elements.  My "new" kiln was used and had one sagging element (hanging down about 2" from one end of the kiln to the other) which created uneven heating, especially on large pieces.
• Keep good records of your firing schedules so that you can make adjustments on future firings.  When in doubt, slower is better.  You'll want to make sure to have a long enough annealing hold based on the size and thickness of your glass piece.  And, if you notice that the glass is cracking on the way up, you'll want to increase your annealing and/or ramp up slower to 480-600 degrees.   The more important the piece, the slower I go.
• Don't coldwork the piece until the glass is cool.  This can add to its stress.
• Test your kiln to see how the heat is being distributed. Bullseye Glass has a good tutorial on this here
• Consider making a "test" piece first.  I typically don't do this but recently I've had a problem slumping a piece in my new kiln.  Before I make another attempt on a real project, I am going to make a test blank to make sure I have the right set-up and schedule.  After going through 3 firings and coldworking, I don't want to lose all that work on the last firing.
• Consider varying thicknesses of glass and anneal for the thickest part, especially if you are tack fusing or have varying layers and are not full fusing.  This hasn't been an issue for me as I don't tend to create work that is tack fused but I thought I would pass it along.

Fused Glass Success! Persistence with Live Jury Pays Off

In a previous post, I mentioned that I participated in a live jury (without success) to become an exhibiting member of the Association of Clay and Glass Artists (ACGA).  Well, a few months ago, I juried for the second time and got in!  I'm thrilled - partially because it is not easy to jury in and partially because of the quality of the other exhibiting members.

Much of my exhibit remained the same as before but I also added in a few new pieces (below), substituting for smaller pieces.

I've been a little kiln challenged making larger pieces and I'm in the process of addressing this - step 1: buy larger kiln - done!  Step 2: adjust firing schedule - still working on this part but I think I'm there :)

I have a few more pattern bar projects in process and will hopefully post photos once they're done.  In the meantime, persistence is a good thing when venturing into new glass work although I am beginning to dislike the term "trial and error".

How To Get 50 Different Glass Magnets From 3 Pattern Bars

This year, I participated in a magnet exchange with members of the Warm Glass board.  It's actually called a "magless" exchange because everyone provides the glass but not the magnets (saves on shipping).

Since I've been playing around with pattern bars, I decided to try a couple of new variations, with designs that I might use for a larger plate.  I started with a couple of frit bars (2 color – opaque and transparent from frit I made) as well as a random pattern bar (technique learned from Brock Craig).

My first round of pattern bars were 2 ½” wide – this is because these were the narrowest dams I had (actually, I could have made some 1 ½”wide had I thought about using the width in advance)  After a little coldworking, I combined those bars with layered sheet glass into a new pattern bar.  I did this in two steps to create a nice clean line between the layered sheet glass and the bars, which I fired again. The second bar has layers of black and red sheet glass with red transparent and opaque frit.

The final bars were ground, cut with a tile saw and coated with devitrication spray before being fire polished.

Before firing:

After firing:

What I learned:

• Large pieces of frit condensed down more than I expected – I knew this but didn’t think about it as I was limited to the amount of frit I had.  Fortunately, this wasn’t an issue as I had already planned to combine it with sheet glass.
• It’s best to plan the size of the pattern bars ahead of time so that you have the right sized dams.  At the time I cut up my kiln shelves, I had not planned on making narrow pattern bars (i.e. wasn’t planning on making maglesses), so I had to get creative with using the dams to make everything fit as the final bars were less than 2 ½” wide but not 1 ½” wide.
• I misjudged how many pieces I would have once I cut up the pattern bars. The blade ate up more glass than I anticipated.
• The devitrification spray did not work as well as I hoped – I should have sprayed a heavier coat and took the time to swab the sides (easier to do with one large plate than 64 maglesses).  Originally, I planned to sandblast them, which I should have done but was feeling a little rushed to finish them and opted for the “quicker” route rather than drive to the city to use the sandblaster.

And, here's what I received in exchange.  I have to say I was quite thrilled opening the box and looking at all the different designs. 

Here's a few of the more intricate designs and the ones that particularly appeal to me:

Now I just have to figure out what to do with all of them.  My husband has suggested that put magnets on them, buy a nice board and put them up over my work area in garage.  Any other suggestions?  Which ones do you like?

Live Jury Experience

In my prior post, I mentioned part of the reason that I was creating new work besides just overall interest in the technique was for a live jury that I had this month.  Normally, jurying just involved submitting photographs but for this jury, each candidate had to select 8-12 pieces that they would set up on a 6' table.  The jurying took place at Fort Mason, San Francisco and all the artists had to be set up by 7:00 pm.  Then we had to clear the room (a waiting area was provided) and come back at 9:30 pm to pick up our work.  Fortunately, I live in Oakland, so it wasn't too difficult to travel back and forth.  However, some artists drove from Chico or Los Angeles and had to spend the night.

Here's what my table looked like:

While, its a little hard to see each item,  this give you an idea of my display and set up - symmetrical, on white, with lights behind the three main pieces, which was a nice effect as I didn't get the benefit of being in front of the window once the sun went down.

Unfortunately though, I was not accepted to be an exhibiting member.  The feedback was that while the judges appreciated the technique, they wanted to see a deeper exploration in terms of form.  I should mention that the jury was made up of ceramicists and glass artists, so for a ceramicist it's much easier to have different forms of bowls, vases...etc.  Their comment was that my shapes looked similar, which was actually my intent.  I make plates and platter in the same shape so that they can be mixed and matched.

However, they encouraged me to apply again (next jury will be in October; although jury members will be different).  So I guess in the meantime, I'll be playing around with some bowls and possibly draping to get a vase-like effect.  If you have any suggestions for other forms, please let me know.  And, when I get around to taking close-up photos to put on my website, I'll include them in a post so you can better see the designs (or include a link to my website).

Making Fused Glass Pattern Bars - Part 1: Prep

I have been fascinated by pattern bars as I love the colors and designs that they make.  However, the "how to's" of pattern bars are not easy to find.  So in 2009, I took a class on how to make them offered by Brock Craig in Vancouver, Canada.  While I had planned to take the class later (closer to the time I actually planned to make them), this was Brock's last class and I wanted to learn the technique, a couple of which he developed.

Here's an example of what Brock calls a "random pattern bar." I've also seen this technique referred to as a "progressive pattern bar," which I find a little more descriptive.  While I made the pattern bar in Brock's class, I finally got around to fusing the bars into a panel and I am very happy with the results.

Making pattern bars require a fair amount of prep work.  The first thing you need are dams for containing the glass.  To calculate the number of dams I would need and their size, I did the following:

• Determined how I would use the pattern bars in finished work - this tells me the height of the dam
• Next I made a plan for how I would lay out the pattern bars on the shelf - this tells me how many dams I needs of each size 
• Then I made a plan of how I would cut up my kiln shelves.  Note: if you don't have a tile saw, you can go to a ceramics supply store and have them cut it for you or you can purchase dams from Bullseye, although this will get a little pricey.

It took me a while to cut up the kiln shelves as my rip guide broke and I needed to order another one from the manufacturer.  Cutting the shelves was like cutting butter - so easy compared to cutting up glass but also pretty messy as the ground ceramic was everywhere. 

 

Once the shelves are cut, the next step is to apply kiln wash to the dams, ideally on both sides.

I just loaded my first firing - 4 pattern bars.  It took A LOT longer than I anticipated.  Although I had already determined that my first round would contain blues and greens, it took me a while to cut the glass and figure out how I wanted to lay everything out - ideally, altering opaque and transparent glass.  I also had a problem with getting all the glass into the area for the pattern bar, so I think my pattern bars will end up thinner than I would like.  The way you're supposed to do it right is to figure out the ideal weight based on the size (which I did) but I couldn't physically get all the glass in the allotted space.  So next time, I will need to cut wider pieces and see if that works.

The glass just went into the kiln and the next post will share how they came out and show the additional bars (multi-colored) that I plan to make over the next couple of days.