Does it sound strange that a terracotta flowerpot can be used to produce beautiful glass? Well, it’s possible to place pieces of glass into a terracotta flowerpot and then to balance the pot on beams in the kiln to enable the kiln to be heated to 1700 degrees F. At that temperature the glass will fold or swirl out of the pot (depending on the size and shape of the hole in the bottom of the pot) and land on the bottom of the kiln. The glass is often quite beautiful and unique and may be used alone or as part of other creations. The small blue and white plate in the gallery (SB1) includes blue glass that was created in an aperture pour (the fancy name for heating pieces of glass in the pot).

This is an example of sandblasting dichroic glass to produce an image or pattern on the glass (in this case a somewhat controversial image). Sandblasting is an effective technique used to enhance fused glass creations.

If you’ve fallen in love with making glass beads or fused glass or if you’ve always wanted to try glass, then eventually you’ll need to create a place for yourself and your glass. Between shards of glass, torches, and kilns, glass doesn’t work as well on the kitchen table as do beads or wire. You need to organize a safe area to work in where (more…)