Firing and Finishing

A weekend of work ready for firing.

Loading the kiln

The kiln heats up. A full fuse occurs around 1550 degrees. Although in this big kiln, it seem to fuse at about 1450 degrees.

Fusing complete. The pendants appear to be pools of red hot liquid at full fuse. The original color of the glass will come back as they cool. When you reach the fused look you want, it's important to flash cool the kiln by opening it slightly. You want to get the kiln temp down to around 950 degrees. In this range, the glass anneals (controlled cooling that allows the inside of the glass to cool at a similar rate to the outside of the glass).

The next step in finishing the pendants is attaching the pendant bail. I use a small file to lightly file down any rough spots or edges and then "rough up" the area where I plan to put the bail. I then apply a small dab of E6000 to the bail and press it down on the back of the piece. I let a little bit seep over the edges and then use a finger to clean up any excess glue. It's important to let the freshly glued bail sit for about 24 hours before wearing.

A few of the finished pendants from this batch

 

Singing Color

Why do two colors, put one next to the other, sing? Can one really explain this? no. - Picasso

This wasn't my most productive week as far as glass goes. I had a couple of freelance graphic design projects that I focused on instead. But I did make one small batch of pendants. I was basically experimenting with color and shape. I love putting colors together to see if they sing. With glass it can be especially fun, because of the way glasses react to each other. I was really pleased with the white petals and lime green center. I also love using the black base for these because the colors just snap out visually.

Cutting out a shape with the ring saw.

Black glass bases

Top layer of singing color.

Lime green and crisp ivory

Hot orange and cool blue

Lime green, cool blue and crisp ivory

Hot orange, crisp ivory and cool blue

 

Mystery and Surprise

Mystery is at the heart of creativity. That, and surprise. - Julia Cameron

One of the really fun parts of working with glass is the moment when you open up the cooled kiln. The pieces go into the kiln and all sorts of happy accidents and mysterious reactions happen in the intense heat - colors deepen, edges soften, shapes shift. It takes from an hour to several hours to fire a load of pendants depending on which kiln I use. After the firing is complete, I have to let the kiln cool before opening, that takes another 8 hours or so. Saturday, I created a big batch and fired them in my biggest kiln. It was like opening gifts on Christmas morning when I got to open the lid this morning. Below are pictures of the pieces inside the kiln and then some close-ups of the finished pendants.