Fused Glass Wall Hanging

Materials and Tools:

fusible/compatible glass
copper screen
high fire enamel
steel rod-hex rod is nice or square bar
hardware store u-clamps
2 pairs nuts and bolt, matching drill bit
Easycut printing material (used by children to make linoleum type prints)
paper
crayons
colored pens
stamp pad
bamboo stick for scratching
silk-screen machine
Spirograph-type machine
linoleum cutters for art
drill press
metal shears
glass cutter and related tools
cutting oil
grozing pliers
breakers
metal stylus for scratching paint
dust mask
palette knife
piece of glass for palette

Steps:

1. Cut a square of clear glass 10" x 10". It is always a good to begin with a large sheet, the size that is required. The glass will be laid on a kiln shelf that is protected by fiber paper that is ready for firing.

2. Cut a piece of copper screen and lay it onto the glass. The screen should be eight inches wide by 14 inches long. It should be placed so that there is a one-inch border or empty glass space on the bottom and the two sides, with additional screen coming over the top edge of the glass and resting on the kiln shelf.

3. Cut some squares and rectangles in various colors that will fill up this space end to end, like a puzzle. Also cut clear shapes that match these smaller color shapes in size.

4. Use high-fire enamel for painting. To mix it, paint it on prepared clear smaller shapes that match the color shapes . Allow to dry thoroughly.

5. Take the clear smaller shapes with the dried enamel and then do fun techniques to get imagery. Draw onto the paint with a pencil, or maybe take a pencil drawing and trace it onto the paint with carbon paper. Do scraffito, or scratch lines through to reveal the color underneath. This square will then be placed on top of the colored piece that matches it in size. This is like scratchboard work.

6. Cut the easycut, then mix the enamel and print onto glass. This is like doing the potato print.

7. Perform another scrafitto technique, but this time use the like-like toy to actually scratch through the paint, to get one of those really cool linear designs.

8. After this layer of all the imagery, cut other pieces of glass to lay on the top of the squares, using various colors to increase the palette.

9. Glue everything is into place.

10. You might want to overlap some of the butterfly shapes on the top surface. This will help to give the illusion of depth.

11. The glass should be blocked in with kiln furniture so that it holds its shape in the melting process.

12. Wrap the screen over a predrilled metal rod (drilled through) and screw together the hardware and screen.

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