Well I never dreamed that it would be almost two months before I sat down to blog again. First there was the Ball Family Reunion in Lubbock (too short - but definitely worth it) and then there was my trip to London with my daughter (not a leisurely vacation - but way cool - more photos and info later) and then there was a trip to the emergency room (not cool - but better here than in London) that made my world slow down for several weeks.
Now I am ready to clean the house and studio and Do Art! Last weekend we did a "girl thing" and celebrated my daughter-in-law's birthday with a short class at Archiver's. This is a very large scrapbooking store in Austin ( and other places). They carry everything - papers, glues, stamps, albums, organizational containers, ink, chip board, etc. The classes are reasonably priced and loaded with supplies and information on latest trends in scrapbooking or paper art. You will definitely be hooked if you drop in Archiver's and they have monthly coupons for free paper and percent off coupons.
Now back to Fused Glass. I use COE 96 glass. This means the glass has a coefficient of 96. This is a science term. 96 glass must be fused with 96 glass. COE 90 must be fused with 90, etc. Both of these glasses fuse at a temperature of about 1465 degrees F. Glass bottles..like wine bottles must be fused at a different temperature and they will crack if I fuse COE 96 with regular glass bottles...this I know from experience.
I only use a few tools for working with glass. The most expensive investment is the kiln itself. I have a large Skutt Kiln. It is the size that many schools use for pottery. It measures about 24" wide and 18" deep. It will fire pottery or glass and is programmable - so once I punch in the firing sequence, I do not open it again for about 18 hours. This allows the glass to anneal slowly at certain temperatures (to strengthen the glass) and then cool to below 200 degrees.
I also use a pistol grip oil fed glass cutter, a grinder, metal running pliers, mosaic nippers, rulers and glue. My favorite fused glass projects lately are my bowls especially my bird bowls. I love them. I have sold most of them, but I will try to get a photo on to this blog.
More later jt
Now I am ready to clean the house and studio and Do Art! Last weekend we did a "girl thing" and celebrated my daughter-in-law's birthday with a short class at Archiver's. This is a very large scrapbooking store in Austin ( and other places). They carry everything - papers, glues, stamps, albums, organizational containers, ink, chip board, etc. The classes are reasonably priced and loaded with supplies and information on latest trends in scrapbooking or paper art. You will definitely be hooked if you drop in Archiver's and they have monthly coupons for free paper and percent off coupons.
Now back to Fused Glass. I use COE 96 glass. This means the glass has a coefficient of 96. This is a science term. 96 glass must be fused with 96 glass. COE 90 must be fused with 90, etc. Both of these glasses fuse at a temperature of about 1465 degrees F. Glass bottles..like wine bottles must be fused at a different temperature and they will crack if I fuse COE 96 with regular glass bottles...this I know from experience.
I only use a few tools for working with glass. The most expensive investment is the kiln itself. I have a large Skutt Kiln. It is the size that many schools use for pottery. It measures about 24" wide and 18" deep. It will fire pottery or glass and is programmable - so once I punch in the firing sequence, I do not open it again for about 18 hours. This allows the glass to anneal slowly at certain temperatures (to strengthen the glass) and then cool to below 200 degrees.
I also use a pistol grip oil fed glass cutter, a grinder, metal running pliers, mosaic nippers, rulers and glue. My favorite fused glass projects lately are my bowls especially my bird bowls. I love them. I have sold most of them, but I will try to get a photo on to this blog.
More later jt
Fused Glass Bowls....More bowls later..
