Fused Glass

What is it?

Fused Glass – melting different colours of glass together in a kiln at temperatures from around 780 to 840 °C

Encapsulation – trapping another material between two layers of glass in the fusing process. This can be organic – e.g. skeleton leaves or non-organic – e.g. wire, copper sheet. Definitely open to experimentation, but be careful with regard to non-organic materials, they can produce toxic fumes.

Compatibility, Compatibility, Compatibility

For glass to fuse successfully, it MUST be compatible. Bullseye and Shott have made this very simple by manufacturing glass specifically for fusing. All Bullseye glass is compatible with all other Bullseye glass, and all Schott Artista is compatible with all other Schott Artista. There’s also a new range called Baoli that is compatible with float (window) glass.

Test firings

- To make 100% sure the glass is compatible
- To determine how the colours you are fusing react with the other colours you are using
- To find out what happens to the material you are encapsulating

Equipment needed

Compatible glass of various colours, glass cutter, glass cleaner, fusing glue, inclusions (if encapsulating)

Methods for making fused glass

Any combination of the following, and others you may want to experiment with:

- Use a base glass (blank) that you glue other coloured shapes on to
- Overlap various shapes/colours and glue them together
- Sandwich inclusion between two pieces of glass
- Stack glass on its edge

Firing

The hotter the glass is fired, the more it melts together.

A ‘full-fuse’ is the hottest – the glass is fused together to create a smooth surface
A ‘tack-fuse’ is the coldest – the glass is laminated together and retains individual shapes
A ‘medium fuse’ – the glass is partially melted but retains evidence of individual shapes

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