"Glass fusing is the process of using a kiln to join together pieces of glass. If you apply heat to glass, it will soften.  If you continue to apply heat, the glass will become more fluid and flow together.  Two or more pieces of glass will stick (or “fuse”) to each other.  When the right kind of glass is heated and then cooled properly, the resulting fused glass piece will be solid and unbroken.”

 

Contemporary Warm Glass: A Guide to Fusing, Slumping, and Related Kiln-forming Techniques, by Brad Walker. (Highly Recommended)

 

 

Why would anyone want to stick glass together? Actually, it can be a very involved art with some science thrown in to make things really exciting.

 

The simplest projects, cabinet door inserts for instance, need just one firing in the kiln to adhere the glass layers together.

 

Plates and bowls need at least two firings – one to make the “blank” and a second to slump it into a mold.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. We can: paint on glass, sandwich metals between glass, carve molds to cast shapes in glass, drip molten glass through screening to create new patterns, trap bubbles, make and slice pattern bars with a glass saw, etc., etc.

 

The possibilities are endless and, with a bit of imagination, the results can be incorporated into almost any regular stained glass project. Check out some of our creations in our Gallery or visit the Cranberry Stained Glass Studio to see for yourself.

 

After “Sharing Our Passion for Glass”, “Experimenting With Glass” should be our second motto since we are always up to testing the limits of the medium, our equipment and our knowledge.