Firing the Kiln...finally!

I ordered my kiln and it took about 4 weeks to arrive!!! When it finally did I couldn't wait to try it out, but first came the fun part...the instructions. I know sometimes reading the instructions isn't so much fun but when you are going to fire a small kiln, with molten hot glass and bricks that are 1465 degrees, it's one of those times when you should! Once I had read through the manual and the book about the fire process, I set up the kiln. The first firing of my kiln was just to set the bricks in place, which prevents cracking in future firings. Then in the next firing I put in five pendants and two pairs of earrings, then crossed my fingers. I think the first time went pretty well, and the picture above is a piece from that firing.

To Kiln or Not to Kiln

When I first started making glass jewelry it was in at Diablo Glass www. diabloglassschool.com in Roxbury, MA. I took my first glass there and was instantly hooked. Once you take a class you can rent studio time so I did and further explored the world of fused glass. As the months passed I began to think maybe I should get my own kiln. The prices of the kilns were daunting, it was more money then I had spent on anything for my business. Then the holidays rolled around and I made a pledge to myself if I could make enough money for a new kiln then I would buy one. December came and went and when all was said and done I was able to buy my new kiln (shown here). It was like Christmas all over again the day it arrived it the mail!

Glass, Glass and More Glass

The number one rule in fused glass is using glass that has the same COE number. Why is this important? COE stands for Coefficient of Expansion, which means  how fast the glass expands and contracts. This is important because glass that is not compatible will lead to all sorts of problems in your jewelry making and with you kiln itself. Even though there are numerous variations of glass,  I prefer Bullseye 90 glass, my favorite suppliers are www.coe90.com. and www.delphiglass.com. Glass comes in sheets (as shown above), rods, stringers (long solid tubes of glass) and frit (sand like pieces of glass). I've found that using sheets of glass and stringers work well for my creations. A large part of my work involves paint, painting designs and color schemes. This is definitely a blog topic for another day!

Cutting Glass...Band Aids Sold Separately

After deciding on which glass pieces to use, the next step is the challenge,: creating fused glass jewelry. This process begins by cutting the glass. The glass is cut using a supercutter shown on the left that scores the glass. You know you are using the suppercutter right when it makes a sound similar to nails on a chalk board. There are suppercutters that have an oil filled chamber but it isn't necessary just a matter of your preference. Once the glass is scored you use a pair of running pilers to break the glass shown here on the right. As I'm sure you can guess cutting glass always results in small shards of glass on you work surface. Therefore running your hand over the table to clear the cuttings is not a good idea. Believe me even though you can't see them the little pieces of glass are there! Which makes a box of band aids and eye protection to important things to have in your studio.