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I'm actually interested in the plasterdrawing bit not just as a painting medium, but also for the embossing effect--it's a way for me to achieve dimension, texture and color at the same time. Typically I cast the plaster over a clay positive, but drawing into a block of plaster would be a lot more s...

Me crave, me want, me need One of those pieces earn you a month bed & breakfast + dinner at my place. I love them Carol Yeah, well, me craved, me wanted, me NEEDed that first gorgeous golden tangerine piece (and if you think it was wonderful in that picture, you should have seen it in person--i...

Actually, your lead crystal bowl can be anywhere from 1-48% lead (oxide), depending on when and where it was made. Today in the US, "lead crystal" is legally any glass containing 24% or more lead, and anything 30% or more is generally called "fine lead crystal." But a manufacture...

Depends on the shape you want to end up with and how fussy you are about texture. Lots of ways to do it, though. The easiest is to just space them out on a (well-kilnwashed) kilnshelf and fire them in a kiln with a normal fusing schedule. They'll naturally try to flow out to a uniform 1/4 inch thick...

Hey, Peter; Nope, haven't tried the soda blaster yet; I'm thinking I need a separate setup from our SiC blaster to avoid cross-contamination. (And the blaster's at Carol's house, so the logistics of setting up a second pot with separate media are a little complicated anyway) I think I'm probably hea...

Went to their site and can't find any technical information about firing schedules and such. BarryK is there with a PDF testimonial saying it's the best glass he's ever used, so maybe he can chime in with a suggested schedule or three. It does sound as if you trapped a bunch of air that blew out pre...

Marty, Many Warm Glass readers have followed me on Facebook, and requested I post techniques on Warm Glass. They have never seen simple layering before. I am not posting for the old dog, or the fossils. I will never do anything to impress the old guard. I am posting for new folks, who have never he...

Why are these photos appropriate for techniques, but mine are not? Brad Walker's expressed reason for moving my technique photos applies to this thread, as well: Because the Photos and Stuff folder is where you share photos of your work. If this had been a photo of a novel technique or something re...

Not in my experience--it twists off too easily. So far I like 3M's DP-105 for that.

From your description, it may not be a compatibility issue. Compatibility fractures more often outline the incompatible glass pretty precisely, then streak off to the nearest edge. If the break is across multiple colors and never actually outlines a full color, it could be compatibility...but it cou...

Possibly because it's photos of a fairly typical layered fusing layup with little or no explanation? And no, using a chad is not likely to eliminate bubbles "entirely" in a layup like this. You would get more control over the final outcome (and the bubbles) if you fused the layers separate...

Nice shots. And yup; I've had them go all the way to crystals. Looks like whiskery rock candy--had that happen with pate de verre in a plaster/silica mold once and I was surprised at how large (maybe 3-4 mm) the crystals can actually become.

But if you could apply the blaster evenly enough...? I actually want the irregular surface (or at least a version of the surface I'm starting with, not one that's perfectly flattened). Reason I'm asking is that I'm having great success with vibratory tumblers in taking the surface down very evenly, ...

I heated it up to 1525F on a slow casting schedule and let it drip into a similar plaster/silica cylinder. Cynthia, what type of glass did you use? Pete Was using Bullseye 3mm sheet (mostly because I had it handy), different color for every cube that I mapped so I could see where it went. It was se...

Have the discs become demagnetized? You might want to check to see how well they're sticking. Then I'd look at what's on both disc and the turntable--if there's rust or pits that could interfere, particularly if the disc is too rigid to accommodate.

Has anyone ever tried polishing glass with a sandblaster? I've got some pretty good polish routines down for my handheld pieces, but my big castings are way too large for the machines and the handwork is handnumbingly extensive. I'm wondering if a small sandblast cabinet could be set up to first cle...

Yes--lathe cutters use sandstone wheels (among other things). Saw a Harcuba demo using them, very impressive--I was surprised at the softness of the cut and the amount of material he could remove. (Of course, it was Jirji Harcuba, so who knows if a normal person can do that) I don't see why you coul...

You can "flip-n-fire" next time, i.e., glue white petals on the black background (use a sheet instead of frit, obviously), similarly glue down fritballs or however you got the green dots, turn it upside down and fire it face down on the kilnshelf. Then you flip it over, sandblast or lightl...

You won't necessarily see the fibers, but that doesn't mean they're not there, and if they are embedded a green scrubby won't get (all of) them off. What's left can show up in subsequent firings just under the surface, as little goofy-shaped bubbles, hazy areas or specks of "dirt." If they...

Devitrification is a physical change in the composition of a glass, where it begins to form crystals at the surface, and literally stops being glass. (hence, devitrification). It's certainly not just the province of art glasses although some are more prone to devitrification than others. You get ri...