fusing hand prints and paints

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Reba
Posts: 10
Joined: Fri Apr 22, 2005 6:53 pm
Location: Montreal, Canada

fusing hand prints and paints

Post by Reba »

hi,

i thought i read somewhere on the board that we can get a handprint impression by putting palm of hand in glass paints then printing handprint onto glass blank, capping, and firing.

can't seem to find it on search.

anyone know this technique, or another, to get a hand print?

thanks,

reba
Bert Weiss
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Location: Chatham NH
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Re: fusing hand prints and paints

Post by Bert Weiss »

Reba wrote:hi,

i thought i read somewhere on the board that we can get a handprint impression by putting palm of hand in glass paints then printing handprint onto glass blank, capping, and firing.

can't seem to find it on search.

anyone know this technique, or another, to get a hand print?

thanks,

reba
I would advise prefiring your print before capping and fusing. Otherwise unburnt organics will wreak havoc with the vitreous colors. Glass paints are thickness sensitive. Too little color and it tends to burn out, too much and you get funky looking surface. So you need to get the right amount of paint on your glass. You can really only learn this through practice and experimentation.
Bert

Bert Weiss Art Glass*
http://www.customartglass.com
Furniture Lighting Sculpture Tableware
Architectural Commissions
Valerie Adams
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Location: Santa Rosa, California
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Re: fusing hand prints and paints

Post by Valerie Adams »

My five year-old niece was here in April and wanted to work in glass. I did her handprint with Barry Kaiser's pre-mixed enamel paint. It was fired on top without a cap and while we did lose a little color, it was ok. This was orange paint, with the photo taken before firing the piece:
handprint.jpg
Reba
Posts: 10
Joined: Fri Apr 22, 2005 6:53 pm
Location: Montreal, Canada

Re: fusing hand prints and paints

Post by Reba »

thanks Burt,

the "Glassline" paint that i have on hand recommend tack fusing blanks.

would a contour fuse ensure more burn off?

also, any idea how safe it is to use glass paints on skin?

thank you,

Reba
Bert Weiss wrote:
Reba wrote:hi,

i thought i read somewhere on the board that we can get a handprint impression by putting palm of hand in glass paints then printing handprint onto glass blank, capping, and firing.

can't seem to find it on search.

anyone know this technique, or another, to get a hand print?

thanks,

reba
I would advise prefiring your print before capping and fusing. Otherwise unburnt organics will wreak havoc with the vitreous colors. Glass paints are thickness sensitive. Too little color and it tends to burn out, too much and you get funky looking surface. So you need to get the right amount of paint on your glass. You can really only learn this through practice and experimentation.
Bert Weiss
Posts: 2339
Joined: Tue Mar 11, 2003 12:06 am
Location: Chatham NH
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Re: fusing hand prints and paints

Post by Bert Weiss »

The reason you prefire the colors is to burn off the organic matter in the medium. If you don't, carbon and gasses can get stuck inside the glass and the colors will turn black and the glasses won't stick where the carbon is. All that is required is enough heat to burn off the organics and to make the colors vitrify so they stick. My colors will do this at 1080ºF. I don't use Glassline, so you would have to test. 1080 is a low enough temperature that my float glass does not move out of flat. If I were using a fusing glass, I would add some lead bearing flux that vitrifies 100º warmer, and fire accordingly.

It is OK to get glass paint on your skin. If there is lead in the paint, don't pick your nose or lick your fingers. Assume there is some lead.
Bert

Bert Weiss Art Glass*
http://www.customartglass.com
Furniture Lighting Sculpture Tableware
Architectural Commissions
Reba
Posts: 10
Joined: Fri Apr 22, 2005 6:53 pm
Location: Montreal, Canada

Re: fusing hand prints and paints

Post by Reba »

thanks burt,

my glassline paints claim to be lead free/food safe, so i will try a lead bearing flux experiment...when i get some lead bearing flux!

i did some paint tests on Spec 96, and found Glassline easy to work with. i liked the effects. i used some Paradise paints when i first started with glass, and liked those too. but, i am fairly new at glass paints, so i have much to explore. exciting!!!

by the way, i took some impressions of my grandson's hands today. i found it easier and more effective to paint the glass, then press a clean hand to the painted blank than to paint the hand. the negative impression leaves the fine lines of the palm, and there appears to be more "authentic" curves to the hand. i fire them tomorrow. let's see.

reba
Reba
Posts: 10
Joined: Fri Apr 22, 2005 6:53 pm
Location: Montreal, Canada

Re: fusing hand prints and paints

Post by Reba »

Valerie Adams wrote:My five year-old niece was here in April and wanted to work in glass. I did her handprint with Barry Kaiser's pre-mixed enamel paint. It was fired on top without a cap and while we did lose a little color, it was ok. This was orange paint, with the photo taken before firing the piece:
handprint.jpg
hi valerie,
thanks for posting your pic
your grandson's hand impression is adorable. you seemed to have got a good even coating, colour, and impression! well done!!! did you use kaiser paints? i took some impressions today, but still haven't fired them.

i also traced my grandson's hand on thin firing paper, laid it on a cl. blank, capped it with cl. and did a full fuse firing. by some miracle, it came out interesting, and still has some potential, but there must have been moisture in the paper because i got a huge bubble (1/4 of entire piece). but, the bubble is solid and perfectly round, and it appears like the hand is reacing into it, so it works! also, i guess because of the ink on the bullseye firing paper the burn off got trapped and a huge black circle emerged, but again it is a good circle, and positioned okay, so it works too! the main drawback to the piece is that where the bubble is the paper has crumbled away from two fingers of the hand's silloette. i think i'll paint the back and fill in these gaps, tack fuse, and bring some depth to the piece. i dunno. i wish i could post a photo, but i am too nomadic to ever have all the devices in one spot! maybe one day. anyway, the technique has potential. can't remember where i read about it though.

reba
Valerie Adams
Posts: 587
Joined: Mon Apr 19, 2004 2:49 pm
Location: Santa Rosa, California
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Re: fusing hand prints and paints

Post by Valerie Adams »

Reba wrote:
Valerie Adams wrote:My five year-old niece was here in April and wanted to work in glass. I did her handprint with Barry Kaiser's pre-mixed enamel paint. It was fired on top without a cap and while we did lose a little color, it was ok. This was orange paint, with the photo taken before firing the piece:
handprint.jpg
hi valerie,
thanks for posting your pic
your grandson's hand impression is adorable. you seemed to have got a good even coating, colour, and impression! well done!!! did you use kaiser paints? i took some impressions today, but still haven't fired them.
Hi Reba,
Yes, as I said in my original post, I did my niece's handprint with Barry Kaiser's paints.

PS: I've convinced my kids that I'm not old enough to be a grandmother!
:twisted:
jolly
Posts: 63
Joined: Thu Jan 08, 2004 7:44 pm
Location: Port Townsend, WA

Re: fusing hand prints and paints

Post by jolly »

When you do this, assume there are trace amounts of lead in the glass paint. Wash your hands thoroughly immediately especially with children. Just because something says it is food safe, doesn't mean it has absolutely no lead or cadmium in it. It just means it will pass the lead test after firing.
There is more to life than increasing its speed.-Mahatma Gandhi
Kevin Midgley
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Joined: Mon Mar 10, 2003 11:36 am
Location: Tofino, British Columbia, Canada

Re: fusing hand prints and paints

Post by Kevin Midgley »

Jolly said.......after firing
:-k :-k :-k

What do hand prints look like if you wear rubber gloves?
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