fusing project photos - comments welcomed!

Carolina Cricket · Post by **Carolina Cricket** » Tue Oct 14, 2003 12:02 pm

Altho I have worked in stained glass (cold) since 1990, my fusing experience has been limited. I was intrigued by the BE technical bulletin about using the thick kiln fiber paper for making a casting mold. Here are 3 photos of my first attempt with such a mold. It has NOT been fired yet so I am hoping that you glassers with more experience will comment. I used a double rolled BE amber glass for background. Then a thin purplish/blue (alto it appears brown in the photos) for the butterfly wings and body. It is see through when held up to light and has an irid coating. I then used rods and stringers and bits of glass to finish the design. I didn't have access to clear frit to fill in the spaces between the wings and the body so I used clear amber stringer. Comments? Suggestions?

Photos are at:
http://f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/cricke ... g+projects

Cricket in Carolina

Lisa W. · Post by **Lisa W.** » Tue Oct 14, 2003 3:19 pm

You can cut fiber for me anytime. Great work.What do plan on doing with it after you fuse? Hang? I just wonder if the single layer of gold will pull in when you fuse. Keep us posted I am kooking forward to the finished piece.
Lisa w

twinkler2 · Post by **twinkler2** » Fri Oct 17, 2003 4:19 pm

Great cutting :) I can't wait to see your final project and what your going to do with it

Me Kim

Carolina Cricket · Post by **Carolina Cricket** » Sat Oct 18, 2003 1:58 am

Thanks for your comments. My plan is to fuse it first, then slump onto the "mold." After that, I plan to incorporate it into a stained glass panel. I rescue and raise the eastern black swallowtail butterflies you saw in the model photos (they are the little green caterpillars on your parsley...less than 20 % of them reach butterfly status due to natural predators. I rescue them, continue feeding them until they pupate...then release them when they "eclose.") and would really like to capture their beauty in glass if I can. I will try to follow up with a results post.

Cricket in Carolina (NC)

rosanna gusler · Post by **rosanna gusler** » Sat Oct 18, 2003 7:15 am

i like those butterflys also. i always plant extra parsly for them. what other plants do they favor? rosanna

charlie holden · Post by **charlie holden** » Sat Oct 18, 2003 12:03 pm

rosanna gusler wrote:i like those butterflys also. i always plant extra parsly for them. what other plants do they favor? rosanna

Fennel, which is related to carrots.

SAReed · Post by **SAReed** » Sat Oct 18, 2003 12:17 pm

If it's not too late, or too much trouble, I would like to see pictures of each stage (fuse, slump, stained glass). It looks like it's going to be a beautiful work of art!

PaulS · Post by **PaulS** » Sat Oct 18, 2003 1:41 pm

Nice work Carolina, you have a lot of patience.

I was admiring a ladys' work just yesterday, similar technique.

She makes tropical fish figures using translucent glass and then copper foil technique to make them into lamps.

Carole Burton · Post by **Carole Burton** » Sat Oct 18, 2003 3:11 pm

WOW your fiber cutting is remarkable. I will take any of your "leftovers".

I have rescued many "critters" in my day but have never done the butterfly rescue. The first thing I will plant next year will be alot of parsley. How exciting it must be to see the baby butters.

Looking forward to seeing the finished butterfly glass project. Don't forget to post it when finished. Keep up the great work.

Carole in Carolina (SC)

WarmGlass.com

fusing project photos - comments welcomed!

fusing project photos - comments welcomed!

Wow

Thanks for your comments regarding butterfly kiln casting