Fusing/Slumping or Tack/Slumping at same time

[KellyBowman]

Has anyone fused and slumped at the same time? Or, tack fused and slumped? I have some shallow ceramic molds to slump into and wonder if I can do it at the same time.

K

[Laurie Spray]

I have tried in the past but was never happy with the results.

[Morganica]

Yup, but it takes some figgerin' and a fair amount of practice to be consistently successful:

http://www.morganica.com/bloggery/2009/ ... lot-of-it/
http://www.morganica.com/bloggery/2008/ ... evronbowl/
http://www.morganica.com/bloggery/2007/ ... lotusbowl/
http://www.morganica.com/bloggery/2007/ ... lass-lane/
http://www.morganica.com/bloggery/2007/ ... er-basket/
http://www.morganica.com/bloggery/2007/ ... d-part-ii/

Fusing and slumping at the same time is, not surprisingly, more difficult than tackfusing, because getting the glass to fully fuse means it's soft and moving. It's hard to keep it from sliding down to the bottom of the mold. If the mold is shallow enough, and you're really watching, you can do it. This pate de verre plate was a fuse+slump effort:

It's piles of frit, roughly 3/4 inch deep, piled into Bullseye's square slumper mold and fired with very close attention.

[Laurie Spray]

I was thinking more of the problems of 2 layers fusing and slumping at the same time. For me it has alwaysncaused bubbles which i hate....... One layer with designing and frit work is not a real problem in a shallow mold like Morganica said. Using 1/4 thick glass is the way to go if at all.

[Morganica]

I'll have to dig up some shots, but yes, you can also fuse and slump two (or three) layers when the design calls for it. I do it for really precise placement of components, i.e., where the mold has a sharp corner and I want one color on one side of the corner, another on the other, for example.

But there are many, many caveats to doing that. First, you've got to accept that you likely won't get a full, flat fuse, there will be some raised texture. Second, it takes some experimenting to get right, so the only time it's really worth it is when you can't get there by a normal dual firing. Third, it doesn't work all that well with gently rounded molds--the glass tends to slide too much (or at least that's been my experience).

So I agree with you, Laurie, it's a pain under most circumstances...but it's certainly possible when the design calls for it. But it's certainly not a way to save time.

[Jerrwel]

Has anyone fused and slumped at the same time? Or, tack fused and slumped? I have some shallow ceramic molds to slump into and wonder if I can do it at the same time.

K

Here's an example from the Warmglass gallery: http://www.warmglass.com/gallery/SimmonsJ1.htm

[Bert Weiss]

This is technically a drape, but is done in one firing with 2 layers of 10mm float glass. Each panel is 40" x 84"

[Mark Hall]

Window (float) glass has different properties than regular fusing glass. One of these charactoristics is how tough the glass is, even at high fusing temps (1485 degrees F.)). It doesn't like to flow much, or even round edges. We take advantage of this by easily fusing/slumping in one firing. Colors are obtained by layering, with colored paint between layers. I use Thompson Opaque Enamels made for float glass, or whatever paint I have on hand. Additionaly I've had great luck combining all the bottles from a case of beer - all arranged nicely into a deep parabola mold & fired to fuse. Sometimes I coat the inside of clear bottles with paint, then fuse them all together into shapes. It's all about the heat and making minor adjustments to your schedule to achieve desired results (keep good notes).

[KellyBowman]

Thanks, everyone. I love the plate that was posted - very pretty and has given me some ideas. I appreciate your help.

K

[De Anza Art Glass Club]

Dragon Glass has a series of videos using float glass fused and slumped in one firing.

I don't remember the contents of all the videos, but the first, An introduction to the fusing and slumping of glass, covers this. However, if I remember correctly, much of this particular set uses clear float glass shapes with enamel powder over the base glass, and colored glass is only used in the short Bullseye section.
http://www.dragonglassmolds.com/videos.htm

The videos were produced in South Africa and the US distributor for Dragon Glass molds is in Shingle Springs, California.