How to Create a Fused Glass Decoration
8 steps to making a fused glass window hanging with Anne Somers
A quick note before we start! It’s really important to wear protective goggles before you do any glass cutting or grinding as small shards of glass can easily fly out. Thin cotton gloves are also an option when you're handling the cut glass. And finally, don’t be tempted to sweep away fragments of glass with your hand – always use a dustpan and brush!
1. We all had a piece of backing glass so we knew what size and shape to work towards.
2. Everyone had a think about their design and drew it on paper, keeping it simple at first. (The more detailed the design, the more cutting we'd have to do!)
3. Goggles on! Time to use the glass cutters and pliers to cut the glass to the shapes we needed.
4. Then over to the grinder to smooth off any very sharp edges.
5. If the glass had finger prints on it (the cutters sometimes left an oil residue behind) we gave it a quick wash with a dish-washing brush.
6. After carefully drying the pieces we glued them onto the backing glass with watered-down PVA. (Best to stick to a max of three layers of glass – any more and the final piece would be quite bulky).
7. Anne then packed everything up carefully and took them all back to her studio to fire in her kiln - 0˚C to 830˚C and back again over 24 hours.
8. Et voila – some of the finished items! Beautiful glass pieces ready to hang in the window!
