Fused Art Glass: An Ancient Craft Revived
Where did the art of fused glass begin?
The early history of glass is shrouded in mystery; however, somewhere in the Middle East around 5000 years ago someone made glass either by accident or design.
Although none of the existing tales have any factual evidence to support them, it is believed by many to have been the Phoenicians from Caanan who first created glass.
Since the Phoenicians were merchants and seafaring people, they possibly spread their glassmaking knowledge throughout the world.
Evidence of casting techniques exists from ancient times. Until about 250 BC all glass was either core formed by winding molten threads of glass around a metal rod packed with a core of sand, or was cast in molds. Very early glass makers used the technology of metal casting to cast glass and treated it as "poured stone", incorporating lapidary techniques to cold-work the object. After glass blowing was invented or discovered cast glass took a back seat for a long time. It was not until the late 19th century, Henry Cos, a Frenchman, became interested and began experimenting using finely ground paste mixed with a binder.
Excerpts of this history are from "Glass An Artist's Medium", Lucartha Kohler, 1998, published by Krause publications, 500 E State St., Iola, WI 54900-001. ISBN: 0-8743-604-x. Use with permission from the author.
Okay - so what is fused glass, really?
Cold vs. Warm vs. Hot Glass?
Glass artists working in fused glass are often asked "Is it like stained glass (cold glass) or do you blow glass (hot glass)?" The answer is no to both questions.
Fused glass (known as warm glass or kiln-formed glass) is the art of combining two or more layers of glass that are heated at a high temperature in a kiln, until the glass melts and all layers combine to form a single piece.
How is fused glass shaped?
The second question we generally are asked is how does the glass become a plate, bowl, or a specific form? Once the glass has reached a liquid state it is then cooled until it is again one solid piece. This piece is then placed into a mold or form and returned to the kiln where it is heated to a temperature that allows the glass to bend or slump into the mold as gravity takes over, forming the glass to the shape of the mold.
Molds can vary as widely as the artist's imagination. Many commercial molds are available and there numerous materials for the artist to create their own forms.
How do I learn more?
There are many other ways to form fused glass that are too numerous for this discussion. There are excellent resources available which discuss glass history and the processes for creating beautiful works of glass art. If you have more questions or are looking for more resource materials you may contact us at Greyfeathers Art Glass - and we hope you do.