A Fused Glass Experiment, Dragonfly Wings and Mesh Melts.

A fun technique!  

For the past few weeks, I have been working on my submission to an art exhibition I am talking part in, in Bristol. It’s been a journey of lots and lots of experimentation, but I think I have almost made my final piece. I originally wanted to squash or press glass, but it didn't give me the result I was after, I also used clear and white glass and it just looked a bit dull. So, back to the drawing board... 

I had a think and remembered the frit lace technique... Perfect! A few test pieces later and I had my wings! They are lovely and shiny, I even used some of my new dichroic powder (I used it very, very sparingly as it’s ridiculously expensive)  

slumped them over some Silkemat to add some shape to them. I wanted to use a marble tile as the base. But it just looked a bit flat. Another think and I decided to try a mesh melt. Luckily, I have a tonne (I mean, so, so much!) of scrap glass and I used colours that I thought would mix well and add some interest. So, lots of greens, whites, blues and purples plus over half was clear.  

The amount of glass I needed was calculated with the help of an online calculator, basically the area of the circle times my intended depth times 2.5. It was lot’s more glass than I realised but I was glad to finally has a use for all that clear scrap! 

I was so happy when I opened the kiln this morning (will opening the kiln to find out the result of a new experiment ever be boring?) I absolutely love this technique and can see so many possibilities. The only downside is the kiln is a right state after with lots of shards of glass and bits of metal from the mesh.  

I had to grind off some sharp points but hopefully a quick fire polish will help bring it back to a nice shine. I really love how the wings stand out against the colours of the melt. It’s been such fun developing my idea and I hope there will be more exhibitions to come!