Variables in the Experiments

I finally had an empty kiln available to do experiments over the weekend! I wanted to control all the variables and see the effects of changing the temperature the glass melts thru the screen...

3 major things seem to effect the melts: time, temp and quantity.

So I kept the quantity of glass the same and the time it was held at the melting temp was also kept constant. What I changed was the temperature. This caused all sorts of variations: the roundness of the shape, the amount of bubbles in the melt, the patterns of color in the clear glass and the thickness of the finished piece.

The experiments continue... I just thought I'd share what came out of the kiln this weekend...

from left to right:
1700 degrees F
1600 degrees F
1500 degress F

Slumped Melted Glass

This is my favorite experiment so far... the results are all mine! I will keep it and eat out of it and cherish this. Some things are meant to be kept and this is why I love successful experiments! Its kind of heavy, dunno if I can fix that in future melts. I have some theories to try. They simply turn out very thick. Lets just say they are super sturdy :)
This bowl was made from scrap, melted thru a screen, cooked into a good looking circle and then slumped into a mold. Voila. My new bowl.

Draped Melted Glass

First I melted a pile of glass scraps thru a screen to form a round flat puddle.

Then I re-fused the glass (to level out any bubbles that had come to the surface and popped which leaves sharp edges).

Finally I draped the glass over a metal milk shake container to obtain this sort of ripply vase effect...

I thought it would make a nice lamp shade (although its small, maybe 8" around and only 6" tall) because it looks incredible when its lit up like this... allows all the swirls and ripples in the color to pop...

So I went to Ikea and perused the lights, I thought I'd find something to take the shade off and use this instead (maybe drill a hole in the center of the glass to put a light fixture thru) but no luck. Very disappointing. But I didn't walk out totally sad, instead I purchased some striped fabric covered hat boxes and a few over-sized glass canning jars for other irrelevant craft purposes... Next I will check out the Re-Building Center, as they might have something older and unique that would fit the bill.

The scrap melting adventure continues!