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The glass we use at Glass by Tabitha is coloured art glass, this is much harder to source than billets or culets of glass used in casting or blowing. We source ours from the Bullseye factory in Portland, America. They set the standard for quality in coloured glass for art and architecture. It comes in many different forms, sheet glass, strings, powder. It is transparent or opal, iridescent and streaky.

The Process

Fused glass is glass that has been fired (heat-processed) in a kiln at a range of high temperatures from 593 °C (1,099 °F) to 816 °C (1,501 °F). The process of fusing glass takes on average 24 hours in the kiln.
There are 3 main distinctions for temperature application and the resulting effect on the glass.
• Firing in the lower ranges of these temperatures 593–677 °C (1,099–1,251 °F) is called slumping.
• Firing in the middle ranges of these temperatures 677–732 °C (1,251–1,350 °F) is considered “tack fusing”.
• Firing the glass at the higher part of this range 732–816 °C (1,350–1,501 °F) is commonly described as a “full fuse”.
All of these techniques can be applied to one glass work in separate firings to add depth, relief and shape.

Murrine

Making a Murrine object is a 3 to 4 step process, each one can have issues and things can go wrong. The first set in the process is heating glass in a small kiln up high and then pulling the glass out in canes from below, this is then cut into equal lengths arranged on its ends and then fused together. It then goes back in the kiln again to take on its final shape. This is always a 3 step process and often 4 if there are more complexed patterns in the centre.

Pâte de Verre

Pâte de Verre is a kiln casting method that literally means “paste of glass”. The general premise is to mix frit granules with some sort of binder such as gum arabic, then apply the glass to the inner surface of a negative mould.

Pattern Bar

The pattern bar technique encompasses many approaches, including the flow slabs. A flow slab is a multi-coloured block of cast glass with an internal pattern that is revealed when the block is cut into cross-sectional pieces.

Kiln Carving

“Kilncarving” is a term coined at Bullseye to describe a simple kilnforming process that achieves a base relief, textured, or sculpted look in glass. The process involves cutting a pattern or design in ceramic fibre paper, then stacking glass on top of the pattern and firing the piece in a kiln. During firing, the underside of the glass conforms to the ceramic fibre paper pattern, assuming its contours and textures