Blown Glass
The term “Hot Glass” refers to blown glass. Blown glass is made from silica (sand) and soda ash. It is heated in furnaces, above 2300F, to the molten state. The molten glass is then gathered onto a rod or blow pipe where it is fashioned into the desired shape. It is during the molten stage that the coloured glass is added in the form of chips or powders.
The finished piece is placed into a Lehr, or cooling oven, to slowly cool over a 12 hour period. The final process is the cold working techniques such as polishing and sandblasting
Stained Glass
Stained glass refers to either the material of colored glass or the art of working with it. The copper foil method is the most common method we use today. After completing the window design on paper the pieces are numbered and transferred to the glass. The glass is then cut and the edges ground down as necessary to allow the pieces to fit like a puzzle. When the foil method is used the glass is then wrapped in copper foil and soldered together on both sides. A patina is often applied to darken the lead before it is polished and framed.
Flameworking
Flameworking is a type of glasswork that uses a gas fueled torch to melt rods and tubes of clear and coloured glass. Once in a molten state, the glass is formed by blowing and shaping with tools and hand movements. Different designs are created with layers of moretti or different coloured bullseye glass rods. Once the piece is created it is placed in a kiln for the annealing (cooling) process. The glass is slowly brought to room temperature to making the glass durable.
Fused Glass
The term warm glass refers to fusing and other glass processes which take place at between 1100 – 1700 Fahrenheit. It is merely warm when you compare it to the glass blowing process which often exceeds 2000 Fahrenheit.
Glass fusing is the process of using a kiln to join together pieces of glass. If you apply heat to glass, it will soften. If you continue to apply heat, the glass will become more fluid and flow together.
Slumping is shaping glass using the heat of a kiln. Sometime a mold is used to take on a certain shape. Other kinds of techniques are combing, which involves using a tool to distort the shape while it is hot, and fire polishing, which uses a kiln to heat the glass just enough to make it shiny and smooth. When the right kind of glass is heated and cooled properly, the resulting fused glass piece will be solid