A YouTube follower asked this great question. In the past, we had a local stained-glass studio to visit. The owner/artists were generous with their knowledge and eager to share their passion for making lead-style glass, stained glass and fused glass art. You could drop into their store as a stranger. After a friendly visit you’d leave with a sense of understanding and in awe of the many facets of glass art.
In fact, many of us veteran glass artists, myself included, got our start with a 4-week beginner class at one of these treasured hubs of creativity.
Now glass fusing has a vibrant life of its own and sometimes the very history and story of how we all got here is lost. But like most great beginnings the tale is woven with wonder, amazement and inspiration.
To better understand, let’s identify the different types of art glass.
Art Glass
Art glass is an umbrella term used to describe decorative and colored sheet glass that’s used to create ornamental designs. This classification includes but isn’t limited to; clear glass with texture and pattern, single color transparent glass, single color opal glass, wispy glass that has transparent and opal characteristics, plus a wide variety of specialty sheet glass that combines all the above.
Different types of art glass.
Clear glass with texture.
Clear glass with texture and pattern is great for making leaded glass front doors and sidelights. The sparkling combination is elegant and timeless. Clear glass allows light to flood the interior space while the texture provides privacy that plain window glass doesn’t. Clear textured glass also pairs beautifully with beveled glass clusters in free-hanging leaded glass panels.
Stained glass.
Stained glass refers to sheet glass with color. It can be transparent or opal or a combination of both. It may have some clear and some texture depending upon the individual product.
Technically stained glass isn’t stained, which suggests that clear glass has a surface treatment like paint or dye to provide color. Instead, the color is produced by the manufacturer.
Metals and minerals are added to the clear glass batch at the molten stage to produce specific colors. The hot mix is stirred and then rolled into a sheet and slowly cooled. The blending and rolling processes distribute permanent color throughout the sheet of glass.
Stained glass is used to make decorative window panels. Designs can be geometric, pictorial or a combination of both. Sometimes the panels are custom built to size and permanently installed on site to provide decoration and privacy. Think of ornate garden tub windows.
Other times the panels are used to add a splash of color and a whimsical scene to a room. These pieces are often hung from a chain in a window where natural light brings them to life.
Skilled craftsmen make the panels by cutting stained-glass sheets up into pieces to match a pattern. It’s like cutting your own pieces for a custom puzzle.
There are two methods of assembly. The cut glass is held together with copper foil tape covered with solder. Or the panel is built using H shaped lead came that’s soldered together where the cut metal strips intersect. In both types of assembly, the panels are constructed by fitting shaped pieces of glass together side by side. The copper foil or the lead came become the skeletal structure. They bond the individual pieces to make one panel that can stand vertically and support itself.
Fusing glass
Fusing glass is made alongside stained glass by the same manufactures.
The difference is that fusing glass is specifically formulated and tested to be fusing compatible. Fusing glass is labeled tested compatible.
Why is this important?
When we heat the glass in a kiln it expands. As it cools the glass contracts. Tested compatible glass expands and contracts at the same rate. This is crucial for successful fusing projects because we use the high heat of the kiln to bond the cut pieces together. Working with specific glass fusing material results in consistent, attractive, durable projects and artwork.
Fusing with incompatible glass will deliver inconsistent results, loss of time, waste of material, breakage and unnecessary disappointment.
Be smart.
Organization is key. It’s good practice to store your different types of art glass so you won’t risk mixing materials. Label your fusing glass and keep it separate from your stained glass. Only work with one type of glass at a time to prevent accidental contamination.
The wonderful thing about working with art glass is the many ways we can utilize this medium to express our creativity. As you continue your artistic journey with glass write your own story of wonder and amazement.
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Happy Fusing!
Lisa
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