Fused Glass Coaster

It’s not too late to order a custom handmade fused glass coaster for Mother’s Day! This image is fused with a gold/iridized glass border. Just email a picture to me with the color border you want, I’ll crop it square and it’ll be ready in 2 days!

Fused Glass Images make great corporate awards. I am able to customize the award and make them in two days.  They are unique and beautiful enough to proudly display, not put in a drawer. Check out my website under Fused Glass Images for all the color border choices.

Windows for entryway

Close up, not backlit

I’ve just completed these windows for a client in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.  The larger window is for the front door and the small window is the sidelight next to the door.  I’ll post the pictures once they are installed sometime in April. The sidelight is only 7-3/8″ wide, so the pieces are pretty small!  I love detail work.  I extended the lead in several places on the sidelight to add more of a realistic feel.  The glass I used to represent leaves in the door is Oceana tiffany reproduction glass.  I also used green iridized pinchback jewels from Chicago Art Glass in the door.

Migratory Locust finished piece

 

Glass in kiln before fusing

 

This piece was made as a gift for someone who specializes in studying locusts.  I used Bullseye Sunflower yellow and Olive green to represent the colors of locusts.  I love how the yellow glass matured into a slightly deeper yellow.  I’ve included the photo of the glass in the kiln before I fused it to 1400 degrees.  I didn’t do a full fuse because I wanted the green glass to be raised up a little from the yellow.  Next time I’ll include a picture of the glass with the photo fusing paper on the glass before firing.  It’s always black and white before it’s fused to 1350 degrees.  I really like the sepia color of the image.   Fusing photos into glass is a great way to give a unique, personalized gift.  Contact me if you are interested.  The possiblities are endless!

Photos fused into glass

Original photo before fusing

Photo fused into glass

 

Photo before fusing

Photo fused into glass

I just finished these glass tiles to give as a wedding gift to a family member of mine.  I contacted the photographer that took their great pictures and he was kind enough to email the two that I wanted.  The first step is to fuse the glass tile.  I chose blue as a base and white to fuse the picture on.  There are three layers of glass that I heated to 1400 degrees in my kiln.  I fired it high enough to melt the glass together, but not too high so that the top white layer is raised up a bit.  This gives it some dimension.  The next day when the tile cooled down, I added the photograph and fired it to 1350 degrees.  I use a special ceramic paper that fuses permanently into the glass and always turns a sepia color.  There are endless possiblilites for this process.  What a great way to give a super unique and personal gift. Please contact me if there is a photo you want fused into glass!

Millefiori pieces of various sizes

Millefiori pieces

 

Pendants ready to be fired

Finished fused earrings

I’ve posted some pictures to show a little of my process in making millefiori jewelry.  Murano glass cane or rods are cut into pieces called Millefiori. I got most of these from a factory in Murano, Italy when I was there in 2006.  The millefiori pieces are placed between 2 layers of Moretti glass that I’ve cut to size and fired to 1450 degrees. I place the millefiori either on a black glass or clear glass piece depending on the look I want to achieve.  I fuse a sterling silver ring into the glass so that no gluing is necessary.  This step is the hardest because the pieces don’t want to sit on top of the ring without slipping off and the ring sometimes will be fused right into the glass or fall out all together when it’s heating up.  When I get it just right, the earrings are super solid and will last forever.  Please take a look at my collection in my store at http://www.paintedlightglass.com/store/category.php?cat=18. 

All cut up

Packed up for delivery

Unpacking

Holding the window waiting for the trim

Eloy nailing in the trim

Jim taking the pictures

Final picture!

I thought I’d show a little bit of the installation process and the before and after pictures. This was the first time I had a photographer come out right after the install and it worked out wonderfully. It’s not easy to schedule so many people, but when I can, I will definitely try to make it happen. The first photo of the glass pieces cut up shows the prairie lustre of the Chicago Art Glass I used. It is sad that the company has gone out of business. I used the last sheet of that color I had!

I created this sign to hang in a new Omaha clothing consignment store called “Absolutely Her”. It was a surprise gift to the owner from a very thoughtful and generous friend. I used the art nouveau look of the business’s website to come up with the design. I changed the top swirls slightly after my client noticed that some of the the lines looked a little like the letter “a”. I changed the right side to look more like an “h” to represent the name. That is one of the great aspects of having a window custom made – the collaboration that goes on to make it one-of-a-kind. For the lettering, I sandblasted and then painted the letters.  I will post pictures once it’s hung!

Photo taken by a professional

Photo I took after installation

I’ve downloaded two photos of a job I recently installed. I took pictures with my camera and was so disappointed in the results. The transom window up high was too dark and the sidelights were washed out. I came back later with a photographer, Jim Ferguson, and using a tripod, he shot using a method which is called HDR, or high dynamic range. The human eye sees more tones than the camera. What HDR does is to increase the range of tones that the camera sees. Jim took an under exposed shot, an over exposed shot, and a normal exposed shot of the room with the windows. In his computer, via Photoshop, he blended the three images into one. Now the shadow details and the highlights can all be seen. It is well worth it to me to spend time to get good shots when projects like this take so much time to complete and are only ever seen by the owners!