Glass Fusing
After getting a taste of the whimsical nature of glass, I was hooked. I live in Scholls on a farm and draw inspiration from the land and animals around me, and spend as much time as I can in my glass room.
A friend convinced me to take a glass fusing class 8 years ago. I have gleaned additional knowledge from some of the best glassists, including Gil Reynolds, Patty Gray, and Janine Stillman. Glass fusing involves working with art glass and melting the pieces in a kiln until fused. The kiln slowly ramps up in temperature until the glass is liquid. Once in a molten form, glass can be manipulated in different ways including raking or flowing several colors together. Then the glass is carefully ‘annealed’ – held at a special temperature to stabilize the molecules, before slowly cooling to room temperature.