FrogBlog
Why we LOVE Quartz Tubing!
Paragon CS-26 Whether it's offered as standard or an upgrade, we always love kilns that have quart tubing! Quart tubing provides a cleaner kiln interior and magnifies the heat to the glass. They also support and protect the elements from contamination with foreign materials that could shorten the element life. In addition, quartz tubes protect the glass from any falling debris from exposed elements. If you fire enamels, the metal oxides can cake onto the elements causing them to sag, and drop colored debris... yuk! Gail has two kilns at her studio with quartz enclosed tubes and never has to worry that anything will drop on her, or her students' glass. Check out some more kilns with quartz tubes: Jen-Ken AFG ProFusion Fiber 38 Hot Shot Oven and Kiln - HS16 PRO Clamshell Olympic Champ XL (Available as upgrade)
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Get the Look with Stripes and Dots
Bullseye Glass Quick Tip: This Quick Tip, shows you how to get a fun summer look using rods to easily create simple stripes and dots. Stripes - Use a complete layer of rods as the base, then cap with 3 mm Clear and fire to a full fuse. To ease set-up and prevent rods from rolling, make yourself a square frame from 1/16" fiber paper. After firing, the shelf side will have a smooth, semi-matte finish, while the top has glossy goodness. Slump with either side up! For variation in line width, place a stringer in the low spot between rods. Stringers are great and will stay perfectly straight through the fuse. If you are looking to cut rods in bulk, try securing the bundle with rubber bands and using a wet tile saw. Not only will this save time, it will also make your rod cuts straight and even! Dots - Nip rods into 3-5 mm sections, and arrange them on a sheet of 3 mm Clear. Place this on a base of 3 mm opalescent and fire to a full fuse. To maintain a square footprint and control volume, use shorter snippets closest to the perimeter. Designer Marc Jacobs says... "There is never a wrong time for a polka dot" and, we totally agree!
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Smooth It Out
Bullseye Glass Quick Tip: In this quick tip, you will learn how to create a smooth, uniform surface on the shelf side of your fired work—not a brush stroke in sight! First, prepare a kiln shelf with kiln wash or Bullseye Shelf Primer. Once the shelf has cooled, gently buff the surface with a sheet of standard copy paper. Than, just tip the shelf upright with the primer side away from you and tap it lightly against a hard surface to knock off the loosened primer. This technique is ideal for works with a single base sheet or minimal seams. We are especially fond of the effect on iridized glass, though it’s equally effective on non-iridized opals & transparents. Also, please keep in mind that the buffed surface is delicate. Avoid sliding pieces of sheet glass across it, as primer can collect in the seams. For easy cleanup, we suggest tapping the shelf onto a piece of butcher paper. And, of course, this should be done with local ventilation, wearing a NIOSH approved respirator.
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Designing Your Own Art Glass
Don’t you hate being dependent on the selection of sheet glass offered by dealers and manufacturers? We think it’s time free yourself from searching for that perfect sheet of glass and learn how to create it yourself!
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Working Deep
Bullseye Glass Studio Tip: This TipSheet will introduce you to ways to float imagery and color within thick blocks of clear glass. This method is direct, simple, and allows greater control of line quality than is achievable with other techniques. The primary technical challenges involved in this working method are: Controlling trapped air (bubbles) Restraining the glass flow at full fusing temperatures Working with extended heating and cooling cycles Minimizing coldworking to the finished project Check out some of our best-selling glass kilns: Paragon SC3 Jen-Ken AF3P 11/9 with 4" Flip Door Evenheat Studio Pro STP with Window
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Top 10 Platemaking Tips
Bullseye Glass Studio Tip: As many people are receiving their first kiln this holiday season, we thought it would be helpful to share a Tip Sheet on Platemaking that contains our favorite Top 10 platemaking tips. Plates and platters are popular projects for both advanced and beginning kilnworkers, and platemaking is a perfect way to learn kilnforming’s two most frequently used methods: fusing and slumping. The tips shown in this sheet are basic and they are the building blocks for more advanced kilnforming methods. Because the object is to make functional plates with smooth surfaces, these notes assume that the first firing will be to full fuse temperatures. On the final page of the tip sheet, Bullseye lists a basic fuse and slumping schedule. While many variables can impact a schedule, it's a great place to start! Check out some of our best-selling glass kilns: Jen-Ken AF3P 15/6 Paragon Xpress E-12T Olympic 126 Lite
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Volume & Bubble Control
Bullseye Glass Studio Tip: No matter if you are new to fusing, or have been doing it for years, bubble control is part of your life. For many kilnformers and glass artists, nothing is more frustrating than when a project emerges from the kiln distorted or full of large bubbles. For others, controlling distortions and bubbles may be an integral component of their work. Whether you wish to avoid them or control them, you will need a fundamental understanding of the factors that cause distortions in kiln-glass. In TechNote 5: Volume and Bubble Control, Bullseye Glass shares a number of great tips on how to mitigate trapped air and control volume, which will help you manage distortions and bubbles in a variety of kiln-glass techniques. Another way to minimize the look of bubbles is detailed in this Quick Tip from Bullseye: Powder Power for Bubble Control. It states... Add a light application of Clear powder between the layers with a full-fuse firing schedule. That’s right: between the layers! You’ll actually trap more bubbles, but they’ll be smaller than the usual “champagne” bubbles—and to that we say, “Cheers!” Check out some of our glass kilns to fire your pieces however you desire: Jen-Ken Kiln - AFG ProFusion Fiber 26 Paragon Kiln - Fusion 17 (S1310 Trio) Hot Shot Oven and Kiln - HS24-Pro Clamshell Cress Kilns - FUSER2818
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