Process Statement

We design original and unique fused glass using color, texture and shape for the design.

All of the glass we use is hand made in Portland Oregon. The glass starts as silica sand with up to 11 chemicals added to it for color, fluxing and glass stability. The sand and chemicals are placed in 55-gallon drums and tumbled for several hours until it is a homogenized mixture. This mixture is put into gas fired kilns and heated to 2500 degrees F. Once everything is completely melted the temperature is lowered to 2300 degrees F and a measured amount of the glass is scooped from the kiln and placed on a steel table. Here it is rolled into a 3mm [1/8"] thick slab approximately 38" long and 20" wide storage. The sheets are then loaded into a conveyor kiln at 1300 F degrees for 45 minutes where the glass is annealed and cooled. Coming out of the annealing kiln the ends are cut off the sheets so they can be stacked.

We hand cut all of the glass and assemble the glass into multiple layers and unique and original designs. The glass is then fired in electric kilns to over 1400 degrees F for a 24 hour heating and cooling cycle where it is fused into a single solid sheet of glass. At times we "tack" fuse glass shapes to the surface of the fused glass. This is an intermediate step firing the glass to about 1300 degrees F, also for a 24-hour cycle. This melts the glass shapes onto the surface permanently. The fused glass is then put into a mold and kiln fired to 1200 degrees F where the glass will slump into the mold for its final shape. This is the final 24-hour heating and cooling cycle. At times there may be some cold working or grinding and polishing needed to finish the piece, this is also the time when the glass can be sand blasted or etched for surface texture.