Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Fired Picasso Pieces - Next Step

The pieces fired perfectly. Remember, the firing was done with the dichroic glass facing down on the shelf (on kiln paper). They look really good. I noticed an error I made, OK maybe two. Can you spot them? I used two pieces of clear glass by mistake -- I should have remembered you do not "cap" these pieces, and putting a piece of clear on top is the same thing. The pieces will be engraved with a ball tip, so if you carve into clear and refire it, you will lose the carving. Anyway, I learned something by my mistakes.

I took a photo as the pieces were removed from the kiln this morning, and then later today I got the nerve to get my little portable Dremel, my set of round diamond bits, a spray bottle with water, and my pieces on top of a towel. It's important to keep water on your glass pieces while you engrave. Also you lightly draw the bit over the glass, as if you were writing with a marker. Don't dig in. I found it easier than I expected it to be.

Here are the fired pieces:

And the same pieces engraved:

I simply outlined each glass piece by engraving around it, and the colors seem to pop. The next step is to engrave patterns. If you look at the website zentangle.com or their blog http://zentangle.blogspot.com, you will be amazed at the patterns! Endless. I've never been much of a doodler, but there's a beginning to everything. There's more to come soon ....

2 comments:

  1. I found it easier to have a lid that had edges deep enough to work the glass in - the water kept the whole piece cool and I just had to flick a finger to get water over an area I was working - I have a big top from one of my storage boxes and I can get both arms comfortable while I engrave - those turned out beautifully - I did one that had clear as well and it was pretty cool looking even though it didnt have any engraving on it
    Does your brochure tell you to outline each colour first with your dremel to emphasize the border then when you ut it up to grind the edges a bit to give the actual piece a border ?

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  2. My pieces are fairly small so the spray bottle is good. This copy of the webinar may be the one you enrolled in and now it's a cheaper copy on her website. Yes, I love the borders of the cut pieces, similar to the etched borders, right? I'm engraving now...so much fun. It's hard to know when to stop!

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