My Family of Three Christmas Trees

This is a continuation of my post of December 26th and the Glass Christmas Trees ... and my new paperweight!

I cut more square pieces for two more trees and got the kiln shelf perfectly level for them. I checked at 1100 degrees and they were both standing straight and tall. When I checked again at almost 1300 degrees, both trees had started to lean over. At that point I turned off the kiln and kept the lid open to stop any further action. So NEXT TIME, I'll start checking a lot earlier and freeze the action if I see anything happening.

Here is a photo of the three trees with little red balls epoxied on. I think they are so cute together!

After the second firing, I emailed the artist of the beautiful and perfect trees I showed you in the December 26th post and asked him if he had any suggestions for me. By the way, his name is Thomas Fuhrman. If you google him, you'll find out he is a well-known glass artist. He replied to me the next day and said, "They can not be fused. They are adhered together with UV setting adhesives. I use lots of these type of adhesives in my work. All the sharp edges have to be ground by hand." In a further email he confirmed you have to use a black light.

I don't think I want to invest in a black light and adhesives. When I have time, I'll cut more squares of glass and one day I'll show you a cute little tree that is tack fused and doesn't lean over!