PROGRESS ON COBALT BROKEN BOTTLE PLATE

Since my last post, I had to add more small glass pieces to an edge that was very fragile, so this piece has already gone through its second firing. Remember the photo with the drawn 12" square and the arranged glass pieces? Well ... you can see by looking at it that there is an inch around the whole piece, so it is not an 11" square. Duh. A senior moment ... it is a 10" square.

Early this morning I sprayed it with a light coating of Clear Coat Overglaze. When you fire a broken bottle, there are spots that look like devitrification and the glaze helps.

Here's the piece with the spray.

The piece will slump today in this beautiful stainless steel mold. I ordered it many years ago and have never used it. It got sprayed with MR-97.

Here's the piece nestled in the mold on the kiln shelf. Keeping my fingers crossed!!

BROKEN COBALT WINE BOTTLE PLATE

I had a request for a broken wine bottle plate measuring 12" square through my Etsy shop. I have had two large cobalt bottles sitting for years waiting for this sale! My daughter gave them to me. So I got out a heavy plastic bag and a hammer and started breaking up the bottle. It didn't take long.

You can see that the pieces are covered with fine glass dust and have to be cleaned. Yes, I did it individually. I suppose I could have put them in a bucket with Dawn, shook them about, rinsed them. But they would still have had to be dried ...

Here are the sparkling clean pieces ready to assemble into a square plate.

I drew a 12 inch square on thin fire shelf paper, and unfortunately the glass from the bottle didn't fill the square. So it will be an 11 inch square plate. You can't add glass from another bottle ... the glass may not be compatible and it might crack next week ... or in a few months. The piece is firing tonight, so I'll keep my fingers crossed that it looks ok in the morning. It will still need a second firing in a mold.

More Broken Bottle Glass Plates

Let me tell you my right shoulder has been taking a beating with the smashing of heavy gauge wire and glass bottles! I need to stop for a few days. I'm sure my close neighbors will also appreciate it! Someone gave me a few large cobalt blue vodka bottles. These are bigger than regular wine bottles, so I wondered if I could get two plates out of one bottle. I did. The first plate got the larger of the broken pieces and the second one got handfuls of tiny pieces. Next time I'll know to divide the sizes evenly for two plates. But they both fused and slumped well and look great.

And here's another plate made from the beautiful green mineral water bottle!

Glass Fusing -- My Latest Pieces

I have been fusing glass the past couple weeks ... it's been too hot to work in the garage. The good news is that the temperature will shift to the lower 80s and maybe in the 70s this week and next!

Here's the second mold I purchased recently from Pacific Glass. A lovely koi pattern. This is 1/8" recycled glass shelving ... what a beautiful piece! It measures 6-1/4" x 12".

A couple of recycled bottles I also posted on Etsy today. I love this bottle mold with the swirl pattern.

Recycled Fused Glass Plate

My son gave me a pile of 1/8" glass shelving years ago. I made this piece on a flat mold I bought at Pacific Glass in Gardena, CA. I love the swirls and dragonflies. The plate would be great left as a flat piece, but I slumped it yesterday in a mold I had. It measures 6-1/2" x 12". And I love the celadon color, which also happens with window glass.

This glass plate is so beautiful, much more beautiful than in this photograph.

Fused Glass Plate - Broken Bottle - Finished

I finished my three glass plates made from the broken Pellegrino bottles, and I LOVE THEM !!! I had time to photograph and post one today in my Etsy shop. They are 6-1/2" square and so glossy and so gorgeous. Remember if you do this, don't mix the glass. Use one bottle for each plate, as the glass may not be compatible. Why take the chance, right?