Play Day this Sat. 2/27, 10am via Zoom: Fossil Vitria
How do you use leaves and other organic matter to shape glass powder? This is sometimes called Fossil Vitria. Karen Seymour (SeymourStainedGlass.com) be hosting a Play Day for Pacific NW Glass Guild members to explore this topic this Saturday, Feb 27th from 10 to 11:30 am via Zoom. Supplies are pictured with inset of results. Since the Guild would prefer you to renew your membership on the new website, which should be ready in about a week, I’ll take your word that you will pay your dues ($45) as soon as you can. Once the site is live, members can log into PNWglassguild.org to see the video and handout.
Supplies List:
1) pressed dry leaves: finely divided things work best (ferns, evergreens, lace-leaf maple, horsetail). You can even use paper or clean silvery mylar packaging and cut it into snowflakes etc. Or get some Valentine’s doilies.
2) pre-fired fiber paper (the 1/8″ or thicker ceramic felt, NOT kiln paper). Take it to 1425 to burn out the binder or you may get devit.
3) a tray or something to put the fiber paper on and carry your finished piece to the kiln.
4) a clear piece of glass the size and shape of your finished piece (thin or 3mm, both work: I usually use thin for the first firing and then flip it and add an additional clear or opal piece of glass on top for a second firing)
5) glass powder in your desired color(s)
6) powder sifter. A small paintbrush and a dissecting needle are handy too if you have them.
7) newspaper or something to catch excess powder and something to save the powder in until next time
8) cheap hairspray, I use White Rain (“unscented” but it stinks).
9) You can use a larger leaves as a template rather than a stencil. If you want to try it have some gel: CMC powder (food grade carboxy-methyl cellulose) in water, Vitrigel, Aloe Vera, Glastac etc. mixed 1 part gel to 2 parts glass powder to make a spreadable paste and a tool like a palette knife to spread the mixture on the leaf.
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