Resources
What is Glass?
Glass is a ubiquitous material in modern life. It’s used in windows, tableware, containers, jewelry, and of course much more. The most common type of glass — and the type of glass Bullseye manufactures — is called “soda-lime glass”. Soda-lime refers to the composition of the glass, which is primarily silica, soda (sodium carbonate), and lime (calcium oxide).
But for our purposes, glass is a unique art-making material. It can be blown, or it can be formed in a kiln in a process called kilnforming.
In this lesson, you will learn about the fundamental properties of glass, the basic forms of art glass and their uses, and how art glass is made at Bullseye Glass Company.
The Art of Kiln-glass
Glass art comes in many shapes and sizes. From the simple and practical, to the abstract, colorful and amazing. Glass artists around the world are working to harness the potential of this dynamic and exciting art-making material.
Bullseye Glass manufactures a type of art glass called “kiln-glass”. As its name suggests, this type of glass is formed and shaped at very high temperatures in a glass kiln.
There is an enormous range of working methods and forms that can be created with kiln-glass, including simple slumped bowls and platters, cast sculptures, painterly panels, and architectural installations.
In this video lesson, we show you a variety of finished art pieces from contemporary artists working in kiln-glass.
Glass Cutting
Glass cutting is a fundamental skill any kilnformer needs to be able to master.
If you’ve never cut glass or you’re unconfident in your abilities, there is good news. This is a skill you can improve! With proper cutting tools and techniques, even beginners can learn how to produce clean, accurate glass shapes.
In our video lesson below, we will teach you how to properly score a piece of glass and how to break the score. We’ll also show you how to cut circles in glass.
Fusing Basics
"Glass fusing" is defined as the heat bonding of separate pieces of glass in a kiln.
