| Posted: Fri Mar 30th, 2012 12:21 am |
|
1st Post |
scott ouderkirk studios
Director
| Joined: | Sat Oct 2nd, 2010 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 20 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
back to top
|
Follow this link to watch the progress of the "Chicken Window" I'm creating for the juried exhibit in Pittsburgh. If that doesn't work go to http://www.scottouderkirk.com and click on "work in progress" then "chicken window". I'll update often.
|
| Posted: Fri Mar 30th, 2012 12:22 am |
|
2nd Post |
scott ouderkirk studios
Director
| Joined: | Sat Oct 2nd, 2010 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 20 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
back to top
|
Not sure what happened to the link I added? Sorry, probably did something wrong.
|
| Posted: Fri Mar 30th, 2012 02:08 am |
|
3rd Post |
| Posted: Mon Apr 2nd, 2012 04:59 pm |
|
4th Post |
| Posted: Wed Apr 4th, 2012 06:37 pm |
|
5th Post |
Judy K
AGG Member
| Joined: | Sat Jan 10th, 2009 |
| Location: | Healy, Alaska USA |
| Posts: | 190 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
back to top
|
Thanks for sharing Scott. This is a fun window in the making. And you are doing a great job with it.
Have you held the fused pieces up to direct sunlight yet?
I am also working on a window with fused pieces included. I have found the fused pieces in the sunlight really show the speckled texture of the back of the glass in direct sun. It looks fine on it's own but bad next to the Lamberts Antique. It looks great in any light , but direct sun.
Sadly I have already painted on my pieces. I am experimenting on a few scraps to see if I can filp and fire painted pieces to shine the back up and not ruin the paint job. They are cooling now.
How do your pieces look in direct sun? What surface did you originally fuse them on. I was on washed kiln shelf.
|
| Posted: Thu Apr 5th, 2012 11:52 am |
|
6th Post |
scott ouderkirk studios
Director
| Joined: | Sat Oct 2nd, 2010 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 20 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
back to top
|
I was never happy with the texture of the fused glass pieces when I first started doing it because I was using the shelf paper which put a fabric-like texture on the glass. Then I tried fusing on the fiber board that I have in my kilns all the time which caused the same problem with a less even texture. I solved the problem after seeing some pieces at Kathy Jordan's studio which were fired on kiln shelves. I have 6 kiln shelves that I rotate because they must be scraped and re-coated after each firing. I use Bullseye 8220 shelf primer in the following manner.
Scrape the surface clean of all primer from the last firing, this happens pretty fast. Make sure you use a respirator. I usually do this outside on the truck tailgate.
Mix the primer ACCORDING TO THE DIRECTIONS! It will seem too thin but that works the best.
I use a cheap, natural hair brush. I coat completely in one direction and then right back over with another coat. 5-6 coats turning the shelf 90 degrees each time.
Let the shelves dry overnight. My studio has pretty low humidity, you may need longer.
Set up a firing schedule to fire the shelf for 25 minutes to 500 degrees. This will make sure the shelf and primer are dry.
Fuse as normal.
Don't reuse the shelf without going through the steps above again.
All my paint firings are done directly on the fiber board. These are high firings, 1275 degrees. I find that some texture is picked up in these firings and the back of my fused glass looks similar to many pieces that are painted on normal glass. The hand blown glass picks up a similar texture during paint firings so I don't see much difference. It is extra work, but how else will you get the fused glass look? Most enamel painting I've seen doesn't have the look of the fused pieces (except Don who is much more of a technician than I'll ever be).
I spent three days with Peter McGrain a couple of years ago and went home excited to use this process but gave it up until I saw the pieces fired this way. I will be using much more of this in my work now.
Good luck, although I don't believe in luck!
|
| Posted: Thu Apr 5th, 2012 08:15 pm |
|
7th Post |
Judy K
AGG Member
| Joined: | Sat Jan 10th, 2009 |
| Location: | Healy, Alaska USA |
| Posts: | 190 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
back to top
|
Thank you Scott for your good description. We use basically the same process, except for the truck tail gate, too cold here for such luxury. And I fire paint cooler so I do not mare the lambert beauty.
I prefer to fuse right on the shelf.
I have included fused pieces in my work for a long time, but often they are contour fused with lots of texture of their own, so the rough back is less obvious.
My current project is a sunny south facing window, There is the rub! The direct sunlight causes tiny shadows on the surface of the glass. And the pieces that concern me are not contour fused, but flat, so the shadows really make a difference.
No direct light and cloudy direct light look fine.Attached Image (viewed 67 times):
 Last edited on Thu Apr 5th, 2012 08:33 pm by Judy K
|
| Posted: Thu Apr 5th, 2012 08:17 pm |
|
8th Post |
Judy K
AGG Member
| Joined: | Sat Jan 10th, 2009 |
| Location: | Healy, Alaska USA |
| Posts: | 190 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
back to top
|
But as soon as it is in direct bright sunlight small circle shadows show up on her face and apron strap. It is very noticable in life. Attached Image (viewed 71 times):
|
| Posted: Thu Apr 5th, 2012 08:25 pm |
|
9th Post |
Judy K
AGG Member
| Joined: | Sat Jan 10th, 2009 |
| Location: | Healy, Alaska USA |
| Posts: | 190 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
back to top
|
So I just ran an experiment to see if I can shine the back after I have already painted it. I decided to leave it alone this time. But in the future I am going to flip the fused piece so that the back is shiny and I will paint on the rougher side. I think this will make a difference.
I took a spare piece that was her skirt, cut it in 4 parts and kept the top left as a control. The results of the other corners are in this photo.
I liked the one flipped and fired on a cake of kiln wash best. but none of them came out clear. The BE paper and the whiting turned the black paint yellow.Attached Image (viewed 64 times):
|
Judy K
AGG Member
| Joined: | Sat Jan 10th, 2009 |
| Location: | Healy, Alaska USA |
| Posts: | 190 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
back to top
|
In most projects this much attention is not necessary. But these little ladies next to Lambert antique really show their tiny shadows on the face. Grrrrrrrowl
Your project looks wonderful.
But if you ever run into this issue. Here is what I have come up with for the future. Shiny is better on the back.Attached Image (viewed 70 times):
|
scott ouderkirk studios
Director
| Joined: | Sat Oct 2nd, 2010 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 20 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
back to top
|
The back of my glass is shiny when fired paint side up. Must be the higher firing temp. There is no hard residue left on the glass with the primer which means no firing bubbles because the air can escape.
|
Judy K
AGG Member
| Joined: | Sat Jan 10th, 2009 |
| Location: | Healy, Alaska USA |
| Posts: | 190 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
back to top
|
Ughhhhhhhhhhhh! Just lost a batch of finished pieces. Ughhhhhhhhh! Just fired a load of enamel on back with paint side down, but without changing the temp back down to 1170 after my experiment. All the kiln shelf wash stuck. UUUUUUUUUUUUghhhhhhhhhhh!
|
joseph2bears
AGG Member
back to top
|
Hi Judy. Sorry you are having such trouble.
Folks on the fusing forums always recommend an overnight soak in vinegar for stuck on kilnwash. They claim it softens the stuff so you can remove it with a scrub brush. I've tried it and it did not work for me, but you may want to give it a try. I've resorted to sandblasting. It quickly removes the stuck kilnwash, but it does leave a lightly frosted surface. You can fire polish that (and stick kilnwash to the other side...LOL).
When I have had stuck kilnwash, it has been because of one of two reasons, or at least I think these are the cause. One, is that I have applied to many layers, i.e. 6 layers, 4 orthogonal and 2 diagonally, so that I have it on too thick. In that case it seems to powder and stick to the glass. I usually use 6 layers on a new mold or shelf, but find two orthogonal layers is enough for a re-coat.
The second cause of stuck kilnwash has been sloppy cleaning before a re-coat. A good scraping with a putty knife and a scrubbing with a stiff brush, while vacuuming the dust with a HEPA filtered shop vac, is the way that works for me. If old loose kilnwash is left, the new will flake off and stick to the glass. Since the putty knife won't work on the curved surfaces of a mold, I rely on scrub brushes, from a denture brush for small details, through fingernail, dish, and floor brushes depending on the size and shape of the mold.
A good cleaning with all loose and old surface kilnwash removed and two new orthogonal coats, and it does not stick to the glass. The new coat of kilnwash is usually good for 3 firings with just a vacuuming (with HEPA filter) to pick up any loosened surface kilnwash. But on molds, it is best to clean and re-coat every time. There are different molds, some can get several firings between re-coats, others cannot, particularly Color de Verre molds. Since I can't keep track of what mold is what, I just re-coat every time I use it and it works.
There is one additional trick for a smoother backside: stay young! Oh, wait, we're talking about glass, sorry. When the new coat of kilnwash is thoroughly dry, lightly rub it with the palm of your hand. This will erase the tiny brushstroke ridges and leave a shelf surface as smooth as a baby's bottom. This assumes, of course, that the underlying surface of the kilnshelf is that smooth, and does not have scratches, gouges, or swirling surfacing cutter marks. If your kilnshelf is not smooth you will have to do a lot of sanding to smooth it out. After you rub out the kilnwash to make it super smooth you will need to vacuum up the dust and wash your hands. A dust mask is recommended for all of this. (We want to have you around for many years to come, Judy.)
The hand-rubbed surface is the smoothest I have seen on the shelf side of the glass. The shelf side will never have the gloss of the air side.
BTW, I use Primo kilnwash on everything. Many mold manufacturers recommend Primo for best results, so I just use if for everything.
I hope this helps you.
|
Judy K
AGG Member
| Joined: | Sat Jan 10th, 2009 |
| Location: | Healy, Alaska USA |
| Posts: | 190 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
back to top
|
Thanks Joseph.
I do rub the shelf with my had and don't have problems when I do everything correctly. But I forgot to drop the temp back down to 1170 from the 1380 I ran my experiment at. Ditzy old lady brains. This is what stuck the painted surfaces to the kiln wash while I was firing blue enamel to the back side of all my snow pieces. The temp also pulled the edges up so they no longer fit tight. So there is no point in soaking the pieces in vinegar.
It made me so sick yesterday I could not work. Today is a new day. In an hour I will cut new pieces and start over on the snow. All night I thanked God it was in the small kiln, and that it was only the snow, not detailed pieces. Very appropriate for Good Friday.
Happy Easter is just around the corner.
|
Tod
AGG Member
back to top
|
I have both heard about and tried two other methods to get the kiln wash smooth. With brushed on wash, a piece of paper can be used to smooth the surface a little more easily than the hand; sort of like sandpaper. Paper can be wrapped around a piece of wood; can even have a bit of felt on the wood for a less abrupt corner.
When I first started firing paint, I was told to use dry wash & flatten it firmly with a piece of glass. This can also work on brused on wash if you wiggle the glass a bit.
- Tod
It could be interesting to read what others, much more experienced, think about these options.
Last edited on Sat Apr 7th, 2012 01:29 pm by Tod
|
scott ouderkirk studios
Director
| Joined: | Sat Oct 2nd, 2010 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 20 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
back to top
|
On the glamorous side of stained glass work, I spent some time today taking photo reference of chicken crap today so I was ready to paint it realistically.
|
Judy K
AGG Member
| Joined: | Sat Jan 10th, 2009 |
| Location: | Healy, Alaska USA |
| Posts: | 190 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
back to top
|
That sounds like a very relative Easter Experience. I can't wait to see this in person. Good Luck
|
Tod
AGG Member
back to top
|
Scott:
I was going to appologize for participating in the hijacking of this thread but now, I'm not so certain the appology is warrented.... chicken poop, eh? ;- {
|
Judy K
AGG Member
| Joined: | Sat Jan 10th, 2009 |
| Location: | Healy, Alaska USA |
| Posts: | 190 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
back to top
|
Tod is right. I did hijack your thread, Scott. Sorry. I am obsessed with this window right now and should have asked this question some where else.
I will happily delete or move these posts if you like.
I do really like your chicken window.
|
scott ouderkirk studios
Director
| Joined: | Sat Oct 2nd, 2010 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 20 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
back to top
|
Another sneak peak at the chicken window. Will begin putting it together soon after some more painting tweaks.
Attached Image (viewed 35 times):
|
| Current time is 04:32 pm | Page: 1 2   |
|
