• Blyinfattat glas – ett hantverk från medeltiden. Glaset som man arbetar med kallas opaliserat glas och utvecklades av bl a Louis Tiffany. Glaset är färgat genom tillsatser redan i glasmassan och vad man gör är att skära ut glasbitar i olika färger och ordnar dem i mönster där finns också en annan teknik som dock förutsätter ett riktigt säkert handlag i skärningen. Här kantar man de skurna bitarna med kopparfolie och lägger samman dem på en arbetsplatta. Därefter läggs lödtenn på samtliga kopparkanter och man får en sammanhållande konstruktion som är likvärdig blyinfattningen. Fördelen med den tekniken är att den tillåter små detaljrika mönster.

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• Fusing – är en mycket gammal metod och betyder sammansmältning. Arkeologiska glasfynd från Egypten visar att man för 4000 år sedan, hade utvecklat stor skicklighet i att smälta ihop färgat glas till bilder och mönster. Glasföremålen som visas här är tillverkade på samma sätt, det vill säga ett antal glasbitar eller skivor vilka skurits ut ur olika glas, slipats och sedan lagt samman till mönster i flera lager. Sammansmältningen är gjord i en speciell ugn i temperaturer mellan 600 – 850 grader. Slumping, är den metod där glaset sedan får sin slutliga form.

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Stained glass

History

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The origin of glass is unclear. Shards of glass dated to 7000 B.C. have been founded in Egypt and Iraq. Sometime between 3000 and 1500 B.C., Egyptian craftsmen developed a system of glass making. The earliest stained glass window to have survived intact is an 11th century A.D. face of Christ.From the 11th to the 16th century, stained glass was reserved for religious use. During 17th and 18th centuries many beautiful works of stained glass art were destroyed by religious puritans and fundamentalists.In the early 19th in Europe many glassmakers started to reproduce “ antique glass “.Meanwhile many workshops in the United States were experimenting in the production of colored glass. Two of these glassmakers John La Farge and Louis Tiffany developed and produced a glass called opalescent. This glass differed from the traditional clear European glass, in that it featured a “milky“ quality. Tiffany Company and other firms increased the popularity of staned glass bringing its beauty into homes, offices and public buildings. The three main categories of “ Staned Glass “ are Cathedral, Opalescent and Antique. To make Cathedral and Opalescent glass, a small batch of molten glass is poured onto a heated steel table and rolled into a sheet. The third type, Antique glass, is so named because it is formed using an old process.

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The copper foil method

This method was was developed in the late 1800``s and used by the Tiffany Company and others to produce intricate lamps and windows. A well made foil project requires very accurate cutting and soldering skills. To construct a window using copper foil, the edge of each glass piece is wrapped with the tape.The pieces are then placed on the pattern and soldered together.

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Kilnformed glass or Glassfusing.

4000 old technique- 835C

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Glassfusing is when pieces of glass are fired together at 825C. The finished result is a thick glass plate. In a second firing, at 710C, it is put in a mould of ceramics or steel, to be slumped into the desired shape. Glass was fired in special kilns at 800C as early as year 2000 BC. The Egyptians and the Romans were the most advanced, and beautiful collections can be seen in museums e.g. New York. From 500 A.D to the early 1900``s one can hardly see any fused glass objects. During the renaissance in Europe glass technology went through its greatest growth and greater blowing knowledge was desired. Glassfusing was nearly forgotten. It was rediscovered in USA as late as in the 1940´s.

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Sandblasting - is a process where particles of an abrasive are propelled toward the glass by compressed air in an airtight chamber. This can be used to frost the glass, carve the glass, and create patterns on the iridized coatings.

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There are four main types of glass in used in glass fusing:

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Opalescent glass - opaque glass that you can not see through

Cathedralglass - transparent glass

Iridized glass - either opalescent or cathedral glass that has been coated with an metallic coating made of tin.

Dichroic glass - Thin layers of metallic oxides, such as titanium, silicon and magnesium are deposited upon the surface of the glass in a high temperature, vacuum furnace.