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I'm working with BE glass. I want to start playing with more texture and was considering firing directly on some fiber blanket.

Do I need to powder the blanket before putting my glass on it, or can I just fire directly ontop?

The other thing I want to do is simply to sift some plaster, alumina hydrate and diatamacious earth onto the shelf, play with the pattern and fire ontop of that (a la Bert). Are there any things I need to know about doing this before I do? I've only done this with opals, so am concerned about hazing of transparent glasses.

Thanks in advance.

Cynthia Oliver wrote:I'm working with BE glass. I want to start playing with more texture and was considering firing directly on some fiber blanket.

Do I need to powder the blanket before putting my glass on it, or can I just fire directly ontop?

The other thing I want to do is simply to sift some plaster, alumina hydrate and diatamacious earth onto the shelf, play with the pattern and fire ontop of that (a la Bert). Are there any things I need to know about doing this before I do? I've only done this with opals, so am concerned about hazing of transparent glasses.

Thanks in advance.

Cynthia

I would powder the blanket. if you run in to trouble, the solution is to fire irid side down with any BE glass.

The powder thing is fun for me. I had to include powders other than alumina in order to get different particle sizes. The matrix of different sizes gives the powder more strength or resistance to flannening out and floating around. I would love to hear about ways to improve on a casting powder. I use mine over and over.

good luck in DC. My assessment of the market at this moment is that many people are reluctant to purchase, but motivated people are still players. The best work seems to be attracting buyers. I'll be at the Philadelphia Furniture and Furnishings Show May 2,3,4. We are essentially playing to the same market.

Bert

Bert

Bert

Thanks Bert. I will play a bit with the recipe you've chatted about before and see what happens. I'll powder the blanket too. I wasnt sure, since I wouldn't powder fiber paper, if I should powder the blanket. I've got a lot of clear scrap that I want to tinker with...

Best of luck in Philly. Your work is terrific, so I'm sure you'll do well. I hope I'll have good news to report to you about sales in DC. Do you think there will be a difference in sales between what people have been experiencing at wholesale shows vs. retail? This is digressing into another topic, but had to ask

I've fired on blanket without anything added (it never occurred to me to coat it). It is a pretty strong texture and different kinds of blanket give different textures. I like the look, but I've noticed that people don't like to touch it. As with most fiber, it feels ok on float, less so on Bullseye and downright abrasive on Spectrum.

Lynne Chappell wrote:I've fired on blanket without anything added (it never occurred to me to coat it). It is a pretty strong texture and different kinds of blanket give different textures. I like the look, but I've noticed that people don't like to touch it. As with most fiber, it feels ok on float, less so on Bullseye and downright abrasive on Spectrum.

Lynne

powder softens the blanket's effects. It seperates better and fills in the low spots. Eventually you have a pure powder surface. This is a hint for those wanting a big cheap seamless firing surface.

Bert

You can certainly slump on blanket without powdering the surface. It won't stick at all and you can get wavy forms without much of the blanket's surface texture being picked up.

If you want to fire hot enough to pick up fine textures then powdering is probably a good idea.