Fused Glass and Stencils

Stenciling on fused glass is easy and fun. With this piece I used white opal glass for the base. Next I used the bird stencil and taped it down. I painted aloe vera gel gently across the stencil onto the glass letting some of the gel go beyond the cutout onto the stencil. Then I sifted black powder evenly over the image area. Then I gently lifted off the stencil and shook off the loose powder onto a paper and poured it back into the jar and washed off the stencil. I cleaned up any areas of the design that needed it with a small brush. I fired this single layer at 1450.

On the top layer of tekta clear glass I used another pattern stencil. Again I taped it down but this time I mixed the powder and gel together to make a paste about the thickness of creamy peanut butter. I used a palette knife and squeeged the mixture across the stencil making sure all the areas were filled and smooth across the stencil. For this step I used woodland brown glass powder. After firing I was surprised the powder was much lighter brown than I anticipated, but I find it acceptable.

While the base glass with the bird was firing I prepared the top clear pattern and it had time to dry. When the base piece was done firing and cooling I placed the top piece on and full fused at 1500. This is what you see in the photo. Next it will be slumped into an 8" square plate.