Carved Fused Glass

Carved, Painted and Fused Art Glass

My carved fused glass designs, used alone or in conjunction with carved wood or metal, opened an incredible new creative aspect to my artwork, allowing me to expand on what I can do when designing and producing art glass. Above you can see my latest creation, bamboo with bird, carved, painted and fused glass panel. It's for a windowless bathroom. There are lights inside the light box to add brightness to the room, and the painting is a piece of artwork for the wall. Below is a close up of the panel in the light box.

I started working with this technique over 20 years ago. A client I had worked with on quite a few carved architectural and furniture pieces showed me some beautiful 19th-century glass-door side lites from Europe. There was wisteria painted and fused on the glass and one of the panes was broken. He asked if I could fix it. I agreed, under the condition that there be no time frame. After all, I had not developed this skill yet, but knew with some time and practice I could master it.

What I loved about these beautiful fused glass panels were that they were like transparent paintings. The lead lines that were a limiting factor in art glass designs are, for the most part, eliminated using this technique. I could also create my own colors, shading, and textures, instead of trying to find the right glass that was machine made, which was never quite right to begin with.

After many trial and error tests I discovered how the painted panels were created and I pursued those techniques further until I perfected them. I wish I had taken pictures of those panels to show you. I finished the job and moved on to the next, not thinking to document my trials and errors along the way.

I continue to use these age-old techniques, and I continue to experiment with new ideas. Working with many different methods to create my art, whether it be old or new, is exciting and fun for me. I don't ever want to be stuck in my ways, unable to move into unknown territory in the art world. I hope to be always expanding and enhancing my abilities for many more years to come. One never knows what one can discover along the way.

Here is an example of my carved glass before painting, I put a green cloth behind the glass so that the carving would show. Two birds in a lemon tree: