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March, 2015, Newsletter Using Glass Fusions in Mosaic Art

By Martin Cheek

"Glass fusing" is defined as the heat bonding of separate pieces of glass in a kiln. Fused glass is known by other names such as kiln formed glass, art glass fusion and warm glass. The latter, ‘warm glass’, comes from the fact that glass fuses at temperatures between °1200 – °1700 F or °649-°927 C. Mosaic art is as contemporary as it is historical. The history of fused glass dates back as far as the turn of the 5th to 4th millennia B.C. particularly among the Egyptians and Romans. And, although, some mosaic enthusiasts may think that a mosaic piece of work made with glass fusions is not really considered to be a mosaic, I disagree. It’s just a different style than the traditional method and like any art form, mosaic art continues to evolve and transform. Over the thirty plus years in making mosaic art, I have transitioned my own creative style in the last 10 plus years or so to predominantly focus on making and incorporating glass fusions into my work. Although, I still make the more classical form of mosaics when asked, I prefer and love the medium of working with fused glass. For this article, I thought I would set out to answer the basic and sensible question: "Why use glass fusions in mosaics?" To start with, it is fun! It is challenging and the possibilities are endless. An increasing number of mosaic artists are beginning to discover the creative potential in using fused glass elements in their work. The Process Fused glass can appear as if it is a simple process, but, to the contrary, it is time consuming, challenging, and can take multiple firings in order to get the desired effect. Fused glass is known by other names such as kiln formed glass, art glass fusion and warm glass. The latter, ‘warm glass’, comes from the fact that glass fuses at temperatures between °1200 – °1700 F or °649-°927 C. At these temperatures the glass becomes red hot and melts together. In each firing, unexpected results can occur and contributes to making each piece of glass unique in character.

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The fusions you choose to use can create dynamic contrast in shape and texture. For example, I have used iridized herringbone glass to give shape and texture to the ears of ‘Timmy the Bernese Hound’ (Fig 2). Of course I could have made the entire portrait out of smalti and simply cut the briquettes into triangles to suggest the woolly ears, but instead my fusions create contrast just by the very nature of the fact that they are made of a textured glass to begin with.

Fusions that include my murrine – such as the butterflies in ‘Summertime’ (Fig 1) have taken 4 firings by the time I have made the butterfly’s wings.

Creative Elements If you sometimes feel that something is simply missing in your mosaic, consider the following creative elements that give dynamic visualization, contrast and feeling to mosaics:

v Shape & texture v Size v Distance v Stylization

I fired the murrine two times, inserted them into the butterfly wings, then fired the entire piece two more times to complete the butterfly wings.

Detail

Fig 2

Fig 1

Shape and Texture

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Distance

In both mosaics below (Fig 4-5), I have used the fusions to create distance. The mountains in the background could have been made as a micro mosaic but instead I achieved a similar effect by smashing up the glass into tiny pieces and fusing them into mountainous shapes for background landscape.

Fig. 4

Fig 3

One of the really fun ways to show personality and emphasis in a mosaic is to vary the size of the tesserae. This has a much different effect, than say, using numerous pieces of smalti or other glass tiles, which are all of a similar size. The images below (Fig 3) show how use of large sized fusions adds a sort of arrogant or showy element to the animal’s character. Historically, this also was an art form that began in the Hellenistic world, perhaps first in Italy, and called Opus Sectile. It is a type of mosaic work composed of larger pieces of stone or other material that was cut in shapes to fit the component parts of the design. It differed in approach from the more common mosaic style in which each shape in the design is composed of many small cubes (tesserae) of stone or glass.

Fig. 5

Size

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Fig. 6

Fig. 7

Stylisation

The portrait of ‘Josh and Mika’ (Fig 6) two border collies has stylistic contrast between the realistic handling of the dog portraits sitting on a ‘stylised carpet’. Creating the hound images in the carpet as single fusions helps to enhance this effect. Had I made the carpet detail all in smalti or other mosaic pieces, it would not have the same look or feeling.

Anthropomorphism is another example of stylization. This is when one applies human characteristics to an animal, as in (Fig. 7), ‘Celebration’. Here, I show my cat, Jessie, drinking a martini. Again, the use of fusions in lieu of cut tile bits, gives the piece a highly stylized effect.

Perhaps this article has inspired you to give fusions a go. If you are interested in learning how to create your own fused glass creations, there are a number of ways to go about it. There are a number of related books to begin learning and through this, one can get acquainted with the technique. I recommend taking some classes first to see if the process is engaging for you and your artistic style. I have written several books on the subject of mosaics, some of which you will find listed at the end of this article. In addition to my books, I offer several workshops at my studio in Broadstairs, U.K., and in the winter/spring, I tour the U.S.A. giving workshops all over the country. Of course, all my class information can be found on my website at http://www.martincheek.co.uk.

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I do make fusions on commission where students send me their designs and I make their fusions for them. More popular requests include dog and cat ears, eyes and noses for pet portraiture. Some of the more recent fusions I have done include flamingo and other bird feathers, and angelfish. I hope this article influences you to begin exploring the wonderful world of fused glass and mosaic arts. Good luck and happy fusing!

Martin’s Books: All of the books can be found on Amazon or you can order directly from Martin who will gladly sign your copy. Below is a list of a few of his books. A complete listing is on Amazon.

Fused Glass Mosaics: Master Class Techniques With Martin Cheek

Mosaic Art: Design & Inspiration Mosaics: Design Sourcebook