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Fused Glass Vases:

These Fused Glass Vases were made using two different techniques.  One technique uses a mold called a Drop Out Ring Mold.  The shape of the mold is basically a ring about 2-3 inches wide with a hole in the center.  The molds come in a variety of sizes and shapes.  Instead of a ring, some have a square in the middle, while others have an oval in the center.  They can be any shape.  For these glass vases, we have only used a ring mold.  We are planning on trying some glass vases with a square shape.

To make a drop ring glass vase, we place the mold on kiln posts at whatever height we want -- from 1/2" to 10."  The glass piece is placed on top of the mold and put in the kiln.  The glass drops through the center of the mold until it drops as far as we want it to drop.  Usually, we drop the glass vase to the kiln shelf for a flat bottom and sometimes we will tack fuse a base to the bottom for more stability.  However, if we stopped the drop before the glass vase reached the shelf, then it would have a rounded bottom and placed in a stand for display.

The second technique we use for making Fused Glass Vases is called draping.  This involves using a cone-shaped mold and placing the flat piece of glass on top of the mold.  The glass and the mold are placed in the kiln and heated up until the glass falls or drapes down around the mold.  With this technique, every Glass Vase turns out differently, because the glass drapes differently.