By Wesley Wong (San Jose, CA)
1) Transfer design onto paper.
I have several master sheets of butterfly designs. I transfer each design onto tracing paper, which I cut up as templates to trace onto the glass.
2) Cut out the base glass (I use clear because it is cheapest).
Cut out the 2 upper and 2 lower wings, and body.
I used a ring saw to cut the clear base. If you do not have a ring saw, you can cut the base piece in 2 sections using your glasscutter.
3) Attach the wing sections & body onto the clear base using small dabs of gel glue (white glue also works). Leave a small gap between wings.
4) Transfer patterns for the wing spots onto the glass, and cut out the pieces.
5) Attach the wing spots to main wings using small dabs of gel glue.
6) Cut out another body piece. Nip small chips of glass for the tiny wing spots and eyes. Nip small chips of dichroic glass for the wing spots and body, and attach with gel glue.
7) Cut out a piece of fiber paper large enough to fit the butterfly & antennae. Cut out a piece of 3/8” fiberboard to support the antennae. Cut 1.5” lengths of 16 gauge brass wire, and lay on top of lower body piece so that it rests on top of the fiber board and the head.
8) Carefully lay the upper body section on top of lower body and antennae.
Place assembled butterfly in the kiln, and set the kiln to tack fuse program (1335°F).
9) Remove the butterfly from the kiln. Remove the layer of crust from the antennae with steel wool. The completed fused monarch butterfly…
Beautiful.
ReplyDeleteAwesome! Thanks for posting.
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