Make a Fused Glass Sushi Plate

One Step Tiny Sushi & Tiny Plate Molds. A very easy project suitable for beginners and suitable for the Sierra, Paragon SC2, QuickFire and HotBox Kilns.

MATERIAL LIST:

Bullseye Art Glass, 3" x 3" Piece

Pre-cut dichroic shapes, small cabs, frit, stringer or other bits of glass you want to use for decorations.

Tiny Sushi or Tiny Plate Mold

Prepared Kiln Shelf

PROCEDURE:

Select a piece of art glass that you like best. Bullseye 90 COE transparent glass works well. Fairly complex layers of glass for these pieces, can be pre-fired, but we are going to make a simple piece with ONE glass color and simple decorations.

Coat the mold and kiln shelf in case of mishaps. You don't have to re-coat every time you use them.

Cut your 3" x 3" piece of glass. If your glass is too large, it will sag over the edges of the mold.

I use the NEW Morton Grid w/ Portable Glass Studio to cut exact squares.

OPTIONAL: Grind both the top and bottom edges (bevel them. Don't forget to wear eye protection and ear plugs if needed... it IS LOUD.

Clean the glass with warm water and dry with a clean paper towel or cloth. Beware of finger prints. Hold the glass at the edges. Pay special attention to cleaning the edges.

Place the mold on your kiln shelf. Place your glass on top of the mold. Take care to center the glass on the mold.

Before firing, put bits of decoration on the glass.

Put the kiln shelf in the kiln then put the mold in the center of kiln shelf.

Close your kiln and fire at full speed (as fast as your kiln can go) till it reaches 1365 degrees. Hold for 10 minutes. (You may have to adjust the temp for your kiln).

My kiln full fuses at 1490; adjust your temps according to your kilns needs. I use my tack fuse temp for this project as I am tack fusing on bits for decoration. If you overfire then the edges of your dish will be prickly and you'll have to grind or file and fire polish.

You will be heating the glass just enough so that it softens and slumps into the mold AND enough to tack fuse the decorations AND fire polish the edges. NOTE: DO NOT OPEN THE KILN UNTIL THE GLASS IS UNDER 200 DEGREES OR YOU WILL CRACK YOUR DISHES.

NOTE: Every kiln is different so you may have to play with this schedule a little to find the optimal temp and hold time for your kiln. It is better to underfire and have to fire AGAIN than to overfire - like salt in the soup - you can put more in but you can't take it out!

Permission granted and written by Nancy Tang. Modified by Aberose.