Working with glass includes a variety of techniques, each defined by the temperature at which the material is shaped.
- Cold glass methods focus on manipulating glass at room temperature through cutting, grinding, engraving and polishing, emphasizing precision and surface detail.
- Warm glass techniques (such as fusing and slumping) involve heating glass in a kiln until it softens enough to bend, bond, or take on new forms. Time, temperature and gravity determine whether the glass is melted flat or keeps some of it’s original shape.
- Hot glass work pushes the material to its molten state, allowing artists to blow, cast, or sculpt it with fluid, dynamic motion.
Cold Glass methods include stained glass, mosaic, appliqué, and cold working.
- Stained glass typically involves cutting and shaping pieces from sheets of glass, wrapping the pieces with either lead came or copper foil, and assembling with solder into finished artworks.
- Applique is a decorative technique used in stained glass, fused glass, and architectural glasswork. It involves adding separate pieces of glass onto the surface of a base sheet to create raised, layered, or textural designs.
- Mosaic designs are created by arranging many small pieces of colored glass into a larger pattern or picture. Mosaics traditionally start with small glass pieces or cast glass tiles (“tesserae” and “smalti”) instead of sheets of glass. These small pieces are nipped to shape, if necessary, and used to make the design. Mosaic designs are typically finished with grout.
- Cold Working includes surface treatments such as etching, silvering, grinding, sanding, polishing, cutting and carving, engraving, sandblasting, and lapping. These processes refine and finish glass at room temperature, and are essential for smoothing edges, correcting shapes, adding texture and interest and achieving polished surfaces.
Warm Glass – Warm glass methods include fusing, slumping, kiln carving and pate de verre, opening the door to creating everything from jewelry to plates and bowls to sculptural works.
- Fusing is a technique where separate pieces of glass are heated in a kiln until they bond into a single piece. Glass fusing techniques include:
- Layering (stacking colors and shapes)
- Inclusions (adding metals, frit, stringers or powders)
- Kiln carving (using fiber paper to create relief textures)
- Slumping and Dropping create specific shapes, such as bowls and vases
- Pate De Verre is a process of combining a wet binder with glass powders or fine frits that make a ‘paste’ which is then packed in layers into a plaster mold before firing.
Hot Glass – Glass Blowing, lampworking (aka torchwork) are hot glass skills. Glass blowers shape molten glass by inflating it with a blowpipe and manipulating its shape with various tools. Torchworking involves the use of a torch to melt and shape rods, tubes, or pieces of glass into various forms. Both glass blowing and torchworking are hands-on, heat-intensive art forms.
Creating glass art is fun! Many of our members teach glassmaking classes and are happy to share their knowledge and experience. It’s a great way to learn a new skill and make some new friends along the way! See our Teacher Education page for a current list of our member teachers and sign yourself up (plus maybe a friend or two!) to create something beautiful!
Browse our collection of Glass Art educational articles or Find a member who gives classes