Glass Craft & Bead Expo 2015 - Making Waves with Unique Glass Colors
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| The Wave - fused glass with Unique Glass Colors |
One of the classes I took at the expo was a half-day class with Margo Clark and Saulius Jankauskas, who are two of the owners and artists behind the Unique Glass Color paints (UGCs) that are used in glass fusing. I purchased some of the UGC Artisan paints a few months ago (the artisan line is used to create bubbles of color between glass), and I wanted to learn more about them and their NT line of colors which are lead-free opaque colors.
The project for the class was to create a fused glass Wave. The finished piece is shown above.Margo generously offered that I could share the techniques I learned in the class, so below you'll find information on making this lovely piece.
Sorry, but this post has been edited at the request of Margo Clark from UGC, and the tutorial has been removed. I misunderstood our conversation at the Expo regarding what could be shared. I offered to let Margo review the post before it was published, but review was declined. In hindsight, I should have insisted it be reviewed.
My personal guideline for blog posts is that I never reveal the "secrets" shared by instructors whom I have taken a class with, nor what I've read in purchased books. I fully respect the rights of all artists who make their living teaching others and try to provide only information which is available freely on the Internet. I should have kept to my personal guideline, and sincerely apologize to any who have been harmed by this sharing of information.
There is much information freely available on the use of UGCs, including YouTube videos (link below). I also plan to create a different tutorial of my own design using UGCs. I have several ideas in mind, so stay tuned.
Each of us in the class was provided with two half circles of float glass, a pattern, some float frit, a container of white Mud, UGC paint medium, and 10 bottles (yes, 10!) of UGC paints in shades of blue, green, and white.
********CONTENT REMOVED********
The project for the class was to create a fused glass Wave. The finished piece is shown above.
Sorry, but this post has been edited at the request of Margo Clark from UGC, and the tutorial has been removed. I misunderstood our conversation at the Expo regarding what could be shared. I offered to let Margo review the post before it was published, but review was declined. In hindsight, I should have insisted it be reviewed.
My personal guideline for blog posts is that I never reveal the "secrets" shared by instructors whom I have taken a class with, nor what I've read in purchased books. I fully respect the rights of all artists who make their living teaching others and try to provide only information which is available freely on the Internet. I should have kept to my personal guideline, and sincerely apologize to any who have been harmed by this sharing of information.
There is much information freely available on the use of UGCs, including YouTube videos (link below). I also plan to create a different tutorial of my own design using UGCs. I have several ideas in mind, so stay tuned.
Each of us in the class was provided with two half circles of float glass, a pattern, some float frit, a container of white Mud, UGC paint medium, and 10 bottles (yes, 10!) of UGC paints in shades of blue, green, and white.
********CONTENT REMOVED********
As you can see from the fired piece at the top of the page, the UGC colors are very rich and provide good coverage. They are compatible with all types of glass -- COE 90, COE 96, and float. I'll be incorporating more of the paints into my work in the future, and I have some ideas for projects using Mud. AND, I also have enough paint and mud left over from the class for several more projects!
UGC products can be ordered from the Unique Glass Color web site, and they are also carried at AAE Glass. Margo has created several YouTube videos that demonstrate how to use the paints and mud, and more projects are available on their web site. There's also a Facebook group for discussing all things UGC.
I hope this post has been informative, and maybe will inspire you to create your own waves!
Dana
Resources:
Unique Glass Colors web site http://uniqueglasscolors.com/index.php
UGC YouTube videos https://www.youtube.com/user/UniqueGlassColors
UGC Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/glassartwithugc/
AAE Glass https://www.aaeglass.com/
In addition to these resources, Bullseye Glass offers general education videos covering many aspects of glass fusing (subscription required, but I think it is worth the small annual fee)
