Q & A Mondays are answers to reader questions submitted via email or social media. All personal information has been removed for privacy reasons and messages have been edited for clarity. You may submit your own questions through the About/Contact page.
Q: I purchased your kit of supplies for making original shaped bowls. Sorry, I don’t remember the real name. It came with no instructions and I can’t find the video demonstration. Can you help with this please? Thank you.
A: The video is permanently online, you can see it here:
It’s the very first show we did together, and doesn’t say the topic in the title, so, very hard to locate logically.
I’m glad you enjoy the classes, I very much like teaching them, especially because I can help and ‘meet’ people I would never have a chance to meet otherwise. It’s really amazing when you think about it!
Let me know how the slumping web kit goes, and if I can help with anything else. Have a great week!
Q: I realize all kilns are different but which of your fusing schedules do you recommend for your Bottle Bottom Molds when using recycled bottle bottoms? I just want to make sure my kiln temperature gets hot enough for this process.
You have a lot of great choices. I am trying to decide which ones to purchase.
A: I use the full fuse firing schedule for bottle bottom molds, it works great!
Q: Sorry for the late response but thank you Jodi. I have another question for you if you don’t mind. I am trying to full fuse a beer bottle that has an enamel label on it. I would like to preserve the artwork on the label.During a full fuse, the enamel fades when it is face up. Face down, it fades a less. Have you found a way to keep the coloring during a full fuse? The next thing I was going to try was shifting transparent powder on the enamel before full fusing but it is a different coeficient, COE 90. Have you tried this? If so, have you had success? What have you done?I appreciate your help and look forward to hearing back from you.
A: It seems like some of the enamels are just really low quality in terms of firing. I have noticed that same thing with firing the label down toward the shelf. It does seem like the enamel gets quite liquid during firing when it is shelf side down and sticks to the shelf paper, when scrubbed off, the image is not shiny any more. I did one piece that I flattened label side down then covered the label with Thomson Enamel float compatible enamel in clear, and fired it again label side up. It did look good, but what a pain!
I do have a couple of tutorials about enamel labels, although they don’t have any more information than you already know.
I have had better luck with lower slump temperatures, rather than full fuse if that helps at all.
Let me know how it works out and if you come up with a better solution, I know a lot of people would love to know!
Q: I read your article on testing fusible decals on glass. Can I use my small jewelry kiln for the decals or do I have to use my larger kiln
A: I think you can use your small jewelry kiln for decals, as long as you can control the temperature so they don’t get too hot. I have no experience with microwave kilns though, so if that’s what you have, some tests are probably in order.
Let me know how it works out for you,
Jodi
