01.
Stack Construction
I was inspired by an image that I ran across on Pinterest of a stack construction piece by David Pascoe. I was particularly taken with the use of transparent glass to give an almost drop shadow effect to some of the stacks.
02.
Little Pyramids
I started with a black circle of glass on the bottom, then created small pyramids of glass that I had pre-assembled with pre-cut pieces of glass and rod. Except at the edges, the stacks are five layers tall, not including the base black circle.
03.
Into the Kiln
I assembled the piece on thin fire paper on a 14 inch kiln shelf.
04.
Flow
As a result of the full fuse and because I didn’t dam it, the edges of the circle became irregular due to smaller stacks I used near the edge.
05.
Irregular Edge
This is a better view of the shape of piece after fusing.
06.
The Grind
To do that, I scored a circle (with a Bohle Silberschnitt Studio Circle Cutter) that just barely cut off the areas that didn’t have stringer. Then I used a Glastar All Star G8 Grinder to grind off everything up to and including the score mark. It took about two hours to grind, but it came out circular and clean. Then I used 3M Diamond Hand Laps to remove the scratches left by the grinder and bring the finish of the edge up to 400 grit matte that would fire polish.
07.
Ready to Slump
Because the piece flowed to a larger size than I’d anticipated, I couldn’t slump it on a plate mold. Instead, I slumped it on a Drop Out Ring mold (8631) which was 10.8 inches in outer diameter.
Results
Final Result
I’m super pleased with both the overall look and the drop shadow effect created by clear Tekta in the stacks.
FULL FUSING SCHEDULE (RUN TIME 6:46)*
| SEGMENT | RATE (deg F / hour) | TEMPERATURE (F) | HOLD (hours:minutes) |
| 1 | 500 | 1225 | :30 |
| 2 | AFAP | 1500 | :30 |
| 3 | AFAP | 950 | 1:00 |
| 4 | 200 | 725 | OFF |
SLUMP FUSING SCHEDULE (RUN TIME 11:06)*
| SEGMENT | RATE (deg F / hour) | TEMPERATURE (F) | HOLD (hours:minutes) |
| 1 | 200 | 1250 | :30 |
| 2 | AFAP | 900 | 2:00 |
| 3 | 100 | 700 | OFF |
* The firing schedules may be designed for other projects that were fired with this one. Everything was fired in a Paragon GL-22AD.