• Materials Needed:
  • Bullseye Art Glass, approx a 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

This is a very easy project suitable for beginners. Select a piece of art glass that you like. I prefer transparent colors but you should select whichever you like best. Blanks for these pieces can be pre-fired so that they are fairly complex but we are going to make a simple piece with ONE color and simple decorations. For this project I've selected a piece of transparent Blue Bullseye glass.

Cut a piece that is about 3" x 3"; you don't have to kill yourself being exact but if you're too large the piece will sag over the edges of the mold. I use the Morton Grid w/ Portable Glass Studio to cut exact squares. You can grind both edges (top and bottom) of the glass so that you're sort of beveling them. This makes a horrible noise so you might want ear plugs BUT it allows you to fire polish and slump in one step because the edges are not sharp to begin with. See the image below to get the idea.

The GIST: 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.

1] Coat the mold with kiln wash	2] Center the glass on the mold on a kiln shelf.
3] Top View w/ decorations but before firing.	4] In Kiln and ready to fire.

• Prepare the mold & kiln shelf. The kiln wash must be dry before you proceed. You don't have to re-coat every time you use it. The kiln shelf should be coated .... just in case of mishaps!

• Cut your 3" x 3" piece of glass.

• OPTIONAL: Grind both the top and bottom edges (bevel them) .... don't die over this...just zip along quickly. Don't forget to wear eye protection and ear plugs if needed... it IS LOUD.

• Clean the smutz off the glass... DON'T use alcohol or glass cleaner like some folks tell you! Just use warm water and dry with a clean paper towel or cloth. Beware finger prints. Hold glass from edges.  Pay special attention to the edges as smutz can get ground into little imperfections.

• Place your mold on your kiln shelf. Place your glass on top of the mold. Take care to center the glass (image#2). Put your bits of decoration on the glass.(image#3)

• Put kiln shelf in kiln, put mold in 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 this 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.

• 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!