Modeling Glass is a product, developed by Lois Manno at Glass Bird Studios, that turns powdered glass into a moldable
material that can be fused! It turns into a scupltable material
that is similar to working with clay. The Powdered Binder that you
mix with the Powder Frit is a food-grade, non-toxic
cellulose-based material that reacts with water as a thickener. The Liquid
Medium that you add to the powder is also food-grade and nontoxic, and
combines with water to give body and smoothness to the Modeling Glass,
while preventing stickiness. Both the Binder and the Liquid Medium burn
away during firing, leaving pure glass behind.
You can work with Modeling Glass in many of the same ways you would work
with clay: roll into coils, roll into a flat sheet and cut out shapes,
or press into silicone molds. Modeling Glass holds its shape without
freezing. When fired to tack-fuse temperatures, it will hold an amazing
amount of textural detail. It can also be thinned with water and used to
create beautiful palette-knife textures. Combine colors to make your own blends.
The Starter Kit contains one 3.5-ounce jar of
powdered binder and one 2-ounce bottle of liquid medium. An
instruction sheet is also included. This kit can be mixed with any COE glass powder to make over
3 pounds of Modeling Glass.
A sculpted, free-form owl made completely from Modeling Glass. It is about 4" across
and 1/4" thick and done with only 2 firings. Created by Glass
Bird Studios.
Created by Glass Bird Studios
Modeling Glass
StarterKit
Modeling Glass Binder
Refill - 7 oz.
Modeling Glass Liquid Medium
Refill - 4 oz.
Here is a
downloadable
Modeling Glass Instruction Sheet that comes in each Starter Kit,
with tools list, mixing directions, firing schedule, and
recommendations for storage.
The mixing instructions in the above PDF for Modeling Glass were
developed for use with Bullseye Glass powders. The ratio for mixing
Modeling Glass with Oceanside's Spectrum/Uroboros or other powders
is slightly different. INCREASE BINDER from 2 1/2 level teaspoons
(6g) to 1 level tablespoon (7g). INCREASE WATER from 1/4 cup plus 2
teaspoons (60g) to 1/4 cup plus 2 1/4 teaspoons (70g).
Lois had a mask mold manufactured by Creative Paradise specifically for her signature mask design.
It's not widely available, but we have
it here. Now you can create your own mask designs! See the video
at the bottom of this page.
Glass Bird Mask Slumping Mold
Created
by Glass Bird Studios
Small Batch
Modeling Glass
Mixing Modeling Glass is scalable to make a smaller amount of
any color. This is easy to do because the recipe scales up or
down proportionately. Here are the instructions for making just
one tablespoon of color:
1
tablespoon glass powder of your choice
1/4 teaspoon Powdered Binder 1 1/2
teaspoons water
1/8 teaspoon Liquid Medium
Follow
the directions in the Starter Kit for details. If you want the
material to be slightly drier, add a pinch more glass powder; if
you want it to be more moist, sprinkle a few drops of water onto
the ball and knead it in.
Great when making multiple elements that
are then
used to make an image like this 7" x 9" Spring Tulip panel
(right).
