The 4 Questions We're Asked Most About Fused Glass

We welcome questions about our fused glass work — it's one of our favorite parts of sharing what we make. Here’s are some honest answers to our most frequently asked questions.

1. "How did you get started?"

With a Groupon, honestly. I bought a class on a whim, had a great time, and coaxed my best friend into taking more classes with me . One class turned into several, and several turned into buying our own kiln — going on 14 years ago now. Since then it's grown into nearly 7,000 pieces sold, with proceeds supporting four nonprofits on an ongoing basis.1.

2. "Do you teach?"

We don't, and that's intentional. Glass is our creative outlet and a way to support nonprofits, through their gift shops, at local art guild exhibitions, and at community art events.

3. "How long does it take to do a piece?"

It depends enormously on what we're making. A simple functional piece — a bowl, a small dish — can come together in an afternoon between design and kiln time. My art pieces — and some functional pieces — are a different story . Those take much longer. It starts with the design process: sketching, testing color combinations, and working out how the glass will actually behave. Then, the cutting, grinding, cleaning, and building, all before the kiln starts. The kiln cycle runs 24+ hours per firing. More complex art pieces often go through several firings before they're finished. The cooldown can't be rushed, either — glass has to pass through its annealing range slowly, or it builds up internal stress and can crack later, sometimes days after it looked perfectly fine. So pieces can take weeks - some even months.

4. "Where do you get your ideas?"

Honestly, from a handful of different directions. Nature is a constant source — textures, shapes, and colors. Sometimes the idea comes from the glass itself — a color or texture we're working with suggests its own direction before we've decided what I'm making. It also comes from seeing work in other mediums — a painting, a ceramic glaze, a sculpture — and being inspired to do something similar in glass. It's rarely straightforward. Glass is a much less forgiving, less flexible medium than most, so "reimagining" something is like solving a puzzle with a different set of rules.

And, they comes from customers, who'll describe an idea, share a photo or mention a color they love — any of which may become a starting point for a custom design.

If you have a question that isn't on this list, we'd love to hear it!