BUMBLE BEES - in glass!

Why are bees important?

We simply wouldn't be able to survive without bees. As well as boosting our mood when we see them in our woods and gardens, they're crucial to our physical health and the health of the wider environment.

Bees pollinate food crops

Many of the UK's arable crops benefit from bee pollination. While there are other methods of pollination, including by other animals and the wind, wild bees can pollinate on a much bigger and more efficient scale.

Estimates suggest it would cost UK farmers an incredible £1.8 billion a year to manually pollinate their crops.

Bees feed livestock

Bees pollinate many of the crops used for animal feed. Without them, it would be harder to produce lots of our meat, egg and dairy products.

Bees prop up the ecosystem

Without bees (and thousands of other insect species that call the UK home), it wouldn't be long before our ecosystem collapsed. Bees pollinate our wild trees and wild flowers, which then support other insects, which then support birds, bats, mammals and everything up the food chain with food and shelter.

Bumblebees

Did you know.........there are 24 types of bumblebee in the UK! These clumsy balls of fluff are a social species, nesting in colonies of around 200 bees. If you are curious:  https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/blog/2023/07/types-of-bee-in-the-uk/

MY GLASS  BEES:

My little bees are made from glass powder.  I use a method similar to a process called Pate de Verre (paste of glass), which uses water with the powder to form a paste, which is then used to form the bee, which eventually is fired in a kiln.  Lots of time, both in the making, which is fiddly, and in the kiln.  But worth it - I love these cute little bees! They are available from my Etsy shop:  www.jackiesimmondsstudio.etsy.com

They can be fired onto Bullseye glass, or "cold fused" to any other glass - or tile, or ceramic surface.  My customers add them to panels, to vases, to bowls, to tiles, to windchimes, to night lights - all sorts.  I hope you like them as much as I do!

 A SEAM-FREE FRAME WITH DECORATIVE FLORAL DETAIL

(for glass artists with some fusing experience) 

Important issues to consider before you begin : a) SIZE and B) how will your chosen photo be protected and C) how will the frame stand up?  Some people use glass and create a pocket to go at the back.  I wanted something simpler so I used an inexpensive A4 size L-shaped  CLEAR ACRYLIC SIGN HOLDER from Amazon.   This dictated the size of the strips to be cut.

NB  I learned this the hard way.  I made a number of frames, using measurements I found elsewhere.  BUT then, I could not find acrylic stands the right size!  So now, I make sure I have the stands first!!

 

 

 The alternative is to use a small decorative easel, and to house the photo, you can use a simple acrylic sign holder, secured to the back of the frame, either with glue or double-sided tape:  https://amzn.eu/d/5UezK9p

 

Here are some easel ideas

      

all from Amazon .

 

Or, make your own cast glass easel using an easel mould from Creative Paradise.  Again, check the size! They offer two sizes of moulds.

    https://www.creativeparadiseglass.com/product-p/lf253.htm

 

The problem with most fused glass photo frames is the CORNER SEAMS, which I  dislike.  The trick to making the seams invisible is using DOUBLE LAYER GLASS STRIPS, laying them out in a very specific way.

Because I wanted to use floral detail, I wanted a fairly wide frame, so I cut my strips to suit my project.  If you want thinner frames, I recommend cutting out a pattern from cardboard or paper, to see how it looks and if it suits your theme.

 

MAKING THE FRAME

 For an A4 L shaped stand, (or any size in fact) you will need 8 strips of glass.

For my A4 stand I used:

4 long:  26cm x 5cm  (10” x 2”)

4 short:  20cm x 5cm (8” x 2” )

You need to lay out the first four, onto your kiln shelf, like this:

I have deliberately left the joints open so you can see the layout clearly.  However YOU MUST BUTT THEM UP AGAINST EACH OTHER.

Put a dot of glue onto each sheet – Fusers glue is always the safest to use.  I use either the pink or the blue Glas-tac but you could use any glue, even Superglue– as you are using opaque glass.

Then lay up the next four strips on top BUT STAGGER THE PIECES SO THAT THE SEAMS ARE NOT IN THE SAME PLACE AS THIS FIRST LAYER.

 This pic shows the placement of both layers, before putting them together:

the bottom four go on top of the top four - or vice versa!

 

Here they are, two layers together:

Amazingly this fires without visible seams!!!

Now, my choice is to fire this to a full fuse FIRST, (standard full fuse in your kiln for approx. 3-5 mins – do test as all kilns differ) and then add the decoration later.  But it is possible to add certain kinds of decoration at this stage, and fire – this is fine if you want the decoration to melt into the frame, but if you want a dimensional frame like mine, the decoration is best fired afterwards at a lower temperature.

 ADDING DECORATIVE DIMENSIONAL FLOWERS

I created my flowers, leaves, and tendrils separately. As you can tell, this is a labour-intensive project!

 

TENDRILS – if you can find organic ready-fused stringers, you can use these.  The alternative is to shape straight stringers over a candle flame, (they do get sooty, which wipes off) and tend to look deliberately bent rather than gently organic.

OR

You can try pulling your own organic stringers using scrap glass.  It takes practice!  You can use a flame of any kind but MAP gas torches do not cause soot.  Cooking torches will work, the ones used for creating brulee.   HOWEVER they are easy to knock over so try clamping to your tabletop or use something to secure it – Blu-tack might work for example.  They can be purchased for just a few £ or $ from Amazon. 

I used Glasshoppa’s method, using ¼” strips of white glass, spending a fun afternoon practicing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkBpqXWBMRg

Using this method, with scrap glass, you can create inexpensive boxes of organic stringers which have multiple uses.

You can also buy organic stringers…I sometimes buy from http://www.firedglass.biz/

 

MAKING THE FLOWERS

You have two choices. 

You can create your own flowers, using the freeze and fuse method.  For this, you will need glass powders and silicone moulds.  There are lots of free online tutorials which will show you exactly what to do.  Basically, you fill a mould with wet powder (or dry, making it wet gradually), freeze , demould and fire.  It is very satisfying when you get good results. 

 

Here is just one of the many explanatory videos you can find on You Tube: JUST CLICK ON THIS LINK:  VIDEO

 Or, if you prefer not to acquire new sets of materials and spend time practicing (not everyone finds it as straightforward as demonstrated)  you can purchase ready-made beautiful flowers and leaves (and birds, and other things) here:

www.jackiesimmondsstudio.etsy.com (clickable link)

 Once you have your fused frame, and your pieces, position the decorative pieces in a pleasing design, and use a dot of glue to hold them in place.  Ideally, use a Fusers Glue.  

Then, the piece can be tack-fused.  IT IS REALLY IMPORTANT TO TEST IN YOUR OWN KILN.  I WILL PROVIDE SOME PIECES FOR PRACTICE with every order.  TRY FUSING A COUPLE OF PIECES TO A 2-LAYER COASTER OR SIMILAR, USING THE FIRING INSTRUCTIONS WHICH I WILL SUPPLY WITH THE PIECES.  Then, you can fire your frame with much more confidence and finally assemble with the backing you have chosen.

Please just bear in mind that I am not strong, cannot make too much at any one time, and there may be a waiting list for my pieces!!

I do hope you found this guide helpful.  My thanks go to those I have learned from over the years!

 

Jackie

www.jackiesimmondsstudio.etsy.com

www.jackiesimmonds.com

email:  jackiesdesk@gmail.com

 

 

My daughter’s wedding photo frame, made as a gift for the in-laws!