Behind the Scenes at Lucky Starz Studio

Over the past year, many people have asked me how I create my fused glass art. In this post, I’ll share some of the most important parts of my process, a few fun images and a time-lapse video to help you see how it all comes together.

The first and most important step is finding an image or idea that inspires me. When I look at photos or am inspired by something in the world around me, I begin thinking about how I could recreate the scene using the glass materials I have. I also prefer to use photos I’ve taken for this process but occasionally refer to images that I haven’t had the opportunity to personally photograph.

Here are a few of the images that have inspired my recent works of art.

Once I have a photo depicting the scene or layout that I’m inspired by, I head to the studio. I turn on some fun music while I select the glass colors and materials that I think I’ll want to use. Some glass is cut down from large sheets, while other pieces are pulled from my scrap bins or frit jars that are organized by color.

Most of the works of art I create begin with a sheet of clear or solid color glass cut to the desired final dimensions–I think of this as the base or canvas layer. When heating to fusing temperatures, all glass naturally wants to be 6 mm thick–most of the raw glass I purchase is between 2 and 3 mm, so layering is essential. Heating a single 3 mm layer of glass to 1500 degrees (full fusing temperature) will cause the glass to shrink, while layers with a total thickness of 7 to 9mm will spread out if not braced with a damn or set in a mold. I keep this in mind when designing the layers needed to create a texture for the images I’m designing.

For this post, I’m excited to share how I make art tiles for my wood stands. Most of them range in size between 3″x3″ and 5.25″x5.25″, and when I am creating multiples of the same design, I pre-cut the base sheet glass layers and some of the main elements for a production-like process.

The example I’d like to share with you today is one of my best-selling art pieces, Plumeria Shores, a design inspired by my love of Maui, the ocean, and the beautiful Plumeria flowers often used in leis which are placed on the necks of loved ones as a Hawaiian greeting.

Once my base layer is ready, I begin by gathering several different frit colors and textures to replicate the ocean and sand layers, and cut the flower petal shapes in the colors I think will compliment the sandy beach. My favorite frit colors to use for these scenes are Bullseye’s light aquamarine, amber, and white opal, with additional clear iridescent pieces to create a shimmering look on the water’s surface.

I begin by applying glass tack (a kind of glue) to the surface of the clear tile and then add the selected frit layers on top. Once the beach begins to take shape, I carefully add the flower petals to the sandy area. Then I lay the tiny hand-selected yellow and orange details in the flower’s center, creating the delicate details of the design. My final step is to add more glass tack to hold the small pieces in place so I can move the finished piece into the kiln without disturbing the glass bits.

Check out this 30-second time-lapse video to see part of this process in action!

Once I fill the kiln shelves, I set the fusing schedule and fire up the kiln. Each firing schedule is slightly different depending on the desired outcome or texture. For these beauties, I like to ensure the finished pieces are textured to replicate the rippled ocean and smooth sandy beach. A series of segments are programmed into the kiln to create this effect and ensure the glass is properly fused and annealed. The program can take between 8-13 hours to fully complete the each firing program. My preferred peak temperatures for this process range between 1425 and 1450 degrees.

The final product is beautiful and captures the ocean, beach, and plumeria flowers perfectly.

hope you enjoyed learning about my process and got to see how I build my glass art. If you enjoyed this post, let me know.

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