Glass Cutting for the nervous

My article "Glass Cutting for the Nervous" has now been published on the CGGE website. It's aimed at beginners to glass cutting or as a refresher for glass artists who are coming back to the skill. Although glass cutting is a skill, it is an easy one to learn as it only really requires two things: confidence and practice. I really like cutting strange or small shapes as I enjoy the challenge. Glass cutting is one of my favorite tasks and Bullseye is my favorite glass to work with.

Read it here http://www.cgge.org/articles.aspx and let me know your comments or further suggestions.

It's Sale Time! Spring into Summer.

The CGGE is having a grand sale from June 1 to June 7. There will be lots of glass bargains to be had, including some of the beauties shown here on the right. Just go to www.etsy.com and search for CGGEsale. You can also go to www.cgge.org to view all the members and their glass work.

What does CGGE mean? It's the Creative Glass Guild of Etsy, a glass collective who are all etsyians.

Why does Etsy need a glass collective? To support each other and promote our glass work. CGGE is an inclusive group that is non-juried. Instead members are asked to "strive for five" - that is to have a minimum of five glass items in their shops.

What's in the sale? You will need to visit the individual shops to find out which bargains sellers are offering. Some will offer BOGOs, some % off, some will have reduced items, I, personally, will be offering free shipping, anywhere!

Which types of glass are available? Cold worked glass (etched, painted, stained glass) warm glass (fused and slumped) and hot glass (glass blowing, bead making).

Where else can I see CGGE glass? Check out the CGGE group on Flickr or visit the various blogs. Coming soon - a CGGE blog totally devoted to glass.

Creating a Glass Dish Part 1

This is Bullseye glass and it's my favorite. The Bullseye factory is in Portland, Oregon www.bullseye.com which is why it is more expensive than in the US. Must be the air miles! But the colours are lovely, it is easy to cut and grind and doesn't lose its intensity when fused. I'm a big fan.


So these are the colours I am going to use in my glass dish. I have cut a square of 5" in thick clear glass, a slightly smaller square of thin vanilla opal and now I am going to cut the heart shapes in red, orange, amber and lime green thin transparent glass. I draw round the paper heart template with a permanent marker pen and cut the hearts with a Toyo cutter. I try to be as economical with the glass as possible, saving small fragments to use as frit and larger pieces for other projects.


Here is the glass dish prior to grinding. I have a small Glastar diamond grinder which I bought from Tempsford Glass about four years ago. It gets a lot of punishment but its still going strong. I like to use a fine grinding head for Bullseye and change to a coarse grinding head for float and very thick glass. Once the glass has been smoothed I wash it in hot soapy water, rinse it in vinegar and water then dry it very carefully.