Home
Fuse glass is an ancient art form dating at least to the time of the early Egyptians.
Also called “kiln formed glass” or”warm glass”, the process involves layering colored glass and accent pieces in successive firings at temperatures approaching 1500 degrees.
My designs are cut from artist quality hand rolled sheets of colored glass, often accented with iridescent or dichroic (metallic coated) glass. The forms are then arranged into a design, two to six layers thick. Fuse firing melts the glass to itself and forms a smooth sheet I then slump the glass to create shapes, such as bowls, or I use the fused piece as a canvas for additional layers of glass to create my wall and table sculptures. To maintain the texture of the layers of glass it is necessary to fire each successive layer separately at a lower temperature. Most of my pieces have been fired numerous times to create layers or specific textures in the final form.
The nature of the raw materials and the process add to the character of the art. Slight bubbles form as the molten glass fuses creating a unique pattern. No two pieces are exactly alike.
My process begins with a mental image taken from a cultural expression or forms from nature. I see geometric forms and colors, which to me are the essence of the natural landscape. I create the spirit of that image in glass.
In my glass art I try to capture landscape planes and geometrical patterns that appear to me in the valleys, mountains, streets and oceans. As a child in the Brandywine Valley of Delaware, and as I have traveled in America, Europe and Mexico, I have been drawn to the structure of life, the repeating forms that provide the skeleton to artistic expression in every tradition – the Native American, the European, the Asian, the North American.
I hope that in producing art which blends traditions and defies cultural categorization, I bring to the viewer a sense of our common aesthetic sense as human beings.
I make pieces in a variety of sizes and shapes: square and rectangular platters, bowls, small dishes, coasters, sconces, table art and wall hangings. All of the glass I use is lead-free and non-toxic and can be used with food.
Melissa at her kiln
Fused glass is an ancient art form dating at least to the time of the early Egyptians.
Also called “kiln formed glass” or”warm glass”, the process involves layering colored glass and accent pieces in successive firings at temperatures approaching 1500 degrees.
My process begins with a mental image taken from a cultural expression or forms from nature. I see geometric forms and colors, which to me are the essence of the natural landscape. I create the spirit of that image in glass.
Times Square – New Year’s Eve sculpture at home in Arkansas
In my glass art I try to capture landscape planes and geometrical patterns that appear to me in the valleys, mountains, streets and oceans. As a child in the Brandywine Valley of Delaware, and as I have traveled in America, Europe and Mexico, I have been drawn to the structure of life, the repeating forms that provide the skeleton to artistic expression in every tradition – the Native American, the European, the Asian, the North American.
I hope that in producing art which blends traditions and defies cultural categorization, I bring to the viewer a sense of our common aesthetic sense as human beings.
I make pieces in a variety of sizes and shapes: square and rectangular platters, bowls, small dishes, coasters, sconces, table art and wall hangings and jewelry. All of the glass I use is lead-free and non-toxic. The functional pieces can be used with food. All of the earrings have sterling silver ear wires.
Melissa McCann has worked in ceramic media for more than 20 years, moving into fused glass art in 2001. A retired psychotherapist, Melissa lives in Occidental, California.