What is Fused Glass?

Fused glass is the art of cutting “colors” of stained glass, layering them on top of one another and permanently merging them together by firing them in a kiln.

At Sandman Glass & Gifts, we use special fusible “hot” glass which we cut by hand. We artistically develop a design, usually inspired by nature and then shape the piece. We define whether the cut pieces of glass are compatible to one another and prepare them for firing. The entire firing process takes up to sixteen hours to complete and may take several firings.

10" Sweet heart plate

About the Artist

Each design of a completed piece is the artwork of Carol Lambert. Carol does not use patterns but “sees” the design while cutting the glass. She receives her inspiration from her natural surroundings of living around the Grand Teton Mountain Range in Idaho. She loves watching the wildflowers bloom and pictures in her mind a flower, object, or landscape before cutting it from the glass. Then she places the tiny pieces of cut glass on top of one another and builds it up onto a background piece of another color of stained glass. Carol fires each piece for up to 12 hours in a kiln and slowly cools the finished piece. Each piece is a one of a kind work of art.

Carol learned the art of cutting stain glass windows in San Diego, California. She was a potter, painter, does etchings in stippling, and a designer for all types of other arts. She combined her knowledge of floral designing, stain glass work, and pottery to develop her own technique of fusing glass. She currently attends college, fuses glass full time, had a career in broadcast, but always remained committed to her art.

   “When I was learning how to design stain glass windows, I was bothered by the lead lines interrupting the art work. I felt it took away from the beauty of the design of a window piece. So, years later, I decided to try to develop a technique to eliminate the lines in the design and still get the full use of the color and beauty of stained glass. I found the perfect solution by cutting the colors of glass and then fusing them together.”
                                                                                                                     Carol A. Lambert - artist