Pot Melts

Until a few weeks ago, I’d never heard of a “pot melt.”  It sounds vaguely illegal, but it actually refers to (1) a technique used by fused glass artists; or (2) the product created by the technique.  In simple terms, this is how you do a pot melt:  Place some pieces of glass into a ceramic pot that has a few holes in the bottom.  Prepare a steel ring by lining it with Fiberfrax, a material that prevents glass from sticking to the metal.  Place the pot in a kiln, supported by a piece of “kiln furniture,” so that it is suspended over the ring.  During the firing, the glass melts and pours out of the holes in the pot and fills the ring. 

Doing a pot melt is something of an adventure because you don’t know exactly what the resulting piece will look like.  I used a pot with three holes to create the piece you see below.  It’s approximately 6 inches in diameter.  I love the organic quality of the design a pot melt produces.  

The finished pot melt

 

The pot and ring

The pot filled with glass

It took a lot of work to clean up the edges of the pot melt.  I used a belt sander and a lap grinder to smooth the outside of the circle.  Now that I’ve made a pot melt, I can slump it (for example, I could turn it into a bowl) or use it as a component in a larger piece.  I’m still considering the options.  In the meantime, I'm eager to do some more pot melts!