Standing Horse in Brightly Colored Art Glass Mosaic

This is part of our <strong>Horses Collection</strong> of equestrian art glass decor.

The unique design of this standing horse makes it a conversation starter, and its cheerful colors create a focal spot, wherever you put it in your home. It is also a perfect gift for a horse loving friend, whatever the occasion. You know that a hand-crafted artwork, small enough to find a place in any setting, is sure be treasured.

Creating the Base: A piece of clear glass was cut in the shape of the horse using a glass saw.
Creating the Top Layer: The top layer is where the designing happens. In this case, pieces of colorful glass where cut and arranged like a quilt to fit over the clear glass horse. Little bits of accent glass were added to some of the colored squares to create more interest and movement. They were all tacked in place with a dab of glue to keep them in place when moving the assemblage to the kiln for firing.
Fusing in the Kiln: Once the assemblage was the kiln it was heated to 1475 degrees, the temperature at which glass melts and the layers fuse together. The amount of “hold” time at the peak temperature was short enough so the tiles retained some of their original shape and remained raised above the surface.
Shaping the Horse: After the 1st firing, all the individual pieces were fused but the horse was still flat. To give it the ability to stand on four legs we needed to fire it a second time to “slump” it.  This time the horse was placed on top of a mold and heated to 1250 degrees, the temperature at which the glass softens and slowly sinks down to rest on the mold and take its shape. The job of this mold was to separate the horses legs. After cooling it could stand on its own.