Creating a Fused Glass Desert Diorama, Pt. 4

Projects

May 20

This is the final part of a multi-stage project. Start at Part 1 if you’d like to understand the full creation of this piece from start to finish!

A fused glass desert scene framed in a thick white box frame, sitting atop a dresser — *The 3 fused glass layers created previously in* *Parts 1*, 2, and 3 *assembled together in a white box frame*

Opening a Window

Before assembling the finished desert scene layers, I wanted to build one more optional layer that could sit in front of them all and emphasize the voyeuristic feeling of peeking through a window to another world.

I cut a square the same size as the background layer from a sheet of a warm, intensely yellow glass, and carved a circle into its center.

If you’re interested in learning how I make cutouts like this one, this post documents the process.

*A square of glass with a circular cutout in its center*

A hand holding a yellow stained glass square with a circular cutout in its center over a fused glass desert scene, obscuring portions of the scene outside of the cutout — *The window layer, post-firing, held above the desert scene layers to create a more voyeuristic perspective*

I fused this cutout layer just enough to soften its edges.

Holding it above the other layers created a sharp contrast between the scene and reality, adding a window-like effect.

Assembling the Layers

Finding a Frame

I used a frame that was more than deep enough to contain all the glass layers so that I’d be able to nest them inside along with spacers fitted in between each.

I made sure to obtain a frame before starting any of the glasswork for this project so that I could design the glass layers to the exact size that would fit them snugly within the frame.

A square, white wooden frame, several inches deep — *The wooden frame used to house the fused glass layers*

*The depth of frame necessary to fit all the fused glass layers plus spacers*

It was surprisingly difficult to find a clean, white frame that was deep enough and small enough for this project (small being key because my kiln floor is only 7x7”), so for future dioramas I plan on building my own. Fortunately, I recently took a course at the Florida School of Woodwork that should make that entirely doable.

Attaching the Spacers

A hand holding a thin, clear, hollow spacer — *Clear spacers used to separate fused glass layers within the frame*

These clear, self-adhesive spacers enabled me to situate the fused glass layers within the frame at different depths so that the background was farther away from the viewer than the foreground, thus building upon the sense of realistic perspective I’d already begun to establish by varying the texture intensity from layer to layer.

The backside of a fused glass piece with clear spacer tubes attached to its outer borders — *Thick spacers attached to the backside of the midground layer*

Three fused glass pieces flat on a white towel, with different lengths and sizes of clear spacer tubes attached to their back sides — *The foreground layer (bottom), midground layer (top left), and background layer (top right), each with a unique spacer setup attached*

I attached different sized spacers to each layer to achieve different purposes:

Very thin spacers bring the foreground a tiny bit closer to the viewer than the layer behind it.
Very thick spacers bring the midground much closer to the viewer than the layer behind it.
Moderately thick spacers prevent the frame’s metal backer tabs from pressing directly into the background and potentially cracking the glass.

I laid the foreground in first, surrounded by layers of precisely cut spacers. These spacers created a flat, stable surface that the midground could then be laid atop, followed by the background. Finally, I bent the frame’s backer tabs down on the background’s spacers to secure it all in place.

A square frame face-down with a single layer of fused glass art inset within it, also face-down — *The foreground layer inset within the frame*

A square frame face-down with two layers of fused glass art inset within it, also face-down — *The midground layer inset within the frame, on top of the foreground layer*

A square frame face-down with three layers of fused glass art inset within it, also face-down, and metal backing tabs pressing down into the back of the backmost layer — *The background layer inset within the frame, on top of the foreground and midground layers*

Note that the frame came inset with black metal backer tabs, but they weren’t at the depth I needed, so I left them unused and added in another set myself.

Also note that the yellow window layer isn’t shown here because I wanted to photograph the finished piece both with and without it, which meant I had to perform this framing process twice. I only photographed the session without the window layer.

Filling a Gap

Three clear spacers attached to the top inside surface of a square frame, with fused glass sitting tightly below — *Extra spacers attached to the upper inside surface of the frame, keeping the glass within stationary*

Although I sized each fused glass layer to fit snugly into the frame, while inlaying them I noticed that the foreground sat slightly askew because its bottom wasn’t perfectly straight.

I had to grind ~2mm off the offending edge to correct this, and then accordingly had to do the same to the other glass layers to maintain the design’s cohesiveness. This left a slight space between the glass layers and the top of the frame which I stop gapped with the spacers shown here.

To avoid this mistake in future dioramas, I’ll leave each layer slightly larger than needed until I’m ready to frame them all together, and will then adjust their edges one by one as they’re inlaid.

Since I consistently padded all gaps with spacers during the framing process, the final result is a securely positioned, three-dimensional art piece that can be tilted or flipped in any direction without the layers falling, slipping, or rattling.

I’m particularly happy with the stableness of this piece because I believe it’s vital to create sturdy, reliable pieces that customers can display in their homes without worry of their easily breaking.

The Finished Piece

Viewed With the Window Layer

*The completed piece with the window layer installed in front of the desert scene*

A desert scene with a circular yellow window-like border constructed with multiple layers of fused glass, contained in a thick, white, square frame, photographed at a slight side angle. — *The completed piece with the window layer installed in front of the desert scene, as viewed from the side*

I think the window layer adds a playful punch to the piece, and creates a tunnel-like, narrowed focus that pushes the background layer farther away in the viewer’s eye.

Ultimately, I prefer the piece without the window layer, but I’d like the option to easily install and remove it at a whim.

Unfortunately, with the current structure this isn’t possible without removing all the layers, altering their spacer setup, and then re-inlaying them all, which is extremely tedious and comes with the awful risk of breaking a layer.

Since I already plan to construct my own frames for future dioramas, I may also consider whether there’s a way I can do so that would allow the front layer to be easily slid in or out depending on the viewer’s preference.

Viewed Without the Window Layer

A desert scene constructed with multiple layers of fused glass, contained in a thick, white, square frame, displayed atop a dresser — *The completed piece with the window layer removed*

*The completed piece with the window layer removed, as viewed from the side*

A desert scene constructed with multiple layers of fused glass, contained in a thick, white, square frame, hung on the wall above a dresser — *The completed piece displayed hanging on a wall*

One of the aspects I enjoy most about this piece is its convenient versatility!

This piece can be displayed on a flat surface or easily hung on the wall with just a single nail.

It also doesn’t do badly in backlight!

Pieces made entirely from opalescent glass can look overly dark when backlit in a window, but the cream background layer of this piece allows enough light through to keep it fairly well illuminated.

A desert scene constructed with multiple layers of fused glass, contained in a thick, white, square frame, displayed in a window where its backlit from the sun — *The completed piece displayed backlit in a window*

A desert scene constructed with multiple layers of fused glass, contained in a thick, white, square frame, displayed on a dresser next to various vases

Watch a quick video from The Thought Gallery summarizing the fusing techniques used to create this piece and sharing its finished look!

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A friendly reminder that I share details of my creation processes with the intent of empowering people with knowledge and techniques that may help them reach their full creative potential, not with the intent of enabling other artists to recreate my pieces. All of my designs are protected by copyright and are illegal to reproduce, reuse, or republish without my permission under any circumstances.

stained glassfused glassglass fusingdioramadesertdesert dioramafused glass dioramakilnformingcactuslandscapedesert landscape

Jackie Knowles https://www.GlassworkPixie.com