Description

A very special gift for a Bowie fan. This one-off Aladdin Sane fused glass portrait is framed and ready to display.

Yes, he’s made of glass. He was painstakingly created using different grades and colours of glass frit (ground glass). Here’s a fun video of someone making their own frit from an old glass jar Make your own glass frit by Cristina Schnellbeogl

The frit I use is from Bullseye glass. I don’t make my own as I need to make sure all of the glass has the same coefficient of expansion (CoE). This means it will melt and anneal consistently. If you mix glass with different CoE, there is a risk it will shatter either during firing or at some time in the future.

I used different colours and grades of frit to create the contours and colours of the hair and skin, carefully making sure the glass in each area is thick enough to fuse together in some places, and thin enough to pull apart in other places creating the texture I want. Although it all has the same CoE, different colours can act differently so this technique isn’t for the faint hearted.

He spent over 12 hours in the kiln being gently heated and even more gently cooled. He was then framed and permanently attached to the backing material so there is no risk of him falling out. The glass has been removed from the frame so you can see the textures properly. Some of the glass looks like ice when you look closely.

Price includes UK postage and packing. Please contact me for overseas shipping options.

You might also want to see Glass Marilyn, made using the same technique.

Or for something completely different, take a look at my stained glass portraits, e.g.  Mary Queen of Scots