Bullseye Glass Company returns to ART Santa Fe for 2011. They will share their unique kiln-forming glass program with demonstrations by Ted Sawyer, Director of the Research and Education Department at Bullseye Glass Co., as well as artists Silvia Levenson, Stacy Lynn Smith, and Nathan Sandberg. Mr. Sawyer et al will demonstrate the various methods of glass application on-site as well as the use samples to show the range of stages and finishes obtainable through the kiln-glass process.

Bullseye Glass Co. started 36 years ago as an artist cooperative and became the first company in the world to manufacture what is called "tested compatible" glass. Over the years Portland, Oregon-based Bullseye Glass Co. has been acknowledged internationally as a pioneer on the cutting-edge of the field of kiln-forming, a low temperature glass-working process. They not only supply a whole palette of colored studio glass to artists world-wide but have developed a dynamic system to support these artists through publications, workshops, gallery exhibitions, educational outreach, and a residency program. They are pleased to have expanded their operations with their first satellite resource center that opened in Santa Fe in 2010.

Sticking to its roots as an artist-based operation, Bullseye Glass Co. remains dedicated to bringing in talented artists from around the world to work on-site and it is their collaboration with these artists over the years which has led to many of their unique materials innovations. This program was formalized twenty years ago with the creation of the Research and Education Department. The department now maintains a full-time staff of nine technicians and teachers.

The use of glass in fine art has gained popularity in more recent years among numerous artists traditionally aligned with painting and sculpture. Artists Tony Cragg, Mona Hatoum, Roni Horn, Jean-Michel Othoniel, Robert Rauschenberg, Gerhard Richter, and Kiki Smith have found new success working with glass as a medium. The process of kiln-forming differs from traditional glass-working processes in that it uses a "low" temperature. Glass sheets are fired at a range of 1200 to 1500 degrees Fahrenheit -- as opposed to the temperatures of over 2000 degrees used by glassblowers. In this process a sheet of glass itself becomes the canvas on which different colored glass elements, powders and small grains of glass called frits, are applied and fused by use of kiln firing. There are numerous techniques for application, including sifting, brushing, and drawing, as well as many variants possible in the effect and texture of the final piece based on the temperatures and techniques used.

Please visit us on facebook or on our website for news about the fair and for travel and tour information or call us at 505.988.8883

Back to Top

Glass powders, sifted and brushed onto glass sheet.

Printmaker Tom Prochaska works powdered glass on clear sheet glass.

Sheets of glass covered in glass frits and powders are fired in kiln. Ted Sawyer, Director of Research and Education at Bullseye Glass Co. oversees the firing.

Once fired, glass powder adheres to clear plate, with more or less texture based on firing temperature.

Ted Sawyer checks the textural surface that remains on large colored pieces after firing.

Reviewing various pieces of fired glass plates.