Bullseye is Right on Target with Fused Glass Production and Expertise Laurie Hartman English Composition I: Achieving Expertise Project 3: Case Study Fused glass is an art form where glass pieces are layered together, placed in a kiln, and heated to a melting temperature which allows the pieces to bond or fuse together. It is a blend of science and art, a combination of chemistry, physics, and artistic design. Glass is a very complex medium and fusing results are dependent on many variables. The various metals that are present in glass result in different colors. Reactions occur where metals blend when the glass melts together. Glass expansion must be considered when heating and cooling the kiln. Temperature can be used to create texture and shape of the final product. Use of color is left to the imagination of the artist. The world leader and expert in fused glass production is Bullseye Glass Company. Bullseye produces the largest palette of colors and the variety of their products is unparalleled. It all started in 1974, with a group of three individuals, Dan Schwoerer, Ray Ahlgren, and Boyce Lundstrom. These three men sought to develop the world’s first line of “Tested Compatible� glass, designed for fusing4. Development of compatible glass was the foundation block on which the glass fusing movement grew2. At this point you may be asking what exactly is fused glass and what do you mean by compatible? Fused glass is a beautiful and delicate, yet unforgiving art form that involves layering glass pieces into a design and heating in the kiln to melt and fuse
together. “Tested Compatible” refers to glass that exhibits the same coefficient of expansion upon heating. Coefficient of expansion may sound very complicated, but it is actually quite simple and easily explained. Thermal expansion is when matter, a solid, liquid, or gas, changes in size in response to a change in temperature10. “The degree of expansion divided by the change in temperature is called the material's coefficient of thermal expansion”6. Common examples for dealing with thermal expansion are spaces left in construction to allow for swelling that may occur in the heat, “narrow gaps left between railroad tracks” 5 or spaces left between panels of concrete roads and sidewalks. The spaces prevent heaving and buckling on hot days and cracking on very cold days. A mercury thermometer is another example of thermal expansion, but for this one, the change in size is utilized for a purpose 9. When fusing, or heating and cooling in the kiln, glass is subject to thermal expansion and the various layers must expand and contract together. If the expansion and contraction is not uniform, the glass will crack, this is where compatibility comes in. All pieces of glass must be “tested compatible”. When Bullseye was formed, they “initially focused on making colored sheets for use in stained glass, [but] they aspired to do what had never been done before—to produce a palette of colored glasses tested as compatible for fusing in the kiln”4. By the early 1980s, Bullseye had produced the “world's first line of "Tested Compatible" glass designed specifically for fusing.” Soon after that, they divided the company into various
departments, including, Production, Department of Research & Education and the Bullseye Resource Center 4. Daniel Schwoerer, Ray Ahlgren, and Bruce Lundstrom, the founders of Bullseye glass, are all considered experts in the field of glass. Schwoerer, the current CEO of Bullseye, researches and writes technical articles on glass and investigates leading-edge issues in kiln forming3. Ahlgren has been working with glass for over 40 years, after selling out his share of Bullseye, he started Fireart Glass in 19807. Lundstrom sold his share of Bullseye to Schwoerer in 1985, and created a glass school called Camp Colton, outside of Portland, Oregon. He was also an author and has written many books on glass. His book "Kiln Firing Glass, Glass Fusing Book One" is referred to by most fusers as the "bible" for the fusing process and has been a top-selling book for over 30 years2. These three experts came together and started the Bullseye Glass Company. Other fused glass companies exist, Spectrum, Wissmach, Uroboros, etc., however Bullseye is the leader in the industry. They have more colors and products available than any other company. Bullseye is the expert. They have spent years and done extensive research developing compatible glass in a wide variety of colors. “Expertise experts reckon the number of hours it takes to build an expertise is around 10,000�8. Bullseye began developing compatible glass in 1974. Since then, a huge line of compatible glass has come out. The color palette is constantly expanding as new products are added. In the six years, from 1974-1980, during which time compatible glass was developed, the Bullseye GlassCompany dedicated a large amount of time, effort and energy to glass research. The number of hours that they put in and all of the research and development that they have done, definitely qualifies them as experts.
Colvin said it best, “there’s no evidence of high-level performance without experience or practice� (p. 1)1. Bullseye also works with many artists and has developed educational programs to teach people how to do fused glass. Bullseye Resource Centers provide people with opportunities to ask the experts, questions about fused glass. In addition, the company sponsors an art contest for new, emerging artists. With all of these programs and their capabilities it is quite obvious that Bullseye is the expert in the field, and compared to all of the other fused glass companies, Bullseye is the leader.
References 1
Colvin, Geoffrey. “What it takes to be great.” Fortune Magazine. October 19, 2006. 1-4.
2
http://www.artcoinc.com/lundstrom.php
3
http://www.bullseyeglass.com/education/daniel-schwoerer.html
4
http://www.bullseyeglass.com/history.html
5
http://www.daviddarling.info/childrens_encyclopedia/heat_Chapter2.html
6
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_expansion
7
http://fireartglass.com/about_us.php
8
http://fusedglass.wordpress.com/tag/expertise/
9
http://www.pa.uky.edu/sciworks/heat/preview/texpy.htm
10
http://www.physics4kids.com/files/thermo_expand.html