Now and then someone at an art show will stop by our booth and sniff “Bottles! Why, people have
been doing this since the 70’s!”
Well, people have been making art for thousands of years, but who’s complaining?
There is actually quite a bit that goes into the process of our kiln-fired bottles:
- Drink the contents (this is the most important part!)
- Labels and foil must be removed, as they cannot go in the kiln. Depending on if the client wants the label preserved, the process can vary, as can the types of adhesive used by the label company. As part of our commitment to sustainability and the environment, we use no chemical removers; so each one is soaked, scraped, and scrubbed by hand. The inside and outside must be perfectly clean, otherwise any residue will leave marks during firing.
- Wet bottles will cause imperfections and bubbles, so they must dry for 1-3 days upside down to remove all moisture.
- Only THEN can we prepare the kiln and/or molds, and the firing process takes roughly 14 hours.
- After that the bottles and molds must be cleaned again to remove residue or buildup. Depending on the firing, light sanding may be required to remove sharp edges.
As you can see, it takes 3-5 days to hand prepare your unique glass “canvas”. NOW we can paint!
