Acid Etched Glass #4: Ordinary float glass

This series of entries looks at its use to create texture and surface relief.   I will use the making of my piece, The Bee and the Golden Weave to demonstrate this process, and how it is combined with other glass working methods to achieve the finished artwork. I am using two sheets of 4mm clear float glass.   I will be creating images on both sheets and they will be combined later to achieve the impression of depth and 3D movement. I use plastic vinyl as a resist, covering the full front and rear of
each sheet.

Clear vinyl is good to see through so that I can trace over my design, using a sharp scalpel knife to cut away the areas to be etched.  Unlike  entry #3, each sheet of glass is placed etched face down in the bath.  Sacrificial pieces of glass are positioned in the bath first.  These are placed towards the corners of the
main piece of glass.  This raises etched glass up from the bottom of the bath and ensures the cut away design can bee accessed by the acid.  By placing the glass upside down, this allows gravity to assist in pulling loose etched glass away from the design, which makes the process quicker.  It also tends to cause the etched glass to have a slightly ridged marked texture. The photographs show the design being cut in the resist, and the two sheets of glass with the depth of carving achieved.