Glass Bugs

I want to get more diverse than just glass pendants with the kiln. I have been experimenting with mixing other materials in with the glass - including various wires. Below are some of the first bugs that I put together. The beads on the antennae were added after kilning.

Some wire does not fire well. "Kiln wire" has no coating that burns off during the firing. But really, any wire will work. You just need to be careful that the burn off doesn't fly into the glass or it will be permanently lodged there. You can just cover the wire with little strips of kiln paper and then wipe off the wire when it comes out of the kiln. Some wire, like 10 gauge bailing wire, get a really neat patina effect on it.