In on edge construction you cut thin strips of glass, then set them on their edge and place them side by side creating whatever design you want. Most of the information that I got online have you constructing the piece in the kiln or on a kiln shelf. Our instructor wanted to have us construct on a sheet of glass. This was probably more of a practical decision then anything. We couldn't have every student hovering over the kiln trying to put their piece together. What that did do, was make us try to cut 1/4" strips of glass, instead of cutting 3/8th". I think the combination of cutting that thin and the fact that we were using Bullseye glass , which I find to be less forgiving than Spectrum glass, made it a real challenge for me. I will need to make some more projects at home to see how I really feel about this technique.
One of the challenges for me working in a strange studio with limited time is that I don't like designing and working under pressure. Glass is my stress relief tool. We couldn't take glass home to work on any of the projects, so in this case I was trying to cut small and fast. I was able to end up constructing my piece at home, mostly because it never would have gotten done in class otherwise.
I do really love the end result though. I created a section of a curling sheet, which was then fused together. I cold worked the edges to remove jagged areas. Next I cut a stencil of a curler delivering a rock from a picture I found in the cloud and used it to apply powder to the piece, and fused again. I didn't like how clear the piece was so I sandblasted the back of the piece to make it more opaque. Finally, I took my piece and slumped in over a lamp bender mold.
