I’ve been making this type of plate for about 10 years. I’ve always called them a ‘splat’ plate though some glass artists call a similar design a ‘coral’ plate. I think the biggest difference between the two is that I slump my fused piece into a mold whereas coral plates are generally draped over a mold.
I like to use a lot of clear glass and transparent glass to let the light shine through though I do use a bit of opaque glass too. After choosing a colour palette, I cut the glass into strips then lay them down in a pattern, with plenty of gaps, directly onto my prepared kiln shelf. Mostly, I do a circle design. Then the piece goes into the kiln to fuse together.
When my design has been fused, I wash the piece then place it back in the kiln on top of a mold for it to slump into. Here, I actually have two different sized molds stacked in my kiln – both have the same colour scheme but each piece will be unique as I can never lay down the pieces of glass in the exact same order.
Here’s the finished piece that was in the top mold in the kiln. I love the vibrancy of the green.
Below is a different colour combination that I made sometime ago.
