“Captivate with Cleopatra”

About the Process

The process of fusing glass begins with buying sheets of different colors and types of glass that appeal to me.  Then I cut the glass down into smaller, more manageable pieces.  The design process involves combining different colors, sizes and types of glass for the desired effect. I tend to like pieces that are visually striking and fit different moods.  The next step is deciding what level of fusing will be best for the piece.  A partial fuse leaves the pieces fused securely together but still retaining their individual shape and texture.  A full fuse melts all the pieces together into one rounded shape.  The difference is the temperature you bring the glass up to and the time it stays at that temperature.  Once the pieces have fused or melted together to the extent I'm looking for, I flash cool the kiln and then anneal the glass slowly to give it strength.  One of the best things about fusing glass is that each piece turns out differently as the glass melts and flows in the kiln, so no two pieces are exactly the same, even when they start out similarly.  I'm starting out with making pendants and earrings, but will be expanding into other art glass creations soon.

 One of my favorite effects right now is a "3-D" effect using a piece of dichroic glass (which has a layer of metallic particles applied in a vacuum chamber) submerged into another piece of glass, giving it real depth and creating a little "landscape" inside the glass piece. 

After the piece is fired, I clean them, grind them if necessary, fire polish if necessary, and mount the pendants on bails, so they can be attached to a necklace.  I'm offering my pendants on sterling silver chains or 14-karat gold-filled chains but may design some full beaded necklaces or "couture" necklaces in the future.

I've also learned to work with PMC (Precious Metal Clay), which consists of silver particles suspended in a clay-like organic binder.  The clay starts out malleable and workable like any clay, so you can roll it, stamp it, shape it, etc.  Then you dry it, sand it, add other components to the design, and finally fire it and sinter it in the kiln.  Firing the piece burns away the binder and leaves 99.9% silver, which you then burnish and polish like pure silver.  When I saw it, I instantly wanted to combine it with glass, so I took a class on that too.  The clay shrinks 12% in the kiln, so it's tricky making sure it will hold the glass but not crack it in the firing process.  Combining the two means that you have to take into account the need for the metal to sinter or strengthen the bond of the silver particles without melting the glass.  The glass also has to be annealed again as it cools.  The result of silver meeting beautiful glass is something I'm really excited about.  I only have a few of these higher-end pieces that I'm calling it the "Treasure Collection", because of the larger amount of time involved, the cost of the material itself, and the tools needed.