The
glass pendants are made by cutting and shaping several layers of
glass including dichroic. The glass is stacked and fired in a kiln
until it becomes molten and fuses together, encasing the dichroic
glass.
Each piece is fired repeatedly at different temperatures, cutting
and/or shaping the piece between firings, adding more glass when
needed, until the desired affect is achieved. Some
beads
have been fired as many as 5 times and have up to 10 layers of
dichroic glass included in them. All of our work is
annealed to prevent internal stress and the possibility of cracking
and given a final fire polishing so that all the edges are smooth to
the touch. No sharp edges.
What is Dichroic Glass?
Dichroic glass is made in a vacuum chamber by depositing
layers of metallic oxides on the surface of the glass. The
dichroic coating itself
has no color. The colors are created by light striking the
coating on the glass. Each piece of dichroic glass has three
colors associated with it: a reflected color, a transmitted
color and a third reflective color that can be viewed at a
45-degree angle. This causes the glass to change color as
the light hits it from different angles. Due to the
complexity in creating this special glass, it is very
expensive and somewhat unpredictable to work with.
Finishing Things
Now it's time to add wire, beads, hooks,
clasps and whatever else is needed to complete the special
piece of jewelry.
The
glass pendants are made by cutting and shaping several layers of
glass including dichroic. The glass is stacked and fired in a kiln
until it becomes molten and fuses together, encasing the dichroic
glass.
beads
have been fired as many as 5 times and have up to 10 layers of
dichroic glass included in them. All of our work is
annealed to prevent internal stress and the possibility of cracking
and given a final fire polishing so that all the edges are smooth to
the touch. No sharp edges.
