We create dichroic glass pendants and bolos over the course of several days of work. First, we cut sheets of glass into small pieces. Then we design a collage using the different solid colors, textures and patterns of the material. After each piece is designed and laid out, we place a small piece of clear glass over the top of each collage creating a sandwich of the material which will melt together.
When we build each piece directly on a kiln shelf, it can easily be transferred from the work area into the oven. Sometimes we use a glass glue to hold the little pieces in place on top of a piece of black glass, if the design is complex and we do not want it to shift when moving it into the oven. Once they are placed and positioned inside the oven, we close the lid and the kiln is fired.
A computer controls the temperature and it slowly rises to 1450 degrees. Once the glass has fully melted, we turned off the oven and the glass cools slowly to room temperature. After we remove the pieces, they are ground, shaped and polished, one at a time, on a glass beveling machine, creating unique geometric shapes.
Next we wrap the glass with fine silver bezel, creating a silhouette of the shape. Then each piece is set aside while we solder the fine silver onto sterling sheet. We cut each piece of silver to match the glass shape, but leave a boarder to add a clean contemporary look to the design. Once all the metal is soldered, we file, buffed and polish the sterling setting into its final design. After we totally complete the silversmithing, we set the glass permanently in place with epoxy, completing it.