To create wearable art (aka jewellery) from dichroic or art glass, it is cut to shape from sheet glass, stacked to combine colour + texture and form the design then fused in a kiln at temperatures up to 830 degrees.

Much of my work contains Dichroic glass, which is glass containing multiple micro-layers of metal oxides which give the glass dichroic optical properties. Dichroic glass was originally developed by NASA for use in satellite optics and spacesuit visors. Multiple ultra-thin layers of different metal oxides (gold, silver, titanium, chromium, aluminium, zirconium, magnesium, silicon) are vaporised by an electron beam in a vacuum chamber. The vapour then condenses on the surface of the glass in the form of a crystal structure. This is sometimes followed by a protective layer of quartz crystal. The finished glass can have as many as 30 to 50 layers of these materials yet the thickness of the total coating is approximately 30 to 35 millionths of an inch (about 760 to 890 nm). The coating that is created is very similar to a gemstone and, by careful control of thickness, different colours are obtained. The main characteristic of dichroic glass is that it has a transmitted colour and a completely different reflected colour, as certain wavelengths of light either pass through or are reflected. This causes an array of colour to be displayed. The colors shift depending on the angle of view.

Dichroic glass can be fused with other glass in multiple firings. Due to variations in the firing process, individual results can never be exactly predicted, so each piece of fused dichroic glass is unique. If the dichroic coating is left exposed during fusing, it leaves a metallic finish and a great texture. Fusing it beneath clear glass (sometimes called encasing) provides an amazing depth of colour and allows the colour-changing properties to really show through!

Dichroic glass is very difficult to photograph to its true potential and beauty, as the use of flash photography invariably shows it in one of it's forms but not another, and natural light will make it seem different again. In all my images I have tried to capture my work at its best, but it's such a personal thing, so please bear in mind that light and angle also have an effect on the look of any piece.