Archive for the ‘Glass Fusing’ Category

Crappy glass—before fusing

Thursday, July 24th, 2008

dichroic glass pattern

I’m not sure that this is exactly the same pattern as the piece I showed yesterday, but it is close (and from the same batch). I had fused it on top of a black base.

Crappy glass, apparently

Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008

The last time I bought some dichroic glass, I bought it from a different source (online). It had really pretty patterns that I hadn’t seen before so I thought I’d try it out. Thankfully I didn’t buy too much of it because there seems to be a problem with the dichroic coating disappearing at a lower temperature than you’d expect. This happened to me twice. I thought the first time was my  mistake and maybe I hadn’t been paying enough attention to the kiln (I wasn’t using a digital controller, but usually don’t for fusing small pieces). The second time I watched it carefully, and turned off the kiln at exactly the right point….and here are my results:

fusing problems

You can barely see any dichroic coating…it all burned off.

 I didn’t complain to the seller, just decided to stick with my usual sources from now on. Dichroic glass is too expensive to be throwing out….

Setting up new studio

Wednesday, August 15th, 2007

I’ve been busy setting up my new studio, which is currently just a big mess. Waiting to get the propane line plumbed in so I can hook up my oxygen concentrator and new torch (Carlisle Mini CC). Will be putting up some better pictures real soon.

Messy Studio

Welcome to the Kaplan Creations Jewelry Design Blog!

Thursday, August 9th, 2007

Blue and Silver Fused Dichroic Glass Pendant

Hello and welcome to my blog! I have been designing and creating jewelry pieces since 2003 using fused dichroic glass, lampworked beads, sterling silver, and a variety of other materials. I live in Alaska (the south central portion–near Anchorage) and my artistic endeavors are clearly influenced by the beauty of the gorgeous scenery. Join me in my passion for jewelry design and glasswork.