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Dichroic Glass Fusing Class

This is a two day class.

'Dichroic' glass is defined as the property of having more than one colour especially when viewed from different angles; transmitted, reflected and viewed from a 45 degree angle. Dichroic glass is comprised of thin layers of metallic oxides such as titanium and magnesium deposited on the surface of the glass in a high temperature vacuum furnace. Making Dichroic glass is an expensive and specialised process but the beauty of the glass is amazing.

You will be using small amounts of dichroic glass to produce items suitable for jewellery. You will start with your own mixed bag of many types of dichroic glass, clear and black, plain and patterned.

You will be encouraged to experiment with different colour combinations and there will be various materials available to entrap between pieces of glass. You can even trap pieces of silver wire in your glass, which will later form the makings of your jewellery.

There will be books and supplier catalogues relevant to glass
that you can browse through over the weekend. All the materials and equipment you need will be supplied for you to use. You will be given an information pack with supplier lists, kiln firing times and temperatures to take away with you.

 

 

Dichroic glass

 

 

 

Dichroic glass

 

 

Your tutor will explain the tools you will use and what they are for.

There will be some samples for you to look at and discuss to give you some ideas. You will be guided in how to cut, shape and grind your pieces of glass as well as how various entrapments are likely to react in the kiln.

You will be free to work at your own pace and develop your own style of glass fusing. You will spend most of the first day making sample pieces, which will be fired at the end of the day. These need time to cool very slowly so you will see your results on the morning of the second day.

It is very exciting to see how your efforts have turned out! Sometimes the glass fusing process is unpredictable. A few things may not have turned out the way you expected and yet some of the best results may have been 'happy accidents'.
You will be shown how to use a bench drill with diamond tipped drills to make holes in your work where necessary. You may wish to continue making up glass pieces once you’ve seen some of your results.

These will be fired and posted on to you after the course has ended.

Or you can turn your fired glass items into jewellery. This would involve making earring hooks, learning about chain making and making simple clasps. You will be working in silver, which is available for sale from your tutor.

Your tutor for this class will be David Pascoe on day one
and Lisa Cain on day two

Download a pdf file with the information on this page here

Things to consider before booking these courses...

This course is not suitable for total beginners. You should have some experience of glass fusing before taking this class

 

Got questions about this jewellery making course?

bullet logo The jewellery school is based near St Austell in Cornwall, UK and all jewellery making classes run in our well equipped, purpost built workshop.

Call the jewellery school on +44 (0)1726 817989

Email the jewellery school

 

To book this course...

Visit this page to find out the dates and price of the jewellery making course and book jewellery making classes online using our secure system. If the jewellery making course you're interested in is not on the schedule...

Call us on +44 (0)1726 817989 or email us to discuss your learning requirements

 

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