Project by Denise Liedtka of San Antonio, Texas. Denise loves glass. She loves dichroic glass, which was originally developed for use by NASA. She also loves that you don't have to be an astronaut to get dichroic glass! In this project, Denise makes a beautiful fused glass pendant embellished with precious metal clay (PMC). Materials: Bullseye 90 COE glass *
dichroic glass
Toyo glass cutter
spray bottle of alcohol
microfiber cloth for cleaning glass
flexible cutting surface
silver PMC3 Precious Metal Clay
olive oil in spray bottle
Jen-Ken kiln
Taurus3 ring saw
grinder
stainless steel burnisher
soft brass bristle brush
dish soap * Denise uses Bullseye 90 COE glass. The COE is the coefficient of expansion, or the rate at which the glass expands or contracts. It is important that all pieces fused together have the same COE. If you fuse pieces of glass with varying COE's, the incompatibility will cause the glass to become unstable and it will eventually crack or shatter. Dichroic glass is a specialty glass originally created for NASA, but it eventually attracted artists because of its beauty and amazing colorations. It is created by spraying a thin chemical film on the glass in a vacuum chamber. Dichroic glass reflects one color and transmits another (Greek di = two, chroma = color). This is especially apparent when viewed at varying angles. Dichroic glass is one of the most expensive glasses made. PMC is a combination of water, binders and silver particles. When it's fired, the binder is burned off, leaving only the silver in a solid form. They also make it in gold and platinum. PMC tends to dry very quickly, so it helps to spray olive oil on your hands before you begin. Steps: 1. Use three layers of glass. For the base, use whatever appeals to you. For the second layer, use dichroic glass. The third layer is a clear crystal cap. This creates a nice depth. Since this project will include PMC later, we will use 1401 crystal Bullseye glass. It is a clear, lead-free glass that is less likely to react with PMC. Glass containing lead may cause a reaction and yellowing of the glass where the PMC attaches. 2. Using a diamond-tipped cutter, score and cut your glass pieces to size. Realize that full-fusing will cause them to spread. Be sure your glass is clean and free of fingerprints. Spray your hands with alcohol to help keep the glass clean. 3. Layer your pieces together to make a pleasing arrangement, and cap with a slightly larger piece of clear glass. Place them in your kiln and begin to fire. For a full fuse where all the pieces melt together, heat up to 1500 F degrees, soak for approximately 10 minutes, then flash cool (open kiln while glass is glowing red and molten to rapidly drop the temperature) until the temp is below 1000 F degrees. Close the kiln and allow to gradually cool off to room temperature. This is the critical annealing stage where the glass begins to return to solid form. If the glass is cooled off too rapidly it will cause thermal shock and will crack or shatter. 4. At this point, take the cooled pendant and, if necessary, begin your cold work. This means grinding off rough edges or refining the shape with a grinder or wet saw. Cold work will cause the ground areas to appear opaque. 5. Depending on the amount and placement of the grinding or cutting, you may now choose to fire polish the pendant. This means washing thoroughly, and re-firing your piece at 1325 F degrees, then holding for 10 minutes before flash cooling and annealing again. 6. Roll the clay out and imprint designs or treat it as you would pottery clay, but you must work quickly. Put olive oil on your hands before you begin. Use the PMC in a syringe form with a flat tip to form a ribbon-like organic baile around the edges. Work loosely to allow for shrinkage, and allow to dry. It is helpful to set your piece on your kiln shelf or a piece of kiln paper and then allow to dry. You can speed the drying time with a hair dryer. 7. When leather hard or fully dry, PMC can be filed or sanded to refine shape and detail. Fire the PMC-wrapped pendant at 1290 F degrees, hold for approximately 10 minutes, and again flash cool and anneal. 8. After firing, PMC has a matte white finish. To give it a shiny, reflective finish, burnish it with a stainless burnisher and brush it with a soft brass brush. 9. Create jump rings by wrapping sterling wire around a small wooden dowel to get the proper shape, and use a jeweler's saw to cut the coils into rings. To finish, use your sterling jump rings to connect your pendant to a chain, ribbon or cord. Website: www.littlesongart.com
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