Custom Dichroic Glass Jewelry- Hand Crafted on Cape Cod
Marite Burns is a certified art teacher who graduated with a B.A. from the University of Connecticut and an M.A.T. from Bridgewater State College. She has taught art for 30 years and loves working with clay and glass. Her passion is color, and working with dichroic glass serves as a perfect outlet. Each piece of jewelry is handmade, kiln fired and unique.
Shirley Wood has been an art teacher for over 10 years. She graduated with an M.A.T. from Bridgewater State College. She loves to oil paint and use her creativity in making many different kinds of art. She loves color. She and Marite met while taking a class together at Bridgewater State College.
WHAT IS DICHROIC GLASS?
People have worked with hot glass since the beginning of civilization. Only recently did scientists make this high tech glass for space exploration and camera lenses. Multiple layers of metallic oxides are applied to a base glass coat using an electron bombarder inside a vacuum chamber. Once the coating is finished, it is fired onto the glass. It is a manipulation of the light, using different angles that produces the colors. In 1976 dichroic glass cost $25 a square inch. Prices have gone down since then to about $00 a square foot.
HOW DO WE MAKE OUR JEWELRY?
We cut several pieces of different colored dichroic glass, as well as transparent glass and layer them together in a design we like. We fuse them together in a kiln at 1675 degrees for 6 hours. The pieces are then made into pendants and earrings, pins, barrettes and buttons by attaching sterling silver or gold plate findings. Some of the findings are fused right into the glass. Some are epoxied on after firing. We use black satin cords for most of our pendants.
Pendants run from $18 for small sizes to $30.00 for large sizes.
If you do not see a piece of jewelry that exactly fits your specifications, please email an order to me at marzands@yahoo.com Custom orders are a joy!
SHOWS:
We will be at the Falmouth ArtMarket every Thursday from late June to Labor Day on the green near town hall in Falmouth, MA
We will be at Sheep's Pasture in Easton, MA on October 4, 2009
