Tutorial: diecuts in dichroic glass

So what do I do with all those diecuts I created using Art Clay Silver paper type? I fuse them between layers of glass and on top of glass. You can make some pretty incredible pieces with this technique. Actually, I'm splitting this out into a couple of techniques as it's so long.

First, we need to discuss glass. I use 90COE Bullseye. And I use Crystal Clear 30 for my top pieces. I'm going to give lots of examples of good and bad layering.

First rule, always use black backed dichroic glass for the bottom layer. Place your silver on top of this. Cover this with a piece of clear glass.



Notice the bubbles in the top layer of glass in the lower right hand corner. Glass has bubbles in it. And when you fire it, they may or may not fire out. Just know that there are a few things you can do to help reduce this....but sometimes...you just have to live with the bubbles.

This piece is cut just a little larger than the base glass and you are going to get a bit of slump over the edges and will need to grind down and then fire polish the piece.


This is an example of a near perfect cut. You want the top glass to be just a tiny bit larger than the bottom piece.



Here is a photo of a flaw in the top layer of glass, plus I've used the edge of the sheet of glass. The flaw will fuse out and be ok. But that right edge...I will need to grind or cut that off and then fire polish.



This is an example of too much silver. OK...lessons learned. The term "stained glass" originated from silver staining the glass around it. If you use small pieces of glass and fire at lower and slower temps, you can prevent the silver staining. But with this much silver...it's just going to happen. In my next tutorial, I will talk about rates, ramps, temps and more on firing in your kiln.

That being said, this is a gorgeous, fun way to layer all those tiny little punches. Next time, I will just put this on top of the clear glass and fuse it down into that.



Again, too much clear glass around the piece. But I'm showing how to take a diecut and add a punch to the center of it. Great ways to maximize the piece of metal clay.



When stacking glass on your firing brick, you want them at least a dime's width apart. And even with that, if something bumps or jars the kiln....they are liable to slide over into one another.



I had said that I was going to keep that negative space from the gekko. Well, I decided to try something a bit different. My bottom piece of dichroic glass is smaller than the piece of paper type silver. The glass on top is quite larger. I want to see if it will fuse with clear sides and warp around the silver.



And of course, I've already fired these pieces and know the results...but you will have to wait until the next tutorial to find out!

Stacking glass inside the kiln is just so important. I use a Caldera for firing glass. It's a brick kiln, so it takes longer to heat up and cool down than a fiber kiln takes. This is good for glass.

Think about it. Glass expands as it heats and contracts as it cools. Metal does not. So we have movement of glass on top and below the metal...just another reason why there can be things going on inside the kiln that you won't know about until you take them out!!!

It's always a rush when I open the kiln as I just don't know what I'm going to find! Stay tuned for the results of my diecut glass fusing!