Dichroic Pattern
February 19, 2011 
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| Black Dichroic Pattern Fused Glass Pendent with Silk Loop 150ELEGANT USA | |
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Microwave Kiln (pros and cons)
Microwave kiln for fusing dichroic and system 96 glass.
I bought one of these about eight months ago. I was curious about the claims that it could fuse glass within twelve minutes or so.
It occured to me that the speed this kiln functioned at would be of huge benefit in the turn-around of production and hopefully a reduction in my electricity bill.
Good points: yes this kiln does indeed only take eleven or twelve minutes to fuse the glass. It is particularly good if you want to test a design quickly to see what sort of effect you are going to get.
Bad points: It is very irratic in its timing, sometimes twelve minutes just doesn't do it and I can't honestly explain why. I have also found that what you put in isnt always what you get out, it is basically not reliable. It has very little control and tends to over fuse if not watched exceptionally closely. Pieces have a habit of moving about in the kiln and joining themselves to other items. It takes away your control on the fine timing of pieces which means that quite frequently work comes out irregular. Larger items have a habit of coming out with a pit mark in the middle, can't explain why this happens.
In short, yes it was a good purchase but only as an experimental kiln. I personally prefer the control and timing I get with my standard kiln.
When I am making my Dichroic glass Jewellery I use a minimum of two layers of glass in all my designs. The colours are first selected then the glass is cut to size. The final pattern is carefully layed on the glass using tweezers. Each individual piece is cut and co-ordinated by myself.
Once a design has been finalised it is then carefully laid in the kiln and fired. The firing takes about an hour and a half depending on the effect I want to achieve, If I want to achieve something similar to what I put into the kiln I will use the normal kiln but if I want to make something completely random then the microwave kiln is definately thr best one to use. If I am wanting the design to be textural I will give it a short firing, if I am looking for a more free or random finish I will allow the firing extra time.
After firing, the glass is allowed two hours to cool down prior to taking it out of the kiln. If hot glass is removed too quickly the sudden rush of cool air will cause fracture lines or shatter the glass.
I am a graduate from Glasgow School of Art in Jewellery Design. In 1984 I established my business, which designed and manufactured titanium jewellery. In 1994 I suspended my business to take care of bringing up my then young family.
I have continued designing jewellery on a one-off basis in the interim, but I have changed my medium to glass. I have refined the techniques of combining dichroic glass and fusing glass to produce the results seen in the attached photographs. No two pieces are ever identical, even if the same materials are used each time. Even small changes in firing time or the temperature will result in very different colours, textures and finishes. At present I am producing earrings, pendants, brooches and cuff-links.
Alison MacVicar
About the Author
Geodesic Dichroic Glass Pattern
