I finally found a day to experiment with making my own glass cabochons. Fusing the glass in a kiln is supposed to be a simple process, but I read a number of differing sets of instructions about firing the glass. Everyone seemed to have different firing schedules, so I decided to just go for it with the most simple one I found. I made a few piles of “pizza glass” alternating clear layers with dichro layers, glass confetti and frit. I fired with a one hour ramp to 1,500 Fahrenheit, held it there for 10 minutes, opened the door to “set” the glass until it cooled to 1,000. This little sneak peek of the glowing red, molten mounds of glorious glass built up anticipation of what I would find once I let it cool to room temp.
I must admit, the hardest part of the whole process was resisting the temptation to open the kiln again before it was cool. This takes HOURS! They warn you that your class will probably crack if you do this. Thankfully, a day at work kept me away and when I got home I was thrilled with what I found! Sparkling, blues, greens, reds, oranges and purples in beautiful translucent mounds of glass!
My First Dichroic Cabs!