How Woven Metal and Glass Come Together

STEP ONE:

First, I fuse the glass. I take pieces of glass, layer them together, then fuse them in my kiln. A kiln cycle generally takes about 12 -15 hours, so this is the part I really have to plan ahead for. Here you see a kiln shelf full of little glass
squares with glass bubbles on top that will end up being Woven Rain Earrings.

STEP TWO:

Then, I need to weave wire into a narrow piece of woven metal fabric. I use a medieval fingerweaving technique to weave the wire. Each strip comes out to be about 1/4 inch wide and about 30 inches long. With some of the larger pieces, it might
take 3-5 strips to cover the entire piece of glass so you can see that those strips of woven metal fabric go fast.

Here is a brief video showing me weaving the wire.

STEP THREE:

Once I have the glass fused and the wire woven, I put the two elements together. I really wanted it to look like the wire and the glass were fused together, but actually doing that created an unsightly mess. It took a few years to find the right
combination of materials to create the look I wanted, but I'm happy with the result!

STEP FOUR:

Admire and receive compliments! One of my favorite parts of this technique is that the back of the piece is just as interesting as the front.