Darlene Troyer

IS THAT PLASTIC?

During a recent give-a-way for one of my fused glass tapestry pendants, my daughter jokingly posted on Facebook, "Is that Plastic?" It put a smile on my face knowing that she was referring to a story I’d told her of a customer who asked that question during one of my recent art shows. Sad but true, my glass design was thought to be plastic.

That question, “Is that plastic”, got me to thinking about the society we live in today. Most crafters work long hard hours developing their creations and designs, me included. We create from our soul and love what we do. Unfortunately we have to compete with what many refer to as, the Walmart mentality, of cheaply made, poor quality items that have been imported from China and other countries. I know that not everyone can afford handcrafted items, yet, there should be respect and appreciation for the process and time that each artist puts into their creations.

I’m often asked, why do you work so hard doing art shows when you could just sell it online? I must admit, packing all that stuff into the car, driving to a show at 0 dark thirty, and then working 2 hours or more so that my booth is all set up and open for business by 9:00 am or earlier requires determination, dedication and many times a raincoat, boots and more, you get the picture. So why do I do it? Well, I love what I do! I love to share with others the process of how I create each one my unique jewelry designs. Artists not only create, we have to educate too! Only through the sharing and explanation of the work process we use to create our designs can others begin to understand the time, talent and effort that goes into each piece. Then, and only then, can one understand the cost for hand made designs compared to store bought.

So, when someone says, “Is that plastic” or “Where do you get you items from”, I proudly say, I MADE THEM, let me tell you how! Then I share the process that goes into my one-of-a-kind metal and glass design jewelry creations.

With that said, NO, they aren't plastic, they are glass! Thousands of tiny pieces of finely ground glass (frit) are used to create my 4" X 4" glass panels, no two are ever the same. Once I have the glass frit colors mixed into a pattern I'm happy with, they are then fired in the kiln, a 12 hour process. Once cooled to under 100 degrees I am able to cut the panels into shapes using a wet saw. Each potential pendant is then cleaned and goes back into the kiln to be fire polished, another 12 hour process. Then they are ready for me to design into jewelry. The photos below will give you an idea of just some of the process that goes into making my fused glass tapestry pendants. ENJOY!

The process begins at my work bench with hundreds of colors of COE 90 glass frit in assorted sizes.

On the left:

Glass panels with the loose glass frit are loaded carefully into the kiln and fired using a complex firing & cooling schedule that takes up to 12 hour.

On the right:

The glass panel after it comes out of the kiln and is fully fused and ready to cut into numerous shape for my jewelry.

The next step is to decide how to best utilize the panel and the design patterns by selecting just the right shape to enhance the colors of the glass.