Carol Martin

Using the Pate de Verre and Cast Glass methods is labor intensive and rare in jewelry design. The ability to design and sculpt unique shapes with unlimited colors, however, makes the effort worthwhile. I start with creating the design in clay or wax, making a onetime mold into which I precisely arrange and place combinations of glass frit (crushed glass.) The mold is then fired in the kiln until the glass flows together creating each individual design and color pattern. Before the mold is destroyed, it is cooled slowly to ensure glass strength. The rough glass is ground to the final shape and finished either with a second firing in the kiln to glaze the surface or hand polished using lapidary tools.