KilnArt Glass

Jo Ludwig and Peggy Brackett

Jo Ludwig:

Living on Canada's West Coast, Jo Ludwig spends most of his time creating ToBs. "ToB" is short for Thing of Beauty.  Each ToB is a one-of-a-kind art glass vessel that is eye-popping and captivating inside and outside.

ToB’s are made of fused and slumped glass which is a two stage process.  First, on a flat kiln shelf, a design is assembled from coloured (or stained glass).  The shelf is placed in a kiln and heated until the glass melts, or fuses (around 1500F), into one single piece of flat glass.  Second, after the kiln cools, the fused piece is removed and sometimes ground or sandblasted, then placed onto a mold.  Mold and glass are then returned to the kiln and fired until the glass bends or slumps to the desired shape.

Peggy Brackett: 

I create my jewellery from sheets of fusible opaque, transparent and dichroic glass. I frequently manipulate the surface of the dichroic glass using etching techniques I have developed, or by computer manipulating my own images and either sandblasting or hand-carving them onto the glass.  Once I have my dichroic glass prepared, I cut, piece and layer the glasses to create unique designs, colours and surface alterations and then fuse them in an electric kiln to produce a single sheet. After slow-cooling my new sheet, I cut it into pendant, earring or bracelet pieces, etc. then grind, surface carve, drill and re-fuse them as my design ideas dictate. It is in my transformation of the surface of the dichroic glass and the outer layer of the fused pieces and the extensive cold-working techniques I use --I grind edges and surfaces and drill neat holes for attachment of hooks, bails, nuts & bolts, etc.-- that gives my work its unique patterns and its crisp, clean look which sets it apart from much other dichroic jewellery.

Finally, I assemble my jewellery pieces using these glass creations and various findings (mainly made from sterling silver) many of which I also design and create. I also complement my pendants with quality Italian-made sterling silver chains.

NOTE: The pieces you see on this page and in our online store by this artist may not be available. Also, we may have more pieces in our gallery that don't show up online. Please contact us or come visit the gallery to see works by this artist that are currently available.