Mark Ditzler

Mark Ditzler creates his unique glass art using the fused glass method. First, melted glass is scooped from a furnace, rolled into a sheet and cooled. A sheet is then selected for it's color and texture, and it is cut to fit a final design. The cut glass is then arranged in a kiln and fired to more than 1500°F, melting and fusing it into one seamless piece. After the glass is slowly and carefully cooled, it is usually fired again, perhaps over a mold to slump the glass into it's final shape. This glass fusing method is one of the oldest and most unique glass-forming techniques, first used by the Egyptians and Romans over 4,000 years ago. It is now a re-emerging art form, centered in the Pacific N.W.

Glass created by Mark Ditzler incorporates beautiful irridized or dichroic coatings, which cause glittering, shimmering reflections of light. These coatings are applied to the red-hot glass by spray, or in a vacuum chamber in a time-consuming and expensive process. Mark's work may also contain twisted canes of colored glass which have been melted and stretched while the glass is in a liquid state. Gold or platinum may also be used to accent the designs. All of these special steps combine to make his glass work unique and to provide special interest and lasting value to the collector.