Candy Beth Michalski began working with hot glass in 1992. She creates these extraordinary pieces of jewelry in her studio in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Glass fusing consists of cutting pieces from thin sheets of compatible art glass, layering them on a kiln shelf and firing to 1800 degrees F. Candy uses a lot of glass coated with different metallic powders by way of lasers. This is called dichroic glass. Her gems are unique in that she never cuts from a fused block of glass but instead builds each piece individually on the kiln shelf. Each gem is created with multiple firings as glass is added to create depth and brilliance. Then each piece is carved; edges beveled and fused one more time to fire polish the cut edges. Candy strives to always have a finished gem that will stand on it’s own as a piece of jewelry.