Diane Willkens

Diane Willkens began her Fused Glass journey 15 years ago in Maryland. Working under the tutelage of Nancy Weisser of Weisser Glass, a preeminent fused glass artist and teacher, Diane‘s passion for the art form took hold. 

Now working with four kilns in her Pinehurst studio, Diane is exploring new techniques and making endless discoveries with favorite glass artists. 

The fused glass art on display at Eye Candy includes tapestry and crackle-style pieces.  Tapestry adopts a technique by Richard Parrish using 1 mm glass stringers thinner than pencil leads. The basic piece is fused flat at 1490 degrees F. , then cut into 3/8” strips and laid out in alternating reverse pieces (creating the tapestry effect).  Finally, the piece is fused again, before sand blasting and a final slumping.  

Crackle glass is created with glass power that is manipulated wet to create cracks.  The cracks fully emerge when fired to full fuse, after which the organic edges are smoothed to touch by grinding, sand blasting, and a final slumping into a ceramic mold.