Dichroic Glass Sculpture by Michael James O'Keefe

Born in 1947 in Detroit, Michigan

Education:
• BFA, Center of Creative Studies, Detroit, MI
• Penland School of Craft, Penland, NC. Studied with Paul Stankard
• Pratt Fine Arts Center, Seattle, WA. Studied with Stephen Dale Edwards

Awards:
• Gold Medal, Scarab Club, Detroit, Ml
• Merit Scholar, Center for Creative Studies, Detroit, MI

Collections:
• Museum of American Glass, Millville, NJ

Professional Experience:
Michael O'Keefe Glass, 1983-Present
Currently producing fused, slumped, ground and polished sculptural pieces. Own and operate hot shop, producing silver and gold veiled sculptural pieces.

David Gulassa and Company, 1996-1998
Metal fabrication and architectural detailing for custom architect and furniture design firm. Representative works include: St. Ignatius Chapel, Seattle University, Seattle, WA; Margolis House, Seattle, WA, featured in New York Times Sunday Magazine.

University of Washington, School of Oceanography, 1991-1992
Instrument maker for ocean scientific research.

Dinamation International Corporation, 1990-1991
Developed prototypes and fabrication of educational science exhibits. Exhibits include: Robotic dinosaurs and whales, earthquake simulators, and interactive learning stations.

Michael O'Keefe's dichroic spires are created in stages with two grind and polish operations and three oven stages.

First the glass is sized in the oven. It is heated to a temperature where it will soften, in a mold that will give the desired shape and thickness. These pieces are ground and polished, then stacked with other pieces that have been dichroic coated. The glass is returned to the oven where it is fused into a solid block.

After trimming, the block is put back into the oven where it is slumped. This slumping is done by holding the glass off the bottom of the oven. The oven is heated to a temperature that makes the center drop. This pulls the color down causing it to bend. It also pulls the colors apart to form patterns on the interior surfaces. This will cause the light to come off at different angles, and the color changes as the viewer moves around the finished piece.

Because glass needs to be heated and cooled slowly, each of the oven steps takes a week; thicker pieces (4½ - 5") take longer.

At this point the oven work is done and the final cutting and polishing begins. The desired shape is roughed out on a diamond saw then it is ground. First with a 60 grit diamond bonded disc, then with the following sequence: 140, 270, 320, and 600 grit discs. The final stage is polishing using cerium oxide.

The entire oven and grinding process may take a month. During this process as much as half the glass is cut off the initial block.