Meet Terri

My name is Terri McAshan and I am a glass artist from Austin Texas working with leaded stained glass and fused dichroic glass and home decor.

Journey Into Glass Art

I began my passion for creating art at Northeast Louisiana University. I majored in Marketing and Accounting but managed to take 5 art classes that inspired me. I learned to weave and had my first show with woven art hanging creations. I then moved to Austin and took stained glass classes from Renaissance Glass and have been working with glass ever since. I love the deep rich colors of glass and how the changing light affects the colors.

Training and Artistic Development

I am grateful to have worked at Blue Parrot Stained Glass and Glass Works Studio to advance my craft. Then I discovered the joy of working with fused dichroic glass and took classes at blue Moon Glass Works. I fell in love with the vibrant changing colors of dichroic glass and creating unique wearable art.

Hand-crafted with love from my Austin, TX studio

As an artist and musician, I combine my love of glass and music in my jewelry and stained glass work and always hope to be creative.

Festival Participation and Recognition

I have been a full time glass artist since 2003 and attend many juried art shows a year like Deep Ellum Art Festival, Rockport Art Festival, Bayou City Art Festival and Woodland Waterways Art Festival. I was awarded “Best New Artist” and “Best Returning Artist” at Rockport Sea Fair. It is fun to interact with customers and get good feedback.

Creative Inspiration and Passion

I really enjoy it when customers find a piece, whether it is a large stained glass or a small pendant, that makes them happy. I am always striving to make new and exciting pieces. My inspirations come from nature and music. All of the beautiful watery colors, beautiful shades of nature and the vibrant colors of the sunsets come alive in dichroic glass. I specialize in hand etched designs such as leaves, feathers, shells, sand dollars and guitar picks. Each piece is made with love in my Austin Texas studio. I still get excited to see what vibrant colors come out of the kiln each time.

See the process

Hand reaching out to glass jewelry
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Selecting and Preparing Dichroic Glass Pieces…

I carefully pick the dichroic glass I need to fit the kiln shelf. I might make a tray of hand etched pieces or thick pendants or thin earrings. After cutting and doing cold work such as lap grinding, I thoroughly clean and dry all of the pieces.

Layering Glass and Fusing
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Layering Glass and Fusing in a Kiln…

I carefully layer each piece on my kiln shelf. I determine how long and how hot to set the kiln. It varies whether it is a hand etched batch or thick or thin pieces. For the first firing I stay around 1460 degrees.

Process - Shaping, Polishing, and Setting the Jewelry
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Shaping, Polishing, and Setting the Jewelry…

After I fire the batch for the first time, I use a lap grinder and shape each piece and bevel the sides from rough to fine. I especially need to grind the leaves and feathers and picks to shape them properly. I wash and dry each piece before I fire again. I fire around 1370 to give it a beautiful shine and soft edges. I then glue the findings to each dichroic piece and allow it to sit at least 24 hours. Now I have vibrant beautiful dichroic jewelry to make my customers happy.

Terri's Booth
My Festival Booth

You make the colors shine

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Such unique beautiful gifts! I cannot wait wait to share these colorful pendants.

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I own a few pieces of dichroic glass but nothing compares to the pieces I have bought from Terri! Some of the most beautiful craftsmanship I have ever seen. Truly they are a work of art ❤️

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