[3] Emerging from the studio glass movement initiated by Harvey Littleton, Dailey's work has branched out from the mainstream by the incorporation of metal into many of the sculptures.

He is married to Linda MacNeil, an artist also working with glass and metal, primarily in the studio or art jewelry field.

In the 1970s, Dailey continued to create illuminated sculpture and vase forms, and began to develop Vitrolite wall reliefs.

In 1975, Dailey received a fellowship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Center for Advanced Visual Studies in Cambridge where he co-taught the class Glass, Gas and Electricity with German artist Otto Piene.

From in 1978 to 2003, Dailey created 7 editions of pâte de verre works with Cristallerie Daum, a French decorative glass studio.