It is called dichroic glass…The word‘dichroic’
means two colors…it refers to the colors depending on the
angle it is viewed at…ok…a
little history lesson…back in the 60’s NASA developed it for
the space industry…you know …to protect the astronauts from
the UV rays of the sun…so they wouldn’t become crispy critters…Now
they call it thin-film physics…they somehow apply a thin film
of metallic oxides inside a vacuum furnace, at very high temperatures
and this is now used in many artistic endeavors, including
glass fusion, glass blowing and even in the stained glass
industry, to a degree…it is a wonderfully colorful material
that truly adds new facets to all the art glass works by transmitting
certain wavelengths of light while reflecting others and through
this…creating an effect similar to the iridescence of dragonfly
wings or hummingbird feathers or the fire of opals…very difficult
to capture in a photograph…even the wonderful world of digital
photography can’t catch the moving colors…this fabulous new
age material is truly pushing the creativity of the visual
artist to new design and possibilities that are, simply put…ENDLESS!!!
All of our glass, be it lampworked beads or fused glass…is properly annealed and brought through all the recommended temperature controls and holdings to give it strength and durability…however…it is still glass and it will break…I found out the hard way…I put a pendant in a pocket and forgot it and washed it…I think the washer might have been ok…but it came out of the pocket in the dryer…didn’t survive…broke in two parts…lesson learned…you don’t need to learn that one the hard way…and it was soooooo pretty…
So…sit back…play on the computer, enjoy a nice cool drink (or a warm one if needed) and shop till you drop…right here…
