What is dichroic? (dye-crow-ick)
"Dichroic" is a term referring to a thin, metallic oxide coating that is applied to glass while in a vacuum chamber. That's the simple explanation anyway...there's also an electrostatic charge, spinning discs, multiple layer deposition, and really expensive equipment!
The dichroic coating creates an optical effect, allowing glass to transmit one color of light while reflecting a second color. The coating was originally developed for scientific purposes, however its use as an artistic medium became popular in the 1980's. Because the process requires sophisticated equipment and takes quite a bit of time to accomplish, the resulting raw material, often called "dichroic glass", is quite expensive to the artist. This is why art jewelry featuring dichroic pieces is often more expensive than pieces featuring plain glass or other materials.
If you're interested in the technology that leads to the glass artists like me use, there's a fabulous video of the process made at the Coatings by Sandberg facility. The technical discussion starts at the 2:46 point in the video. Fascinating!
The dichroic coating creates an optical effect, allowing glass to transmit one color of light while reflecting a second color. The coating was originally developed for scientific purposes, however its use as an artistic medium became popular in the 1980's. Because the process requires sophisticated equipment and takes quite a bit of time to accomplish, the resulting raw material, often called "dichroic glass", is quite expensive to the artist. This is why art jewelry featuring dichroic pieces is often more expensive than pieces featuring plain glass or other materials.
If you're interested in the technology that leads to the glass artists like me use, there's a fabulous video of the process made at the Coatings by Sandberg facility. The technical discussion starts at the 2:46 point in the video. Fascinating!
The Process
The process I use to create designer dichroic cabochons for jewelry is called kiln fusing. I purchase glass sheet in various colors, many of which are coated with the dichroic coating discussed above. Every raw piece of glass is different. They can be a myriad of colors in opaque or transparent. Some are flat, some rippled, fibroid, or various other exotic textures. Each dichroic piece is coated in a way to give it at least two optical colors like pink/teal, or blue/silver. I cut the glass, assemble it in pleasing ways, and fire it in a kiln. As the glass heats it becomes molten, allowing the separate components to begin to "fuse" together and become one. Once fired in the kiln, the resulting glass is spectacular, and incredibly durable. I often use a glass saw or grinder to define shapes, soften edges, or otherwise sculpt the glass. I also tend to re-fire if I don't like something! The colors of the dichroic often "shift" with placement or multiple firings. Once a piece is finished to my liking, I either attach a bail (the part that hangs from a necklace), bezel set it (traditional metalsmithing techniques), sell it to another artist for use in their jewelry, or incorporate it into a piece of metal clay jewelry.
