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Shards
of Glass Making-Past & Present
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The
first record of glass making has been dated back to 2,500 B.C. in
Mesopotamia, now known as Syria and Iraq. They
used the glass to make beads and decorations. The process
was recorded on clay tablets and handed down over the
years. Many of the techniques were lost or
destroyed, only later to be rediscovered.
Glass from the Roman times was much more complex and
ornate. The secret of glass making was closely
guarded until the later part of the 20th century.
Many generations of families handed down the art of
glass making within their guilds.
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Lampwork bead making is an ancient technique. For
many years oil lamps were used as the
source of heat to create glass beads. Beads
were used as a medium of exchange or trade, like we now use
moneys.
Today lampwork beads are made over a gas torch, using
rods of glass and steel mandrels. Several types
of gas are available for this use, depending on the
equipment and temperature needed.
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Italian artisans still make blown glass in large
furnaces as seen the the accompanying photo. This art
process has been handed down over the years within families and
guilds.
Modern glass making techniques are now
shared. There are many books, videos and courses
on all facets of glass making. |
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Glass
Fusing: Each piece is a designed and fired in a
kiln to approximately 1500 degrees. The entire firing
process often takes up to 24 hours, depending on the
size of the fused piece. Often the pieces are
fired 2-4 times to get the desired effect.
Dichroic
Glass: The glass coatings are produced by depositing
thin layers of a variety of metal oxides, such as
titanium, magnesium and silicon to the glass in a vacuum
furnace.
The various combinations of these metal oxides create a
variety of colors on the dichroic glass. When
fused, the color range shifts on the glass with heat. By varying
the firing temperature different colors can be produced
from the same sheet of dichroic glass. Each fused
dichroic piece is truly a unique piece of art,
impossible to duplicate.
Dichroic glass is also used in the laser industry,
for camera filters, by NASA and various other commercial applications .
In creating fused dichroic art, we are combining an
ancient art with the space age technology, an
exciting expedition.
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