Tag: dichro

Sorting the dichro

My light tray (small, inexpensive one) arrived today, so I decided to try it out. I wanted to be able to see the colors of the square pieces of dichroic glass I cut from a larger sheet when I lay them out on the window. The light tray is a huge help with this, but it is still a bit of a challenge, as the color perception changes based on the viewing angle. When I am directly over the window (perpendicular to it), this is how the colors look:

Perpendicular view

However, at a slight angle, the colors change significantly:

Colors look different at an angle
Short video of the angle changing.

With the light tray off, the glass is metallic. This is due to the dichroic coating, and in very dim light the colors disappear and are replaced with a metallic shine. This photo doesn’t really capture it, but it’s the best I could do at the moment.

Reflective light

This Art Deco Sun / Moon mosaic is a good example of this type of glass:

A new dichroic project

I prepped two more half windows and am trying to figure out what to put in the first one. I have a lot of beach / sea themed mosaics on hand, so I think I will do something different with this one. I love this dichroic glass, so I think I will start with it and see where it takes me – sort of a Ribbon of Light.

Cutting the large sheet of dichroic glass into strips.
Cutting the strips into squares.

I like the idea of having all uniform square pieces for the “ribbon” part of the mosaic, but when I lay them out, I have the urge to make a lot of them trapezoidal so the curves are smoother. We’ll see if the urge wins out or not. I also broke down and ordered a light box, as I can’t tell what color the dichro pieces will be without one (well, not without holding each individual piece up to the light source, which is too tedious with a 30″ window).

First draft of the “ribbon”.

This is just the first, very rough draft for this project. Still lots of adjustments to make and planning to do before any glue is involved!