Saturday, April 21, 2007

Unclench & update




Almost there! Note for Ariel...the center is dichroic glass. According to Wikipedia (links are not active):

The brilliant dichroic optical properties of dichroic glass are the result of multiple micro-layers of metal oxides. These thin layers of oxides have a total thickness of three to five millionths of an inch.

NASA developed dichroic glass for use in satellite mirrors. Multiple ultra-thin layers of different metals (gold, silver, titanium, chromium, aluminium, zirconium, magnesium, silicon) are applied to the surface of the glass in a vacuum chamber.

The resulting plate of dichroic glass can then be fused with other glass in multiple firings. Certain wavelengths of light will either pass through or be reflected, causing an array of colour to be visible. Due to variations in the firing process, individual results can never be exactly reproduced; each piece of fused dichroic glass is unique and no two pieces are ever the same.

Brilliant sun, deep bright blue sky. I have forgiven the weather bastards. And today it's ass plunked on the plastic balcony chair and beading my brains out....

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yeah, I put about 200 kms on the two-wheeled death machine today while wearing the helmet that my partner gave me for my birthday. Birthday's not until May, but she wanted me to wear it.

Mostly because it looks like WW2 nose art... mostly naked chicks and all.

LJ said...

Your girl gave you a naked chick helmet? I knew I liked that girl! Finally, huh? Bike weather!

beadbabe49 said...

beadin' in the sun...what could be finer!

Ariel said...

This looks fab, what is it? It also looks edible to me. But that's probably just me.

Mr. X said...

Nice looking piece of work!
And the beading isn't bad either :)

Anonymous said...

very interesting, though I suspect the photograph doesn't do it justice...

Ariel said...

Blimey! Didn't even know such a thing existed - thanks for the education. It looks amazing - is it a belt?

LJ said...

Thanks Edvard. It's really hard to get a clean photo because of the refraction of light in the glass and the beads. Also, I'm using purples - which are the world's worse color to photograph accurately. I'll keep bashing at it when it's done, until I get something better.
Ariel. Entirely welcome. I have 3 more of these babies being shipped at the moment - and they are fabulous beyond description. Every tilt reveals new colors and patterns and they have marvelous depth. The glass artist is Leslie Dana and she's a sweetheart - which is a bonus, seeing I'm sending her my grocery money.

LJ said...

PS! Hi BB, Mr. X!
Ariel - it's a cuff. About 7.5 inches long and (middle)3 inches deep. My specialty is BIG HONKIN'cuff/bracelets.

herhimnbryn said...

I think this is gorgeous! You must have 'stremely good eyesight lj.

Anonymous said...

LJ, astonishing stuff! Do you sell these? I bet your creations all end up becoming conversation pieces...

LJ said...

Ariel...I gave myself a couple of years off to do what I wanted in beadwork...instead of doing production. I'm in the process of making cuffs, among other things, to sell now. I should have an internet site (I've registered "The eloquent bead")by the end of the summer. The price of this piece will be $240. My guideline is: If I could afford to buy it, I shouldn't be making it. Strictly one of a kind stuff.
A friend of mine, who does costume design, told me that, after years of trying to charge "reasonable" fees - she'd discovered it's just as easy to find one customer who will pay real money, as it is to find 10 customers who want a bargain. Working time on a cuff is very long - I could probably do two a week without my hands seizing - so I don't end up getting rich, even at that price, but if I can generate a little extra income when I retire, and do what I love to do, that's good enough. Have you checked my bead blog? There's a link at the right.
And thank you! All encouragement is so very welcome!

beadbabe49 said...

OK...$240 is ok if you're selling it yourself, but remember to double it if you put it into a gallery since they will be taking 50% commission.
(and I know how long it took to make, so no cheating!)

Anonymous said...

Wow!!!!!

LJ said...

Thanks, Jess.
And yeah, BB. I'm still undecided about wholesaling. But it would have to double, I know.

phlegmfatale said...

brilliant explanation of dichro, darling!