I use the finest and most expensive glasses in construction of my sculptures. 32% lead and borosilicate optical crystal, clear plate glass, dichroic coated glass in various colors, and a two part water clear epoxy used in archaeological restoration are the main components. Dichroic in Greek means “many colored” and refers to the molecular thin coating on one side of a thin piece of window glass. Dichroic coatings generally transmit one color and reflect another and change color as the glass is turned. They are used in technology to filter different wavelengths of light, allowing some to pass through and others to reflect. The coating is applied in a “vapor deposition chamber” where metal is made into a vapor and then affixed to the sheets of glass. The colors seem so pure because the metals are also pure and in a rarified state.

Large blocks of glass are cut up with a diamond tipped saw to the appropriate size and then ground and polished. Dichroic coated glass is sandwiched between the layers as it is glued, with a different color used each time, interspersed between leaded and non-leaded glasses. The gluings have been proven through testing to be stronger than the glass itself. Very methodically and with at least a day between gluings, the pieces are constructed from the inside going out, stretching out the time from inception to completion to six to eight weeks.

In the center, on one of the dichroic coatings, an abstract design is sandblasted which in the finished piece is reflected many fold in the other layers of dichroic glass and finally in the lead crystal. The interior walls of the lead act as a mirror to the other images.

After the outer surfaces are ground by hand and polished, the finishing touches are added, creating a field wherein light and images can dance around as one moves around the piece, or as the piece is spun on it’s base.

It’s best to keep the sculpture out of direct sunlight. Clean with a soft cloth and your favorite glass cleaner.