Dichro

Many bead artists think of dichroic glass as something to just add sparkle to the inside of a bead, such as this one.



It's true...It really does add depth and incredible sparkle! But there are different kinds of dichro now. Below is an example of what is called Pure Dichro.



To me, it looks more like silver foil that forgot to melt in. The bead above was made by capturing some pure dichro in clear, casing and pulling a stringer. I set that aside and made a small amber bead, rolled the hot bead in the pure dichro and cased. The stringer was used to add a small flower on each side.


The other thing I recently learned about dichro - in a Janet Anderson class at Glass Obsessions - is that dichro can be worked directly in the flame. This bead is not the best example...I'm an impatient glasser! But, by working it far back in the flame and keeping it rather cool, slowly heating to the point the dichro layer melts in, you can create a multil layered effect. Note the dots of clear over the dichro. The exposed dichro feels really neat to touch, not rough, but not glassy either.

And while these are all experimental beads (and for sale for less than the cost of the glass), it is a technique I want to explore further.