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Biography
Skye Blue Sprawls was raised
on the east coast of Florida. After graduating
from high school, she enrolled in the Savannah
College of Art and Design. Her interest in glass
began soon after. As she participated in the
work/study program at the Arrowmont School of
Arts and Crafts she became intrigued by glass
fusing and focused on dichroic glass. Her fascination
with glass was instantaneous. She was captivated
by the glass’s ability to begin as separate,
solid pieces that easily become one fragile
whole, by a process of becoming a red, glowing
liquid! It was irresistible!
After graduating from the Savannah College
of Art and Design, she was moved to Pittsburgh,
PA, where she taught beginning fusing classes
for adults at the Pittsburgh Glass Center. In
her workshops, she assisted the students with
creation of basic mosaics and simple jewelry.
Their work was later fired by Skye Blue.
She is currently living in Portland, Oregon,
where she is the artist-in-residence at Indian
River Glass Works. She assists with independent
student projects, recommends alternatives to
accomplishing these goals and demonstrates new
uses of materials and techniques. Her work experience
has provided her the ability to troubleshoot
problems, keep inventory, and order materials
as well as maintain equipment used in the jewelry
making process.
In 2005, Skye Blue opened a business called
Skye Blue Glass specializing
in dichroic wire wrapped jewelry and decorative
fine plates. She sells at galleries nationally.
Her art glass may be viewed at www.skyeblueglass.com.
Skye Blue Sprawls lives in Portland, Oregon.
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Artist
Statement
I experienced a pivotal moment five years ago
that has since affected almost every aspect
of my life. I discovered that I love glass heated
in it’s molten state! The glass glows
bright red with an inner fire and slowly begins
to move. The agility of glass, it’s hot
molten movement and it’s final, delicate
permanence inspires me to use glass as my medium.
I enjoy the unexpected and unexplained results
of fusing dichroic glass. The glass playfully
bulges, condenses, flows and molds itself in
unexpected ways. The combination of dichroic
glasses yield surprising resultsI Opening the
kiln after a firing is similar to the excitement
of opening a present. I never know what to expect!
The dichroic elements in my jewelry display
depth and color similar to the deep beauty of
the river I grew up on. They remind me of the
sunsets that never fail to astonish. The dazzling
colors capture the expansive space that shines
with a rainbow of hues and sparkles with unexplained
depths of light.
Many of my designs are created subconsciously.
I use doodles from my sktechbooks to invent
new designs. These shapes are reflective of
my mood and personality. I delight in using
this process because it assures that all of
my work is absolutely unique.
I invent vibrant, energetic shapes and use
bold colors that are remarkably striking and
individualistic. Voluptuous curves, unexpected
dips and sharp turns create arresting amoebic
shapes and vivid color combos that are completely
unexpected. The end result is always spectacular!
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Dichroic
Glass: History
and Chemical Properties
Dichroic glass was originally
created for the optical and aerospace industries.
In the 1980’s, a few glass artists found
use for dichroic scrap and the use of dichroic
glass in art began! The manufacturing companies
quickly discovered the emerging art market and
started creating glass formulated to the needs
of the artists. The dichroic coating is remarkable
for it’s ability to harness light. It
displays color by allowing only certain colors
of the light wavelength to be transmited through
the glass, while the remaining wavelengths reflect
to our eyes.
Artists found that they could use scrap dichroic
glass projector bulbs. In the 1980’s distribution
was further assisted by companies researching,
developing formulas and specialized vacuum chambers
that produce dichroic coatings for the art community.
Thus, the glass gained in popularity as it became
widely available.
The dichroic coatings are colorless. The coatings
create a selective barrier between the light
radiating from a source and the light which
our eyes perceive. This gives us the term: Interference
filter technology. The human eye is
only able to perceive a narrow spectrum of light
wavelengths. When a beam of light is broken
up, as is done with a prism, the visible spectrum
becomes apparent. The colors are: violet, blue,
green, yellow, orange and red. It is important
to remember that when we see a blue car, what
we are actually perceiving are the remains of
the white light that has hit the car. The blue
wavelengths are reflected to our eyes and the
car absorbs all of the other wavelengths. Dichroic
glass reflects and transmits opposite wavelengths
of the spectrum.
This considers only reflection and absorption.
When dealing with dichroic glass, it is important
to consider transmission, the light that passes
through the glass to our eyes. This is the third
color visible when the glass is held at a 45-degree
angle. This combination of reflected, transmitted
and transferred colors is what allows the dichroic
coatings infinite color variety in a single
piece of glass.
The oxides that compose the coatings include
titanium, quartz and zirconium. These oxides
are placed in a chamber, out of which air is
removed by vacuum pumps. Sheets of glass are
then suspended from fixed positions on the ceiling
of the chamber. These oxides are superheated,
creating a vapor that rises and deposits itself
on the surface of the glass. Without the interference
of the air molecules, there is nothing to impede
their path. This technology is called vacuum
deposition. The dichroic layer strikes
the glass surface and adhere, creating a crystal
structure on the glass.
As more layers are deposited, the color begins
to intensify. The number of layers has no effect
on the hue, only on the color saturation. After
10 to 15 coatings, the result is a thick layer
that transmits a particular wavelength of light
(primary color) and reflects all of the rest
(reflected color).
Dichroic glass is astonishing in its variety
of uses and surprising in its results. Since
the 1980’s, the manufacturing of dichroic
glass for artists has become very sophisticated.
There are hundreds of colors available. The
coatings are increasingly reliable and maintain
their integrity against the heat of the kiln.
It is now up to the artist to harness the infinite
potential of the dichroic coatings.
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Glass
Fusing
Glass fusing is a process of melting separate
pieces of glass together in a ceramic kiln.
Glass pieces become molten and unite with any
glass they touch a 1450 degree. After the first
fuse in the kiln, the glass may be cut and ground
into desired shapes. It is fused at least one
more time before the finished product is achieved.
As the glass is slowly heated to the temperature
of 1450 degrees, the kiln temperature rises
at an average of 450 degrees an hour. If the
glass is heated too quickly the thermal expansion
within the glass will become uneven. Breakage
caused by uneven heating is referred to as “thermal
shock” and causes glass to break or shatter.
Breaks can occur below 1000 degrees, which is
the strain point of the glass. At the temperature
of 1,000 degrees the glass converts from a solid
to a liquid. The crystalline structure of the
glass begins to relax and the glass begins to
flow.
Above 1,000 degrees, the glass becomes molten
and slowly begins to move. Between the temperatures
of 1200 and 1300 degrees, the glass will begin
to sag if it is suspended. This is a process
called slumping and is used to the fuser’s
advantage. The glass may be placed on a ceramic
mold of a plate with raised edges. This leaves
a space underneath for the dropped bottom. When
the glass reaches a high enough temperature,
the suspended center of the glass will sag into
the empty space of the mold, creating the desired
plate shape.
As the temperature is raised to 1450 degrees,
it becomes molten and glows red. The pieces
of glass are completely united. The temperature
of the kiln is only raised above 1450 for special
projects, such as raking glass or casting into
two-part molds.
Care must be taken as the glass cools. The
fused pieces are even more prone to breaking
due to thermal shock. To prevent this, the temperature
of the kiln must also be controlled as it cools.
However, this is not the only reason that the
glass may break as the kiln cools. Glass also
breaks from improper annealing. Annealing is
the act of holding the glass at a steady temperature
while it’s crystalline structure is forming.
If this is done improperly, the glass will break
due to the internal stress of an irregular crystalline
structure.
Glass will also break from internal stress
if incompatible glasses are used. The measure
of compatibility is called the coefficient of
expansion, or C.O.E. This number is based on
the viscosity and expansion properties of each
individual glass type and color. It is the measure
of expansion and contraction throughout the
glass’s full temperature range. As the
glass is heated it expands and as it cools it
contracts. This is similar to how water expands
as it freezes. If the glass pieces expand and
contract at a similar rate, then they will ‘fit’
and there will not be undue stress between them.
However, if these rates are not similar, the
glass is more likely to crack or shatter between
1,000 and 0 degrees during the temperature ramp
down. The glass will pull in different directions
causing a break.
Fusing glass is a difficult, detailed process.
Any variation of temperature, time, and gravity
will yield dramatic differences in the finished
product. Detailed notes are taken by the artist
to aide in the reproduction of a desired effect.
Firing the glass in the kiln can take anywhere
from a few hours to a few days, depending on
the thickness and width of the glass being created
and it’s appropriate annealing schedule.
The variations of fusing are infinite and fascinating
in their diversity and beauty.
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