Stained Glass Minute (Volume IV)

How is Iridescent Glass Made?

Celtic Weave (Leia Powell)

Here's another one of those sciency posts…

Succulent (Leia Powell)

Iridescence is one of my favorite features available in sheet glass. Not only can you make the most magnificent dragon wings, but you can also alternate colors (see picture below) and position of patterning to capture variations of color of the iridescent layer.

Jordan Dragon (Leia Powell)

Lori Faery (Leia Powell)

So, how is it made? Well, you must remove the salt from the glass with an acidic water solution to create a separate layer that breaks apart into a prism upon cooling. The resulting layer reflects light differently than the underlayer.

– (Blank stares) –

Kalyani Mermaid (Leia Powell)

OR! You can do it with chemical reactions.

– (Ahhhhs and nods) –

The Florentine Carousel (2020 Masterpiece and winner of Best in Show at JordanCon) (Leia Powell)

You can create an iridescent layer on glass by annealing it, which makes it hot but not melty. Then you push it into a reduction chamber with a combination of acid vapor, metal oxides, and salt during a process called "fuming."

– (Perplexed expressions) –

Flight Into Fantasy (2021 Masterpiece - first stained glass piece ever nominated for a Chesley Award) (Leia Powell)

Oh, look… a handy video from the Corning Museum of Glass demonstrating iridizing a sheet of glass out of a blown bubble.

Iridizing Glass

Stay Glassy,

Leia Powell

Master Stained Glass Artisan

Wildcat Mountain Artistry