|
|
LCB Metals & Glass
Since 1993 |
|
There
is literally more to stained glass than meets the eye. In particular,
there's metal. With stained glass being more or less transparent, the
possibility of seeing metal isn't high on a list of expectations, but
metal is how the colors you see get there. Metal oxidants, the combining
of metals with oxygen to create a powdered compound such as rust from
iron, is what's used to tint the otherwise clear glass. Oddly, rust
doesn't create the red colors in glass, as one might expect, but iron is
responsible for shades of blue, green and brown, when used alone or in
conjunction with other metals. Below is a list of some of the more widely
used metals and the colors they yield. |
|
|
|
|
Tin |
White |
Gold |
Red |
Iron |
Green, Brown,Blue |
Chromium |
Green, Yellow, Pink |
Vanadium |
Gray, Blue, Green |
Selenium |
Pink, Red |
Manganese |
Purple |
Cadmium Sulphide |
Yellow |
Copper |
Blue, Green, Red |
Cobalt |
Blue, Green, Pink |
Nickel |
Yellow, Purple |
Titanium |
Purple, Brown |
Cerium |
Yellow |
Carbon Sulphur |
Amber, Brown |
The color properties of the metals listed pertain to their
use in the manufacture of transparent glass,
before the glass is subjected to any other preparation. Dichroic glass, especially as it is
used in jewelry making, is the result of additional coatings applied to the
glass in the dichroic process, procedures that employ still other metals and
metal oxidants. More on that at the Dichroics
page.
We use a fairly short list of principal colors, most of which are easily
visualized in the mind's eye. These colors are used separately but can produce
many different shades when combined. Red, amber, leaf, emerald, aqua, turquoise,
light blue, cobalt, lavender, purple, black and clear make up the basic
palette. These colors are then altered by introducing dichroic glass to the mix,
with a result that isn't always so simple to label, due to the myriad result
possibilities.
|