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Tag Archive for: colored glass

Stained Glass Inspires Computer Game

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Stained Glass Inspires Computer Game

Stained Glass Inspires Computer Game

Artists have used stained glass for years to inspire both themselves and their admirers, so it doesn’t come as a surprise that software developers at Mangatar would turn to stained glass as a motif for their latest computer game, Little Briar Rose.

The cross-platform point-and-click fantasy adventure game uses “stained glass” visuals throughout the game, which is populated by fairies, gnomes, wizards and princesses. The stained glass style was chosen to give the game an “ancient fairy tale” feel.

Creating a computer simulation of stained glass is complex, but computer developers don’t face the same challenges that artists who make genuine stained glass do. Lately, stained glass artisans have been working to confront the fact that their chosen medium can carry some serious environmental risks.

The deep, vibrant colors that are characteristic of stained glass come from heavy metals and toxic compounds like arsenic, cadmium, chromium, selenium and lead. Further, typical stained glass windows use lead beading to hold the colored glass pieces and create the classic stained glass look.

The raw materials for stained glass and furnaces willing to make stained glass are becoming more scarce. Artists are always looking for alternative media that enable them to create similar works more safely.

Glass paint can be an ideal substitute for traditional stained glass. The range and depth of glass paint colors is amazing. Painted glass has been an art form for hundreds of years. In fact, many “stained” glass windows are actually painted glass.

Modern glass paints, like Glassprimer™ glass paint are engineered to bond to glass surfaces permanently. This eliminates the need to fire the paint once it has been applied to the glass. Glassprimer™ glass paint is also translucent and UV resistant, so light will filter through it, and the colors won’t fade, even in direct sunlight.

Please visit our site to learn more about Glassprimer™ glass paint.

Photo Credit: Steven Snodgrass, via Flickr.com

Colored electrochromic glass may be available soon

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Colored electrochromic glass may be available soon

Colored electrochromic glass may be available soon

The desire to make glass buildings more energy efficient is strong. By itself, glass isn’t a very good thermal insulator. Heat can pass easily through glass, so whether you’re talking about heat loss or heat gain, the end result for glass isn’t promising.

Scientists have gone out of their way to develop coatings and technologies that can help glass become more energy efficient. Electrochromic glass is one of those technologies that changes the tint on glass from clear to dark, but it also offers the benefit of keeping the inside temperatures manageable.

When the glass switches from transparent to tinted, it rejects the infrared light frequencies that generate extra heat. Currently electrochromic glass comes in one “color” – which happens to be blue. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research IAP in Potsdam-Golm have developed a new technique for creating electrochromic glass in colors other than blue.

The project is being underwritten by the German government, and could create a range of decorative colored glasses that offer the same or similar energy-saving properties. Currently, electrochromic glass is created by applying a thin film of indium tin oxide or fluorine tin oxide to a single pane of glass. This first coating makes the glass conductive. A second glass pane is similarly prepared, and coated with an additional layer of tungsten oxide, which will change color when voltage is applied. The glass panes are put together face-to-face with a thin electrolyte layer between them.

When a low voltage is applied to electrochromic glass, the tungsten oxide coating darkens enough to reject heat-generating IR lightwaves, but not enough to eliminate visible light transmission. The switch can take some time – between 15 and 20 minutes. That’s true whether the glass is darkening or lightening.

The German researchers are investigating a different production technique that eliminates the second coating of tungsten oxide and using a UV cured resin filling in place of the electrolyte. A direct current to the surface causes form an electrochromic polymer. The technique has a few significant advantages over traditional electrochromic glass. First, a color shift can take place using much less voltage and second, it allows the addition of organic colorants that can produce colors other than blue. Finally, a switch from a transparent state to a colored one can take place in about 30 seconds.

The new manufacturing method also produces glass tiles that are strong enough to be mounted overhead or under foot. It could also be installed in vehicles, like ships or cars.

The new colored electrochromic glass is still in development, but Glassprimer™ glass paint can offer a highly economical substitute for creating colored glass. Glassprimer™ glass paint bonds permanently to glass surfaces and could be used to coat either interior or exterior projects. For more information about Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit the rest of our website.

Photo Credit: picsessionsart, via Flickr

Glass was an ancient status symbol

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Glass was an ancient status symbol

Glass was an ancient status symbol

An archaeology researcher from the University of Leicester in the UK believes that early civilizations used glass as a status symbol rather than as a practical material. Dr. Chloe Duckworth says that ancient civilizations invested in technologies like glassmaking more as a display of power.

She bases the hypothesis on the examples of early glasses, most of which were opaque or heavily colored. They often resembled semi-precious and precious materials like lapis lazuli and carnelian, which were used extensively by the wealthiest and most powerful people in society. Early examples of glass were almost exclusively used in decorative applications, and as containers for perfumes and oils that would not have been available to ordinary citizens.

Duckworth looked at the evolution of glass blowing and determined that it was a response to societal needs rather than a driver. She believes that glass may have originally been envisioned as a way to fill a social need, and did not morph into a useful material that was available to the masses until much later in the material’s history. She points to modern uses for glass, including fiber optic cables and precision lenses, and says that early developers of the material did not see the practical uses of glass, even for more mundane applications like windows and practical storage containers.

Today, we tend to look beyond the decorative capacity of glass and focus on its most practical applications. In reality, glass can be both practical and decorative. One characteristic of glass is its impervious surface. On one hand, it allows light to flow freely through it. On the other hand, opacity is sometimes preferred.

Glassprimer™ glass paint is a specialized glass coating that bonds permanently to glass surfaces. GlassPrimer also makes a glass surface molecular activator that is designed to work with UV-inkjet glass printing processes. For more information about Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store

Photo Credit: Daniel Jolivet, via Flickr.com

Glasses can correct color blindness

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Glasses can correct color blindness

Glasses can correct color blindness

Color blindness is a common vision deficiency that affects about 8% of men and 0.5% of women. The most common type of “color blindess” is red-green color blindness. Affected individuals cannot distinguish red from green. A scientist who was trying to develop protective eyewear for surgeons has developed a pair of glasses that can correct red-green color blindness.

Glasses funded by NIH

Don McPherson, a researcher at Alfred University, was trying to develop eyewear that could protect physicians’ eyes during laser surgery. McPherson was playing a game of Ultimate Frisbee with a friend, and let him try the glasses on. The friend happened to be color blind – a condition that McPherson doesn’t suffer from. McPherson’s friend reported that his color vision changed when he wore the glasses.

McPherson applied for funding from the National Institutes of Health to help perfect the design of the glasses. He teamed up with a computer scientist to refine the design. In 2010, the pair formed a company called EnChroma, which sells the corrective lenses for $269-$349 per pair. The glasses don’t offer a permanent correction for the condition. Color blindness is a genetic deficiency and could only be “cured” with an effective gene therapy. None currently exist, but at least one promising treatment is seeking permission to conduct human trials.

EnChroma’s glasses aren’t the only eyewear available to correct color blindness. Several other companies offer color correction lenses. A Maryland optometrist offers both contact lenses and glasses that can allow the wearer to pass color vision tests that are required for certain types of employment. EnChroma does not guarantee that its lenses will allow the wearer to pass a color vision test, but says its glasses can help color blind people experience color vision.

At GlassPaint.com, we can’t correct color blindness, but we can help correct the absence of color – especially around glass! Glassprimer™ glass paint offers a highly UV resistant, durable paint that comes in virtually any color and forms a permanent bond with glass. If you’d like more information about Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: JoJo 77 , via Flickr.com

Toledo glass makers concerned about closings

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Toledo glass makers concerned about closings

Toledo glass makers concerned about closings

Art glass makers in Toledo, OH worry that they’ll be negatively affected by the closing of an art glass supplier in Washington State. Spectrum, which sells glass and supplies to glassmakers nationwide, announced last month that it intended to cease operations. Spectrum became the subject of an Environmental Protection Agency probe after officials noted a spike in the amount of heavy metals around the Spectrum furnace.

Art glass makers say future is in doubt

Spectrum had been operating in compliance with EPA emissions regulations. In a written statement announcing the closure, Spectrum CEO Craig Barker said, “Spectrum Glass Company has operated well within existing environmental guidelines and has been the only stained glass manufacturer to employ baghouse technology on furnace exhaust. Still, we have already accrued extraordinary, unanticipated expenses since the start of the EPA evaluation and cannot withstand additional investments of an unknown scale for an already faltering company.”

Spectrum’s closure leaves the future uncertain for Toledo’s art glass community. Producers worry that they will no longer be able to find specific supplies, or that the cost of making glass will exceed what they can recover from sales.

The Environmental Protection Agency became especially worried about emissions of specific metals from the plant, including cadmium. Cadmium is used to create red, yellow and orange glass. Cadmium is a known carcinogen. The EPA also noted increased amounts of lead around the plant, although residents who live in the area have not shown any increase in blood-lead levels.

Bullseye, a Portland-based glass manufacturer, also ceased manufacturing the supplies to make those colors after the EPA found elevated levels of cadmium in the air around Bullseye’s furnace. The company has reduced its output to just 20% of its regular production level in an attempt to comply with EPA emissions regulations. Findings at the plants in Oregon and Washington have triggered a nationwide review of glass plant emissions.

Glassprimer™ glass paint offers an environmentally friendly, cost-effective way to apply color permanently to glass. Glassprimer™ requires no firing after application, and dries to a permanent cure in 24-72 hours.

If you’d like more information about Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: Sergey Lebedev, via FreeImages.com

Art glass factories facing EPA regulation

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Art glass factories facing EPA regulation

Art glass factories facing EPA regulation

More than a dozen art glass factories around the United States are coming under increased scrutiny from the Environmental Protection Agency, state and local regulators, after apparently running afoul of heavy-metal emission regulations earlier this year. Federal researchers with the United States Forestry Service discovered dangerously high levels of heavy metals in tree moss samples in the Portland, OR area. Additional investigation pinpointed the source of the heavy metals as the art glass factories in the area.

Glass makers not exempt from heavy metals emissions

Spectrum, of Woodinville, WA, has already announced that it will close its doors instead of attempting to comply with more restrictive emission regulations. Bullseye Glass in Portland is attempting to remain open, despite regulatory pressure and a production moratorium that has been imposed on the factory by the State of Oregon. A third Portland-based manufacturer, Uroboros, which has partnered with Spectrum on certain products, also says it will continue to manufacture and produce colored glass and glass colorants. The EPA is particularly concerned that the factories have been emitting vaporized cadmium into the air after the agency discovered that none of Portland’s glass factories had the requisite pollution control systems installed on their glass-melt furnaces.

The factories make agents used by glassmakers to produce colored glass. Additives, including lead, nickel, arsenic, cadmium and chromium, have become the subject of concern for regulators, and have been measured in significantly elevated levels in the soils around the factories. The EPA is also questioning state regulators and their interpretations of federal regulations, as well as their enforcement practices.

Initially, the factories thought they were exempt from more stringent regulations, but pressure on the state’s Department of Environmental Quality by the EPA and local residents has brought about a new understanding of federal emissions requirements. In addition, the EPA is reviewing emissions data from about 15 other art glass factories around the country that use similar production practices.

About half of the factories that are the subject of enhanced EPA scrutiny are located in the Midwest and on the East Coast. The remainder are clustered in Oregon and Washington State. The EPA has not yet concluded its investigation of the factories, but many glassmakers point out that their production processes do not violate federal laws.

Glassprimer™ glass paint provides an excellent alternative to colored glass. Glassprimer™ glass paint comes in a wide range of colors and creates a permanent bond with the glass surface. In addition, Glassprimer™ glass paint comes in both oil-based and water-based formulations. Our water-based formulation cleans up with water, and both formulations are low-odor, low-VOC compounds.

If you’d like more information about working with Glassprimer™ glass paint, please check out the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: Kenn Kiser , via FreeImages.com

Glass trends: what’s new in glass?

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Glass trends: what's new in glass?

Glass trends: what’s new in glass?

Glass is an insanely versatile material. The growing popularity of glass has given rise to some new interior decorating and design trends worth mentioning. If you think of glass primarily in the context of windows, you’re not thinking correctly about glass! Here are a few glass trends to keep your eye on.

Colored glass is trending

From Milan: If you missed last month’s Salone Internazionale del Mobile, the premiere furniture show in Milan, you missed a lot of creative uses for glass. Chromatic glass made a big splash, and for good reason! It’s fun to look at; it’s versatile and it has the potential to be a decorating superstar.

At a basic level, chromatic glass is just colored glass. But chromatic glass can be so much more! Smart glass takes color to a whole new level. Smart glass (or the glazing on “smart” glass) takes on different light transmission properties when heat, light or voltage is applied to the glass. In layman’s terms, the glass can change color! The decorating potential of color-alterable glass is obvious, but “smart glass” is more than just a pretty face.

Smart glass can be used as a building material that changes on-demand. Think electronic shades, custom glare controls, and UV-protection at the touch of a button! As a decorating material, “smart” glass can change color and opacity on –demand, creating a raft of options for practical and artistic applications.

From the US Glass is making a big splash in home decorating in the form of glass doors. Glass doors with frosted insets are a growing trend in American homes. Frameless doors, which have been popular in commercial installations, are growing in popularity for residential decorating. Also popular are interior sliding glass doors, glass pocket doors and wood-frame doors with glass insets.

From Spain: Glass tiles have not lost their luster in Spain. Glass tiles are versatile decorating materials, and can be used effectively as “working” surfaces in the kitchen and bath, and as decorative surfaces in entryways and other rooms in the house. The use of glass tile doesn’t show signs of slowing down in Europe, and isn’t likely to slow down in the US.

Colored glass and color-coated glass are trending upward and are expected to be strong for the foreseeable future. If you’d like more information about decorating with glass, please check out the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: John Spencer , via FreeImages.com