|  I
was recently asked to write something concerning how I began
developing the BoroCoatings
by Dichroic Alchemy. I had been blowing glass for
quite some time when the Dichro thing started for me in 1998
about 15 miles Northwest of Grants Pass Oregon. I was a bit
nomadic at the time and had seen some Dichroic marbles in my
travels and couldn’t get the sparkles out of my head. I
didn’t know who made them but I thought they were beautiful.
I researched Dichroic glass and realized there was very little
choice of manufacturers out there and it appeared there was
only one company advertising to the borosilicate market. I promply
bounght an assortment pack and persisted to burn out eight of
the ten colors I had purchased with the other two looking pretty
ragged.
After contacting my father on this subject, he informed me that
there was a gentleman in California near Palm Springs that might
be able to help me. His name was John Stewart and he was a laser
engineer for a company producing equipment used in eye
surgery and other medical techniques. My father remembered that
John used dichroic in his laser processes.
I contacted John during the spring of 1998 and asked him where
I could get some dichroic glass. He directed me to Dan Coursen,
the leading thin film engineer in the country. Dan Coursen informed
me that he had been involved with dichroic coating of glass
since 1964 but that he had only been
involved with technical coating applications. He also told me
several people in the past had tried to market the coatings
to the art market but they were unsuccessful so he didn’t
have any interest in working with the art market. After a little
sweet talking, I convinced him to send me a sample pack of their
best coatings.
 Sadly,
after trying the colors, I didn’t find them much better
than the other companies. I called Dan back directly and asked
if there was a way to apply more layers
or use different chemicals to make the coatings more heat resistant.
At the end of our conversation he said he would research it
and get back to me. I wondered if I would hear from him again.
I think I must have sparked his interest because not too long
after he sent me some sample sheets from all the different machines
(12 in all) that they had. One of the coatings was exceptionally
durable in the flame and had a really needle-like effect. Read
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