I strongly believe that behind a creative work there is always an emotional intention, even at a subconscious level, no matter how complex the technical process of fabrication will be.
I started experimenting with using TLCs with glass about 1 year ago and to summarise the results of the tests carried out over the last year is not an easy task because everything including all the small details and the failures all contribute to the eventual achievement.
For those with a scientific interest, I have provided some technical information about TLCs and some references for where to find more information. My apologies for making this seem like a college thesis and I hope it is not too tedious!
All the TLCs used were supplied by LCR Hallcrest http://www.lcrhallcrest.com; one of the few manufacturers of thermochromics worldwide and who have been supporting my research.
TLCs show their beauty when looked against a dark background and, when working with glass, this could be a limitation. However, I thought I could make use of this limitation as part of the glass installation design; a laminated glass panel containing some TLCs when viewed against light, say from inside to outside of a window, would show the colour of the glass, but when viewed from outside to inside, with no light, the design made with TLCs would display the changed colour spectrum according to the ambient temperature of the environment, adding a new design dimension.
This was the concept that I wanted to achieve and I started to do some experiments with some samples of TLCs provided by LCR Hallcrest.
Hoping to find more technical details that would help me with my tests, I read the PhD Thesis by L. Worbin (Department of Computer Science and Engineering – Chalmers University of Technology – Gothenburg, Sweden 2010), W. Ibrahim (Heriot-Watt University – School of Textiles and Design – 2012), S. Robertson (Heriot-Watt University – School of Textiles and Design – 2011), M. Ledendal (Heriot-Watt University – School of Textiles and Design – 2015). Although they all are very interesting, they cover different aspects of the application of TLCs mainly within the field of interactive textiles. Glass, of course, is a different medium and, consequently, requires a completely different approach.
In my next post I will describe the results from some of my initial tests.
