VISTA: New craft adds sparkle to gem-lovers life

Dichroic glass among many exhibits at weekend Gem & Mineral Society show

By John Raifsnider - For The North County Times | Thursday, October 9, 2008 3:12 PM PDT ∞

VISTA ---- After years of polishing and wire wrapping stones she gathered during Sunday morning walks along the beach, Mary Anne Mital began to lose interest in lapidary work and was looking for a new craft.

Thanks to technology developed by NASA for the space shuttle, Mital found her new niche ---- making jewelry from dichroic glass, a material initially used in satellite optics and spacesuit visors.

Dozens of Mital's original pieces will be on display this weekend at the biannual Vista Gem & Mineral Society Show. The event will feature free gem identification, demonstrations, exhibits and games, as well as a marketplace with 14 dealers selling gems, fossils, faceted stones and a range of other materials.

The show will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday at the Antique Gas & Steam Engine museum in Vista.

Mital said dichroic glass has taken the jewelry she creates to a whole new level. The glass is fused with thin layers of metallic oxides to create a fusion of iridescent color.

"I just love this stuff," said the longtime Vista resident who serves as the Gem & Mineral Society treasurer.

"If you put it on a black background, the glass turns one set of colors," she said. On a white background, "the colors are completely different."

The finished product is always pretty, Mital added.

A retired bookkeeper, Mital said it takes about an hour to melt as many as five layers of the glass together and about another three hours to cool off before an item can be handled without fracturing ---- one of the many facets of working the medium that took several tries to learn.

"When I started doing this type of craft about six years ago, it was all trial and error ... and there weren't too many people I could ask for advice," she said. "Now there are several people in this area that are into working with dichroic glass."

Mital and her husband, Norman, have been members of the Vista Gem & Mineral Society for 15 years and Mital is also a member of the Vista Art Foundation.

When she isn't working on her craft, Mital helps teach classes at the Gem & Mineral Society's lapidary school. The school runs in eight-week sessions and students learn silversmithing as well as how to cut and polish stones.

Mital said a younger group of students have recently begun attending the school and many are interested in designing their own jewelry.

"They have some fantastic ideas and they want to produce those ideas without paying a fortune for it," Mital said. "The (classes) are a good alternative to buying expensive pieces at a jewelry store."

Admission and parking to this weekend's Gem & Mineral Society show are free. The Antique Gas & Steam Engine museum is at 2040 N. Santa Fe in Vista.

The classes at the lapidary school are $50 for each eight-week session, plus the cost of materials.

For more information, visit www.vistarocks.org.

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