Gloria Fuller,  Lancaster High School art teacher, received the ”Best of Show” Award at the Wisconsin Regional Art Program (WRAP) Conference on Saturday, March 24.
The juried competition is co-sponsored by the Wisconsin Regional Artists Association and WRAP, UW-Madison.
Gloria Fuller, began making art in the glass fusing media in 2011.
Title of winning artwork: “Ocean Sunset Series II” is made completely with hand-painting techniques and creating seven layers of dichroic glass. The fusing process takes many hours to perfect and often times it is fired in the kiln for up to three or four different times to melt and anneal properly.  
Her glass fusing artwork is now eligible to go to the state awards art show at the Pyle Center, UW-Madison,  in September.
The word “dichroic”, pronounced Dye-Cro-Ick, is derived from two Greek roots, “di” for two and “chroma” for color. So “dichroic” literally means “two-colored.”
Interesting facts about dichroic glass: The history of dichroic glass goes back to the 1950’s and 1960’s when NASA, defense contractors and the Department of Defense developed this high-tech material for use as optical filters, as a shield against cosmic radiation and many other uses. For example, the golden sheen on an astronaut’s face shield is a dichroic coating meant to protect against the harsh glare of natural and obviously unfiltered sunlight.
Wisconsin Regional Artists Association and the Wisconsin Regional Arts Program:
The Wisconsin Regional Artists Association (WRAA) is a non-profit organization of over 500 artists from Wisconsin and beyond. WRAA works closely with the Wisconsin Regional Arts Program (WRAP) through the UW-Madison, Department of Liberal Studies and the Arts to provide educational resources, opportunities to exhibit, and encouragement to the artistic development of its members.
The Wisconsin Regional Arts Program (WRAP) is developed and administered by the UW-Madison’s Department of Liberal Studies and the Arts.  WRAP exhibits/workshops began in 1940 to encourage the creative growth of artists from rural areas.  WRAP exhibits/workshops are held throughout the year and all around the state.  Regional exhibits include a workshop day for participating artists and the public in which a guest artist gives a lecture or demonstration, then the judge leads an educational critique of the exhibited artwork. Participants may exhibit up to two or three pieces of artwork at any WRAP exhibit/workshop.  State Awards are eligible to exhibit at the Annual State Art Exhibition and Conference held in September each year in Madison. More details of the program can be found at www.wraawrap.com.