CiM 563: Pulsar - Further Thoughts

I wanted to compare the CiM Pulsar head to head with the Moretti Dark Aqua - to see if it really is more intense.

This bead is Cobalt blue, white, Pulsar, White, Mor. Dark Aqua, White. I wanted to flank the Aquas with white for maximum colour reflection. The cobalt end is so that I knew which end was which.

In short, the Pulsar is at the cobalt marked end of the bead - and in fact, does appear darker, more intense, and, dare I say it, slightly less greenish than the Mor. Dark Aqua. Not just in the photos, but in real life too.







Then, someone asked if the Pulsar scorched and developed smokey streaks, like the Mor. Dark Aqua is prone to do.

Well, naturally - when you are trying to mess up the glass ... it behaves perfectly well. For these bead - (with an ivory end - so I didn't mix it up with anything else) - I worked it in a Natural Gas flame (I have more trouble with Natural Gas and scorching than I do with Propane) - I worked too low - almost glomming onto the torch head. I turned the oxygen way down. You can see a smudge of red reduction on the surface of the bead, above the halfway point.

You can see on the other side of the bead, I did manage to get some grey marks happening. Whether that was as a result of the reduction, or working it abusively - I'm not sure.

Here's yet a third view. It doesn't show up much, but then again, the glass colour is quite dark. Whether it will show up if, say, used as a thin layer over white??? I guess I'll have to try it and find out!

Is it scorch proof? I don't think so - but I did have to work fairly hard to get this effect. Is it easier to work than the Mor. Dark Aqua? Can't say yet. Might be.