CiM 569 - Smurfy

Apparently - someone at Creation is Messy shares my love of kids' cartoons. Either that or they have kids - which is probably more likely. Can we expect to see Barney the Dinosaur Purple anytime soon? "I love you - you love me - I'm going to eat your family."

This is an obvious turquoise - so I thought I would see if it does all the usual things that turquoise does.





It is a little streaky - but developed very little of the kiln induced "rash" - the silvery/lead coloured wash that develops on the Effetre turquoise after you put it in the kiln (which, btw - you can remove by soaking your annealed beads in CLR - Calcium Lime Rust remover - for 10-30 minutes. Or all week if you soak it in Coca Cola. Because at this point - someone is sure to point out that you can use Coke. Go buy some CLR and leave the Coke for drinking. Mine you - if that's what it does - why do you want to drink it?)

Anyhoo - in this regard - Smurfy is more like the Lauscha turquoise.

And, like the Lauscha turquoise - it is very reactive with ivory - more so than the Effetre.

Love that grey line that develops between the copper colours (opaque turq-blues and greens) and the sulphur colours. (Ivories and yellows.) (With a few notable exceptions. ) Have loved this effect from day 1 of lampworking. Some of my earliest beads were ivory and turquoise.





Another turquoise trick is to make it go brick red. For this, turn down your oxygen and work the bead from the start in a soft, bushy flame. Not so far as a reduction flame, just fuzz up the candles a little by turning down the oxygen.

This is a good indicator colour too - if you get red on your turquoise - you aren't using enough oxygen in your flame!

So - this is a Smurfy nice colour - very smurf-errific.

Smurf on!