Brass Mold - onna a stick

Well here's an interesting tool - this is a brass push mold on a handle.

I have it on good authority that this is an Italian tool used actually by glass blowers - for ornamenting large vessels. The idea would be to add a large glob of glass to the side of the vessel, perhaps in the centre of a medallion, or maybe at the base of a handle, and then push this down over the top, shaping it. You could get a classic cameo look. You would then ornament as you saw fit.


Of course, as a flame worker - you know I'm going to approach it the other way, make a gather of glass and push it into the mold.

It actually works quite well - I'm impressed.

It make a face, a rather classical and passive face - which you can then dress up with some hair, or maybe tweak the features a little. It's easy to melt out the lips and it is worth it to deepen them a little with a razor tool.

The key is that you have to let the glass cool and shrink away from the tool, in order to get it out. At first, it seems stuck, like it is never going to come out, but just wait a little longer, and it will come right out.



















Here is a face in ivory (with a random piece of detrius stuck to the side. Ignore that please.)

Here is one in the that ghastly fish pink - you know the colour that looks pink until heat it, and then it turns grey. Ugh. It has a smear of something across the nose, possibly some random frit from having to retrieve the gather of glass off the bench. I stroked on some ivory hair.

Here's one in clear - and I surprised at how well it photographed. I added some hair, and her pony tail is actually the loop to hang her by as a pendant.





It's a nice, useful face, and I think you can do a lot with it. The mold cavity, and consequently the face too, is about an inch long - sizable, but not outrageous. Definitely useful as a jumping off place.

I definitely like that it is on a handle, as opposed to a mold that sits flat on the table.