Lauscha: Fuchsia

Lauscha is famous for it's pinks - lovely pinks, reds and purples. This particular pink is called Fuchsia - although I would say it's a little pale for fuchsia, myself.

The instructions say it will go darker the more you work it. I actually haven't found that. It gets more intense as it gets thicker, of course, but I don't find it getting that much darker.


It shows a light goldy shadow in the glass - especially in these small spacers, that I'm not sure if I like or not. I could probably convince myself that I liked it. I wouldn't miss it if it wasn't there!

In fact, it has gone away in this large (1.25 inch) pink ring. Why did I make a large, single colour, transparent pink ring? I don't know either.

Interestingly - this colour is also much more vibrant under the lights of my photography set up - see 1st picture of ring.

And paler in the light of a regular bulb, over by the monitor - see second pic, desaturated to show it's true color in most light.






Interestingly - I ran out of the rod before this was quite finished, and I filled in with a little amethyst and some clear. It's not obvious to casual, or even informed inspection. But when I was cleaning it, and it was underwater - it was very obvious.

Pretty shade of pink, pale rose colour or fuchsia - depending on the lighting. I wonder what other interesting tricks it has up it's sleeve?

Lauscha: Thüringen Salmon

So, having run out of new Vetro and Moretti colours to test - I thought I would (somewhat) systematically work through some of the new, and new to me, Lauscha colours.

This creamy colour is Thüringen Salmon. Thüringen for a region in Germany where Lauscha is located. What an education in geography glass can be, eh? If the salmon there are this colour, they are some mighty unhealthy salmon, IMHO - growing up, as I did, on the west coast where the colour of a salmon gives a mango a run for it's money.

This is a nice, slightly streaky, pale cream with a hint of brown and pinkish undertones. While I use the term too much - a soft cafe au lait - if you add enough cream. Which I do. Lots of cream.

This would be a great goddess colour, or angels, or any natural pale blonde Caucasian skin colour.
Like some other Lauscha colours, it goes tranlucent when heated and cooled without annealing, but annealing strikes it opaque. Annoying, as the translucent quality has so much potential.

Double Helix - Nyx

I think I might be finally getting a handle on this glass. Nyx is one of the uber expensive and ultra silver saturated glasses from Double Helix - But DaMn - do I ever like it! And, after some significant practice - I am starting to get reproducible results.

In the rod - the glass appears almost black - hold it up to the light and you will see a hint of violet purple. I find it helpful to label the rods. A lot of these silver-saturated glasses look black at casual glance, and without labelling - you soon have a work area full of black glass and no idea what is which.

These three little spacers are a core of Nyx. The two on the left are reduced, and then encased. I like to get all the glass for the encased melted into a gather and encase all at once - this stops the reduction from being reversed while encasing - I keep the bead out of the flame from reduction to encasing. The one on the right is encased without reducing. The deep blue colour develops in the kiln. The instructions for Nyx tell you that you can vary the shade of blue by lengthening the holding period before annealing. I have held from 0 minutes to up to 8 hours and gotten the same colour - so I must be missing something.


This bicone is black and ivory base, with Nyx and Aion trails. The Nyx is the blue trails. Notice that despite the pale transparent look of the Aion - it looks amazing over black! (click on the picture for a better view.)






This is Nyx, reduced, and under a very deep layer of clear. (It's a drawer pull.) The longer you work it and the deeper you encase it - the more you tend to get a lovely gold shimmer. Check out this lentil - showing the same mirror-bright gold shimmer - quite extraordinary.






This big hole dragon is made entirely of Nyx - such extravagance - there is 2 and a half rods in there! I reduced each section as I finished it. The reduction was remarkably hardy, and was not negated by regular heating for temperature maintenance. Spot heating to a glow would revert it to it's dark colour. This piece has an extraordinary range of teals and blues. Note, the inside of the hole is the dark blue. (no reduction there!)


And finally - the tablet beads are Mor 438 with trails of Nyx, reduced.


My personal preference runs to glasses that give surprising results - and this one is champion!

CIM Canyon de Chelly - 022

Named for the Canyon de Chelly National Monument (presumably) - you would expect this glass to be streaky and rock-like - and indeed, it is.

The latest batch to arrive is significantly grayer in the rod than the last batch (see pic - new batch is the top paddle). Generally, when there is a big difference in the CIM glass - they designate it as a "unique" - same as the Moretti and Vetro Odd-Lots, and add a -x to the product code. But, this one came with no such notation. The factory applied code is the same.

So, a little comparison was in order. The top mandrel is the new version, the bottom mandrel is the old version.

I would say that the new version gives more intense colours, and develops colour more quickly and easily. The bottom mandrel (old version), the bead on the left was not struck - in went into the kiln virtually white, and the colour that shows developed in the kiln. The bead on the right was struck.

The top mandrel - the bead on the left was not deliberately struck, but it developed colour just by proximity to the flame from striking the next two beads.


This picture is a little underexposed, but shows better the variability and a lot of the subtle colours in the glass. Interestingly, they look almost pink when they go in the kiln, but the end result is more a cafe au lait.

I personally think the new version is more interesting - but if you have a production bead that counts on the colour staying light - you might want to hunt down the old version and stash it.

Fusion Bead Separator - and not much about Krag Mud Separator

A reader wrote: (yes - I have a reader! Woohoo!)

Hi!

I follow your glass review blog obsessively, and just wondered if you have ever tried Fusion bead release or KRAG Mudd. Both are supposed to be excellent, but I, like you, use Dip 'n' Go right now and I'm hesitant to change. Thanks!

Thank you - it's nice to hear that someone checks it out - let alone reads it obsessively!

I use the Fusion bead release ALL the time at the studio where I teach - it's the bead release of choice there. Which is why I use the Dip 'n' Go at home . Fusion is a nice, inexpensive middle of the road release. It's fine for experienced bead makers - who don't abuse the bead release, and those who don't push the envelope by making big complex beads. I find that it can be hard to get the beads off - students struggle with it and frequently get "pot stickers," "plant friends," "cake testers," and other permanently welded-onto-the-mandrel objects.

I like a bead release that releases more easily, and hangs on better after an hour of working. I find the Fusion, if you touch it just a little with a marver while working, breaks up, usually flaking and sticking to the bead - and sticking the bead to the mandrel. And once it starts to go - you're screwed. (Unlike Foster Fire, which can break loose from the mandrel, but remain intact under the glass. I have worked over huge cracks in Foster Fire and still gotten the bead off. And just the other day - I made a bead on a curved mandrel dipped in Foster Fire that I swear, I must have dipped over a year ago! The bead release was sliding off the end by the time I was done - but the bead came off the mandrel just fine!)

And for beads that are worked hard, like the Smircich gravity wave and intense black webbing effect - where you really cook the bead - getting these off the mandrel with the Fusion is a b-----.

It really does need some drying time too - 20 mins or so - before hitting it with the flame.

On the plus side, it's inexpensive and comes in a huge bottle so you can really get a nice long dip - great for mandrels where you are making 10 beads at a time.

It's not a bad choice for a production studio environment, and it is fairly thin - which means it doesn't make the bead hole significantly larger.

It is tougher to get the beads off - the gal at the studio that pulls the beads has had significant issues with carpal tunnel and this may well have been a contributing factor.

I had a sample of the Krag Mudd when it first came out - a minuscule sample - and a set of instructions that seemed to indicate that it should be applied over a previous dip of another bead release - which confused the heck out of me. I think I tried it once - and the sample was so small that was about it - the jar was too short to dip. So it's fair to say that I haven't really tried it.

Really - bead release needs to be packaged in taaaaaall, skinny jars.

Smooth and Tuff - Not!

Oh dear. Another bead release that I don't like. I am sooooo sorry, but the new "Smooth and Tuff" - I have never met a more inappropriately named product. This stuff is neither smooth, nor tough. It's texture is like it has grit dumped into it - bigger than sand, smaller than pebbles - mostly. Have you ever worked with clay that has ground fired clay mixed into it for strength and texture? This is exactly what this is like - lumpy and gritty. And the lumps show on the dipped mandrels - smooth? Ha! This is soooo not smooth!

As for tough! The stuff flakes and peels and breaks off the mandrel before you've finished winding the glass! Argh.

I try to be fair, so maybe this is a bad batch that got cooked in transit. No, wait, mine was hand-delivered direct from a show. Maybe it doesn't like flying. Anyway - I'm going back to my old favourite - Dip 'n' go.

Nessie Ice is Nice

Nessie Ice it's called - and the rods vary, some look black, some are a dark blue/green.

It is a very dark colour, too dark to use by itself, see spacer on far left. Laying over white reveals it's true nature, green with tendrils of blue, like swimming through an underwater weed bed - which is a very bizarre sensation, btw, if you haven't tried it. The soft touches of the weeds are almost reassuring, like they are holding you up, but in the back of your mind is every horror movie you've seen where the diver gets snagged and pulled to the bottom to be eaten by a giant mutant tentacled creature.

But I diverge. ;-)





The larger bead is a clear core, Nessie Ice, encased in clear, and mashed. This shows it's streaky nature well, and the bubbles, a result of my hasty casing, enhance the effect. A few fish murrine on top, and you'd be good to go!

CIM 351 Stone Ground

My first thought, when seeing this glass for the first time, was that it reminded me of the Effetre/Moretti Yellow Opal.


My second thought is that it would strike, as it cools out of the flame to an almost white, and re-introducing it to the flame brings back the colour - but it obviously kiln strikes as well, as these two beads came out of the kiln virtually identical. The one on the left was struck to light brown, and the one on the right went into the kiln w/o any reheating, nearly white in colour.

As it reminded me of Yellow Opal, I tried fuming it - the left end of the bead is fumed with silver, and the right end with gold.

You can see that it has developed a lovely warm, nutty brown, a little more so on the gold-fumed end. Not really the same as fumed opal yellow - which goes more pinky.

It's a nice earthy colour, and worth playing with if you are working with an earthtone colour palette.

CIM 448 Dirty Martini

An odd and intriquing colour - Dirty Martini seems like such an inauspicious name, but yet . . . it seems to fit.

The rod has an interesting shimmer to it - which is not manifest in the bead. The colour itself could best be described as a greeny-grey.







The bead on the left is encased in clear.


The goldy green version was fumed with gold, and went a very nice colour.

An intriguing colour - not so much "pretty" as some, but a good background or base colour and it looks like it might bear more experimentation.

CIM 449 Kryptonite

When I think of "Kryptonite" - I think of a bright, yellow green (like this) - but nevertheless - this is a gorgeous glass. This is a wonderful Seafoam colour - and a colour that has not really been available in the 104 palette - I usually have to go to Bullseye to get this colour - so I am totally pleased to see this one.

It looks translucent in the rod, and works up to be still translucent, but not misty or opal. More like an oily or alabaster glass.

Definitely buying this one!

CIM 550 Chalcedony

Chalcedony - Similar to Halong Bay, but more opaque - it's not a completely opaque colour, but not a misty opal like Halong Bay.

And the colour is such a dead-on match for blue Chalcedony that I am now deeply suspicious of the last batch of blue chalcedony that I bought.

Beautiful colour - I will be buying this one.

CIM 547 Electric Avenue

Ooooo - nice bluuuuuuue. Oh yeah. New from CIM - "Electric Avenue." Great name. Great colour. Oh yeah.

The rod almost looks like a translucent colour - but it seems fairly opaque in a bead - maybe when used very thin . . . .

It is also an awesome shade of teal when hot - too bad CIM hasn't made that colour yet - (hint, hint).

Gorgeous glass - love. Will buy lots of this.
Oh, and because I know that you are now humming and have the song stuck in your head, here's the lyrics.

Courtesy of lyricsondemand.com

Down in the street there is violence
And a lots of work to be done
No place to hang out our washing
And I can't blame all on the sun, oh no

CHORUS:
We gonna rock down to Electric Avenue
And then we'll take it higher
Oh we gonna rock down to Electric Avenue
And then we'll take it higher

Workin' so hard like a soldier
Can't afford a thing on TV
Deep in my heart I'm a warrior
Can't get food for them kid, good God

CHORUS

Oh no...
Oh no...
Oh no...
Oh no...

CHORUS

Who is to blame in one country
Never can get to the one
Dealin' in multiplication
And they still can't feed everyone, oh no

CHORUS

Out in the street...
Out in the street...
Out in the playground...
In the dark side of town...

CHORUS

Rock it in the daytime
Rock it in the night ...

Dirty Looie's Bead Release

A new bead release, and I wish I could say I loved it. But it's not making it to my favorites list.

First of all, I will say this in it's favor - the label says that it cleans out nicely from transparent beads and leaves a cleaner than usual hole. This is true, it does this and does it well. Now, for the bad news.

The first jar I got (the larger one) was just plain defective - it didn't work - the bead release on the mandrels curled and cracked in the flame - lifted off and broke, even before I got the glass anywhere near it. I thought perhaps it was too thin, so I tried leaving the lid off and letting it "dry out" a bit. No change. And btw - this bead release separates like I have never seen a bead release separate before - with about an inch of clear liquid floating on the top of the larger bottle. This is not just a settling in transit thing, as it will do it from one usage to the next.

So, to be fair, as the endorser/developer (not clear which) - Lewis C Wilson - is someone who's work I have a great deal of respect for - I tried a fresh bottle. This worked significantly better, and actually functioned as a bead release. It is not particularly strong, I got some failures, where the bead release breaks during making the bead, but it was reasonably good, and, it does clean out very nicely. Not the easiest to slip the bead off after, but not a problem in any way.

However, the dipped mandrels do NOT age well - perhaps it's the humidity here - but I find that the mandrels I have that are still dipped with it, and were dipped about a week ago, when I put them in the flame - the bead release cracks and curls and flakes off.

IMHO - this bead release is too finicky for my personal taste - perhaps it might work better for others in a different environment - but I'm giving it a pass. Sorry.

Must have colours of the season: Kiwi and Laguna Blue!

Two new MUST HAVE colours - boy are these fabulous! These are new colours from Moretti - not odd lots but regular, production colours.

First Up - Laguna Blue - Mor630. This is a lovely streaky blue. It looks like a translucent as a rod, but works up to a transparent blue streaked with opaque blue. No effort required. This is delightful!




















Next up - Kiwi - Mor620 - a name evoking the bright green flesh of the fruit of the Kiwi, as opposed to the hairy brown outer layer, or the beady-eyed, elusive and flightless bird of New Zealand (which also has a hairy brown outer layer.) ;-)

Bright transparent green streaked with opaque - a mouthwatering colour. Truly juicy.

Think backgrounds for florals. Maybe stringers for leaves - haven't tried that yet - not sure if the streakiness works in a stringer, will have to check. Think effortless interesting spacers! Definite recommended!

Double Helix: Kronos and Luna

This vessel is made with a top of Kronos and the body in dark ivory trailed with Luna.

The Krono changes to a metallic blue green as it is worked, as in the top of the vessel. When it is first applied, as in the dots and the tip of the vessel, without heating and cooling, it is much darker and bluer, more like the colour that it is in the rod.

The Luna has reacted with the ivory to create a grey demarkation line and has also fumed the ivory, making it darker.

Sasha's Silver and Luna

Sash's silver is another high silver content glass, from Precision104 (you might remember it as one of the Rocio Bearer glasses.)

A lovely shade of blue, it is a different colour whether encased or not. The bicone was made with a core of clear. Trails of Sasha's Silver in the middle, and Luna (Double Helix) on the end. The whole bead was partially encased and shaped. Some fo the Sasha's Silver and some of the Luna is encased, some is not.








These lentils were made pretty much the same way, but the trails of glass are smaller and thinner, and are mingled together instead of staying discrete. Again, they are a clear core, and partially encased. Mashing them into a brass press cools them more rapidly and seems to affect the colours as well.

Double Helix: Khaos and Psyche

It takes much longer to get one's head around the complex colours of the Double Helix glass than it does an ordinary, non-reactive glass. With all the variabilities and possibilities, sometimes, I'm not sure at first what is making the difference. But here are some of the possibilities!

This vessel is made with the top made of Psyche - which looks black, until you hit it with a reducing flame.









The body of the vessel is made with Dark Ivory (Vetro), and striped with Khaos. The Khaos looks ivory when applied, after being cooled and reheated many times in the creation of the handles, it looks purple. It comes out of the kiln darker than when it went in.

Notice that the reducing stage appears to have fumed the ivory as the high silver content of the Double Helix has an effect on the ivory glass.









This bumpy bead is Opal Yellow, dotted with ivory, dotted with Psyche, and reduced.

Note the fine black line that formed around the Psyche dots.















And finally, this is a yellow opal base, with stripes of Psyche, raked, and reduced. Note each stripe looks like about 7 different stripes. The Psyche here is a less intense colour (less glass to begin with) and is more greenish.

The Opal Yellow appears to have fumed as well.

I love exploring and playing with these colours!

CIM 645 Heffalump

What a stunningly beautiful colour in the rod. What a b---- to photograph!

Heffalumps and woozles - anyone with kids knows the nightmarish heffalump, a soft purpley-elephantish beast. The rods of glass are a truly beautiful colour, exactly heffalump colour, but photographing them! Oh my! I'm no slouch in the photography department, but the first photo on the right is the best I can get, which is under pure incandescent light and grossly underexposed.






These next pictures (the wrap is EDP) shows how washed out the colour becomes. This glass does NOT show an obvious colour change to the human eye, unlike Alexandrite or the colour shift blue/lavendar of the Moretti colour palette. It is just exhibiting a colour that the CCD of the camera cannot capture.

Overall - a pretty colour, a soft, pale purple but those who make beads for sale online will curse it - as getting a good picture of it will be a challenge.























This last picture is CIM Sapphire over Heffalump. A pretty purple combination - I had to adjust it in Photoshop to get an accurate colour representation though.

CIM 543 Sapphire

CIM Sapphire, a transparent medium blue before heating, comes out of the kiln a much darker blue, and actually, more of a true gemstone sapphire colour, as opposed to the very blue sapphire colour that is usually indicated in the world of commercially made glass beads!

It's a very nice, sophisticated dark blue, with a hint of streakiness to it. Quite a surprise, really. I can see definite uses for this one!

CIM 644 Dusk and CIM 742 Sepia

Dusk and Sepia - sister colours with a secret! These two shocked me, as they are completely not the colour that they are in the rod before being worked!

Dusk and Sepia arrive as light transparent purple rods, Dusk reminding you of warm summer evenings at dark - in that special time I think of as "in between the can and the can't." Sepia just looks misnamed. I grew up with pen and ink drawings. I know what colour sepia is - purple it ain't!

However! Both colours come out of the kiln a transparent brown! Sepia is well named after all, and Dusk is the inappropriate name, unless we're thinking Dusk in some desert city with a sandstorm coming in!

Dusk is the darker of the two shades, but otherwise, they are very similar. Left, is Dusk over Heffalump (more on that in a bit) and on the right is dusk over ivory.

I was quite surprised at the colour change in these two, and I hear that one of them does interesting reactions - although I haven't tracked them down yet.








This vessel is sepia over silver foil, and has produced a nice rich antique gold look, much like the very expensive Moretti Straw colour.