Experiment: Hadar's Quick Fire Clay - Rose Bronze on a Lampwork Bead

 Ha - I told you I would try the bronze as well. 

This is a metal clay product. In case you are completely new to jewelry, or have been living under a rock for a decade or so, you can buy clays that are largely metal. When you fire them, the binder clay burns off and they "sinter" and become all metal pieces. It's very, very cool. There has been lots happening in the last couple of years with non-precious metal clays being made - that can actually be afforded by mere mortals. The sky-rocketing price of silver has forced the price of the silver clays into the stratosphere, and that they are distributed by the manufacturer in a manner that is much more like multi-level marketing than it is like regular wholesale/retail process hasn't really helped either.

Anyway - I thought I would try some of this on a bead. As I did in my previous experiment - I made a core bead, rolled it in the powder, and applied heat. This one was not quite as difficult to get the bronze to stick as the copper. But the end result - well - it puts the ugh in ugly.

 For my next attempt, I did the same, base bead white, roll in powder, but I encased this one. Some cool hints of red in there! This one did not crack either.

 With the first experiment, I encased the bead and it cracked all to pieces - but just the encasing. This is the copper powder again, but not encased. When it was hot, I could see some hints of green (on the right, below the mandrel) - and while the bead did not break - lordy - it ain't purdy.

So - I tried it - meh. Not getting anything I think is worth pursuing. I can get nicer results using pieces of copper metal.

Effetre Silver #1

 Another Silver glass from Effetre! This one labeled "#1."


Again, I had no idea whether I had a striker or a reducer on my hands.







This is a core of clear, heat the #1 to clear, and encase. Cool, and strike. I thought I saw some purple on it at this stage - but it disappeared. I reduced it, and no change. I encased it in clear - no change. I mashed it, and used the spiral press.

This one is a clear core, encased in #1, cool. Heated to clear, cool. Kilned - I notice that it struck to this dark amber colour as it cooled. It has a slight haze to it, hard to spot in these photos. 

I don't know. Did I over heat it? It's a nice smokey topaz, but am I supposed to get excited over it? Maybe it would be better combining it with something that reacts with silver. Maybe trails of ivory.

Not unattractive, but rush out and stock up? Needs further research before going there!

CiM 405: Emerald City

 Don't know how I missed this one - this is CiM Emerald City.

It's a very dark green - lovely colour once spread thin.

The two beads on the left are self coloured, the 3rd from the left is over white, and the one on the right is over clear.

Lovely shade of green - but so dark it is almost black. Use for encased stringer or other thin applications.

Effetre High Silver #4

 Looks like Effetre (Moretti) is taking a run at the high-silver or silver-saturated glasses. And why not, why should they miss out on all the fun?

This was labeled "#4" - so I don't know what the name is.

What I can tell you is that reducing it hot or cold makes a big difference!





This is a clear core, encased in #4. At this point - I didn't know if I was dealing with a striker, or a reducer. So I heated it to clear hot (mostly, anyway), and then struck it. Didn't do anything. So then I tried reducing it. It quickly developed a metallic surface. I reduced it again. Et voila!

Still checking for striking, I made the two on the left, heated to clear, then made bead, and the two on the right, I made much cooler. I struck all four, and then reduced the two on the right. Which you would never guess from the colours.

 Here, all three have a clear core, and encased with #4. The one on the left was reduced hot (while the bead is still glowing) and the two on the right were reduced cool (wait for the bead to stop glowing before introducing to a reduction flame.)

 

In cross section, the rod has multiple layers (rings) - so I'm not sure how that effects the colours you get either. The colours I got are interesting, but I think further practice with this one is in order to see if I can get anything brighter, less moody-broody.

Goldstone Stringer

If you make your own goldstone stringer - have you tried making it with an encasing colour OTHER than clear?

This is handmade goldstone stringer, encased in Rubino.

Who'd a thunk it?

I got this from a couple of different classes I've taken. Maybe everyone but me knew about it.

To make your own goldstone stringer, buy a chunk (or chunks) of goldstone. Select a piece about the size of a walnut, or perhaps a little smaller if this scares you.

(If your piece is too big, wrap some sturdy fabric around it, a chunk of leather is great, and put it on the floor and hit it with a hammer.)

Pop it in the kiln to warm up - you don't have to put it in a cold kiln, just put it in the kiln at your regular temperature, and let it warm up for a while. 15 mins or so - longer is ok. (I once put a piece in the kiln, forgot about it, was reminded when I emptied the kiln, left it there, forgot it again, kept doing that for a week! It was fine!)

When you are ready - punty onto the chunk in the kiln. To do this, take a nice long piece of clear, melt the end, reach into the kiln with the clear, and stick it onto the chunk. Take it out of the kiln and go to the torch. Start way out at the end of the flame, warming it.

You want to warm it enough to soften the goldstone and refine the shape before encasing, as it is probably pretty lumpy and irregular. Warm it slowly and keep it moving. Don't let it start to glow red, especially on the edges. As soon as it is soft enough to shape, squeeze it into a brick with your mashers. As it approached the right temperature to work, it will look dull and dark - but it will be soft enough to move, BEFORE it starts to flow and glow. This is important. If you get it all flowy and glowy before encasing - it will not have as much sparkle. Continue to work up in the cool, end of the flame. Patience is key here.

As soon as it is mashed into a shape that is reasonably regular and that you can encase, go ahead and encase it. As I mentioned, it doesn't have to be with clear. These pics show Rubino Oro over goldstone and it is pretty fabulous.

Once it is encased, add another punty (handle) to the opposite end, and now you can start heating. Again, the appearance of the glass will be deceiving. It will stay looking dark for a long time while you drive the heat into it. (It's ok to go for glowing now.) Be sure and wait until it is soft right through the middle before you pull - so that you get a nice, even stringer.

Don't use goldstone beads that you might find. While these are the same thing - Goldstone - you don't know if it is the same COE - if it is compatible or not.

Why make your own? Other than cost? Commercial goldstone stringer tends to be less sparkly, and of course, doesn't come in colours. It can be hard to find too. Goldstone rod - also encased, but a thicker rod - sort of like filigrana - tends to be as shocky as all get out. The flat ribbon is fabulous, but, colors, cost, etc.

So, if you have that chunk that you bought a while back, and haven't worked up the nerve to use, it's time to dig it out, warm it up, and encase it to make something fabulous!

Nice, eh?

Nice, eh? What is it?

Not sure.

My NOTES say that it was Belladonna Aqua Splash - but I'm not seeing ANY hint of the underlying transparent aqua - so I'm not sure I believe it. Might be the wrong mandrel.

Anyway - they are pretty cool - so I thought I'd share them any way. ;-)

Belladonna: Aqua Splash

Belladonna is a Boutique glass - just offering a few, select, specialty colours. This is Aqua Splash. It is an intense aqua colour that reduces.

These are 5 self-colored spacers - all reduced. 

This is a base of white, with stripes of Aqua Splash, then reduced. The white has fumed to a dark ivory colour. The Aqua Splash kept going muddy on my, and I had to unreduce it a number of times. Finally, I got it to reduce in a manner that I didn't hate.

It's not so much a metallic reduction as more a misty/cloudy type effect. With some hints of iridescence.

Torch Test: Bethlehem Alpha: Second Impression

I wanted to see how the Alpha would perform with a single oxygen concentrator.  Not everyone has two of them under the table!

This is the Alpha on a single, 5 litre oxy con. While it does melt glass and make beads - I would find it frustrating to work this small.

  And here - the bead has struck - it's Rubino.

You can get a wicked sharp flame - so if 10 mm x 6 mm beads are your thang - there you go. Personally - I would be gnawing a leg off with frustration.

--

These were both done on the Alpha using just the 9 litre oxygen concentrator. There was easily enough heat for this small sculptural bird skull, and also enough to make the 4 rather lumpy - deliberately lumpy - spacers. My intention is to sand-blast these for an even more bone-like look.

I thought I would see how it does with boro too. For this, I turned the second concentrator on - so this is a 9 litre plus a 5 litre. I'm not sure how much difference the 2nd concentrator actually made. Anyhoo - this is a boro icicle. It's not very large - see second picture for scale - and it's not particularly wonderful, because - well - it's Boro - and I don't do boro - so what the heck do I know. But it did seem to be melting it adequately.

Overall - the Alpha pumps out a lot of heat - concentrated into a small area. The reversed controls from the Nortel torches that I am used to are annoying to me - I have to think very deliberately before turning the torch off - but that's just because of what I am used to. It has the capacity to make a very focused, tight flame, without it getting turbulent. I think this is a good choice for those interested in detail work. It really does want the bigger concentrator, though.

Making Better Flowers & Leaves

Want to make your flowers and leaves more realistic looking? Here's a video that will give you a deeper understanding of how petals and leaves grow and form patterns.

It's not glass - but it's good stuff and anything that helps you understand the world is a good thing. ;-)

Plus, I think it's just really, really cool.

Effetre 756: Rogue

 Rogue - an interesting streaky grey - streaked with browns.

Not sure if this is a reaction, like a reduction, or a streakiness. Any way - these four spacers are just wound out of Rogue. The grey is a sort of a blue grey - and the brown streaks - which are variable - almost like a transparent - add a very interesting and organic touch.

Normally - I would assume this is a streaky glass - but something about the end of the partially worked rod just has me wondering about that.

Anyway - interesting colour and bears further experimentation.

CiM 106: Firecracker

 CiM Firecracker.  A juicy and delicious new red.

CiM describes Firecracker as an Opaque, but when diluted with clear, or only partially struck - it is a transparent.

It really is a wonderful shade of red - it might be my new favorite red! 








Here, on the left, self coloured, wound, relatively cool. On the right, made a gather first - heated to clear hot, self struck as it cooled. Kilned, no further striking.

 Here, the one on the left was heated a lot - you see some streakiness in it. The one on the right has a clear core.

 Just for fun, clear core, streak of Firecracker, allow to droop, cap of clear.

More spacers - each a slightly different shade, depending on the degree of heating. 

 This is a base of firecracker, encase clear, Goldstone stringer, mash, press pattern.

And finally - Firecracker. with dot of clear. 

Firecracker is a transparent red - ranging from amber through orange to red, depending on the degree of striking. It does tend to develop cloudiness as it is worked, but it is a delicious and juicy colour with no hint of liveriness (brown-ness).

Yum.

Torching for Beads of Courage @ BeadFX

Attention Lampworkers!

Support Beads of Courage - at BeadFX - Sep 29

BeadFX is having a Beads of Courage Day. BeadFX is donating torch time, Nortel Mfg & Creation is Messy is donating glass. Lampworkers - come and give your time and talent to make beads for Beads of Courage.

Saturday, Sep 29 - 9 am to 6 pm.

Phoning to reserve a torch is encouraged - but drop-ins are welcome - based on availability. Some glass will be provided, but feel free to bring your own as well.

Learn more about beads of courage here: http://www.beadsofcourage.org/pages/about.htm

Bead Release: Foster Fire

Foster Fire Bead Release.

It's back.

And it's good.

Foster Fire has a bit of history behind it. When it first came on the scene - quite a few years ago - I adored it. It held up to my big beads, and was the ONLY bead release that worked with those curved mandrels from Inspiration.

However, I noticed that it stopped being great - and became mediocre - and I drifted away from it - trying and liking other bead releases over the years.

Then - this came back into my hands again. "Uh," I said, "Um - I have really liked this for awhile."

Try it again, I was urged.

The story is, briefly - that the original owner and inventor - Robin Foster - sold the business - and the new proprietor tinkered with the formula.

Ms Foster has now bought her company back - can't begin to tell you how often that happens! - and is now producing it again with the original formula.

So - does it work? Oh yeah.

It does need a little drying time - about 10 - 20 mins - depending on the humidity. I find that if the bead release is dripping wet - it will pop and fly off the mandrel - so let it dry a little before using the flame to finish drying it.

Or leave over night.

It will sometimes develop small cracks in the bead release when heated - and remember - I am using a big torch (Nortel Mid-range) - but they cracks don't open up and you can actually lay down the glass over the cracks without fear of the glass sticking to the mandrel.

It does stand up to the weight of the big beads - although the intense heat does seem to make the unprotected (un-covered) bead release more subject to breaking away.

Pulling the beads, however, is a dream. These slide off like they are buttered.

And this is a huge plus as far as I am concerned. I HATE pulling beads.

So Yay! Foster Fire is back and as good as it used to be.

(Kind of nice to be able to say that about anything!)

Torch Test: Bethlehem Alpha: First Impressions

No - I haven't abandoned my beloved Mid-Range Plus - but I do have a change to test drive the Bethlehem Alpha.

Holy cr4p - this sucker pumps out heat.


 The first impression of this torch is that it is a stylish and sexy piece of equipment.

My initial uses - this torch can really get things hot. It is a fairly fine flame - capable of a fine point - but very intense. It doesn't have the wide flame of my Mid-Range - which allows me to easily make an entire mandrel of beads - I can easily do 8 beads at a time on the Mid-Range. The flame width is about the same as the Nortel Minor -  but more intense. You really have to turn it down or work further out if you want to work cooler.

I'm currently running it off 2 concentrators - a 9 litre and a 5 litre. It is certainly possible to boil colours that you didn't know could boil.

 I think I'd actually like to have one of these mounted on top of my Mid-Range.

Intense flame - making a mess of my bead release

My first impression is quite favourable - I'll keep you posted as I go.

CiM 506 Moana Ltd Run

Wow.

CiM Moana - described as a "teal opal" by CiM.


The sample beads are laying on my desk - catching my eye, over and over.

CiM has classified this with the blues - as opposed to the greens - and it is that shade of blue-green that you could argue all day that it belongs with the greens - until you put it next to a grass green - and then you put it with the blues - until you put it next to a royal blue.

Truly - right down the middle - this is a translucent teal - and it positively glows. The photos do not begin to do it justice.


Below, we have (from the Left) - a Marker bead in Effetre Petroleum Green (for reference), Self-coloured Moana, Self-coloured Moana with Ivory Dots (look at that edge pattern! Whoo hoo!) - and Moana over white.

Your monitor will vary - on mine - it appears bluer than it does on my desk - but so does the pet. green - so the relationship between the two stays the same.

This is a really, really lovely colour.

CiM 304: Sunny Side Up

Yum! CiM 304 Sunny Side Up is a deep, streaky yellow - like egg yolks! It is a rich, warm colour - and goes a little bit darker and orangey-er than the unworked rod.

I wonder if deep heating it - to clear - would give you a transparent bead? Hmmm.

Perfect colour for the fall, or sunflowers. 

Midnight Deserted

Just trying to recreate a bead that I made a few years ago.

As I remember it, it was:

• clear core
• ivory encase one end
• Sasha's Silver the other - don't make the encasing perfect (holes in the encasing show as dark patches)
• mash

Doesn't look quite the same though. Wonder what I've mis-remembered. 

Keep notes, folks. Keep notes.

Here are the originals - in a necklace.  

Hmmm - the more I look at these - the more I think it wasn't ivory. Maybe DaVinci? And obviously - some have white underneath. Hmmmm.

Brass Stamps!

 The more I use tools for stamping and pressing texture into glass - the more I like them. The very opposite, in fact, of my response to presses for shaping - which, the more I use, the less I like.  ;-)

A friend brought this back for me from her travels - so no idea where it comes from. I just had time for one quick bead with it - but I'm definitely looking forward to using it more.

It really adds interest to a no-interest bead!

Experiment: Hadar's Quick Fire Clay - Copper on a Lampwork Bead

 Some of us will stick anything on a bead. After all - if you don't try - how will you find the next wonderful thing?

Metal Clays - if you haven't been paying attention - have come a long way - with quite a few competing brands and more options than just Fine Silver anymore.

This is a fine powder - you mix it up yourself - from Hadar Jacobsen.

I poured some into a frit tray, made a white bicone, and then rolled the bead in the clay powder.

It needed a lot of heat to get it to stick - much higher than just getting frit to stick to a bead.

Heating the copper clay powder after applying it to the bead made the copper powder go black - no surprise there.

I then encased it, and finished shaping it, and kilned it.

Two observations: One is, I got pretty colours - intense dark reds and some purple blue.

 And the other is - it is massively incompatible. Whoa-nelly - just look at those cracks!

 Although - they just appear to be in the clear. I wonder if I did it again and didn't encase it ... .

PS. I don't know if it gives off toxic fumes. It's didn't smell particularly noxious - but that's not much to go on. It flared up and burned with a greenish flame at one point when I applied it to the bead, but not for more than a half-second. But the point is, I don't know if what I did was stunningly unsafe - if you choose to try this or other things like it - you do so at your own risk.