The first installment of GlassClass 101 starts this saturday!
This bead is a first try at a custom order. It’s HUGE – approx. 2.5″ – I like it but the colours aren’t working for me. I used three different shades of red frit for some colour gradations in the leaves and they all came out looking exactly the same. WAY annoying.
These are my test beads from last week. They may not remain tests for long though, as their remakes were NOT an improvement. dammit.
On the good side that bead on the far right is my first bead to ever come out exactly the way i wanted (better even!) – i love it and it’s MINE.
Aaah well, back to the torch!
This is a quick pic of the results of yesterday’s torch session and the bits and pieces that went into making these two beads.
At the top is my marver with the three types of frit ( tiny glass chips) i used. (you can ignore the red powder, that’s the enamel i used for this morning’s torch session.) Then the two little strips of pure 99.9% fine silver foil – that’s what gives the beads their luscious sparkle.
In front are the two rods used for the base glass. Yup, that light blue rod made that awesome rusty red colour in the back bead as well – cool, huh? It’s called reducing, which means bringing to the surface the metals used to colour the glass. This time i did it kinda by accident but I’m gradually learning how to do it on purpose – it’s really quite a neat effect.
1. The logo is growing on me: It needs a clearer pic in the background but i now quite like the combination of the very hot logo and the very cool theme
2. Taking sharp macro shots of tiny beads is HARD: I must have taken over 100 pictures by now and i’m not happy with any of them. I bought a new camera on the weekend which seems to take better macro shots so we’ll see how my next photo session goes…
3. I need to take more time to torch: Life (and that damn day job!) are getting in the way of my torch time. Maybe I better schedule my time – kinda like torching is my part time job… hmmm.
4. Random thought: Have I mentioned lately that i absolutely LOVE playing with hot glass?
5. Glass Class 101: Yes, i’m starting a new series of blog posts in just a few days where i’ll try to answer most of the questions I’ve been asked about lampwork beads. Are you excited? I am! Post or email your questions – i’ll do my best to answer them! And be sure to check back in regularly…
Evelyn Duberry - Glass Artist 
