Gathering Goodies

I wanted to show you most of my Gathering purchases this year. I've accumulated a lot of tools and fun toys over the years, so some of my choices were planned and others were whim.

From top to bottom and left to right, (kind of) - my new CIM glass from Frantz. There were some colors there that just sang to me. Soft, gentle whispers of glass that will be so pretty in my beads.

And you'll see some sleeves laying on top of the glass. I teach private lessons to younger students. And sometimes, they're a little afraid of the flame. I pop them into my leather apron, but wanted additional protection. The sleeves should help them feel more safe and secure when torching.

There's a little plier type tool with two facing sharp points. I have no idea what it's called and what exactly I will use it for, but it looks interesting. I also bought 2 large cone shaped mandrels. I will enjoy using these. Again- it probably won't be for traditional usage. I use smaller ones for bobbleheads and think these might be used in a similar manner.

And can you see the oval hollow tube? It looks like someone just flattened one end. it will make great oval interior beads that will slide onto flatter ribbons and watch bands, etc. but I want to experiment with it too. I've got ideas- just need time to experiment.

On the bottom left is a package of Gathering postcards. Each year I buy a package and felt quite honored that my postcard was chosen to be on top. How lucky was that!! But I have to say, there were a lot of gorgeous individual and group photos. Katherine Wadsworth's postcard beads are always a standout for me.

You'll also see a disk with The Flow magazine on it. I re-subscribed and bought some back issues. I am resolved to keep up with my subscription. I love the magazine want to do more with it.

And I wanted to point out a gift on the far right. At open torch, Jeb and Julie of Double Helix Glass gave away samples of their fabulous silver glass. What a generous and very appreciated gesture. They were so organized, they had also printed out labels, so we would be able to keep all straight. Very impressive and that kindness has made me want to do more with their glass.

And finally, not pictured, but much anticipated--- an additional concentrator that Ross from ABR Imagery will be shipping to me. I want to tie it together with my existing one and see if I can get enough power to fire up some of my bigger torches. When forming my last big project, I had a heck of a time working within my smaller flame. It will be nice having an option for more complex pieces.

Silver Glass Class 4

I promised to finish up talking about my Reactive Silver Glass Class this week, so here's the last installment. I saved my favorite for last.

To refresh your memory, I told you that the silver glass is divided into two categories: Striking and Reducing. And by far, the reducing is my personal favorite.

Now I've always had a taste of reductive glass. We've had silver blue, silver brown and bunch of others available for a long time. But some of the new ones on the market do make me swoon, at least just a bit.

This top seashell has both cased aventurine as well as "Psyche" which mostly turned purple for me. (woohoo!)
I sure liked the color I got from it. Others in my class also got some blue out of it. I really liked the purple though.

This bottom shell was made using my very favorite reduction glass, Aurae. I love the golden look, (but be careful if you're reducing it- it can easily fume other glass) I also got a little of the multi-hue from it too. This shell looks even prettier in person.

So here are my favorites and they are all Double Helix brands- Aurae & Triton are my top two- after that, I liked Psyche, Gaia and Elecktra.

Now here's what I learned about using reduction glass...you don't need to blast it with a bunch of propane. Turn down your oxy a bit and let little bits of small propane rich flame lick the glass. It seemed to work well for me. Just think of a tongue sized (ew gross, I know- but you get the visual on it), flame and just barely have it touch your glass. In and out of the flame for short amounts of time.

I imagine that different oxygen -propane combinations work too. Depending on your oxygen situation- tank versus different sized concentrators, what your settings are on your regulators, etc. And also what you ate for breakfast, the humidity and whether you are day dreaming about the perfect bead. Okay, maybe the some of the last ones aren't quite as important, but you get the idea.

If you can handle details, it would be so good for you to keep some records of what you do with each type of glass. Now I want you to go forth and try things and let us all know about your experiences.

Silver Glass Class 3

My next silver glass tip, is something that is pretty important. Did you know that there are two categories of silver glass? One is reducing and the other is striking. Geesh, I was so far behind, I didn't even know that.

I've got two samples of striking colors on seashells. I used seashells to try out the different glasses and techniques, because they are sculptural with the ruffled lip and yet have some relatively smooth surfaces of regular beads. I thought this would give me both styles and an idea of how the glass reacts with both.

Both of the seashells were decorated with blown shards of the striking silver glass. I used a hollow mandrel to blow the bubble and then applied the broken pieces to the base bead.
(That's always fun!)

The top bead used Double Helix's Elektra Glass shards on an ivory base bead . You can see how the silver glass partially fumed the rest of the bead in places. I know you can get a variety of colors and metallic finishes with that glass, but I was going for the turquoise end of it.

The bottom seashell used Raku R108 shards that I blew. I applied them to an ivory base and added additional ink blue for the edge of the ruffle for fun. You can click on the link to my Etsy shop for more views of it.

I found when making the shells as samples, if I used the base bead color as the dots on top of the shell, it was easier to remember what I had done.

After I applied the shards and melted them in, I slightly marvered with my brass Stump Shaper. This was as much to chill the glass and help bring out the color. Both glass types were quick to do that. If I wanted, I could have cooled and then slightly reheated to strike the glass some more. I kept my flame slightly oxygenated for this.

So if you are a newbie like I am, you have a little homework. Go separate your glass. Not only should it all be labeled, but you should know which rods are striking and which ones are reducing. It makes a huge difference on you treat them to get the color out of them. And if they are both, it's your call. I bet you can guess what I'll be writing about next time it's a "silver glass" blog day. Yes, my favorite of the two types, striking glass. Love the shine!