Bead Fail!

May 14, 2009 at 8:56 pm (glass, lampwork)
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Last couple of outings have not been so great. No plan. Wait, I knew that.

One thing I did learn: Even though I’m practicing encasing, it is counterproductive to encase a perfectly good bead just for its own sake.

Made three “subtle stripe” beads last night, and each one is wonky-shaped. Bad.

Made a poor excuse for a “goddess bead” night before last. Finally took a good look at it this morning, and it’s not horrible. Just nothing new.

I need to give my next torch session more thought. Have a, you know, creative process instead of just grabbing stuff.

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More Twists and Silly Bead

May 2, 2009 at 2:43 am (glass, lampwork, twisted cane)
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Made a complex twistie that I was really happy with, two larger rods (electric blue and cobalt) and two white stringers between. Then I decided I wanted to use it on a bead, but didn’t make a plan. This is what happened.

Ridiculous Bead 3

Totally silly. I made a pretty nicely shaped cylinder, then used a shaping tool to make a “neck”. Then started applying the blue twistie to the top and twirling and dragging almost compulsively. I can’t leave anything alone for a second! This is why I don’t have two beads alike. When I encased the whole mess, I got a big glob of clear on one side, so made some grooves in the glass and applied light blue dots.

The bottom part I just used some of the twisted cane stringers, melted them in and dragged the melted glass with a pick. Add a few dots and voila! One. Silly. Bead.

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Kontrol

January 11, 2008 at 5:53 am (glass, lampwork)
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I have so many things I am still working on. Dot consistency, size and placement, are two things that are a constant bugaboo. I try to make the best even if my touch is off, by raking or encasing or wha’ever.

Tonight I grabbed a handful of blue rods, at random, from cheap glass I had gotten from eBay when I first started. I made a large ink blue base bead, then stacked dots about 6 high (alternating white and different shades of blue, xparent and opaque) and melted them flat. I could see that they were drooping one into the other, so I grabbed a rake and drug it through the middle. I think it’s going to be a very nice bead.

Waiting for the render………..

blue_swirl

The shape is a little off, but the swirly design is very satisfying.

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