lampworking Tips and Tricks

Photography tip for shooting clear dichroic

After photographing  some Dichroic Scraps and I discovered something I wanted to share.

The Dichroic Scraps will be on sale in the Fun House so they needed some photos. The scarps were of dichroic on clear. I had a problem was when I was photographing them on white I was loosing all detail.

So what I did was place a black piece of foam-core out of frame to see if I could get a little contrast and something really cool happened. The color on the Dichroic Scraps jumps out.

Here is what append when I placed a black piece of foam-core behind it.

As you can see it made an amazing difference. So if you’re having problems photographing dichroic beads try putting something dark  next to it out of frame.

Torso Beads by Joy Munshower

One of our customers, Joy Munshower, posted some wonderful torso beads made with the Effetre glass rod colors ( Sunset, Alexandrite, Green Tea, Earth, Dark Ivory, and Neptune) and Vetrofond glass rod ( Topaz ODD ). They were such great examples of these colors I thought I would share them in this blog.

The murrini used were by Donna Millard

Effetre Neptune (591230)

"Here's the fun side-by-side, before-and-after shots of a female torso sculpted out of "Neptune" glass. When I sculpt it it develops the "pewter" finish over its surface (and "haloed" around the Morning Glory murrini by Donna Millard interestingly)… I then etched the bead to expose the gorgeous mottled teal beneath." – Joy Munshower

Effetre Alexandrite (591226)

I would like to see this bead in person because Effetre Alexandrite shifts hue slightly with different light.

Effetre Earth Cool Color (591688)

Effetre Sunset Pastel (591206)

Effetre Green Tea Cool Color (591680)

This Green Tea bead looks like it was sculpted out of a Marble.

Vetrofond Topaz ODD (791989)

Effetre Dark Ivory (591276)

For more images check out her Facebook page.

Tips and Techniques: More about Using Dichroic Glass

Techniques for working 104 COE dichroic glass that is on sale starting July 16,2010, a great chance to try this beautiful sparkly glass. Read more

Tips & Techniques: How to Utilize Conical Rods

Frantz Art Glass & Supply currently has a sale going on for a bunch of glass colors in conical form. Any glass color that has conical rods in the batch is indicative that the glass color was handpulled and not machine made. The conical rods are the part of the glass pull that is closest to the punty, thus the strange shape. Read more

Tips and Techniques: How to Make a Rose Cane

One of the most basic and useful detail elements used in lampworking beads is the rose cane. I notice them being used in the old beads I saw in the catalogs of antique beads that I looked at to teach myself bead designs.  Through experimenting I discovered that the cane needed to be both transparent and opaque to make an effective embellishment.

Though a rose cane is a very effective way to depict a rose on a glass bead, it is also a great detail cane for other decorative applications like feathered lines or bright pink squiggles.

To start making a rose cane, you need a rod of white (I chose Peace by CiM) and a rods of Gold Pink (I chose Cranberry by CiM) and a third rod of clear for the second punty.

Start heating both the white and the pink rods at the same time, but heat the pink more by holding it below the white in the flame because the white will slump much faster than the pink and you need it a little stiff to apply the pink.

Heating Peace and Cranberry rods in torch flame.

As you get a gather of pink on the end of your rod, start applying strips of the pink to about 1 to 1 ½ inches of the white rod.  Continue applying the pink around the white rod until you have coated all the way around.  You can vary the depth of the pink you apply to the white rod depending on how dark you want your rose cane to be.

Applying first strip of Cranberry Pink to rod of Peace.

Once you have the desired thickness of gold pink applied to your white rod, you need to marver the rose cane into a smooth cylinder to insure that the cane pulls evenly.

Stripped cane and next gather of Cranberry Pink.

At this point you need to keep your rose cane warm and apply the second punty to give you a handle to hold onto during the pulling process.  Once the punty is applied and cool enough to not stretch, start moving the pink coated section back and forth in the flame, being sure to rotate it frequently to heat it all the way through.  I like to pull the cane into a football shape when I am heating it to get more of the mass of the cane in the middle and not so much on the punty.

Encased rose cane in flame.

When your cane is thoroughly heated, start pulling slowly at first because white tends to get very liquid and thin out the cane if you pull too fast at the beginning.  When you start feeling a little resistance in the glass, start pulling faster until you achieve the desired size of rose cane that you want.  I like to use a punty that is at least 13 inches long so that I can move my hand down to the far end to extend my reach which helps to get the maximum length out of your cane pull.

Marvering rose cane to smooth surface.

Once you have stopped pulling the cane, hold the cane still and straight until the glass firms up.  White glass stays flexible for an amazing length of time and holding the cane until it is firm saves you from having crooked cane.

Applying punty to rose cane.

Next lay the cane flat on a table placing the right punty down to cut it into usable lengths and let cool until you can pick it up.  If the rose cane appears too light, don’t worry because gold pink tends to strike and un-strike as you heat it and it will develop the desired color when you use the cane.

Heating cane for pulling.

Starting to pull rose cane slowly.

Cutting rose cane with nippers.

Pieces of cut rose cane.

Rose bead made with rose cane.

Bead made with Mermaid (CiM), goldstone ribbon and rose cane.

Oval rose bead encased in blue dichroic.

What You Didn't Know About Goldstone!

Aventurine Marron is the Italian name for a specialty glass the Americans call Goldstone.  Before I got into lampworking I would see cut stones and beads made out of goldstone in lapidary shops and I have always thought it was really cool looking glass.

Large chunk of Goldstone with smaller piece.

Strips of Goldstone ribbon cane.

Frantz Art Glass buys its goldstone/aventurine from Effetre, but on one trip to Murano, Italy we found out that Effetre didn’t actually make the goldstone, but instead was a middle man for another glass company.  This lead us on an adventure to find out where and how it was made because we were looking for a source for larger chunks (fist size boulders), so that we could offer a larger range of goldstone piece sizes.

Gold and red dichroic with swirled goldstone design.

Two toned olive shaped bead with goldston swirls.

The formula for making adventurine /goldstone has been a much guarded secret through the ages in Europe.  The story goes that it was originally developed by glass making monks, but I can’t say how accurate this charming tale is.  I know for sure that the goldstone we buy from Effetre is made in a glass factory in Northern Italy.

One of the reasons that this particular type of glass is so expensive is the fact that when they make a crucible of goldstone, only one third of the batch is “A” quality with the familiar bright flakes in it.  The other two parts of the batch are “B” quality that has a lot of veins of brown in it and the last third is waste and they have to break the crucible off the glass when it has cooled, so they lose the crucible ever time they make a batch and crucibles are expensive.

You can get goldstone/aventurine to use in five sizes from powder to large chunks that you can use as is or process into what ever stringer or cane you like.  Last year we were fortunate to obtain a batch of specially made goldstone ribbon cane that was made by a glass artist that we know on Murano.  Recently we received another batch of ribbon cane and this batch is really great!  It is thicker, brighter and easier to use than the last batch and I have been enjoying using it.

Goldstone ribbon zig zag design with magenta-blue and teal dichroic.

Goldstone ribbon design over tabular bead made from CiM "Mink".

The ribbon cane is really nice to use because it has a very thin coat of clear glass over the goldstone which keeps the ribbon cane looking brilliant even when exposed to high heat.  I learned the hard way that to get goldstone from pieces to look bright after being torched, it is best to have a thin layer of clear glass over it.  When I first started messing around with goldstone, I would have the raw goldstone in the flame and it would turn kind of khaki brown-green with almost no sparkle to it – very disappointing!

Aventurine/goldstone comes in a few other colors which the most common are blue and green, though I have seen red goldstone in the past.  You have to be careful with the really rare colors of goldstone because sometimes it is not compatible.

Strand of encased goldstone beads.

Goldstone ribbon cane and a rose cane over CiM Mermaid.

A special goldstone ribbon cane with black line on dichroic bead.

Small flat diamond shaped bead made out of goldstone ribbon cane and covered with pale aqua.

Band of goldstone ribbon cane around a half Sangre and half Poison Apple bicone bead.

Tips and Techniques: Dichroic on Copper

I am a die hard dichroic fan, but I had not paid much attention to the CBS Dichroic on Copper Sheet because at first I couldn’t get my head around it.  When I first saw some dichroic on copper sheet, it was Silver and it just didn’t catch my attention.  Recently I was shown a dichroic on copper sheet that was a pattern called “Mixture” that has soft blues and pinks in it as well as silver and I said to myself – WOW, this stuff is really neat looking.  I had a sheet that had been slightly broken up and the bag was full of cool looking dichroic bit-shards.  The dichroic shards really got me motivated to make some beads with it and I really like the results.

Dichroic on copper sheet with loose bit-shards.

Loose dichroic bit-shards on graphite pad.

You have to be careful when you open the bag of Dichroic on Copper and have a sheet of paper under the bag to catch any shards that might flake off.  I put the dichroic shards that I had on a graphite pad that I use for rolling up shards on to beads and it works really well.

The dichroic on copper sheet was designed to provide dichroic that can be put on any glass, so you don’t have the problem of matching the glass you are using with what ever the dichroic is coated on.  Another great thing about the dichroic on copper is the fact that the dichroic layer on the copper is 3 times thicker than any other way that dichroic is normally applied.  The thicker coating makes the dichroic much more durable and less likely to burn to that gray scum that everyone hates.

Bead made with dichroic shards from copper sheet.

The copper sheets also allow the artist to cut patterns or strips of dichroic in the sheet and roll the dichroic right up off the copper onto a hot bead or other lampworked form.

CBS (Coatings by Sandberg) has a good instructional video posted on the web that is good to watch and it provides some great working points that help in using this product.  If you have never seen dichroic on copper used, I recommend watching this short educational video on the Sandberg website.

In case you are wondering what to do with the sheet of copper once you have used all the dichroic, the copper is of a thickness and quality that it can be used to apply cut out patterns of copper on to a bead.  I have seen some stunning examples of this technique and highly recommend giving it a try.

Dichroic shards on bead made with CiM "Electric Avenue and Gunmetal.

Tips & Tricks: Using Pale Transparent Colors as Encasements or Enhancers

There are a lot of different ways to deal with encasing a glass bead.  If you are new to lampworking, to encase a glass bead means to apply a medium to thick layer of a transparent glass over a bead core to enhance the design or protect a color reaction.

Frequently beadmakers are on a difficult quest to find the perfect clear to encase their beads, but there are many alternatives to using clear.  There are a number of very pale transparent glass colors that work extremely well for encasing a glass bead.

I have spoken to many beadmakers that like to use pale transparent colors for encasing because these glass rods don’t seem to have as many clarity issues like scumming or tiny bubbles and scratches that come with working in clear glass.

A rose garland and goldstone bead encased in Whisper, a pale pink transparent.

A core of Smurfy, goldstone and Hades encased in Pale Aqua.

I like to use the pale transparent glass colors as a color enhancing tool.  I frequently encase my patchwork dichroic beads with a pale transparent to unify all the sparkling dichroic colors and tone them down just a little.  Using a pale transparent glass encasement over a simpler core design can be very powerful and enhance the over all look of the glass bead.

A dichroic patchwork bead encased in a unique Crocus by CiM – Messy Color.

A core design made out of Pumpkin and goldstone encased in a transparent called 14K.

A core of Soylent, goldstone and Slytherin encased in Crystal Green transparent.

A dichroic patchwork bead encased with Halong Bay by CiM – Messy Color.

Great Christmas Colors for lampworkers

I have been thinking about the holidays lately because of the weather change and I thought I would talk about Great Christmas Colors for lampworkers that I like for Christmas projects.

Sangre by CiM – Messy Color

White Poinsettia flower on bead made with Sangre.

If you have made beads for any time at all, you are probably familiar with how difficult it can be to get a great Christmas red to make all your Christmas projects out of.  In my experience as a lampworker, I found it next to impossible to find a transparent red that wasn’t too orange or that didn’t turned kind of brown after you worked it in the flame for a while.  Not to worry, CiM – Messy Color has a great transparent red called Sangre, which is a true Christmas red.

Parts for holly berry and leaf ornament.

Another great Christmas color that was just recently introduced by CiM – Messy Color is a transparent green called “OZ”, which as it turns out is a perfect green to pair with Sangre to produce the green and red that is the hallmark of most Christmas themes.

Holly berries and leaves on copper wire made with CiM Sangre and Oz.

Oz by CiM – Messy Color.

I have been making some snowmen for the holidays out of glass, and I think CiM – Messy Color “Peace” is a perfect white for making anything that is snow orientated.  The combination of “Peace” and “Sangre” is perfect for making glass candy canes and other white and red holiday objects.

Snowman made with CiM "Peace".

Holly leaf pendant made with "Oz".

"Peace" by CiM – Messy Color.

Tips and Techniques #3 - Making Your Own Custom Frit

I have noticed that there are a lot of people who like to use frit in their lampworking projects and custom frit blends have been really popular for a long time.  If you are one of these folks that like to use frit in their hot glass projects but would like to try some unusual frit or personal blends, there is a simple way to make small amount of frit for your own personal use.

The things you need for Making Your Own Custom Frit :

• Torch
• Pair of lampworking glasses
• Pair of big mashers
• Jar of cold water
• Small fine wire strainer
• Good size slab of graphite (optional but nice to have)
• Hammer
• Some really thick brown paper or thin cardboard
• Dust mask (always a good thing to have on hand)

This whole process is really neat because you can take glass rods that you really like the color of, but there is no frit available and you can make your own in no time.

Make sure before you start that you have really cold water ready at your work area.  Take a rod of the glass color you want to make frit out of and heat it in your torch until you have as big a ball of hot glass on the end of the rod that you can handle ( it is different for everyone).  Take your mashers and flatten the ball to make a paddle and then return the paddle to the flame to totally reheat it but not melt it, this gets the paddle ready for the next part of the process.

Take your red hot paddle over to your ice cold water and plunge the paddle into the water, making sure that you have glasses on in case the water splatters a little.  It seems too simple, but the plunging process fills the paddle with tiny fractures that cause the paddle to turn to frit.

Once you have made enough paddles to make the amount of frit you want, the next thing you do is take your strainer ( never reuse the strainer for food after this process, it should be for glass work only – find them at the thrift shop) and pour the water into another container.  Some people like to use coffee cans for this process, but they do rust after a while.

Let the frit drain for a little while to get most of the water off of it.  I take a graphite pad and I dump the frit on to the pad (wear your dust mask when you do this, even though the glass is wet) and spread it out as thin as you can.  At this point you can either place it in the sun (if you actually have warm sun) or you can place the graphite pad on top of your kiln and use the heat the kiln gives off to dry the frit.  Since I live in the Pacific Northwest, the kiln drying method is the one I use most.

After your frit is dry, you can use it as is or you can put it between two pieces of heavy paper (I save really heavy brown shipping paper or thin brown cardboard for projects like this) and lightly hit it with a hammer (wear your dusk mask for this process also).  You don’t have to go crazy with the hammer because the glass is already filled with tiny fractures and will break down to smaller pieces fairly easily. I typically save portions of the frit from each phase of the hammering, so that I have an assortment of frit sizes to use.

All you have to do now Making Your Own Custom Frit is label and store any frit you don’t use immediately.