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TIPS AND TRICKS from the pro's
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REDUCING, BULLSEYE LUSTRES & HOLLOW BEADS By Artist/Instructor: Pam Dugger
Small Butterfly Fish Artist: Pam Dugger REDUCING When using any reduction glass, once the glass is the way you want it on the bead, turn the oxygen down just a little and gently place one side of the bead in the flame to see the effect. If the reduction is not what you want, turn the oxygen down a little more and try again. When you finally get the effect you want, then gently place one side of the bead in the flame, remove, and turn to another area of the bead before placing it in the flame, continuing until your bead is just the way you want it. Do not turn the oxygen all the way off and place your bead in the flame. When you put glass into a pure propane flame you are just covering the glass with soot. Each torch has different flame chemistry at different set pressures and each glass has a different way of reacting, so no one can tell you how your particular torch is going to react with any particular glass. Just experiment and have fun.
BULLSEYE LUSTRES Bullseye lustres are fun. They develop a metallic sheen when placed in a reducing atmosphere on your torch. The Blue Lustre gets a silver metallic finish, while the Amber Lustre tends to more of a golden look. The Copper Green Lustre turns a soft opaque green and when working it will develop turquoise blue areas. When reduced, this glass turns a rich copper color.
MAKING HOLLOW BEADS Making hollow beads is great fun. There are many ways to make a hollow bead and you will certainly find one that works best for you. Many people make two disks on a mandrel, then while gently heating the disks use a tool to tilt them toward each other until they meet in the center, then heat until the edges seal together. My own method that works for me is to make two disks, gradually leaning each row of glass more toward the middle than the last one. Once the two disks are approximately a quarter inch apart, I bridge the two together by heating up a small gather and touching the glass to both sides. I generally do this in three or four places around the bead, then fill in the gaps left between the bridges. The reason I do this is two-fold. One is that once the bridges are placed, the whole bead is stabilized and heating will not as easily lead to collapse. Also the bridges act to transfer heat from one side of the bead to the other, therefore making it easier to keep the bead warm. The second reason I use the bridges is that as a finished hollow is heated, the molten glass will tend to sink to the ends, leaving the apex of the bead with the least amount of glass. The extra glass I add to the center tends to help the bead sustain a more even wall throughout the bead. Visit Pam's Website at:
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ENCASING AND RAKING By Artist/Instructor: Jennifer Geldard
Artist: Jennifer Geldard ENCASING When encasing a
bead with transparent glass, make your first wrap in the center of the
bead. This will be the only full wrap to touch the bead.
Place each additional wrap directly on the top-outside edge of the
first wrap on either side of the first wrap (overlapping the first
wrap - not directly beside it). Continue adding additional wraps in
this manner until the bead is completely wrapped using your marver to
flatten each additional wrap. If using more than one color, this
technique keeps a smooth transition between multiple colors. When raking
stringer, don't melt the stringer in all the way before raking
it. Allow it to remain raised when you rake it. This helps to keep
the
base of the bead intact without distorting it. Once you are
finished raking, melt in the glass and shape your bead as usual. Visit Jennifer's Website at:
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