Japanese Lampworkers

This is an old link of Japanese Lampwork. I am trying to find Atsushi Ono's website still.

I had it on my old computer and need to go back and find it. 

Anyhoo, take a peek--I am always inspired by the amazing detail and beauty and I hope you are too!

Momkas Aurora Trails and Orchard Plum

New colors from Momkas glass!
I had a chance to test these colors out and here are the results.
Aurora Trails: Another fine addition to the multicolor line. Easy to use as is or pulled into twisties.
Aurora Trails requires striking for the full color range which spans the gamut from transparent amber, purple, deep cobalt blues and greens to opaque green, blue, purple and yellow. Stable in deep encasements and stunning as petals in floral marbles. Use twisties of Aurora Trails over clear or white cores in beads for easy multicolored striped beads.

Orchard Plum: encased opaque silver rods that yield vibrant colors. Transparent deep amber purples with halos of purple and blue are possible. Perfect for sculpture. Twist rods heavily and/or compress rod before or during use for the most variegation. The clear coat protects color from overheating quickly. Let cool before striking for best results. Wonderful in beads either used directly or in twisties. Use thin in deep encasements--if worked cool, some faint pastel purple is possible.

Once again, Momka really has worked her magic! Bravo!

Go See Kung Fu Panda!!!

What an awesome movie! Normally I don't like to mix work and play, but I have to make an exception with KFP! WOW! is all I can say. And please go see this film--you will love it!
Congratulations to everyone who worked on this cool movie! You deserve high praise! Funny, extremely charming and full of Kung Fu goodness --this movie really hit it out of the ball park! Good on ya! I was glad to see Jennifer Yuh Nelson and Rodolphe Guenoden get special nods. Rodolphe did some kickass fight sequences that never made it into Sinbad and it's great to see that they used them here. Jen, of course, is amazing as always! I wish one day her storyboards can have a wider audience--they really need to be made into a book!! Alfred, Rob, Jed(amazing Jed!) , Spyros and all the story crew--a special tip o' the hat to you, from one story artist to another. I was in awe and man, I am so very happy for you all!! Congratulations on a job very well done! I hope the movie continues to do well through out the year and beyond!

Double Helix Odd Lots!

Jed has done it again with some new experimentals!
Of the ones I was lucky enough to grab,there are a few that I really like alot and some that need a little bit more experimentation to find their secret.
Here are the ones I was able to get, and a brief description of what they do. I'm going to keep updating them as I experiment :-D

Reduction:

M-166--pink luster: this glass foams a bit but has a beautiful gold sheen

SL-194-triton/elecktra mix: very much like regular Triton but goes a bit mroe opaque in reduction for me....also has red streaks when heavily reduced

Striking:

T-106:
TN-203: nice striking glass--purple, blues,red, corals, green
KH-133: Khaos experimental. It strikes very dark on my first test bead--but is interesting. It needs more experiments but is very interesting

L-143: light Luna--this color needs heavy heat and multiple strikes. The see through stage is gorgeous. light purples, etc. When it goes in the kiln, it strikes further adn opacifies. Multiple kilnstrikes yield further strikes. More experimentation is needed to figure out optimal color.

TN-200:Amazing! my favorite of the bunch. Strikes to a vibrant purple with bright blue and green opaques. Super nice.

T-96C: Nice strike! Terra that doesn't revert to brown in my kiln. Nice brushtroky color with rich purples, greens, yellows and blues.
T-96B: Nice striking glass--a little lighter.
T-96A-almost identical to T-28 amber luster. It doesn't seem to luster exactly the same, and the strike needs a tad bit more care than T-28, but it is a great substitute!

VK-192-deep cinnamon coral-with silver speckles. There is alot of silver in this glass but the trick is how to coax it out. The red is overpowering and care is needed to preserve the purple. Low kiln temp(940F) helps, as does a very quick work time. Encased, the reds go a light clay red.
RH-204: Really nice colors! Opaque pastelly blue purple, blue grey, rusty orange and green. Really different and reactive. Love it!
RH-198-haven't tried it yet
RH-169:one of my favorite hematinone reds. Will strike to purples, blues and greens.
RH-193: will strike to some extent but needs seeding.
RH-209: haven't tried it yet
VK-211: when worked regular, it goes coral red as do most of the hematinone reds. Seed it by placing it close to other silver glass.