Figure study

The torso is Loki's Lipstick...with clear core ....Using contrapossto....getting in the mood for something larger....

Loki's Lipstick

One word: LOVE.

Round Three--Viperfish

I had another go with the viperfish.....This Glow Glass is alot of fun--the glow is fairly powerful--more so than the powders--it just tells me that I wasn't mixing the concentration high enough....Thre was some encasement issue that I need to go and explore. But this is a fun glass and has lots of potential--much easier to incorporate into the workflow!!!

Glow Glass!

Joe Imler of Glow Glass has teamed up with Origins Glass to create a wonderful new product--Glow Glass borosilicate bars.



So far, the glow is pretty nice on these bars. It does better when on the surface, but will give a nice glow even when encased. Don't thin it out too much or the glow will be diminished. It's fun stuff!
Here is an attempt at a viper fish...I used both the green and the aqua on him....the head popped off, but I am going to give it a go again and also add some glow detail to the fins....
lots of fun ahead!!
:-D

Bucephalus

Harkening back to my days of elementary school when I was obsessed with Przewalski's horse... and the Greek style horses...the clipped mane and thick neck features...
This bead is about an inch and a half tall from tip of the ear to bottom of the neck....made of Effetre Dark Silver Plum.

Quick Sketch

In drawing there is the quick sketch--this is the glass equivalent...just trying to capture gesture, not detail....
This is Momka's Yellow Pearl.

Second Try....

A bit better results today....I think the jaw muscle ended up being too small, but oh well...there is always next time. I really like the new Momka's color Aurora Borealis...it's an Amber Purple with lots of sparkle in it. When held up to the light, the burgundy of this color really shows up and it is beautiful. The image on the left shows the side I reduced--more greens and opaques. The image on the right was worked normally and shown in indirect sunlight to showcase the burgundy tones.
While I was warming up to get ready to make the horse head, I thought I would practice my marbles and made Cosmic Ruby....a dichroic galaxy center with backing of sparkling ruby. Lots of fun...Unfortunately I forgot to wear my full helmet instead of my half helmet so I have a bit of a sunburned(or technically a torchburned) face....ouch!

Back to Basics

I have been getting the sculpting bug again but boy can it be frustrating at times. Sometimes things work out and the glass flows nicely and other times you feel like you are fighting the whole way. I've been playing a bit with COE 104...wow it is hard...it's much easier to sculpt in boro. I did figure out about how long I can get away with moving the glass before the dreaded 'tink' ....
I did my first male sculpture and wouldn't you know, I forgot to pull some stringer for the detail(ehem).....the only stringer I had was a DH odd lot. Then I put it in the kiln only it was set at boro for 4 hours....(why do I not think of these things sometimes?). So I figure, oh well, he will be a blob, but I will learn from it. Pull him out of the kiln today and he had become a nice blob of ochre except for his privates, which struck to a very dark burgundy purple! Nothing like cracking yourself up when you open the kiln! LOL!!!
Next was my horse head sculpture. I haven't done it in a while so I thought I would pick it up again.....well, of course I did not pull any stringer for detail AGAIN(talk about not being prepared!) so he had to settle for being blobby too. Over all, I think I am out of practice. The only angle I am happy with is the one I am posting....
Note to self....if you are going to do sculpture, prep first! Otherwise, be prepared to laugh in the morning!!!

Crystalflipz Dichroic Stringer

I have been using these amazing stringers for a while now and I have to say they are one of the most useful innovations for COE 104 glass. No longer is dichroic a pain! These stringers are so easy to use, do not burn out and last a long time. Since they are stringers, they can be used like traditional stringers--on the surface, in a twist, dot or wherever you want to have a spot of sparkle. My favorite colors are the Magenta Gold and Bright Gold stringer, but all the colors are lovely. She is also concocting new variations. I just tested some rubino and murrini stringer that are out of this world. I can't wait to get my hands on more of them!

There are different sizes of sparkle, from fine(gives a subtle sheen) to large speckled for an almost glitter effect. She takes special orders but has regular colors listed in her Etsy store.
I've still yet to discover all the possibilities with this stringer, but I know I am going to have alot of fun along the way!

The beads above have red stringer with gold dichroic--a beautiful way to shimmer. Also, it's hard to see, but the flower has rubino with Magenta sparkle in it. I love the icicle effect of this stringer when overlapped one over the other on the bead...it goes so well with silver glass too!
the bead on the left below has gold stringer over the orange for a subtle glitter. The bead on the right I used the stringer to twist the glass. It leaves a gorgeous sparkle filled dot!

DoubleHelix and Trautman Art Glass color fun!!

I had some time to play this weekend so I thought I would play...
Double Helix had a new Odd Lot--T-256....similar to T-265 but more opaque. A bit tricky to play with at first until you figure out what to look for. This is one of those colors that can strike even under clear encasement. Watch the timing!
I haven't played with Trautman Art Glass in a long time. I thought I would try a color that I bought but never got around to--Transcendental. Jenny had sent me a bonus rod of Blue Transcendental so I tried a bit and really liked it. Not wanting to waste my only rod, I pulled out the Transcendental stock rods I had and wonderfully, they worked up the same. I love this color!! Lots of gorgeous pinks and wispy blues. It needs a different treatment than normal(well, at least for me it did) but once you figure it out, it is easy to get the colors to bloom. I was supposed to make some other beads for a prototype I am working on but got caught up in this color and spent the rest of the evening making Transcendental beads!