Designing the Elements: Fire and Water

This post is a continuation of my “Color Challenge,” and also the beginning of a new design concept. I’ve been looking for a technique that will make the bead design appear to shift and wave when the bead is turned. My idea was to design a bead that looked like flowing water. This was my first attempt:

Then I made the ripples on the water more intense to get more of a shifting look:

I was also looking for something I could make with really bright color, something psychedelic and multi-colored. Here is a photo of the test bead:

As I was making the bead, I realized that it looks a lot like fire. “Fire” would fit in perfectly with “Water” in a series designed around the four elments. Here is the Fire bead set I created:

So now I have water and fire! The next logical step would be to make air and earth. I’ll post whatever transpires next.

How to work Terra Glass: Getting Somewhere

I’ve been working more with both etching and encasing Terra (a Double Helix glass). On this first set I’ve used a Terra base (in my experience Terra doesn’t etch) with some Effetre black for surface decoration. I’m really pleased with the results. I love the contrast of textures between the etched and the smooth surfaces:

I’ve also been working more on encasing Terra. Finally I’m getting a system down with this glass that’s working for me. However, some days when I work with it I get more reds, other days I get more purples. It seems to depend on which way the wind is blowing. Maybe with practice I’ll get more control over the colors. Here are my latest encased Terra beads, I’m really happy with this group, too:

I know there has been plenty of helpful discussion in the forums about working with Terra, but here’s my little tutorial on encasing it:

The most important thing I’ve discovered about this glass is it likes to be worked quickly, because extended heating fades out the colors.

I put one layer of Terra straight down on the mandrel as the base bead. I get it really hot, until I see the surface start to turn transparent and get a “shimmer” like what some people see when heating raku. The Terra glass at this point is so hot that it balls up and makes those irksome pointy ends along the mandrel. I take it out of the flame and gently marver it into a cylinder shape to get rid of the pointy ends. I don’t put it back in the flame after marvering. I let it continue to cool until a brown color starts to appear, then i gently waft the bead in the end of the flame or just under the flame so the heat is light, and watch for the dark brown color to propagate across the bead.

Wherever dark brown develops on the bead, the color will end up more intense with dark reds, blues and purples. Where light brown forms, the colors will end up in the lighter pink/yellow range. If the desired dark brown does not show up and i’m only getting wisps of light brown across the bead, I reheat the whole thing and start from the beginning. I super-heat it, marver it, and watch for the brown again. I’ve noticed that Terra can get “tired” after too many re-tries (so can I !!! ). If this happens I take a deep breath, then run a Terra stringer around the bead giving it a fresh layer on top.

When I’m satisfied with the brown colors, I take my Terra base bead out of the direct flame and encase it. I do my best not to reheat the Terra base too much which would fade out the dark brown color. After I apply the encasing glass, I marver and shape it just like I would with any normal bead. However, by the time I’m done with my shaping, I cool the bead down a little and look at it and these magnificent colors have magically appeared!

Practice is really the secret to this glass. And the wind blowing in an auspicious direction of course.

Giving Terra Another Go

I’ve been working with Terra glass again. I gave it up for a while, in frustration, because no matter what I’ve read about how to work with it I still can’t get the bright colors to pop out.

I do believe it’s true that all the advice in the world can’t compare with good old time-at-the-torch. Terra simply takes lots of practice and a willingness to ‘fail’ many times in order to achieve the ideal results. I like to do things perfectly the first time, so that’s a challenge for me! I also haven’t found/made the time or money to spend with Terra in order to get really skilled with it. But I’m not giving up.

My partner Steve has been making beads for only a year now, yet he’s becoming a master of both Raku and Terra. Here are two of his beads.

I watched him make the brightly-colored encased Terra bead on the left in the photo above, and it inspired me to give Terra another go. Steve stood over my shoulder and gave me advice as I was working. When my bead came out of the kiln the next day, it was gorgeous! I finally got the bright colors I’ve been hoping for. Here is a photo of that bead:

The next day I was torching and thought I’d try some more encased Terra beads without Steve standing over me. What I got was not exactly ‘poop’ but the colors were very pastel and faded. It’s still a pretty look, but I wanted to do what I’d done the day before. Here are the two pastel beads I got on that day:

So I ask myself, why is Steve is so good with Terra and Raku, and I’ve been making beads for ten years and can’t get much color from either glass? I think it’s because he has “Beginner’s Mind,” and I’m already set in my ways. My way of heating, cooling and encasing is second nature; I could almost do it in my sleep. He’s feeling his way into it with curiosity, without the pressure of sales, and without those established muscle patterns I already have from working with Effetre.

Still, as I practice more I know I’ll get the hang of it. For comparison, here are some of my first encased Terra beads, LOL:

Have a great day everyone!

Challenge, The Great Teacher

Recently, my kiln temperature controller, digital camera and one of my photography lights all broke down within days of each other. They were out of commission for about three weeks. During that time I couldn’t make any new beads, and my photography time was limited with a borrowed digital camera. I’m a full-time beadmaker and it was difficult to handle the down-time. I thought it would be good to write a Watch Me Create blog post about this experience because it was definitely a creative challenge.

When the equipment breakdowns first happened, I had some sadness and frustration about my business coming to an apparent halt. However, as time went by I began to recognize and appreciate the things I depend on to make and sell beads. For example, I need a kiln, computer and camera, and then I need electricity to run them. I need a phone line for internet access, and propane and oxygen and a torch, plus tools and glass and a lot of other things. It definitely takes a lot of equipment and supplies to make beads and sell or display them on the internet. Everything has to be operating smoothly in order for the business to work. I need my health, too.

All of this reminded me to be thankful for the things I usually take for granted.

I can also appreciate every other beadmaker for the supplies and equipment they have to manage in order to bring pictures to this blog or to websites. It takes a lot of creativity, skill, time, and money to put it all together. All of this goes on behind the scenes in the world of beadmaking, and yet our customers don’t really get to see that side.

One more thing I got out of this experience: when things don’t work according to plan, it’s necessary to improvise. We have to get creative and be ready to learn something new. Since my camera was broken and I was able to borrow a different one, I learned some new things about close-up photography that I didn’t know before and now my bead photos are better. And because one of my photo bulbs was out, I tried taking pictures in lower light and they actually look better with less glare. Also, my boyfriend Steve fixed my kiln and now knows everything there is to know about wiring and programming controllers!

With my kiln now fixed and a new digital camera and photo bulbs, I’m back in business. It’s All Good!

Color Challenge for the Color Challenged

My bead style tends to gravitate towards the darker colors, earth-tones and organics. I also dress in this same color scheme, so when I think of fashion and jewelry design I think of these colors. For some reason, I just don’t “think” in red, orange and yellow.

When I look at my glass rack and combine colors for the next design, I never give more than a glance to my reds and yellows. I’ve realized that it’s been over a year since I’ve even touched a red, orange or yellow rod! So my challenge to myself has been to make a set of beads or some focals using really bright colors at the lower end of the spectrum, setting aside my beloved purple and black for the moment.
Here are a couple of photos of my experiments. I like how they’ve come out, I like the brightness of the colors, and it was also a lot of fun to make them. They are not the most complex of beads, but they look good all strung together and they feel really good in the hand.