Glass Icicles

Today I had another lovely day playing with my glass and torch.  I made several new things.  I think I am most proud of my icicles, however.  Once I figure out where I can get thicker glass rods, I'll be able to make even more impressive pieces (actual Christmas ornaments!!).  Ironically my first icicle looks the best, but that's probably because it was the smallest. I couldn't quite get the proportions right with such thin glass when I was trying to make it longer.  Overall I am extremely happy with my projects for the day.

My First Icicle!

Sadly, my first attempt remains the best.

My first tiger stripe bead

Another view of my tiger bead

Clear with orange and blue inside the bead, rather than just on the outside (another skill I learned)

Just a random bead to try something new

I have found a magnificent Youtube channel, which I recommend to anyone who is planning to try glass scuplture at all.  I am a big fan of TimiaGlass.  He teaches concisely and clearly.  You can't believe what this man packs into five or ten minutes.  He makes me think that my dreams of turtles and ladybugs (that I thought were so ambitious) are not only possible, but that I can far exceed them if I want to.

Lampwork Glass Pendant

After watching a brief video on Youtube*, I was inspired to try making a glass pendant.  The main problem I saw was that the person in the video was using a glass rod that was much thicker in diameter than mine (but I figured I could try it anyway).  It turns out having a thicker rod would have been very useful, but I won't bore you trying to explain it.  The loop itself was also difficult and is a skill I'd like to practice more.

My first glass pendant . . .

. . . and its fate.

It wasn't broken when I finished it, but it was cracked.  The problem is that if you shock the glass by heating it too quickly or cooling it too quickly, you get cracks.  Apparently larger pieces are easier to shock than smaller pieces.

My First Turtle Attempt

This was supposed to be another pendant attempt, but it started looking so much like a turtle.  I figured I had better try to make it into a turtle.  The irony is that if I had finished it as a pendant, it would have survived.

The poor turtle was killed as I tried to give him limbs

Devastated by the death of my pendants, I decided to make some beads to make myself feel better.

Orange center with a clear outer layer

Translucent green with blue dots

Translucent aqua with dark blue stripes

I tried to make a bead like the Pandora ones I have seen

*http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OY65HHoJDl8

Smoldering Lava

Here few action shots of my bead making today.  I wanted to post some pictures of the actual process, highlighting the glorious blue flame and the orange glow of the melted glass. 

Me making one of my latest beads

The two new beads I made today (on the left)

I'm pleased to say that I had a 100% success rate in removing my beads from the mandrels (as opposed to my success rate of 75% yesterday).